Daily Archives: March 10, 2021

2021-03-10: News Headlines

Fight Back (2021-03-10). Justice for George Floyd rally in Michigan, police arrest protest leaders. fightbacknews.org Grand Rapids, MI – 100 people joined the Justice for George Floyd rally on March 8 at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids, the largest turnout since winter began. | "We are standing in solidarity with our comrades in Minneapolis as we march for justice for George Floyd on the first day of the Derek Chauvin trial," said Aly Bates, president of Justice for Black Lives. | Last summer, protests erupted across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd. In Grand Rapids over 2000 people surrounded the police station demanding that justice be served. That movement continues to this day. | "We are here in solida…

Eric Umansky (2021-03-10). Over 700 complaints about NYPD officers abusing Black Lives Matter protesters, then silence. nationofchange.org Emails show New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board leaders discouraged staff from confronting the NYPD about a lack of cooperation on abuse investigations.

Will Miller Social Justice Lectures (2021-03-10). Thursday 3/11: Labor and the Struggle for Series: Black Lives Matter at School. indybay.org Online event…

Editor (2021-03-10). Migrant deaths: Who's the REAL culprit? workers.org It didn't have to happen. But, tragically, it did. And most likely, it may not be the last time. On March 2, 12 people were killed instantly when the SUV they traveled in was hit broadside by a tractor-trailer truck on a California highway. The accident happened on the outskirts . . . |

MEE, agencies (2021-03-10). Mediterranean: Dozens dead after two migrant boats capsize off Tunisia. middleeasteye.net Mediterranean: Dozens dead after two migrant boats capsize off Tunisia | At least 39 migrants are dead as numbers attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean continue to rise | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 10: 56 | A member of the Tunisian coastguard during a patrol of the area near Tunisia's northern town of Bizerte on 30 March 2017 (AFP) | At least 39 migrants have died after two boats…

The Socialist Program (2021-03-10). In the News: The Role of Slave Labor in American Capitalism Before and After the Civil War. liberationnews.org This interview is an episode of The Socialist Program with Brian Becker, a podcast providing news and views about the world for those who want to change it. You can follow the show on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss the …

Binoy Kampmark (2021-03-10). COVID-19 Vaccines, Access and the Intellectual Property Wars. counterpunch.org By now, anybody speaking about vaccine equality and equity of access must surely be coming across as slightly deranged. In the field of COVID-19, traditional proprietorial instincts remain. Add to this the disparity in terms of manufacture, bureaucracy and the nasty flavour of politics, and we would all be entitled to long draughts of cynicism.

Jason Tschantre (2021-03-10). Detroit workers rally in support of Amazon unionization efforts. liberationnews.org In addition to their support for the Alabama Amazon workers, the protesters called attention to unsafe working conditions inside Detroit Whole Foods, where 24 workers contracted COVID-19 in late February.

Leila Rafei (2021-03-10). Meet the Activists Fighting to Free People from LA Jails. aclu.org Over the last year, the criminal legal system's many injustices dominated mainstream discourse as people took to the streets to grieve and protest the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police, and COVID-19 took a devastating toll on people in jails and prisons. These events galvanized many people into action — in the streets, at statehouses, and online — inspiring them to join activists who have challenged the criminal legal system's disproportionate and often tragic impact on communities of color.
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| One of the organizations at the forefront of this movement is the Youth Justic…

Raul Diego (2021-03-10). Digital Health Pass: IBM and Moderna Hook Up to Capitalize on COVID Reset. mintpressnews.com Using what have already become clichéd industry buzzwords like "transparency," "trust," and even "privacy," IBM's Digital Health Pass marketing describes the mass tracking app as a "smart way to return to society" that allows people to "return to the activities and things they love."

Derek Ford (2021-03-10). "Coronacare Hawai'i" continues despite private security team's harassment. liberationnews.org Coronacare is a mutual aid network organizing to address the unmet needs of their community, whose conditions have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their efforts this past year have focused on delivering food and household supplies to thousands of community members, including expecting mothers, elders, immunocompromised people, and other working families across the entire …

Jomo Kwame Sundaram (2021-03-10). Prioritise pandemic relief, recovery: No time for debt buybacks. mronline.org Developing country governments are being wrongly advised to use their modest fiscal resources to pay down accumulated debt instead of strengthening pandemic relief and recovery. Thus, debt phobia risks deepening and extending COVID-19 recessions by prioritizing buybacks.

