(2021-04-16). Venezuela border conflict mixes drug trafficking and regime-change ambitions. peoplesworld.org 
Since mid-March, Venezuelan army units have been attacking and expelling Colombian operatives active in Apure state, in western Venezuela. Colombians have long used the border regions to prepare cocaine arriving from Colombia and ship it to the United States and Europe. Fighting has subsided; eight Venezuelan troops were killed. Seeking safety, 3,500 Venezuelans crossed the …
(2021-04-16). Anti-Blockade Digital Seminar: How to Turn Sanctions into Opportunities. orinocotribune.com 
With a presentation on the origin and reasons behind the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Venezuela by the US government, Hugbel Roa, Deputy to the National Assembly for the Bloque de la Patria, participated in the anti-blockade digital seminar "Is it Possible to Develop a Besieged Country?" | The event served as a platform to analyze how the financial and commercial attack against Venezuela intensified after Nicolás Maduro won the presidential election with popular support, following the physical departure of Commander Hugo Chávez. | In his speech, Roa detailed that it was Chávez who "guaranteed not only…
(2021-04-16). Violence for the Sake of Violence. counterpunch.org 
In the scene on the TV, we see a man lying on the ground, unmoving, his hands behind his head. His head is raised a bit so he can see what is coming toward him. We see four large men walking in a line toward this guy on the street. The four approach him slowly,
(2021-04-16). The "Footloose" Eco-Activism of Marnie Gaede. counterpunch.org 
Marnie Gaede has been selected to receive the Fund for Wild Nature's Grassroots Activist of the Year Award for 2021 for her many contributions to environmental activism. The overall arc of Marnie's multifaceted experiences can be connected with the word "footloose." Long before she became involved in saving whales and other wildlife, Marnie dated an
(2021-04-16). 8th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba: Between change and continuity. peoplesdispatch.org 
The Communist Party of Cuba is holding its 8th Party Congress which will focus on the renovation of leadership to take forward the revolutionary project…
(2021-04-16). Communicating Global Warming. counterpunch.org 
Given the success of the polluting industries in feeding the public with disinformation on global warming, we need to think about how to communicate global warming better than we have done so far. For that one needs to examine how to communicate complex problems such as global warming; there should be a framework for environmental
(2021-04-16). America's Neoliberal Financialization Policy vs. China's Industrial Socialism. counterpunch.org 
Nearly half a millennium ago Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince described three options for how a conquering power might treat states that it defeated in war but that "have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom: … the first is to ruin them, the next is to reside there in person, the third is to permit them to live under their own laws, drawing a tribute, and establishing within it an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you."
(2021-04-16). With coronavirus surging, Brazil tells women not to get pregnant until a 'better moment'. rt.com 
Brazil has asked women to "delay pregnancy" until the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, citing the threat of a coronavirus variant plaguing the country. Between new variants and vaccine risks, now is not a good time to be expecting. | "If it's possible, delay pregnancy a little until a better moment," Health Ministry official Raphael Parente said during a news conference on Friday, warning that the P1 variant of the coronavirus prevalent in Brazil "acts more aggressively in pregnant women." | Brazil has become one of the world's coronavirus epicenters lately, with 13.7 million cases of Covid-19 recorded and 365,000…
(2021-04-16). Vaccination Plan Advances: Venezuela Receives Fourth Shipment of Sputnik-V. orinocotribune.com 
Early in the morning of Thursday, April 15, the fourth shipment of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine arrived in Venezuela. These vaccines will be used to carry forward the Venezuelan immunization plan initiated on February 18. | The shipment was dispatched from Moscow, capital of the Russian Federation, and was carried by the Russian airline Azur Air. | To date, Venezuela has received 300,000 doses of the Sputnik-V vaccine, considered to be the most efficient vaccine in the world against COVID-19. | Moreover, Venezuela has included other COVID-19 vaccines in its vaccination plan, namely the Russian EpiVacCorona and t…
(2021-04-16). Letters From Minsk: the Warsaw Ghetto. counterpunch.org 
This is the sixth in a series about train and bicycle rides from Switzerland to Belarus, in those carefree days before pandemic lockdowns. From the Katyn Museum I biked to a Warsaw Ghetto memorial and the nearby Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Along the way, I found a small stretch of the
