(2021-03-17). People's Action Endorses Reps. Jayapal and Dingell Medicare for All Reintroduction in House. peoplesaction.org As Nation Looks Towards Post-Pandemic Future, Medicare for All Offers Transformative Solution to Global Health Crisis Contact: Johanna Kichton, press@peoplesaction.org, 240.206.1145 WASHINGTON, D.C.—People's Action today endorsed the reintroduction of Medicare for All by Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., in the House of Representatives. People's Action member organizations helped secure original congressional cosponsors and secured the inclusion …
(2021-03-17). Medicare for All Would Have Prevented Hundreds of Thousands of COVID-19 Deaths. peoplesparty.org (As seen on
(2021-03-17). Ralph Nader: Democrats Are Betraying Voters on Medicare. scheerpost.com ufcw770 / CC BY 2.0] By Ralph Nader Do you remember the promises made by the Democratic Party's presidential and Congressional candidates on universal health insurance? You can forget their pledges and somber convictions now that your votes put the Democrats in charge of the House and the Senate. The Democrats' leaders are abandoning their promises and retreating into a cowardly corporatist future. |
(2021-03-17). Headlines for March 17, 2021. democracynow.org Gunman Kills 8 People, Almost All Women of Asian Descent, at Three Atlanta Spas, Report Finds a Third of COVID Deaths Tied to Lack of Insurance as Dems Reintroduce Medicare for All, WH to Increase Vaccines for COVID Hot Spots; Tribal Groups Open Up Inoculations for All Oklahomans, WHO Urges Against "Vaccine Passports" Due to Widespread Inequality in Access, New Report Details Horrific Blaze That Killed Dozens of Refugees at Yemeni Migrant Jail, Colombian Journalist Accuses Paramilitaries of Rape, Torture in Testimony to Inter-American Court, U.K. Lifts Cap on Nuclear Arsenal as U.S. Considers Plan for $100 Billio…
(2021-03-17). Medicare for All Would Have Prevented Hundreds of Thousands of Covid Deaths. zcomm.org We need to be prepared for the next pandemic, and we can't be under the current for-profit system…
(2021-03-17). Nepal probes Bahraini prince's 'gift' of 2,000 vaccines to Himalayan village. middleeasteye.net 
Nepal probes Bahraini prince's 'gift' of 2,000 vaccines to Himalayan village | Nepal's medicines regulator said vaccine doses were brought into the country without a licence or prior knowledge of the health ministry | Wed, 03/17/2021 – 19: 32 | Sheikh Mohamed Hamad Mohamed al-Khalifa (second right) poses for pictures upon arriving at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (AFP) | An investigation has bee…
(2021-03-17). Covid-19: West Bank receives first Covax vaccine doses. middleeasteye.net 
Covid-19: West Bank receives first Covax vaccine doses | World Health Organisation's vaccine-sharing initiative adds 62,000 doses to the occupied West Bank's struggling inoculation programme | Wed, 03/17/2021 – 18: 00 | A worker unloads a refrigerated truck carrying the first Covax delivery to a Palestinian Authority storage facility in the West Bank city of Nablus on 17 March (AFP) | The Palestinian Authority…
(2021-03-17). Covid-19 and Ramadan: UAE issues strict social measures. middleeasteye.net 
Covid-19 and Ramadan: UAE issues strict social measures | UAE said residents and citizens must avoid evening gatherings and the exchanging of food to break the fast, except for members of the same household | Wed, 03/17/2021 – 12: 17 | A man registers before receiving a Covid-19 vaccine at the Dubai International Financial Centre, UAE, 3 February 2021 (AFP) | The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday introduced a nu…
(2021-03-17). 'The only acceptable treatment for Mumia Abu-Jamal is his freedom!'. workers.org 
Organized in less than 24 hours, around 50 supporters of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal rallied outside Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's office March 12. They demanded Krasner immediately release 66-year-old Abu-Jamal, who has tested positive for COVID-19. At a protest outside DA Larry Krasner's office, Pam Africa compares photos of . . . |
(2021-03-17). The EU's Vaccination Lag. counterpunch.org 
The advanced industrial countries are now inoculating their populations with the Covid-19 vaccines. A Vaccine Tracker provided by Bloomberg indicates that of the following three countries, the UK's rollout has been the most effective (36.03 doses per 100 people), followed by the US at 28.83 doses per 100 people (as one would expect, the US's individual state variation is considerable—extending from North Dakota (36.84) to Georgia at 13.4), while the EU is far behind at 10.64 doses per 100 people.
