(2021-04-28). Jeremy Scahill Discusses Biden's "War Against Whistleblowers" truthout.org 
We continue our conversation with The Intercept's Jeremy Scahill, who just published a groundbreaking new project on Joe Biden's decades-long foreign policy record. Scahill says that during his years in the U.S. Senate, Biden "almost never meets a war he doesn't support," becoming one of the most hawkish figures in Washington in the 1990s and 2000s. Scahill also discusses Biden's "war against whistleblowers," from Daniel Ellsberg to Edward Snowden. | TRANSCRIPT: | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not b…
(2021-04-28). Jeremy Scahill on Biden's "War Against Whistleblowers," from Daniel Ellsberg to Edward Snowden. democracynow.org 
We continue our conversation with The Intercept's Jeremy Scahill, who just published a groundbreaking new project on Joe Biden's decades-long foreign policy record. Scahill says that during his years in the U.S. Senate, Biden "almost never meets a war he doesn't support," becoming one of the most hawkish figures in Washington in the 1990s and 2000s. Scahill also discusses Biden's "war against whistleblowers," from Daniel Ellsberg to Edward Snowden.
(2021-04-28). Waiting for Catastrophes While Living Under the Specter of Pandemic and War. thenation.com Waiting for Catastrophes While Living Under the Specter of Pandemic and War…
(2021-04-28). World police: Washington seeks to imprison foreign businesspeople for violating illegal US sanctions. thegrayzone.com In violation of international law, the US is seeking to extradite and imprison foreign businesspeople for circumventing its unilateral sanctions. Washington's targets include Venezuelan national Alex Saab, North Korean Mun Chol Myong, and Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. The United States uses economic sanctions as a weapon against states which choose a development path independent of US global domination. Sanctions can take the form of blocking a nation's financial and trade transactions, not allowing financial institutions to process them. The …
(2021-04-28). It's Time To End The Embargo Against Cuba — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Jacob G. Hornberger* | Now that Cuban president Raul Castro has resigned the presidency of Cuba, will the U.S. government lift its six-decades-long economic embargo against Cuba? | Don't count it. Squeezing the life out of the Cuban people as a way to get regime change has become such a normalized way of life for the United States that it is unlikely that this cruel and brutal policy will be ended anytime soon. | Back in the day, the embargo was justified as part of the Cold War against "godless communism" and, specifically, the international communist conspiracy that was supposedly based in Moscow, Russia,…
(2021-04-28). US Role Behind The Defeat Of Ecuador's Leftist Presidential Candidate. popularresistance.org The US role in the defeat of leftist Andrés Arauz in Ecuador's presidential contest on April 11 was not overt because it did not need to be, according to a high-ranking Latin American diplomat. We met with the diplomat and others on an official election observation delegation with CODEPINK. Names of some sources remain anonymous due to a hostile political environment towards progressives. | This setback for the Citizens Revolution movement, founded by Rafael Correa, will have profound implications for Ecuador and beyond, fortifying the US-allied reactionary bloc in Latin America. | Former President Correa left of…
(2021-04-28). Republicans Nationwide are Thwarting Democracy. counterpunch.org Republicans, inspired by Donald Trump's repeated lies of a "rigged" and fraudulent presidential election, boldly are passing and proposing laws that would rig elections in their favor, tarnishing democracy. In another vein, they have gone so far in Florida and Oklahoma as to pass legislation openly aimed at leftist demonstrators that would grant immunity from
(2021-04-28). Renewed Clashes in Colombo-Venezuelan Border Region Leave Several Dead. venezuelanalysis.com President Nicolás Maduro ordered the largest military operation in decades aimed at defending Venezuela's territorial sovereignty this past March.
(2021-04-28). The Cold War Has Already Turned Hot — on the Internet. juancole.com 
( Tomdispatch.com) — America has a serious infrastructure problem. Maybe when I say that what comes to mind are all the potholes on your street. Or the dismal state of public transportation in your city. Or crumbling bridges all over the country. But that's so twentieth century of you. America's most urgent infrastructure vulnerability is …
(2021-04-28). The End of the War in Afghanistan Is In Sight. thenation.com 
Despite the pressure of the American military high command, Biden has announced the beginning of the end.
