(2024-05-17). Biden Is Sending Israel Another $1 Billion In Weapons. popularresistance.org Congressional aides say that the Biden administration will send Israel another $1 billion in weapons and ammunition. The package includes roughly $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million for tactical vehicles, and $60 million in mortar rounds. | The move comes amid rising tensions over a potential military invasion of Rafah, a town in Southern Gaza. | The story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. | This is the first arms shipment The White House has announced since it paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel last week. In an interview with CNN Biden admitted that "Civilians have been kill…
(2024-05-17). In A First, Jewish Biden Administration Staffer Resigns Over War In Gaza. popularresistance.org At first glance, the chalkboard sign looked like any of the others standing in front of Washington D.C.'s many restaurants and cafes. | But instead of advertising espresso or sandwiches, this one — across the street from a federal government building — displayed only one thing: the number of Palestinians killed in Israel's war with Hamas, along with the words "Remember the people of Gaza." | When it was taken down earlier this month after being vandalized, that number had passed 34,000 — a statistic quoted often in pro-Palestinian advocacy. But what made the blackboard different from the campus…
(2024-05-17). USAID Whistleblowers Accuse Biden Of 'Direct Complicity' In Gaza Famine. popularresistance.org Current and former officials from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department say the White House has ignored months of internal warnings about the spread of famine in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to an in-depth investigation by the Independent. | "I believe the US to be complicit in creating the conditions for famine. Not only has our response been woefully inadequate, but we're actively responsible in large part for it," a USAID employee told the British daily. | Internal documents reviewed by the Independent show that staffers have repeatedly warned USAID administrator Sa…
(2024-05-17). Even Biden's Lawyers Urge The White House To Change Course On Gaza. popularresistance.org In a message to Attorney General Merrick Garland and other senior officials this week, federal government attorneys invoked British abolitionist William Wilberforce: "You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know." | The letter , drafted by unnamed legal and policy staff at more than two dozen federal agencies, argues that the U.S. is violating domestic and international law by providing a steady stream of weapons to Israel despite evidence of war crimes in Gaza. Drawing comparisons to the infamous "torture memos," which were drafted by government lawyers to provide cover…
(2024-05-17). Is the U.S. blackmailing India over assassination allegations to be more hostile toward China and Russia? dissidentvoice.org The United States and its Western allies have stepped up a media campaign to accuse India of running an assassination policy targeting expatriate dissidents. The government of Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, has furiously denied the allegations, saying there is no such policy. Nevertheless, the American Biden administration as well as Canada, Britain and Australia …
(2024-05-17). Workers and students demand all-out strike in support of University of California academic workers. wsws.org In statements and conversations with the WSWS, students, grad student workers and others expressed support for a mass strike to protect democratic rights and end the genocide in Gaza.
(2024-05-17). Headlines for May 17, 2024. democracynow.org "We Don't Want Ships. We Want Safety": Displaced Gazans Reject U.S. Pier; U.N. Calls for Land Access, Spain Bars Ships with Weapons For Israel; 13 Foreign Ministers Warn Against Israel's Rafah Assault, "Israel's Genocide Has Reached New and Horrific Stage": South Africa Requests Urgent ICJ Intervention, Police Raid and Arrest Students at Gaza Solidarity Encampments at UC Berkeley, DePaul University, WaPo: Billionaires and Execs Urged Eric Adams to Send Police to Columbia's Gaza Encampment, SCOTUS Overrules Challenge to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, NYT: Upsi…
(2024-05-17). Stop the genocide in Gaza! Stop police violence against anti-war students! wsws.org In the following, we document the IYSSE Humboldt University election statement, which will be printed in the student election brochure. The elections are on 18 and 19 June.
(2024-05-17). U.S. House passes contentious bill forcing Biden to deliver paused bomb shipment to Israel. haaretz.com White House has already said it will veto the 'profoundly unserious' legislation if it makes its way to the president's desk…
(2024-05-17). Follow the Missiles. counterpunch.org 
Since October 7, the Biden administration has approved more than 100 Foreign Military Sales arms transfers to Israel. Two of the shipments used an emergency authority to circumvent Congressional review. The surge of weapons transfers to Israel began in early October and so much material was being shipped that the Pentagon had a difficult time finding enough cargo aircraft to deliver them.