(2021-03-17). We Already Knew Broadband Should Be A Public Utility. popularresistance.org Broadband allows people to participate in the digital world, which encompasses our daily lives. It connects people with their families and friends, news on what is happening in the country and abroad, and gives access to an unlimited amount of important information and resources. During the COVID-19 pandemic, broadband has been critical in supporting online school and work, access to healthcare and medical information, and even vaccine distribution. Eighty-seven percent of people reported that the internet has been important to them during the outbreak, and fifty-three percent of people reported that broadband is…
(2021-03-17). Vaccine Diplomacy Is Paying Off For China. popularresistance.org Vaccines have had a place in diplomacy since the Cold War era. The country that can manufacture and distribute lifesaving injections to others less fortunate sees a return on its investment in the form of soft power: prestige, goodwill, perhaps a degree of indebtedness, even awe. Today the country moving fastest toward consolidating these gains may be China, under President Xi Jinping, who proclaimed last May that Chinese-made vaccines against COVID-19 would become a "global public good." Since that time, top officials have promised many developing countries priority access to Chinese vaccines, and the Chinese Fo…
(2021-03-17). European Medicines Agency continues to endorse the safety of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. wsws.org A succession of European countries have suspended their vaccination programs pending further investigation into concerns over blood clots developing in people recently vaccinated with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.
(2021-03-17). Controversy in Nepal over Covid vaccines 'smuggled' in by Bahrain prince. laprensalatina.com Kathmandu, Mar 17 (efe-epa).- The second mountaineering expedition in Nepal by the prince of Bahrain has become mired in a controversy after it became known that the group brought a shipment of 2,000 anti-Covid vaccines for donation onboard their private jet without the approval of Nepali health authorities. "We deployed a team of drug inspectors …
(2021-03-17). Brazil banking on vaccination to control Covid pandemic in 2nd quarter. laprensalatina.com Rio de Janeiro, Mar 17 (efe-epa).- Brazil, the current world epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, is banking on increasing its vaccination campaign to control the spread of the virus in the second quarter of this year after having achieved more stable vaccine production, the incoming and outgoing health ministers both said on Wednesday. One day …
(2021-03-17). Inmates in Uruguay's toughest prison volunteer for Covid-19 shot. laprensalatina.com By Federico Anfitti Montevideo, Mar 17 (efe-epa).- The biggest troublemakers in Uruguay's most violent prison lined up on Wednesday to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Dubbed "kamikaze kids" by the guards, the young toughs — many of them serving time for relatively minor offenses — endure subhuman conditions at the rat-infested Santiago Vazquez penitentiary on the …
(2021-03-17). Health experts give green light to Janssen COVID jab, allay clotting concerns. news.un.org The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine was publicly approved for international use on Wednesday by UN health agency expert advisory board, SAGE, which allayed concerns over clotting events being associated by some countries, without definitive evidence, with coronavirus jabs.
(2021-03-17). Vaccine campaign to accelerate: Italy's health minister. yenisafak.com Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said Wednesday that the country's COVID-19 vaccination campaign will move forward at full speed, as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to give its backing to AstraZeneca's vaccine.Italy, along with many other European countries, has temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, pending a renewed backing from the EMA, amid fears of possible links with cases of blood clots."The Italian government considers vaccines key to bringing this period to an end," Speranza said at a joint session of the Lower House and Senate's social affairs commi…
(2021-03-17). The EU's Vaccination Lag. strategic-culture.org By Kenneth SURIN | The advanced industrial countries are now inoculating their populations with the Covid-19 vaccines. A
(2021-03-17). Philosopher David Hume Comes to the Rescue of the Pharmacological Lobby. strategic-culture.org Western pharmaceutical conglomerates have resorted to a bold denialist narrative that should make most contemporary "genocide deniers" blush Stephen Karganovic writes. | The remarkable disappearance of the common cold is by far not the only oddity of the ongoing Covid-19 operation. In the face of massive, global evidence of death and harm that have apparently resulted from exposure to hastily marketed and properly untested Covid-19 vaccines, Western pharmaceutical conglomerates have resorted to a bold denialist narrative that should make most contemporary "genocide deniers" blush. Looking the public straight in t…
(2021-03-17). CNN ripped for article admitting anti-lockdown Florida is 'booming' but implying Gov. DeSantis shouldn't be 'taking credit'. rt.com 
Critics are accusing CNN of playing politics and spinning the success of 'booming' Florida, which defied typical Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, as having nothing to do with Gov. Ron DeSantis. | "Everyone told me I was wrong," DeSantis said this week at a fundraiser about pandemic lockdowns. "I faced continued pressure from radical Democrats and the liberal media, but I refused to back down. It's clear: Florida got it right." | While many states are just beginning the process of reopening businesses and rolling back pandemic-era restrictions, Florida has been open for the better part of the last year — an…
(2021-03-17). Iran COVID-19 update: 65 deaths, 7,802 cases in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Mar. 17 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 7,802 COVID-19 infections and 65 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.