Eds. (2021-03-10). On Covid and the plague of Capital. mronline.org Industrial agriculture, habitat destruction, global commodity chains and the travel network have set up this perfect storm of conditions, not just for COVID, but also for future pandemics.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-03-10). Greeks protest rising police atrocities against citizens. peoplesdispatch.org Instances of police brutality have been increasing across Greece as authorities attempt to ban popular protests by student and youth groups and the working class under the garb of COVID-19 protocols…

Staff (2021-03-10). Mumia has COVID-19, supporters demand his release. therealnews.com Mumia Abu-Jamal has been in prison since 1982. Already plagued by health issues, including hepatitis C, Mumia was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, and supporters are demanding he be released.

Betsey Piette (2021-03-10). Mumia has COVID-19 — the only treatment is his freedom! workers.org Word has come that Pennsylvania political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal has tested positive for COVID-19. Supporters learned of the diagnosis March 3, as they were gathered in front of the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to call for Abu-Jamal's release and that of all incarcerated people over 50, who . . . |

_____ (2021-03-10). Nazi Healthcare Revived Across the Five Eyes: Killing Useless Eaters and Biden's COVID Relief Bill. strategic-culture.org The individual most responsible for reviving Obamacare and the associated "Independent Payment Advisory Board" of cost-effectiveness "experts" under Joe Biden is the same figure who crafted the original Affordable Care Act in 2009. | "The ill-conceived `love of thy neighbor' has to disappear, especially in relation to inferior or asocial creatures. It is the supreme duty of a national state to grant life and livelihood only to the healthy and hereditarily sound portion of the people in order to secure the maintenance of a hereditarily sound and racially pure folk for all eternity…" | — Dr. Arthur Guett, Na…

Global Research News (2021-03-10). Selected Articles: The Collapse of Trust in Public Health. globalresearch.ca By Corporate news sources are reporting that Austria has suspended their roll-out of the experiment…

RT (2021-03-10). 'Borat' star Sacha Baron Cohen gets called out as satire-blind comedian after demanding Facebook censor Bill Gates-vaccine joke. rt.com Sacha Baron Cohen, an actor known for satirical comedy, apparently couldn't spot the satire in an image portraying Bill Gates as a sinister vaccine conspirator and blasted Facebook for failing to censor the joke. | "Mark Zuckerberg, how do you sleep at night?" the "Borat" creator asked Tuesday on Twitter. "This is on Facebook's Instagram right now. Your algorithms are still recommending lies about Covid and vaccines. How many people have to die before you act?" | Mark Zuckerberg, how do you sleep at night? | This is on Facebook's Instagram right now. | Your algorithms are STILL recommending lies about Covid an…

MEE staff (2021-03-10). Israel's Netanyahu set to visit UAE on Thursday. middleeasteye.net Israel's Netanyahu set to visit UAE on Thursday | Trip marks first visit by Israeli prime minister since signing of a normalisation deal with the United Arab Emirates in September | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 14: 42 | Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a visit to a health centre in the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem, as an Israeli citizen receives the Covid-19 vaccine (AFP) | Israeli Prime Minister Benj…

Staff (2021-03-10). In Rejection of Austerity, Democrats Push Forward Landmark $1.9 Trillion Relief Package. democracynow.org As President Joe Biden prepares to sign the sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID relief package into law, we speak with economist Stephanie Kelton, author of "The Deficit Myth," about how the bill could help cut child poverty in half and provide a historic economic boost to the poorest people in the United States. "This is a piece of legislation that recognizes the immense pain that exists all across this country, and it delivers help," says Kelton, a professor at Stony Brook University and former adviser to Bernie Sanders.

Rebecca Gordon (2021-03-10). Can Biden-Harris make a Counter-Revolution against Reaganism and Restore Dignity to Work? juancole.com ( Tomdispatch.com ) — A year ago, just a few weeks before San Francisco locked itself down for the pandemic, I fell deeply in love with a 50-year-old. The object of my desire was a wooden floor loom in the window of my local thrift shop. Friends knowledgeable on such matters examined photos I took …

Rayhan Uddin (2021-03-10). Khashoggi documentary and Palestinian film nominated for BAFTAs. middleeasteye.net Khashoggi documentary and Palestinian film nominated for BAFTAs | Mauritanian Guantanamo detainee film also recognised, among surprisingly diverse shortlist for British award ceremony | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 14: 02 | Khashoggi murder documentary 'The Dissident', and British-Palestinian film about checkpoints earn BAFTA nominations (The Dissident/The Present) | A documentary about the murder of Saudi journ…