(2021-04-28). Saudi Crown Prince Calls On Houthis To Join Peace Talks In Exchange For Financial Support. southfront.org 
Screen grab from MBS interview that was aired by the Saudi state TV. | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman praised the "Arabian" and "Yemeni" qualities of the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in a recent interview. | The interview was aired on the Saudi state TV on April 28 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Crown Prince's strategic development plan "Saudi Vision 2030". | In the interview, Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, criticizes the Houthis' alliance with Iran and their rebellion against the legitimate authorities in Y…
(2021-04-28). Sanctions, War Preparations And An Endless Supply Of Weapons For Kiev. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 21st a new act entered US Senate that will be voted on soon, titled Ukraine Security Partnership Act. | It passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee without a hitch and aims to increase and improve U.S. military support to Ukraine, and sends a message that the United States will continue to support the people of Ukraine, their ability to defend themselves, and the country's democratic transition."Today, as Russia masses more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, mor…
(2021-04-28). Military Situation In Donetsk People's Republic On April 28, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | 1. UAF in Avdiivka shelled the village of Spartak with three rockets | 2. UAF in Avdiivka shelled the village of Krutaya Balka with grenade launchers | 3. UAF in Krasnogorovka shelled the village of Staromikhailovka with grenade launchers | 4. UAF in Talakovka and Vodyanoe shelled Kominternovo with 120-mm artillery and grenade launchers | 5. DPR forces in Donetsk targeted UAF positions in Opytne with an ATGM | 6. DPR forces in Donetsk targeted UAF positio…
(2021-04-28). Military Situation In Iraq On April 28, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 27, a logistical convoy of the US military was targeted by an IED attack in the Basrah area | On April 27, a logistical convoy of the US military was targeted by an IED attack in the Naseriyah area | On April 27, a logistical convoy of the US military was targeted by an IED attack in the Diwaniyah area | On April 27, a logistical convoy of the US military was targeted by an IED attack in the Fallujah area | On April 27, clashes between Turkish Army and the PKK…
(2021-04-28). Afghanistan, The US Plan For A New Catastrophe. southfront.org 
Source: New Eastern Outlook | Written by Manlio Dinucci; Originally appeared at General Scott Miller, US and allied forces commander in Afghanistan, announced on April 25 the beginning of foreign troops withdrawal that should be completed by September 11, according to President Biden's decision. Is the US ending the war waged for almost twenty years? In order to understand this communication, it is first of all necess…
(2021-04-27). Two Spanish Journalists, An Irish National Abducted In Burkina Faso (Photos). southfront.org 
Illustrative Image | Two Spanish journalists and an Irish national were abducted in eastern Burkina Faso on April 26. They disappeared alongside a Burkinabe soldier after an attack on an anti-poaching military unit in a national park in the east of the country, near the border with Benin. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. | Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed that two Spaniards were killed, naming the victims. Both were described as seasoned war journalists. They reportedly had histori…
(2021-04-28). Military Situation In Syria On April 28, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 28, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 31 times: 19 — in Idlib province, 10 — in Latakia province, 2 — in Hama province | On April 27, clashes between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces were reported in the Um al-Jolud area | On April 27, ISIS claimed responsibility for the assassination of a SDF member in the al-Sawr area | On April 27, ISIS claimed responsibility for the assassination of a SDF m…
(2021-04-28). Military Situation In Yemen On April 28, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | The Liaison and Coordination Officers' Operations Room (loyal to Ansar Allah) reported 183 ceasefire violations in al-Hudaydah during the past 24 hours | On April 27, Saudi-led coalition warplanes conducted 17 airstrikes on the Sarwah area | On April 27, Saudi-led coalition warplanes conducted an airstrike on the Khab and Shaaf area | On April 27, Saudi-led coalition warplanes conducted an airstrike on the Hazm area | On April 28, Ansar Allah attacked King Khalid Airbase wit…
(2021-04-28). Workers Memorial Day: Nobody knows how many workers COVID-19 has killed. peoplesworld.org 
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (PAI)—Just before Halloween last year, 23 workers at the Midwest Warehouse and Distribution system plant in the Chicago suburb of Naperville got sick. Days before, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, they were close together in the company lunchroom. On Oct. 26, they started feeling symptoms and told supervisors. Midwest had anti-coronavirus …
(2021-04-28). Bottom-up Politics: Grassroots Activism Behind Pro-Palestine Shift in the US. dissidentvoice.org 
At a recent virtual J Street Conference, US Senators, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren broke yet another political taboo when they expressed willingness to leverage US military aid as a way to pressure Israel to respect Palestinian human rights. Sanders believes that the US "must be willing to bring real pressure to bear, including restricting …
(2021-04-28). "Empire Politician": Joe Biden's Half-Century Record on Foreign Policy, War, Militarism & the CIA. democracynow.org 
As President Joe Biden nears his 100th day in the White House, we look at his foreign policy record, both as president and over the past five decades. A new project created by Jeremy Scahill, award-winning journalist and senior correspondent at The Intercept, examines Biden's stances on war, militarism and the CIA going back to the early 1970s, when he was first elected as a senator in Delaware. We air a video discussing the project, titled "Empire Politician," featuring Scahill.