(2021-03-17). The Heat: COVID-19 in Brazil. america.cgtn.com 
Brazil is fighting to control a devastating COVID-19 outbreak while it tries to save its economy.
(2021-03-17). South Asia: Sharp rise in child, maternal deaths due to COVID-19-induced disruptions. news.un.org Severe disruptions in health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in an additional 239,000 child and maternal deaths in South Asia last year, United Nations agencies said on Wednesday.
(2021-03-17). OSHA targets coronavirus inspections to health care, meatpacking firms. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Carrying out Democratic President Joe Biden's executive order, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's inspectors will put health care firms—including hospitals and nursing homes—and meat and poultry packers at the top of its inspections and enforcement list in the war against the coronavirus. It's especially going to focus its ire on employers who retaliate against …
(2021-03-17). Spain Plans to Begin Experimenting With a Four-Day Workweek. truthout.org 
As the coronavirus pandemic changes the way societies around the world view work, Spain has announced it will begin a limited trial of a four-day workweek in a bid to boost productivity, mental health, and the environment. | The Guardian
(2021-03-17). 'Making it' in America as pure fantasy: Ayad Akhtar's 'Homeland Elegies: A Novel'. peoplesworld.org 
The book jacket describes Homeland Elegies as "art family drama, part social essay, part picaresque novel." The decision to confuse these genres is both tantalizing and frustrating. Its subtitle identifies it as "a novel." This pre-pandemic text refers often to real-life events, such as to his own plays and to main actors in those plays …
(2021-03-17). Video: Mass Vaccination in a Pandemic: Benefits versus Risks: Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche. globalresearch.ca Geert Vanden Bossche PhD, is an internationally recognised vaccine developer …
(2021-03-17). Jackson Mayor Demands Help After Month-Long Water Crisis Amid Pandemic, Racism, Broken Infrastructure. democracynow.org 
Residents in Jackson, Mississippi, have been facing a water crisis over the last five weeks, with many people lacking reliable access to clean drinking water after deadly February winter storms caused pipes and water mains to burst. While water delivery has largely been restored, "boil water" orders remain in effect for most people. The city estimates it could cost $2 billion to fix the city's water system. The crisis in Jackson, which is 82% Black, highlights how climate catastrophe threatens much of the nation's aging infrastructure. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba says while the city "contributes millions of dollar…
(2021-03-17). Pandemic NHS workers should be granted indefinite leave to remain — Aaron Gates-Lincoln. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
Migrant workers have been essential to the operations of the NHS ever since its inception in 1948. Over the decades, many programmes have been used to encourage and find overseas workers and help them migrate to the UK to be employed in the healthcare system, demonstrating our governments acknowledgment of how important they are. As …
(2021-03-17). Washington pressured Brazil not to buy 'malign' Russian vaccine. mronline.org 
MR Online
(2021-03-17). Cyprus to Purchase Russia's Sputnik Vaccine. globalresearch.ca "It will be a bilateral agreement, which was already approved a …
(2021-03-17). US Admits Waging InfoWar Against Russia's Sputnik Vaccine to "Combat Malign Influence" globalresearch.ca The Kremlin on Tuesday called out
(2021-03-17). Washington Pressured Brazil Not to Buy 'Malign' Russian Vaccine. globalresearch.ca There is evidence of competition and confrontation between Big Pharma conglomerates….
(2021-03-17). 20+ Countries Suspend Use of AstraZeneca Vaccine, but Regulators Insist 'Benefits Outweigh Risks'. globalresearch.ca More than
(2021-03-17). Palestine receives 1st batch of vaccines through WHO's Covax scheme. laprensalatina.com Jerusalem, Mar 17 (efe-epa).- The Palestinian territories on Wednesday received the first batch of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines through the World Health Organization's Covax mechanism. The Palestinian National Authority received over 60,000 doses, a third of which will be transferred to the Gaza Strip, an Israeli security source, which will coordinate the delivery to …
(2021-03-17). Why are hate crimes against Asian Americans on the rise? liberationnews.org 
Over the past year, we have seen an alarming surge in racist violence directed toward Asian Americans.