PSL Birmingham, Alabama (2021-03-10). A revolutionary driven by love for the people, Zack Patterson (1987-2021). liberationnews.org Zachary "Zack" A. Patterson, age 33, a three time war veteran, member of the Birmingham Branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and our newest representative of the local Education Committee, died on Feb. 9, 2021. His life was taken as a result of the mental traumas inflicted on him by the U.S. imperialist …

B. R. Gowani (2021-03-10). Sahir at 100: Raising Socio-Political Awareness Through Poetry. counterpunch.org Sahir was a brilliant poet who devoted his poetry to raise awareness of the common folks to the reality of the prevailing social and political issues. His poignant and often heart wrenching words also echoed the intense love and loss of humans in relationships. His great and undying love for his mother created in him

Monica Moorehead (2021-03-10). One year after her death — Remembering Breonna Taylor. workers.org At first, few people knew of the heinous crime carried out by three white Louisville, Ky., police officers responsible for the murder of a 26-year-old African American emergency medical technician, Breonna Taylor, on March 13, 2020. Breonna Taylor was honored with a 7,000-square-foot mural in Annapolis, Md. Taylor was shot . . . |

Eds. (2021-03-10). 100 days of revolt, & still raring to go. mronline.org As the farmers' protest against farm laws enters the summer season, they brave high temperatures and the paucity of basic necessities…

Jerry Goldberg (2021-03-10). Amazon pays little in taxes, makes record profits. liberationnews.org The union drive of Bessemer, Alabama, Amazon workers has shed the light on the oppressive, unsafe working conditions and low wages for Amazon workers at its warehouses, fulfillment centers and Whole Foods markets.

Staff (2021-03-10). Brazil: Lula strikes back. therealnews.com In a huge win for the left and for democracy, Brazil's Supreme Court has annulled corruption convictions against former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, making it possible for Lula to challenge Jair Bolsonaro for the presidency in the next election.

Dean Baker (2021-03-10). The Environment Versus How Many Jobs? counterpunch.org The Washington Post had an article on concerns among unions about job loss due to various measures from the Biden administration to promote clean energy. The article noted concerns that Biden's agenda may lead to the loss of good-paying jobs in the fossil fuel sector. It would have been helpful to point out how many

Kenneth Surin (2021-03-10). The Future of Gerrymandering in Virginia. counterpunch.org Indexes, such as the Democracy Index published by The Economist's Intelligence Unit, have to be taken with a grain of salt— one suspects that neoliberal western countries get a somewhat easier ride from The Economist. In any event, the Democracy Index is fraught with anomalies. In the 2020 Index, the US is ranked 25thout of

W. T. Whitney, Jr. (2021-03-10). Recurring political crisis in Haiti connects with U.S. racism. mronline.org Haiti faces serious political crisis. The country has experienced great political difficulties ever since gaining independent nationhood in 1804. Impaired governance stems in large measure from U.S. meddling over many years. We examine the current crisis and the basis for U.S. zeal to curtail Haiti's future.

Staff (2021-03-10). Bloody Sunday in the Philippines: 9 dead, 6 arrested in crackdown on activists. therealnews.com The killings came two days after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered police and soldiers to kill communist insurgents in all encounters.

Deirdre Griswold (2021-03-10). Remembrances of a warehouse order picker. workers.org Think 1956. That's 65 years ago — the year this writer dropped out of college and took a full-time job in a warehouse to get a more important education: learning what it was to be a worker. Warehouse pickers. In these intervening years, millionaires have gone on to become multimillionaires . . . |

Ian Angus (2021-03-10). Intensive fishing and the birth of capitalism, Part 2. mronline.org While treasure fleets carried silver to Spain, far more ships were carrying men, fish and whale oil across the North Atlantic.