(2021-04-28). Jeremy Scahill: Joe Biden's Foreign Policy Record Shows Evolution of U.S. Empire Since Vietnam War. democracynow.org 
An investigation into President Joe Biden's foreign policy record reveals "the history of the evolution of the American empire, from the Vietnam War to the present," says Jeremy Scahill, award-winning journalist and co-founder of The Intercept, which recently published a project titled "Empire Politician" that examines Biden's stances on war and militarism. Scahill says Joe Biden is the first president in decades to come to the White House after spending significant time in Congress, but it's not clear whether that will push him toward greater restraint in matters of war and peace. "Biden has spent his entire lif…
(2021-04-28). UK Government Drops Bid to Shield Soldiers from War Crimes Prosecutions Committed in Iraq and Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca The UK government has abandoned attempts to shield members of its …
(2021-04-28). South Front: Azerbaijan to Become a Gateway for New Turkish-Israel Cooperation. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com South Front: Azerbaijan to Become a Gate for New Turkish-Israel Cooperation Background: Azerbaijan And The Caspian: NATO's War For The World's Heartland Pentagon Chief In Azerbaijan: Afghan War Arc Stretches To Caspian And Caucasus Excerpt: Azerbaijan has recently won in a military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Its victory was assured by numerous factors, including military support from Turkey, …
(2021-04-28). Is Grassroots American Activism Shifting Public Opinion toward the Palestinians? juancole.com ( Middle East Monitor) — At a recent J Street Conference online, US Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren broke yet another political taboo when they expressed willingness to leverage US military aid as a way of putting pressure on Israel to respect Palestinian human rights. Sanders believes that the US "must be willing to …
(2021-04-28). U.S.-funded Uyghur separatists trained as gun-toting foot soldiers: media. ecns.cn Behind a carefully constructed image as a peaceful movement, a Washington D.C.-based anti-China Uyghur separatist group operated a militia-style gun club that trains with ex-U.S. special forces, an independent news website, The Grayzone, has reported.
(2021-04-28). How The Federal Reserve Is Increasing Wealth Inequality. popularresistance.org Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the Federal Reserve has gotten plenty of kudos for moves that have helped stabilize the economy, kept house prices from tanking and supported the stock market. But those successes have obscured another effect: the inadvertent impact the Fed's ultra-low interest rates and bond-buying sprees are having on economic inequality. | Longstanding inequality in the U.S. has been exacerbated by the Fed's role in touching off a multi-trillion-dollar boom in stock markets — and stock ownership is heavily skewed toward the wealthiest Americans. | In contrast, soaring stock prices…
(2021-04-28). Capitalism prepares to fight wars, not the pandemic. wsws.org Last year, as more than 3 million people lost their lives amid a raging pandemic, governments around the world spent nearly $2 trillion on weapons and preparations for war.
(2021-04-28). Capitalism prepares to fight wars, not the pandemic. wsws.org Last year, as more than three million people lost their lives amid a raging pandemic, governments around the world spent nearly $2 trillion on weapons and preparations for war.