(2021-03-17). Environmentalists seek climate action in U.S. infrastructure bill. peoplesworld.org 
Environmental groups are launching a $10 million push for Congress to make climate change central to infrastructure legislation. "The Great American Build" campaign, a joint effort of Climate Power, the League of Conservation Voters and Potential Energy Coalition, will pressure lawmakers to include funding for climate action as part of the emerging infrastructure package. "Americans elected pro-climate …
(2021-03-17). The Impossible Peter Oborne. dissidentvoice.org 
On the face of it, Peter Oborne is impossible. It's not possible to be educated at Sherborne independent school, at Cambridge University, to work as political editor of the Spectator, as chief political commentator of The Daily Telegraph, as a journalist at the Evening Standard, as a commentator at the Express, to make nearly 30 …
(2021-03-17). South Asia: Sharp rise in child and maternal deaths due to COVID-19. news.un.org Severe disruptions in health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in an additional 239,000 child and maternal deaths in South Asia last year, United Nations agencies said on Wednesday.
(2021-03-17). India's Farm Crisis: "How Long Will the Lies Work?" counterpunch.org 
If it weren't for the violent blows of police lathi s, the farmers protesting in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district would not have left their protest site on January 27. "The protest had been going on for 40 days," says Brijpal Singh, 52, a sugarcane farmer from Baraut town, where the sit-in was held. "It was not
(2021-03-17). One year later: Don't forget about Breonna Taylor. peoplesworld.org 
Her death sparked a movement for change. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demand accountability for months following the killing of Breonna Taylor and other African Americans at the hands of police. On the one-year anniversary of Taylor's death, there is still justice to be fought for. The fight goes beyond a trending …
(2021-03-17). Columbia University forces TAs, RAs to strike, again. peoplesworld.org 
NEW YORK—For the second time in four years, Columbia University's intransigent bosses' refusal to meaningfully bargain for a contract with their more than 2,000 teaching assistants and resident assistants forced those workers to strike. The walkout began on March 16, even though a three-and-a-half-hour bargaining session was scheduled for that afternoon. The two sides are …
(2021-03-17). On January 6th, the U.S. Became a Foreign Country. juancole.com 
By Kevin Tillman | — ( Tomdispatch.com) — Just about everyone was shocked by what happened at the Capitol building on January 6th. But as a former soldier in America's forever wars, horrifying as the scenes were, I also found what happened strangely familiar, almost inevitable. I thought that, if only we had taken our …
(2021-03-17). Philippine activists demand: 'Stop the killings and arrests!'. workers.org 
"Kill them all!" ordered Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, addressing the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines on March 5. Two days later, state forces following the dictator's edict carried out a deadly attack on progressive activists in the Southern Tagalog region. Protest against the March 7 massacre . . . |
(2021-03-17). Biden administration 'tackling' difficult border situation, progressives say step up the pace. peoplesworld.org 
In its attempts to deal with rising numbers of immigrants at the southwest border, the Biden administration is facing strong criticism from many different sources, some of it legitimate but much of it outrageously hypocritical. The administration's head of Homeland Security insisted yesterday that the situation is "under control." He made that assertion during a …
(2021-03-17). Racial Justice and Civil Liberties: An Inseparable History at the ACLU. aclu.org 
After World War I, it quickly became clear that the war to make the world "safe for democracy" had not made America safe for equality. Anti-Black race riots ripped through Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., and even Elaine, Arkansas. In October 1919, after Black sharecroppers in Elaine convened a union meeting, newspapers labeled the effort a "Negro uprising." The state mobilized troops and mobs to quell the rebellion. The result was "possibly the bloodiest racial conflict in the history of the United States," concluded the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. | The American Civil Liberties Union's origin…
(2021-03-17). The Ongoing Calamity: US Collective Punishment of the Venezuelan People Must End. dissidentvoice.org 
Recent statements made by US officials suggest that Washington will continue to pursue a hardline policy on Venezuela. The new Biden Administration, however, needs to urgently rethink its approach. US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, remarked on February 3 that he "certainly" does not "expect this administration to be engaging directly with (President) Maduro." Namely, …
(2021-03-17). Defend voting rights! workers.org 
The former Republican president may be absent from the corporate media these days, but his racist and pro-rich ideas live on in all reactionary political institutions and organizations. This ideology flourishes in the Republican Party's current assault on the universal right to vote. We are well aware of the limitations . . . |
(2021-03-17). The watchdogs of imperialism and the Uyghur genocide slander. mronline.org 
MR Online