Dan Corjescu (2021-03-10). Reason, Sociability, and Ethics. dissidentvoice.org Aristotle famously said that man was a social animal: Œ∂·ø∑ŒøŒΩ œÄŒøŒªŒπœÑŒπŒ∫œåŒΩ. He also strongly implied that what distinguished man from all other animals was his rationality. Today this description seems to make more sense than ever. Human beings, contrary to the contract theorists such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, were never lone beings in search …

Eugene Puryear (2021-03-10). Stimulus and struggle: Congress short-changes the working class. liberationnews.org The amended version of the Biden administration's stimulus plan was passed by the House of Representatives today, the last step before it goes to the president's desk to be signed into law. It took over two months to approve the bill which, by any measure, does not meet the scale of the grave economic and …

Monica Moorehead (2021-03-10). One year after her death — Remembering Breonna Taylor. workers.org At first, few people knew of the heinous crime carried out by three white Louisville, Ky., police officers responsible for the murder of a 26-year-old African American emergency medical technician, Breonna Taylor, on March 13, 2020. Breonna Taylor was honored with a 7,000-square-foot mural in Annapolis, Md. Taylor . . . |

Deirdre Griswold (2021-03-10). Remembrances of a warehouse order picker. workers.org Think 1956. That's 65 years ago — the year this writer dropped out of college and took a full-time job in a warehouse to get a more important education: learning what it was to be a worker. Warehouse pickers. In these intervening years, millionaires have gone on to . . . |

MEE staff (2021-03-10). Israel arrests imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque Ekrima Sabri. middleeasteye.net Israel arrests imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque Ekrima Sabri | Former grand mufti detained as he prepared his Friday sermon, says his wife | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 14: 34 | Ekrima Sabri is the former grand mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, and the imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Twitter)
| Israeli authorities on Wednesday arrested the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Shiekh Ekrima Sabri, at his home in occupied East Jerusalem, his fa…

Ted Kelly (2021-03-10). Could depletion of fertile soil trigger a bigger U.S. food crisis? workers.org U.S. farmland in the Midwest has lost over one-third of the soil necessary to sustain crop production, according to scientists at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The study concluded that fertile soil has been destroyed — not as a result of natural wind and water erosion, but by a century of . . . |

Eds. (2021-03-10). Report: U.S. preparing cyberattack against Russia over SolarWinds hack. mronline.org Sources told The New York Times that the first major actions are expected sometime in the next three weeks.

Greta Anderson (2021-03-10). Wolves Will be Wolves, So Let's Manage the Humans. counterpunch.org Let's start with some facts: 1) The majority of New Mexicans want to see Mexican wolves recovered. 2) Public lands livestock are a leading source of conflict for the wolf recovery program. 3) Livestock on public lands displace native wildlife through competition for food and driving them out of preferred habitats. 4) Public lands livestock

Elic Weitzel (2021-03-10). History Shows Privatized Space Colonization Will Be Disastrous. dissidentvoice.org Elon Musk and his company SpaceX have become a regular feature in news cycles. SpaceX succeeded in landing a team of astronauts on the International Space Station in November 2020, in partnership with NASA. The next month, the company lost a rocket in an explosion while attempting to land after a test flight. Another rocket …

Ruby Peacock (2021-03-10). 'Revenge porn' is a misnomer. ukhumanrightsblog.com Why we should replace 'revenge porn' with 'image based sexual abuse' and reform the mens rea of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 The digital world is becoming an increasingly dominant part of daily life. This has been thrown into sharp relief by the current public health crisis, which has seen almost every facet …

PAI (2021-03-10). PRO Act passes House, Senate Republicans plan to kill it. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—After another boost from Democratic President Joe Biden, the Democratic-run House passed the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the most wide-ranging, pro-worker rewrite of labor law since the original National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Debate lasted into the evening of March 9. The 225-206 vote ended at 8: 56 pm EST. Only …

Melvin Goodman (2021-03-10). When Imagination Failed: Revisiting Intelligence Failures. counterpunch.org Yogi Berra opined that "it's tough to make predictions, especially about the future," but over the past 80 years there has been more than enough intelligence collected to prevent costly failures. From Pearl Harbor in 1941 to this year's invasion of the Capitol, there were strong intelligence indicators of the tumultuous events that were to

Steve Topple (2021-03-10). A BBC article on Piers Morgan is nearly as vile as him. thecanary.co THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS REFERENCES TO PEOPLE TAKING THEIR OWN LIVES. SOME READERS MAY FIND THIS DISTRESSING. | The BBC's media editor just wrote one of the worst articles on Piers Morgan's job loss yet — because he didn't take a critical look at the ex-Good Morning Britain (GMB) host's comments. His article glossed over Morgan's staggering