(2021-04-28). Amid Widespread Disease, Death, and Poverty, the Major Powers Increased Their Military Spending in 2020. commondreams.org "Someday, people will ask whether increasing preparations for war by these nations—mostly designed to destroy one another—was the best these governments could do as their populations sank into widespread disease, death, and poverty." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/airforce-1.jpg …
(2021-04-28). Special Economic Zones: Venezuela's Strategy for Breaking the US Encirclement. orinocotribune.com The Venezuelan government is fine-tuning the legal framework to strengthen the special economic zones (SEZs) already existing in its territory and to open space for foreign direct investment in a production scheme favorable to the Bolivarian nation. | Although the experiences of foreign investment have left little to Venezuela, the national Executive observes the recent changes in the global financial order in which the BRICS are gaining space and considers this an opportunity for the industrial development of the country. | There are eight SEZs in Venezuela that will be redefined with the new legal framework. Th…
(2021-04-28). Commander Ceballos: Venezuela Continues to Strengthen Military Presence in Apure. orinocotribune.com The Strategic Operational Commander of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (CEOFANB), Admiral Remigio Ceballos, highlighted this Tuesday, April 27, that the Venezuelan Army (FANB) will continue to increase the deployment of forces in Apure state to expel Colombian narco-paramilitary groups, drug traffickers and terrorists, to whom they have dealt heavy blows. Ceballos confirmed that the FANB will continue combat operations until they are all expelled from Venezuelan territory. | Through his Twitter account @CeballosIchaso, Admiral Remigio Ceballos wrote that the security of the nation, and the defense of all Vene…
(2021-04-28). Venezuela Boosts Gasoline Production Again. orinocotribune.com Caracas (Sputnik) — Amid the siege suffered by the oil industry, the Venezuelan government has recovered both gasoline production in the country and the capacities of its main refineries, an expert in public policies for energy, David Paravisini, told Sputnik. | "Last year at this date all the gasoline was imported, and a year later all the gasoline consumed in the country is produced here," said Paravisini, professor of public energy policies at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela, in conversation with Sputnik. "The refineries were scrap in 2020. Today, the El Palito refinery [in Carabobo, in the cent…
(2021-04-28). White House to Share Its Emergent BioSolutions, Unusable AstraZeneca Vaccine with Other Nations. globalresearch.ca There is war within Big Pharma. | Amply documented: all mRNA covid …
(2021-04-28). Last-Minute COVID Aid: Trump Era 'Warmth' Toward India Missing in Biden-Harris Admin, Author Says. sputniknews.com The Biden administration's hesitance to lend a hand to India, which has been severely hit by the second wave of COVID-19, was noticeable for all Indians, says journalist and author Suvam Pal. It is especially mind-boggling given Vice President Kamala Harris' praise for her Indian roots during the 2020 election campaign, according to the author.
(2021-04-28). The Fight to Ban Chemical Warfare Helped Us Battle Covid-19. thenation.com The Fight to Ban Chemical Warfare Helped Us Battle Covid-19…
(2021-04-28). New Delhi banquet hall transformed into COVID-19 Isolation Ward. ecns.cn A banquet hall temporarily converted to a COVID-19 ward for coronavirus patients. India has recorded the highest single-day spike in coronavirus infection. The report recorded 352,991 new COVID-19 cases and 2,812 people deaths in the last 24 hours amid an oxygen crisis.
(2021-04-27). New Delhi banquet hall transformed into COVID-19 Isolation Ward. ecns.cn A banquet hall temporarily converted to a COVID-19 ward for coronavirus patients. India has recorded the highest single-day spike in coronavirus infection. The report recorded 352,991 new COVID-19 cases and 2,812 people deaths in the last 24 hours amid an oxygen crisis.
(2021-04-28). Mike Pezzullo and Giving War a Chance. dissidentvoice.org Those madly titillated by conflict have become bolder of late in the corridors of the isolated Australian capital. In such spaces, insanity can be nurtured with a sickening attention to detail, much of it fictitious. One of the most powerful bureaucrats of the Australian Public Service has made a contribution to a war dance he …
(2021-04-28). Massachusetts nurses reject offer from Tenet Healthcare as US strike movement grows. wsws.org Striking St. Vincent Hospital nurses have rejected a proposal put forward by their bargaining committee and hospital management that called for a "committee" to review insufficient staffing levels every quarter and addressed none of the concerns that provoked the strike.