(2024-05-17). Richard Beck: Bidenism Abroad. newleftreview.org Panoramic survey of US foreign policy as Washington attempts to maintain its global hegemony in conditions of faltering growth. Containing China, confronting Russia, driving decarbonization: each of Biden's stated aims has been beset by insoluble contradictions from the outset, Richard Beck argues, now compounded by Israel's punitive war on Gaza.
(2024-05-17). "Resist the Normalization of Evil": Israeli Reporter Amira Hass on Palestine & the Role of Journalism. democracynow.org 
Our guest is the Haaretz correspondent Amira Hass, the only Israeli Jewish journalist to have spent 30 years living in and reporting from Gaza and the West Bank. She is the recipient of the 2024 Columbia Journalism Award, and on Wednesday she addressed the graduating class of the Columbia Journalism School in New York City. Hass discusses the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, why journalists should "resist the normalization of evil and injustice," Israel's recent censorship of Al Jazeera, its maintenance of a strict apartheid system, its complete rejection of the prospect of Palestinian statehood and…
(2024-05-17). The Ideological Coup: How Disciples of Kahane Became the New Face of Israel. counterpunch.org 
Throughout history, fringe religious Zionist parties have had limited success in achieving the kind of electoral victories that would allow them an actual share in the country's political decision-making. The impressive number of 17 seats won by Israel's extremist religious party, Shas, in the 1999 elections, was a watershed moment in the history of these
(2024-05-17). Republicans in US House pass bill pushing Biden to send weapons to Israel. aljazeera.com The act is not expected to become law, but its passage shows the depth of the divide in the US over Israel policy.
(2024-05-17). U.S. ambassador: We've been saying for months Israel needs a plan for post-Hamas Gaza. haaretz.com Ambassador Jack Lew tells Haaretz that Israel must address the question of who runs Gaza after the war. He adds that the Israeli military operation in Rafah has so far not crossed the line drawn by U.S. President Joe Biden…
(2024-05-17). Israel expands Rafah slaughter. wsws.org Gallant's ability to declare an expansion of the ground operation in Rafah is due above all to the green light given by the imperialists in Washington, Berlin, and elsewhere to the Netanyahu government. Late Tuesday, the Biden administration confirmed it plans to dispatch over $1 billion of weaponry and other military equipment to Israel.
(2024-05-17). Friedman, Biden and US Weapons Sales to Israel. counterpunch.org 
In a long oped on Sunday titled "Biden's Error in Pausing Military Aid," Thomas Friedman buys into Israeli propaganda that describes Iran as an "existential threat," and harshly denigrates President Joe Biden for announcing a pause in U.S. weapons sales to Israel. Friedman is critical of Biden for announcing the pause in the transfer of
(2024-05-17). Trump's Corporate Tax Cuts Paved the Way for Inflation. scheerpost.com 
(2024-05-17). Wednesday 5/29: Not Above the Law! Criminal Trump Must be Held Accountable Town Hall & Actions. indybay.org Virtual event…
(2024-05-17). Ziri Rideaux vs Pacifica. indybay.org On October 20, 2022, the PNB voted to extend the terms if the elections were not held. | On February 2, 2023, Ziri Rideaux filed a lawsuit claiming that such extension is in direct violation of the Bylaws and the Corporations Code.
(2024-05-17). "California Journey from Slavery to Freedom" aligned to our Federal Juneteenth Holiday. indybay.org 2024 California Juneteenth is a quasi-optional holiday, where State employees must request a personal holiday and receive approval before enjoying our newest Federal Holiday, Juneteenth.