(2021-04-16). US senators introduce weapons oversight bill as Biden advances $23bn UAE arms sale. middleeasteye.net 
US senators introduce weapons oversight bill as Biden advances $23bn UAE arms sale | The bill would ensure congressional review of international weapons deals and protect against sensitive technology being sold to powers hostile to US | Fri, 04/16/2021 – 15: 40 | The UAE is set to become the second Middle Eastern country, after Israel, to acquire the US-made F-35 warplanes (Reuters/File photo) | Two senior Dem…
(2021-04-16). Cuban Talent Replaces Expensive Imports for Venezuela. orinocotribune.com 
Today, Cuban advice in Venezuela enables the "La Mariposa" electrical transformer recovery plant to stabilize operations and proudly display a savings of millions of dollars from import substitution. | Alexis Iván Landeiro Ferro, Cuban head of the factory, explained to Cubadebate that at first the Venezuelan technicians and engineers were trained, who later joined the project, aware of the importance of the task. | Currently , more than 8,000 electrical transformers and their components have been rescued, with savings in foreign currency of around 2,000 dollars for each unit in the international market. | "The pl…
(2021-04-16). Russia Begins Construction Of Over-The-Horizon 'Voronezh' Radar Station In Crimea. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | A project for the construction of a new missile early warning system "Voronezh" was approved in Crimea."Soon, work will begin on the construction of the station's foundation," a source at the office of the EWS General Designer On July 3, 2020, the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation, Sergei Surovikin, announced that the creation of a new radar station near Sevastopol would be completed in 2…
(2021-04-16). Combat Footage: Houthis Raid Positions Of Sudanese Forces In Yemen's Hajjah. southfront.org 
Screen grab from the Houthis' video. | On April 16, the Houthis (as Ansar Allah is known) released a video of a recent attack by their fighters on Sudanese forces in the northwestern Yemeni province of Hajjah. | The 18-minute video shows Houthi fighters attacking the Sudanese Armed Forces west of Harad. The Houthis storm a network of forward positions, mortar posts as well as a small village that was occupied by Sudanese soldiers. | The Houthis bold attack forced Sudanese troops to withdrew from their positions without showing…
(2021-04-16). Iran Produced First Batch Of 60% Enriched Uranium At Natanz Facility. southfront.org 
File image | Iranian scientists have produced the first batch of 60% enriched uranium, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, announced on April 16."I am proud to announce that at 00: 40 last night … young and pious Iranian scientists were able to obtain a 60% enriched uranium product," Qalibaf wrote in a Persian tweet on Friday. "We congratulate the brave people of the Islamic Iran on this success; the will of the Iranian people is miraculous and will thwart any conspiracy." | Earlier this…
(2021-04-16). 40 Years Late: Turkish Drone Targets House In Kobane Where PKK àñcalan Once Lived (Video). southfront.org 
Screen grab from the Hawar News Agency (ANHA) video. | Early on April 16, a Turkish combat drone struck a house in northeastern Syria where Abdullah àñcalan, the leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), once lived. | The house is located in the village of Alblur, 5 km to the west of the town of Kobane in northeastern Aleppo. The house is located only few kilometers away from the border line with Turkey."The targeted house is the house the commander stayed in during 1979 while crossing from northern Kur…
(2021-04-16). The Desperate Plans of the Southern Command. orinocotribune.com By Pasqualina Curcio — Apr 12, 2021 | The actions perpetrated since March 21 of this year by criminal groups coming from Colombia into La Victoria in the Venezuelan territory bordering our sister country, were not improvised. They are part of Plan B of the Southern Command to destabilize our nation and overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution. | In February 2016, the then Chief of the Southern Command, Kurt Tidd, wrote in a document titled Operation Venezuela Freedom-2: "It is indispensable to emphasize that the responsibility for the elaboration, planning and partial execution of Operation Venezuela Freedom-2 at…
(2021-04-16). US Withdrawal from Afghanistan May Lead to a Civil War and Proxy Struggle. globalresearch.ca U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced the withdrawal of American troops …
(2021-04-16). Beware of Covid PCR Testing and the Relentless "Vaccinate Vaccinate Vaccinate" Campaign. globalresearch.ca The validity of the PCR test has been questioned for months, …
(2021-04-16). WorkWeek Bessemer Amazon Lessons, Hanging Noose At USF, Labor & Brazil Pandemic & Zinn. indybay.org WorkWeek reports on the lessons of the Bessemer Amazon union election, the hanging noose at USF and the pandemic in Brazil and labor. Last WorkWeek hears a past presentation by labor historian Howard Zinn on the hidden history of the US working class.