(2021-04-28). Venezuela Boosts Gasoline Production Again. orinocotribune.com Caracas (Sputnik) — Amid the siege suffered by the oil industry, the Venezuelan government has recovered both gasoline production in the country and the capacities of its main refineries, an expert in public policies for energy, David Paravisini, told Sputnik. | "Last year at this date all the gasoline was imported, and a year later all the gasoline consumed in the country is produced here," said Paravisini, professor of public energy policies at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela, in conversation with Sputnik. "The refineries were scrap in 2020. Today, the El Palito refinery [in Carabobo, in the cent…
(2021-04-28). Why Israel is alarmed. thealtworld.com Iran and its allies have had enough of Israeli attacks and provocations | It was no small matter for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene a meeting of Israel's top military and security chiefs along with its defense and foreign ministers on Saturday, 24 hours after a Syrian missile landed near the Dimona nuclear complex. | The media were told the emergency conference was a response to the recent spate of missile firings from the Gaza Strip. Its supposed aim was to deliver a warning to Hamas that Israel would invade or carpet-bomb the territory if violations of the de-escalation agreements persist. | But t…
(2021-04-28). Afghanistan's Green Future? — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By John Feffer* | Everyone has a different Doomsday scenario for Afghanistan once U.S. and NATO troops withdraw by September 11. | The Taliban will take over and reimpose their repressive social agenda. Al-Qaeda will multiply rapidly and again become a global threat. Rival warlords will split apart the country. Another wave of Afghan refugees will overwhelm Europe. | And then there's the scenario in which China basically takes over the country, or at least the most sought-after parts of the country: the resources that lie beneath Afghan soil. | "Afghanistan is one of the richest mining regions in the world, ho…
(2021-04-28). Taliban Invites Afghan Officials to Direct Talks. news.antiwar.com The Taliban continues to refuse to attend an Istanbul summit on peace talks, part of protesting against the US scrapping the May 1 pullout date. That doesn't mean that the Taliban aren't willing to continue the peace process, however. | Officials say that the Taliban have been Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the negotiation team, confirmed also getting a Taliban letter. His office…
(2021-04-28). A Cold War Mindset. zcomm.org Focusing on injustices in just a few 'bad' nations is a dangerous game…
(2021-04-28). Delay in Afghan peace process and the human cost of protracted conflict. peoplesdispatch.org The stalemate in the intra-Afghan peace talks has resulted in unabated violence between insurgents and government forces. In the latest round of violence, at least 19 individuals across eight provinces of Afghanistan lost their lives…
(2021-04-28). America Has a Problem With Poorly Trained Police Officers, Not 'Systemic Racism'. strategic-culture.org America can expect a future of artificially induced racial tensions as a number of good cops are forced to take the blame for a "systemic racism" | In what just might be the most misguided attempt at 'utopian' living ever conceived, progressive Democrats continue to demand the defunding and disbanding of police forces in cities around the country. Yet, like a doctor that has made the wrong diagnosis on a patient, such a radical idea will not bring peace and security to America's ailing neighborhoods. In fact, it will make them virtually unlivable. | The United States desperately needs a national debate on the roo…
(2021-04-28). Revived peace process, lasting calm, and a new constitution needed in Syria. news.un.org In addition to the challenges that all Syrians have faced during a 10-year conflict, women have experienced sexual and gender-based violence, early and forced marriage and trafficking, the country's UN envoy told the Security Council on Wednesday.
(2021-04-28). China, 40 plus countries launch Group of Friends on Safety and Security of UN Peacekeepers. ecns.cn The Group of Friends on the Safety and Security of United Nations Peacekeepers was launched here on Tuesday, under the joint initiative of China, Brazil, Indonesia and Rwanda.
(2021-04-28). China helps start UN peacekeeper support group. ecns.cn A group to support United Nations peacekeepers was launched on Tuesday under the initiative of China, Brazil, Indonesia and Rwanda.