(2024-05-17). Thursday 5/30: "Minority Rule": Book Talk on Far Right's Assault on Democracy w/ journalist, Ari Berman. indybay.org Online event: www.brennancenter.org/events/resisting-minority-rule…
(2024-05-17). Defending Privacy in the Surveillance State and Fragmenting Internet. counterpunch.org 
(2024-05-17). Stuck on Stupid, Biden and the Democrats Face Disaster in November. counterpunch.org 
"Let them eat cake," Marie Antoinette once famously said, disdaining the immiseration of peasants in pre-revolutionary France. Joe Biden didn't use those exact words last week during his interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, but his tone-deafness about the suffering of millions of Americans grappling with high food and gas prices and unaffordable rents was palpable. Burnett
(2024-05-17). Hey, Rube! Why No Room for Others at the Biden/Trump Debate Circus? counterpunch.org 
(2024-05-17). Dr. Lecter and Mr. Trump. counterpunch.org 
"Silence of the Lambs. Has anyone ever seen The Silence of the Lambs? The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? "Excuse me. I'm about to have a friend for dinner," as this poor doctor walked by. "I'm about to have a
(2024-05-17). What is Barron Trump's college choice. geo.tv 
Donald Trump reveals his son's college plans…
(2024-05-17). COVID-19 Pandemic Response: A Military-Pharmaceutical Apparatus. globalresearch.ca
(2024-05-17). Peruvian Congress Rejects 3 Requests to Impeach Dina Boluarte. telesurenglish.net On Friday, the Peruvian congress controlled by a conservative majority did not admit three impeachment motions presented against President Dina Boluarte. | RELATED: | The first impeachment motion was promoted by Together for Peru and Democratic Change, which maintain that Boluarte did not behave appropriately and transparently for not having responded to Congress for a 12-day absence. | The second impeachment motion was…
(2024-05-17). President Maduro Installs Our Venezuela Campaign Command. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, President Nicolas Maduro led the installation ceremony of the "Our Venezuela 21st Century" Campaign Command in preparation for the presidential elections on July 28. | RELATED: | "Today, we take a very important step to advance with advantage, superiority, and fortitude to defend our country from the threat it is under, to preserve all the advances and achievements of the struggle we have waged, to chart the…
(2024-05-17). How Iranian — Chinese friendship benefits Türkiye. uwidata.com In 2023, the People's Republic of China purchased 91% of the oil produced by Iran. Anxious with that, US President Biden is working on passing a law to impose sanctions on China for its oil purchases from Iran. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Iran has transformed into a construction site. What we see is an extraordinary …
(2024-05-17). Major Trump trials delayed until after election. wsws.org Three out of four criminal proceedings against the aspiring dictator, including the most serious cases concerning the failed January 6 coup, have been delayed in the last month.
(2024-05-17). 8 Mexican farmworkers killed in Florida bus crash. wsws.org Contrary to the anti-immigrant policies of DeSantis and the Republican Party, the site of the crash has been overflowing with flowers from people and families visiting to pay their respects to the farmworkers they never met.
(2024-05-17). Pentagon warns Beijing about its military ties to Russia, even as Xi and Putin meet. scmp.com Ely Ratner, US Defence Department's chief for Indo-Pacific security, expresses "serious concern" in video link with Major General Li Bin of China's Central Military Commission.
(2024-05-17). US teen died from eating spicy chip in social media challenge, autopsy shows. scmp.com The snack, which came individually wrapped in foil in a coffin-shaped box, was pulled from store shelves shortly after Harris Wolobah's death.
(2024-05-17). 'Beyond the Wall' brings the GDR's contradictions to life. greenleft.org.au 
The German Democratic Republic (GDR) is often painted as a "walled-in, Russian-controlled Stasi land". However British-German Historian Katja Hoyer's 2023 book Beyond the Wall: East Germany 1949-1990 presents a more interesting and contradictory picture of a state where socialist solidarity, secret police, central planning and barbed wire co-existed, writes Alex Salmon.
(2024-05-17). As India's Modi drags Pakistan into election campaign, will ties worsen? aljazeera.com Unlike in 2019, Pakistan was largely absent from India's election rhetoric. Now that's changed – after a three-word post…
(2024-05-17). The inexorable rise of the Belgian Workers' Party. links.org.au 
Nico Biver — Can Europe's last insurgent left-wing force maintain its momentum after this super election year?
(2024-05-17). Shaken by assassination attempt on Slovak PM Robert Fico, EU wonders if June elections can be free of violence. scmp.com In an increasingly vitriolic political climate, the last thing needed in the runup to the June European Union elections was an assassination attempt on one of the bloc's most controversial figures.