(2021-04-16). COVID-19 May Fade, But Will the Tracking Tools Built to Fight It? aclu.org At the start of the pandemic, technologists and policymakers touted the promise of technology to track and warn individuals of potential COVID-19 exposure and high-risk areas. But whether due to overburdened contact tracers or the lack of early and coordinated adoption, those technologies never became a central part of the public health effort against the disease. | With attention now on various schemes for "vaccine passports," a concept
(2021-04-16). The Hawks Who Want War With Iran Are Working Overtime. counterpunch.org Just as talks between the US and Iran were taking place last week in Vienna, a cyberattack was carried out on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. Reports are that the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, was behind the attack that blacked out the facility just one day after Tehran launched new advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges and as
(2021-04-16). CrossTalk on Ukraine: Toward war? antibellum679354512.wordpress.com With new backing from the West, Ukrainian president says "The Army is ready" Tulsi Gabbard and Tucker Carlson: war with Russia over Ukraine could produce unimaginable nuclear catastrophe…
(2021-04-16). Contrary to What Biden Said, U.S. Warfare in Afghanistan Is Set to Continue. indybay.org The bombing will not stop…
(2021-04-16). Afghan Govt: Military Fully Prepared to Provide Security Without Foreign Troops. news.antiwar.com The Afghan government's National Security Council issued a statement Thursday warning the Taliban against miscalculation of the planned US military pullout from the country, saying that the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) Underlying this is the dismissal of the idea that the Afghan government will be overrun by the Taliban when the US finally does leave in September. That's certainly been a narrative for more than just the Taliban, with some officials as recently as…
(2021-04-16). Afghan Govt: Military Fully Prepared to Provide Security Without Foreign Troops. news.antiwar.com The Afghan government's National Security Council has issued a statement Thursday warning the Taliban against miscalculation of the planned US military pullout from the country, saying that the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) Underlying this is the dismissal of the idea that the Afghan government will be overrun by the Taliban when the US finally does leave in September. That's certainly been a narrative for more than just the Taliban, with some officials as recently…
(2021-04-16). After 34 Years, is Justice for the Murder of Sankara Coming Through Compaore's Trial? orinocotribune.com By Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza — Apr 13, 2021 | Thomas Sankara's revolutionary ideas, inspired by Marxism, were a thorn in the flesh for Western imperialism. The chain of dependency had to be kept intact and Sankara was bent on breaking that link. He was not interested in his country, Burkina Faso, to be a perpetual charity case for the West — a situation in which the West would continuously benefit at the expense of the Burkinabe people. | To thwart Sankara's ambitions of total economic emancipation (free from the Western economic model that kept extracting from the country through foreign debt), the re…
(2021-04-16). The Brutes Haven't All Been Exterminated. zcomm.org Assume that the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen are not people. Read news reports on the wars not ending. See if they don't make a lot more sense that way.
(2021-04-16). Yemen FM Urges World to Focus on Saudi, Emirati War Crimes. news.antiwar.com A new interview on DW Conflict Zone features Yemeni National Salvation Government (NSG) Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf, focusing on war crimes in Yemen over the course of the six year war. The NSG is the Sanaa-based government involving the Houthis and other parties opposed to the Saudi invasion. | The interview was extremely contentious, with Sharaf objecting to the characterization of himself as a Houthi, noting he is part of the GPC Party and that a lot of figures in the NSG are not Houthis. He also criticized efforts to paint the war crimes of the Houthis as the chief problem in Yemen. | Sharaf called f…
(2021-04-17). [Correspondence] Institutional racism and national lockdowns. thelancet.com Soham Bandyopadhyay1 claimed that the UK Government's national lockdown, announced in November, 2020, to control COVID-19, was an institutionally racist policy. Claims of institutional racism are serious allegations and thus warrant critical appraisal. I therefore raise three points.
