Daily Archives: March 8, 2021

2021-03-08: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-03-08). Unequal Britain: An academic defence of social inequality. wsws.org That COVID-19 is a "poor man's disease" which has hit the working class hardest—driven into unsafe workplaces under the policy of herd immunity—is a verifiable fact.

WSWS (2021-03-08). As US states reopen businesses and schools, experts warn of "hurricane" surge of COVID-19. wsws.org With states around the US reopening businesses and schools, health experts are warning of a massive surge of COVID-19 cases in the coming months as new variants take hold.

Online News Editor (2021-03-08). Vietnam rolls out vaccination campaign after successful Covid-19 management. laprensalatina.com Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Mar 8 (efe-epa).- Vietnam launched its vaccination program against Covid-19 on Monday with the inoculation of health workers with first shots manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, after having successfully managed the pandemic. According to a statement by the Ministry of Health on its website, more than a thousand workers …

Online News Editor (2021-03-08). Bangladesh reels from Covid-19 a year since first case. laprensalatina.com By Azad Majumder Dhaka, Mar 8 (efe-epa).- With exactly one year since the detection of the first coronavirus cases in Bangladesh on Monday, the country continues to reel from the impact of the disease, while the authorities have given mixed responses about the management of the pandemic. Bangladesh has registered 551,175 confirmed Covid-19 cases in …

_____ (2021-03-08). Brawling Over Vaccines: Export Bans and the EU's Bungled Rollout. strategic-culture.org By Binoy KAMPMARK | The European Union has been keeping up appearances in encouraging the equitable distribution of vaccines to combat SARS-CoV-2 and its disease, COVID-19. Numerous statements speak to the need to back the COVAX scheme, to ensure equity and that no one state misses out. And EU member states could be assured of a smooth vaccine rollout, led by the EU apparatus, humming with needle jabbing efficiency. Negotiating as a bloc, lower prices could be assured, along with an appropriate supply of vaccines across the 27 member states. | These initial hopes have been shredded. While the vaccination programs…

yenisafak (2021-03-08). Turkey gives 10M COVID-19 vaccine jabs nationwide. yenisafak.com Turkey has so far administered more than 10 million coronavirus vaccine jabs across the country, according to official figures on Monday.According to Turkish Health Ministry data, over 7.57 million people to date have received their first doses of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, while second vaccine doses were given to more than 2.44 million.In the commercial hub Istanbul, home to nearly one-fifth of Turkey's population, over 1.59 million coronavirus vaccine jabs were administered, including more than 1.17 million first doses and 419,717 second doses.Following Istanbul, more than 823,270 coronavirus vacc…

yenisafak (2021-03-08). Syria's Assad, wife test positive for COVID-19. yenisafak.com Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad, 55, and his wife Asma, 45, have both tested positive for coronavirus, according to local media reports.They are both in good health and stable condition, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.The couple will stay at home for two to three weeks of isolation before returning to work, it added.

Sonali Kolhatkar (2021-03-08). Why Big Pharma Shouldn't Have Any Control Over COVID-19 Vaccines. counterpunch.org At a recent virtual gathering of parents and faculty at my children's school, one parent who is a teacher and therefore eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine mentioned that she got her first Pfizer shot at a local pharmacy, and when she asked about a leftover dose that could be given to her husband rather

Megan Redshaw (2021-03-08). COVID Vaccine Injury Reports Grow in Number, but Trends Remain Consistent. globalresearch.ca According to data released today by the Centers for Disease Control …

teleSUR (2021-03-08). Togo Receives First Batch of AstraZeneca Vaccines. telesurenglish.net The government of Togo welcomed its first batch of AstraZeneca anti-COVID-19 vaccines as part of the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility at the Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport Sunday night. | RELATED: | The batch included 156,000 doses of vaccines, 157,500 syringes and 1,575 safety boxes to be used for immunization targeting health personnel and people over 50 years in the capital Lome and its outskirts. | "It's a landmark mo…

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2021-03-08). COVID-19 Vaccines, Access and the Intellectual Property Wars. globalresearch.ca By now, anybody speaking about vaccine equality and equity of access …

Kit Knightly (2021-03-08). 5 Ways They're Trying to Trick You into Taking the COVID "Vaccine" globalresearch.ca The vaccine rollout is in full flow now, the daily tickers …