(2024-05-17). Pete Buttigieg talks with WHYY News about presidential election as Pa. polling leans in favor of Trump. whyy.org What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Pennsylvania continues to attract attention from presidential candidates as they vie for the Keystone State's 19 electoral votes. With
(2024-05-17). Inflation eating up your paycheck? Blame Trump's corporate tax cuts. peoplesworld.org 
Next year, when key provisions of President Trump's 2017 tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations expire, we have an opportunity to get our money back. I'm not just talking about all the foregone tax revenue we've lost because the rich have paid so little since 2017—though we should get that back, too. I'm talking …
(2024-05-17). 2024 Election 4th Phase: West Bengal, Andhra, MP record highest voters turnout. ummid.com The 4th poll of the 2024 Parliamentary Elections in India Monday May 13, 2024 ended with an overall polling percentage of 67.25%, the Election Commission of India said.
(2024-05-17). Donald Trump's lawyer accuses Michael Cohen of lying at hush money trial. scmp.com Jurors heard audio clips of Cohen saying the case 'fills me with delight' and that he felt 'giddy with hope and laughter' imagining Trump and his family in jail.
(2024-05-17). Protesters say Labor's bill will give minister 'Trump-like' anti-refugee powers. greenleft.org.au 
(2024-05-17). Safeguarding the future. sanews.gov.za Safeguarding the future | As the country celebrates 30 years of freedom and democracy, the Department of Social Development will launch the country's Child Protection Week on Sunday, 19 May 2024. | According to the department, South Africa has undergone a deliberate transformation, with one of the key priorities being to ensure the protection and upholding of the human rights of children. | The previous laws, according to the department, were informed by colonial and apartheid systems, which brought the provision of services based on race and colour. | These laws, amongst others, included the Group Areas Act,…
(2024-05-17). On fascism and other maladies: A conversation with Luis Britto García. mronline.org One of Venezuela's most respected intellectuals talks about fascism and corruption scandals in the lead-up to the presidential elections.
(2024-05-17). US teen participates in 'spicy chip challenge'; dies of cardiac arrest. ptcnews.tv PTC News Desk: An autopsy on Thursday found that a US teenager who had participated in a social media challenge that challenged participants to consume a single, highly hot tortilla chip passed away from cardiac arrest.A 14-year-old Massachusetts boy named Harris Wolobah passed away in September as a result of participating in the "One Chip Challenge," which featured one Paqui chip that was seasoned with Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers. Over the years, the dare has taken several forms, with the peppers being a constant. According to…
(2024-05-17). Catalonia: Independentism can't afford another setback like the May 12 election. greenleft.org.au 
The May 12 regional election exposed Catalan independentism's state of fragmentation, writes Dick Nichols.
(2024-05-17). Biryani and Modi's New Found Secular (Poll) Strategy. ummid.com In addition to Modi propagating his 'secular' image by having never apparently spoken about 'Hindu-Muslims' along communal lines, he should perhaps also consider speaking about biryani from a secular angle!
(2024-05-17). Elections out of the country commence. sanews.gov.za Elections out of the country commence | Today is the first of two days South African citizens abroad can cast their vote in the National and Provincial Elections 2024. | "South African citizens living in other countries will cast the first ballots on 17 May 2024. Nine countries will cast ballots on Friday while the rest of the 102 will cast ballots on Saturday, 18 May 2024," Electoral Commission (IEC) Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said. | Given the high numbers of expected voters in London at 24 194, this station will operate on both the 18 and 19 May 2024. | The international segment of the voters roll for…
(2024-05-17). In a debut book, a love letter to eastern North Carolina — and an indictment of colonialism as a driver of climate change. grist.org
(2024-05-17). Biden China Tariffs Infuriate Climate Activists. wattsupwiththat.com Climate change news seems to be taking the Chinese line on the tariff issue – but who expected anything different?>
(2024-05-17). Fidel Castro: "Fue la Ley de Reforma Agraria precisamente lo que definió a la Revolución Cubana" (+ Fotos y Video). cubadebate.cu Al arribar al XV aniversario de la promulgación de la Ley de Reforma Agraria, Fidel Castro vuelve a La Plata en la Sierra Maestra. Ese día se realiza un emotivo acto en conmemoración de la muerte de Niceto Pérez, el XV aniversario de la Primera Ley de Reforma Agraria y el XIII aniversario de la creación de la Asociación de Agricultores Pequeños.
(2024-05-17). Ley de Reforma Agraria, saldar una deuda con el campesinado cubano. radiohc.cu El analfabetismo, la insalubridad, la desnutrición y la explotación del campesinado que no era dueño de la tierra que trabajaba de sol a sol era el panorama de los campos de Cuba, denunciado por el líder histórico de la revolución cubana, Fidel Castro, en su alegato de defensa en el juicio por el asalto al cuartel Moncada, en Santiago de Cuba, el 26 de julio de 1953.