(2021-04-16). The Country Moves Forward, Education Falls Back. popularresistance.org There's hope in the air, a scent of spring, anticipation of change, democracy may pull through. Why, then, with K-12 public schools, the broken promise, the dismay? | Biden raised hopes when he promised, Dec 16, 2019, that he'd "commit to ending the use of standardized testing in public schools," saying (rightly) that "teaching to a test underestimates and discounts the things that are most important for students to know." Yet on Feb 22, his Department of Education did an about-face, announcing, "we need to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on learning …parents need information on how their children are do…
(2021-04-16). Headlines for April 16, 2021. democracynow.org Eight Killed After Gunman Opens Fire at Indianapolis FedEx Warehouse, 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo Had Hands Up When He Was Shot Dead by Chicago Officer, Family of Daunte Wright Demands More Serious Charges for Officer Who Fired Fatal Shot, Derek Chauvin, Accused of Murdering George Floyd, Declines to Testify in His Own Defense, Court Vindicates Buffalo Cop Fired for Stopping a Fellow Officer from Choking Handcuffed Man, Dr. Fauci Shuts Down Rep. Jim Jordan in Heated Exchange over Public Health Measures, Pfizer Says COVID-19 Booster Vaccines Likely Needed Within a Year, India Reports Record 217,000 New Cases as Millio…
(2021-04-16). Medical Oxygen Plant Reactivated in Venezuela to Tackle COVID-19 Spike. orinocotribune.com The company Oxígenos del Centro CA (Oxicentro), was reactivated by government authorities and the healthcare staff in the municipality of Independencia (Santa Teresa del Tuy), Miranda state, with the goal of helping to provide oxygen to healthcare centers in the region. The privately owned industrial and medicinal oxygen plant had been inoperative for more than eight years. | The facilities were supervised and refurbished by officials from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), the scientific-technological council of Miranda, and the mayor's offices of the municipalities Independencia (Santa Ter…
(2021-04-16). Lokman Slim's War. popularresistance.org On February 4, a Lebanese employee of foreign embassies and NGOs was murdered in the southern Lebanese village of Addousiyeh. Few Lebanese people had heard of the 58-year-old socialite who had made his living in recent years by informing on his own community. | But the Western diplomatic and NGO community reacted in horror and grief, as did the small clique of Lebanese citizens who worked with them. The kidnapping and assassination of Lokman Slim on a dark and lonely road attracted substantial Western media attention as well. His death was immediately politicized, with Slim portrayed as a martyr slain for his cri…
(2021-04-17). [World Report] Turkey withdraws from treaty on violence against women. thelancet.com Activists object to Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, amid wider conservative ire over women's rights and attitudes towards gender. Kaya Genàß reports from Istanbul.
(2021-04-16). Monday 4/19: San Francisco Car Caravan: Justice on the Job for Fast-food Workers Now! indybay.org Starting point: 1335 Webster St, San Francisco, CA 94115-4232 | Masks and Social Distancing Required; Peaceful Car Caravan…
(2021-04-16). Saturday 4/17: Peaceful Rally in Support of AAPI Community in Santa Cruz County. indybay.org Watsonville Plaza, Main St., Watsonville…
(2021-04-16). China-bashing on Capitol Hill inspires Asian-American bashing in streets: Media. ecns.cn Demonizing China might feed U.S. nationalistic impulses, but unhelpful to finding common ground or building the required trust to ensure the peaceful coexistence between the two countries, said a recent opinion piece in the South China Morning Post.