John Buell (2021-03-08). Making the Covid Vaccine Less Accessible to Poorer Countries Is Dangerous for Everyone. commondreams.org COVID-19 and its variants reduce poor nations to producers of pathogens that will continue to disrupt economic and social life in wealthy nations. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-08). Syria: Bashar and Asma al-Assad test positive for Covid-19. middleeasteye.net Syria: Bashar and Asma al-Assad test positive for Covid-19 | Assad's office confirmed that the Syrian president and his wife had caught the novel coronavirus | Mon, 03/08/2021 – 12: 11 | Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for An official statement confirme…

Maria Fernanda Marcelino (2021-03-08). Women take the lead in fight to impeach Bolsonaro in Brazil. peoplesworld.org SAO PAULO—Today in Brazil, women are facing the advancement of predatory neoliberalism, imperialism, an anti-democratic state, the politics of death, and the extermination of the people, which has been escalating with the coronavirus pandemic. In 2016, women were the first to rise up and denounce the coup staged against the first female president elected in …

yenisafak (2021-03-08). Fauci warns lifting virus rules risks another spike in US. yenisafak.com US' top infectious disease expert has warned that easing coronavirus restrictions this early can cause another spike in the country.The decline is "starting to plateau," Anthony Fauci said on CBS' Face the Nation, adding it is happening "at a very high level, plateauing at a level of 60 to 70,000 new cases per day is not an acceptable level."Fauci's remarks came as Texas and Mississippi states lifted mask mandates and business capacity limits this week."So the message we're saying is that we do want to come back carefully and slowly about pulling back on mitigation methods. But don't turn that switch on and off b…

Staff (2021-03-08). Millions Mark International Women's Day as Pandemic Deepens Inequality, Violence Around the World. democracynow.org Millions of women around the world are taking to the streets today to mark International Women's Day — in a year where women have been disproportionately impacted by rising poverty, unemployment and violence during the pandemic. We hear voices from protests in the Philippines, Mexico and Guatemala.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-03-08). Around the World in 8 minutes: Mumia Abu-Jamal's struggle for justice and more. peoplesdispatch.org In this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes, we look at the struggle of Mumia Abu-Jamal for his rights and health, the development of various vaccine candidates in Cuba and the global mobilizations and preparations ahead of International Women's Day…

teleSUR (2021-03-08). Peru Starts Vaccinating the Elderly and Security Forces Members. telesurenglish.net Peru's Health Minister Oscar Ugarte Monday informed that health workers began immunizing the elderly, police officers, and Armed Forces soldiers in Lima with the Pfizer vaccine. | RELATED: | "We will vaccinate 3,000 people older than 80 years who suffer from a motor difficulty. The immunization will take place in the person's home," Ugarte said and informed that elderly people living in shelters and nursing homes will also be pr…

John Buell (2021-03-08). Rich Nations are Getting Vaccines, Poor Countries Not: Which is a Big Danger to Rich Countries. juancole.com Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) — Our commercial media have followed the ups and downs of the vaccine roll out in the United States even as much less attention is devoted to the experience of poor nations. Pundits and TV anchors periodically acknowledge that lethal viruses don't respect borders but seldom discuss the …

Mike Whitney (2021-03-08). Vaccine Diabolus and the Impending Wave of Rare Neurodegenerative Disorders. globalresearch.ca "I have come to lead you to the other shore; into …

teleSUR (2021-03-08). Cuba's Abdala Vaccine to Begin Phase III of Clinical Trials. telesurenglish.net Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday informed that the Abdala vaccine will start phase III of clinical trials this week in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo. | RELATED: | "We are one step closer to immunized all of our people," the President tweeted and informed the vaccine will enter the last phase of trials after the Control of Medicines, Equipment, and Medical Devices Center (Cecmed) approves…

M. K. Bhadrakumar (2021-03-08). Blinken Blinks on Human Rights. counterpunch.org On March 3, the US State Department has put on its website a hilarious statement titled The United States Opposes the ICC Investigation into the Palestinian Investigation. In a nutshell, the statement exposes that the Joe Biden Administration has blinked for a second time on the human rights situation in West Asia by refusing to

Eds. (2021-03-08). The birth of Marxism in France: Remembering the Paris Commune and Jules Guesde. mronline.org Guesde (1845-1922) introduced Marxism to France and contributed to building the Socialist Party in the north of the country, where the left, socialism, and then later communism became very strong.

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-08). "Is This Who We Are?": Gitmo is America's Enduring Shame. dissidentvoice.org "That's certainly our goal and our intention." This was the non-committal answer given by White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, when, on February 12, she was asked by a reporter whether the new Joe Biden Administration intends to shut down the notorious Guantánamo Bay Prison by the end of the president's first term in office. …

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-08). 'Is This Who We Are?': Gitmo is America's Enduring Shame. mintpressnews.com Even if Biden is able to overcome pressure from the military, from the CIA, and from Congress to shut Guantánamo down, justice will still be absent, not only because of the numerous lives that are forever shattered but because America still refuses to learn from its mistakes.