(2024-05-17). FANB exige a EE.UU. levantar las sanciones contra Venezuela. telesurtv.net Demandan al presidente Joe Biden la inmediata derogación de las medidas restrictivas unilaterales impuestas a la patria de Bolívar y Chávez desde 2015.
(2024-05-17). India : popular movements, not elections, will bring transformative change. cadtm.org With the exception of a brief period, India has been more fortunate than many other nations in being able to maintain parliamentary rule over the last 77 years. With 900 million voters—more than the populations of Europe and Australia put together—the Indian elections are hailed as the largest exhibition and celebration of democracy. The nation's economic growth over the past 30 years —one of the fastest in the world—also makes the elections noteworthy on a global scale.
| India is undoubtedly at (…) | – | /…
(2024-05-17). The World Bank and the IMF: the creditors' bailiffs. cadtm.org In July 2024, the World Bank and the IMF will be 80 years old. 80 years of financial neo-colonialism and the imposition of austerity policies in the name of debt repayment. 80 years is enough! The Bretton Woods institutions must be abolished and replaced by democratic institutions serving an ecological, feminist and anti-racist bifurcation. To mark these 80 years, we are republishing a series of articles every Wednesday until July, looking in detail at the history and damage caused by these (…) | – | / |
CounterSpin interview with Ahmad Abuznaid on Rafah invasion.
When I voted for Joe Biden in the last election, I had yet to discover our American president's uniquely potent commitment to the state of Israel nor his fanatical adherence to Zionism. I've seen him in a film clip smiling enthusiastically and saying. "If I were Jewish, I'd be a Zionist." I watched a short 
For the Love of a Princess (Braveheart Theme) Israel Descends Into Barbarism, by Lawrence Davidson Gilad Erdan Does World a Favor by Making Plain Israel's Doomed-to-Fail Strategy, by Jeffrey Sachs Democracy Versus Autocracy on America's Campuses, by William D. Hartung 'It's not human': What a French doctor saw in Gaza as Israel invaded Rafah Gaslit to Death: Giving Cover to Israel's Rafah Atrocity with Phony Gaza Numbers Game, by Juan Cole The Jewish Plot to Enslave Humanity — At the Roots of Political Judaism, by Pierre Simon The True Origin Of Hamas & The Decline Of Apartheid Israel &…
It truly is pushing the envelope of lunacy to assume that this latest revelation was revelatory. US weapons, the wonks in Washington find, are being used by the Israeli Defense Forces to kill their opponents, many of them Palestinians, and most of them civilians. These are detailed in a report ordered by the White House pursuant to National Security Memorandum 
On the eve of the European Parliament elections, trade union activists in Kryvyi Rih appeal to candidates and remind politicians that it is wage earners who bear the brunt of the war against the aggressor.
The U.S. has dismissed Chinese calls for a no-first-use treaty between nuclear weapons states, saying it has questions about China's "sincerity." The outright dismissal of China's proposal followed a major speech in which Biden announced radical tariffs of up to 100 percent, on steel imports from China. That speech follows months of U.S. military buildup …
Wakiso, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Six children aged between two and 16 years have perished in a fire at Mulanda B, Kisubi parish, Kajjansi town council, in Wakiso district. The fire whose cause isn't yet established razed the house of Bakita Ayang, a South Sudanese national on Wednesday morning. Locals alerted Kisubi police station which …
The debates between Biden and Trump will be hosted by two television networks CNN and ABC, respectively. WASHINGTON | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive presidential nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties in this year's presidential election, on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates in June …
In a recent interview, Mehdi Hasan asked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez how she would respond to an Arab American or young person who said, "I just can't vote for Biden again." Ocasio-Cortez responded, "Everyone comes to this prospect and conversation with a different history and background. For an individual Palestinian American who has had their family …
Keir Starmer is unveiling the pledges at an event in Essex today, which will also be attended by the whole shadow cabinet, following on from an excellent set of local election results.
GOMA, DRC | Xinhua | The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) held a funeral on Wednesday for the victims of recent bombings at several sites for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country's eastern province of North Kivu. On May 3, at least five rockets fell in and around four IDP camps in the …