(2021-04-16). Venezuela Border Conflict Mixes Drug Trafficking and Regime-Change Ambitions. counterpunch.org Since mid-March Venezuelan army units have been attacking and expelling Colombian operatives active in Apure state, in western Venezuela. Colombians have long used the border regions to prepare cocaine arriving from Colombia and ship it to the United States and Europe. Fighting has subsided; eight Venezuelan troops were killed. Seeking safety, 3,500 Venezuelans crossed the
(2021-04-16). Kiev: American Envoy Says US Supports Ukraine Against 'Russian Aggression'. news.antiwar.com Today's Interfax Ukraine reports American chargé d'affaires to Ukraine Kristina Kvien adjuring Russia to cease "aggressive actions" against Ukraine — though she didn't cite any specific examples of such actions — or it would face consequences. What in diplomatic language is called diktat. It's not for nothing that Kvien has a master's degree from the U.S. …
(2021-04-16). White House: Changing Cuba Policy Is Not a Priority for Biden. news.antiwar.com Changing policy towards Cuba and giving the country sanctions relief is not a foreign policy priority for President Biden,
(2021-04-16). Russia to Expel 10 US Diplomats in Response to Biden's Actions. news.antiwar.com On Friday, The US "Ten diplomats were on a list the US side handed over to us asking to ensure their leavi…
(2021-04-16). Democrats Reintroduce Bill to Block US From Using Nuclear Weapons First. news.antiwar.com A pair of Democratic lawmakers in the House and the Senate reintroduced a bill on Friday that would prohibit the US The bill reads: "It is the policy of the United States to not use nuclear weapons first." The legislation will be reviewed by the foreign affairs committees of each chamber of Congress. | A no first use bill was introduced by Smith and Warren…
(2021-04-16). Ukraine: President Pushes Shortcut to NATO as Government Publishes Map of Bomb Shelters. news.antiwar.com Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a newspaper interview has called insistently for his country being admitted to NATO even before all necessary internal reforms are completed, citing for the pressing nature of his demand what he called Russian aggression. He didn't describe any incidents of intrusions into or attacks against Ukraine in his statement. An …
(2021-04-16). Craving Forbidden Intimacy. counterpunch.org I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Rush Limbaugh, in his private life, was a warm, funny, and affectionate man, generous and welcoming to those drawn by his charm. Yet he spread public poison in his radio persona. I feel sorrow that Rush Limbaugh apparently died unrepentant of his poison. It's a big load of
(2021-04-16). US to Withdraw from Afghanistan after Two Decades of War Leaving Behind a Tortured Wasteland and Having Accomplished… Nothing. globalresearch.ca The US decision to leave Afghanistan without any conditions represents a …
(2021-04-16). Genocide Drowned out by Media Silence: The Yemen War Six Years Later. globalresearch.ca "Life has become very difficult. We spend all our time looking for basic life necessities. We spend hours searching for either oil, electricity, solar energy, gas, any way to provide for our basic necessities, a life that is difficult in …
(2021-04-16). Media Once Again Trolling US Withdrawal From Afghanistan. popularresistance.org I don't write much about the specific individuals who drive the oligarchic empire because individuals are not the problem, the system is. Right-wing conspiracy analysts prefer to focus on specific corrupt elites because they like to think if you just got rid of them, capitalism would work fine. And it just wouldn't. If you rounded up and executed all the sociopathic ruling elites today but left our current systems intact they'd just be replaced tomorrow. A competition-based model where war, corruption, oppression and exploitation remain profitable guarantees this. | A lot of right-wing conspiracy analysis today u…
(2021-04-16). Daunte Wright's Killing Makes the Case for Shrinking Police Budgets. indybay.org Three weeks into the Minneapolis trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd, a white police officer in the neighboring suburb of Brooklyn Center killed a young Black man named Daunte Wright and illustrated in tragic terms just how law enforcement remains engaged in a racist war on Black America in spite of national scrutiny.
(2021-04-16). The US war in Afghanistan: A historic crime. indybay.org Biden's announcement of the nominal end of the war in Afghanistan provides an occasion for drawing a balance sheet of a savage military operation which has produced incalculable suffering for the people of Afghanistan, squandered vast resources and brutalized American society.