Eds. (2021-03-08). Why Cornel West's tenure fight matters. mronline.org I wrote letters for West's hire and renewal at Harvard. The school's administrators completely miss the point of tenure. — ROBIN D. G. KELLEY…

Raul Diego (2021-03-08). Public Fatigue, Distrust and Fear Taint Chauvin Trail Before it Even Begins. mintpressnews.com Jury selection in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was set to begin today, but a last-minute delay has added to the palpable tensions surrounding the case.

Eds. (2021-03-08). Digital colonialism: the evolution of American empire. mronline.org American "Big Tech" corporations are gaining massive profits through their control over business, labor, social media and entertainment in the Global South.

Alexandra Kollontai (2021-03-08). Celebrating International Women's Day. liberationnews.org To commemorate International Women's Day, we publishe excerpts from Kollontai's 1920 article, "International Women's Day," written just over two years after the October 1917 socialist revolution in Russia.

Jenni Monet (2021-03-08). Could Indigenous Midwifery Improve Maternal Health for Native Women? thenation.com Could Indigenous Midwifery Improve Maternal Health for Native Women?

Simone Chun (2021-03-08). Biden's Hawkish Cabinet Portends Renewed US Militarism in Northeast Asia. counterpunch.org Although the Biden administration has yet to present its North Korea policy, the new president's cabinet includes many career diplomats and business lobbyists advocating the Cold War policy toward Asia and personnel from hawkish think tanks financed by the military industrial complex, leading many Korea experts to predict that an aggressive militaristic policy with respect

Marilyn Bechtel (2021-03-08). The marvelous life of Marvel Cooke, pioneer Black woman journalist. peoplesworld.org At the intersection of African American History and Women's History months is a long list of Black women who have made history as civil rights, labor, and peace activists, educators, scientists, elected officials, physicians, astronauts, artists, and much more. Prominent among them, and combining several of those roles, is the journalist and activist Marvel Cooke. …

Juan A. Lozano (2021-03-08). Deep freeze just latest disaster to befall Houston's needy. peoplesworld.org HOUSTON (AP) — Ernest and Hester Collins already faced their share of hardships before last month's deadly winter storm plunged much of Texas into a deep freeze and knocked out power to millions of homes, including their modest rental in one of Houston's historically Black neighborhoods, Fifth Ward. The brother and sister were getting by …

Liberation Staff (2021-03-08). Rural Washington state rally demands: "Stop the war on Black America" liberationnews.org Some 50 assembled in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives Feb. 28 rally in Sequim, a small town in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state.

Alan Macleod (2021-03-08). Govt-Linked CSIS Urges DC To Partner with Social Media Firms To "Promote Protests Movements" mintpressnews.com Widespread protests were a feature of 2020, engulfing 68 nations. However, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a pro-regime-change think tank based in DC, is most preoccupied with those in China and Russia.

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (2021-03-08). NYT Fails to Examine Its Participation in Brazil's 'Biggest Judicial Scandal'. fair.org The Brazilian Supreme Court on March 8 dismissed all charges against former President Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva made during the Lava Jato investigation, a little over a month after the investigation was A small portion of the leaks, released slowly by the Intercept Brasil and local media partners in <...

Byul Ryanim (2021-03-08). The Weekly Round-Up: Ministerial Maternity Leave, a New Offence and Guidance on Visiting Gran (pt. 1). ukhumanrightsblog.com On Monday the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021 came into force, allowing the Attorney General, Suella Braverman QC, to be the first minister to take maternity leave. The Act grants cabinet ministers six months' maternity leave whilst retaining their government post, whereas in the past MPs would have to resign to take time off to give …

Eds. (2021-03-08). International Women's Day: A militant celebration. mronline.org Women's Day or Working Women's Day is a day of international solidarity, and a day for reviewing the strength and organization of proletarian women.

Diane Archer (2021-03-08). The Ghost of the Trump Administration Is Haunting Medicare. commondreams.org The Trump administration has outsourced Medicare to insurance companies and other for-profit middlemen, placing them between Americans and their doctors. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

John Clamp (2021-03-08). Somalia: a Knotted Web of Causes. counterpunch.org In one translation of Seneca's Oedipus Rex, the unfortunate (anti)hero laments his dark fate by complaining of being 'tangled in the knotted web of causes'. The words have an aptness far beyond their origin. Somalia is a perfect expression of the metaphor. Its dysfunction has so many potential—nay, likely—causative factors that who the hell knows

Chris Orlet (2021-03-08). Did Racist Images in Dr. Seuss Books Contribute to War Crimes? counterpunch.org A friend delights in sending me news stories that demonstrate what he says are the excesses of liberalism. One recent article that arrived in my inbox concerned Dr. Seuss Enterprises' decision to halt publication of six childrens' books it now believes contain racist imagery. "I didn't realize Dr. Seuss made us all racists," he quipped.

Calla Randall (2021-03-08). The Weekly Round-Up: Family Benefits and Domestic Abuse (pt. 2). ukhumanrightsblog.com In the news: The High Court will hear a case brought by a mother and her 11-month-old baby, who are arguing that they should not be excluded from the UK government's 'Healthy Start' scheme. The scheme provides vouchers for healthy food, nutritional advice, and vitamins to low-income families, but currently excludes many migrant families, including those who …

Dean Baker (2021-03-08). Economy Adds 379,000 Jobs in February; Unemployment Edges Down to 6.2 Percent. counterpunch.org The establishment survey showed the economy added 379,000 jobs in February. In addition, the figures from December and January were revised up by 38,000. This brings the average job gain over the last three months to 79,700. Employment in the survey stands at 9,475,000 below its year-ago level. The household survey showed the unemployment edging

Liberation Staff (2021-03-08). Rural Washington state rally demands: 'Stop the war on Black America'. liberationnews.org Some 50 assembled in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives Feb. 28 rally in Sequim, a small town in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state.

Tomdispatch (2021-03-08). We're Stalked by the 4 Horsemen of Apocalyptic Media: Rush, Roger, Rupert, and The Donald May Ride Forever. juancole.com By Robert Lipsyte | — ( Tomdispatch.com) — The Four Horsemen of our media apocalypse — Rush Limbaugh, Roger Ailes, Rupert Murdoch, and Donald Trump — have ridden roughshod over us this past half-century leaving their hoofprints on our politics, our culture, and our lives. Two of them are gone now, but their legacies, including …

Kerry-anne Mendoza (2021-03-08). The real reason England's angry white men hate Meghan Markle. thecanary.co Women of colour operate in the arena where two of society's deepest hatreds collide. It's where racism and patriarchy unite and create their beloved bastard: misogynoir. Most women of colour have experienced some version of what Meghan Markle is living right now. England's monarchy and its useful idiots hold a special hatred for women of colour who dare to grow into their own power. Meghan is Black, beautiful, brave, and she owes them nothing. | Misogynoir: | As women of colour, our bodies are simultaneously reviled and hyper-sexualised. To understand better how this works in reality, we can look at the k…

RT (2021-03-08). WATCH: Minneapolis battens down the hatches with extreme security ahead of trial of George Floyd's alleged killer. rt.com Authorities in Minneapolis have erected steel fencing, barbed wire and concrete barricades outside the city's courthouse and local police stations ahead of the Derek Chauvin trial, set to begin Monday. | The former police officer will stand trial for the May 25 killing of George Floyd in an incident which rocked the US to its core and triggered months of unrest and billions of dollar's worth of damage. | An estimated 15 million to 26 million people participated in Black Lives Matter protests in the US in the aftermath of Floyd's death. | Armored personnel carriers have been deployed and local Minneapolis polic…

RT (2021-03-08). Three police injured, SWAT vehicle damaged and local cars FLIPPED as Colorado university party turns violent (PHOTOS, VIDEOS). rt.com Three SWAT team officers were injured as violent revellers bombarded first responders with bricks and rocks, setting off fireworks and flipping a car during a wild Colorado university street party which attracted up to 800 people. | The violence occurred in the University Hill neighborhood of Boulder, Colorado on Saturday night, as hundreds of partygoers shot off fireworks and flouted social-distancing rules and mask-wearing advice. | #Boulder police arrived pic.twitter.com/t1Yd7Xkclq— Mitchell Byars (@mitchellbyars) RT (2021-03-08). Where's Biden hidin'? EVEN CNN begins asking questions, as president goes record time without press conference with Q&A. rt.com Joe Biden has gone longer without giving a press conference with questions and answers than any US president in modern history. Now the elation of his inauguration's worn off, even his allied media are beginning to wonder why. | Monday marked Joe Biden's 47th day in office, and also his 47th without appearing before the press to take questions. The president has sat down to several taped interviews, and has given brief soundbites to reporters at events, but not a single proper Q&A session has materialized. | He has gone longer without holding a press conference than any of his 15 most recent predecessors, all…