The Conversation (2021-03-10). How a 'feminist' foreign policy would change the world. juancole.com By Rollie Lal and Shirley Graham | — The Biden administration has a woman, Vice President Kamala Harris, in its second-highest position, and 61% of White House appointees are women. Now, it has declared its intention to "protect and empower women around the world." Gender equity and a gender agenda are two ingredients of a …

A Guest Author (2021-03-10). Apache Stronghold forces U.S. government retreat. workers.org APACHE STRONGHOLD MAKES U.S. GOVERNMENT RETREAT CAUSING 9th CIRCUIT DENIAL OF EMERGENCY INJUNCTION CASE STILL PROCEEDS ON EXPEDITED BASIS Apache Stronghold activists opposing copper mine gather outside the Arizona Chamber of Commerce in Feb. 2020. OAK FLAT, AZ — This afternoon [March 5] the 9th Circuit Court . . . |

A Guest Author (2021-03-10). Apache Stronghold forces U.S. government retreat. workers.org APACHE STRONGHOLD MAKES U.S. GOVERNMENT RETREAT CAUSING 9th CIRCUIT DENIAL OF EMERGENCY INJUNCTION CASE STILL PROCEEDS ON EXPEDITED BASIS Apache Stronghold activists opposing copper mine gather outside the Arizona Chamber of Commerce in Feb. 2020. OAK FLAT, AZ — This afternoon [March 5] the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied . . . |

Manlio Dinucci (2021-03-10). La peligrosa estrategia de ‚ÄéEstados Unidos y la OTAN en Europa‚Äé. globalizacion.ca Tanto la OTAN como la Unión Europea son hijas del Plan Marshall. De hecho, son las ‚Äédos caras de una misma moneda. Pero la OTAN está por encima de la Unión Europea ‚Äéen la medida en que —según los tratados—…

Ralph Underhill (2021-03-10). GMB leaks Piers Morgan replacement shortlist. thecanary.co Image description | This cartoon begins with the text title "GMB leaks Piers Morgan replacement shortlist". Bellow that are the following list of names: | Katie Hopkins | Jim Davidson | Nigel Farage | Tommy Robinson | The reanimated corpse of Enoch Powell | Each of the names has a caricature of that person beside it. | By

Nadda Osman (2021-03-10). Bahrain: Detained children abused, threatened with rape and electrocution. middleeasteye.net Bahrain: Detained children abused, threatened with rape and electrocution | A report details how children arrested in protest-related cases have been prosecuted as adults and abused while in detention in the Gulf country | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 15: 05 | Riot police near the British embassy in Manama prior to an anti-government protest in support of Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, 16 Febr…

RT (2021-03-10). Mumford & Sons banjo player apologizes for endorsing Andy Ngo book, critical of Antifa, 'takes time' off the band amid backlash. rt.com Hounded by a mob of enraged netizens, Mumford & Sons banjo player Winston Marshall has retracted an endorsement of conservative journalist Andy Ngo's book on Antifa, drawing accusations of caving in to "bullies." | "Over the past few days I have come to better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed," the British musician wrote in a tweet on Tuesday night. "I have offended not only a lot of people I don't know, but also those closest to me, including my bandmates and for that I am truly sorry." | As a result of my actions I am taking time away from the band to examine my blindspots… Please know tha…

RT (2021-03-10). Senate confirms Merrick Garland, once snubbed for Supreme Court, as Biden's attorney general. rt.com Merrick Garland, a federal judge whose nomination for the US Supreme Court was blocked by Republicans in 2016, was easily confirmed as President Joe Biden's attorney general in a 70-30 Senate vote. | Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who led the effort to ignore President Barack Obama's nomination of Garland following the February 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia, was one of the votes in favor of confirming him as the new head of the Justice Department on Wednesday. | "I'm voting to confirm Judge Garland because of his long reputation as a straight shooter and a legal expert," McConnell said…

_____ (2021-03-10). NATO Expanding Its‚ÄØDoorstep‚ÄØto the Edge of Russia. strategic-culture.org Through the 1990s, during the terms of US President Bill Clinton, NATO relentlessly and inexorably expanded through Central Europe. Today, the expansion of that alliance eastward — encircling Russia with fiercely Russo-phobic regimes in one tiny country after another and in Ukraine, which is not tiny at all — continues.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2021-03-10). Joe Biden y los idus de marzo del Pentágono: øEl mejor mes para lanzarse a la guerra? globalizacion.ca Una versión anterior de este artículo se publicó el 13 de marzo de 2013 | Actualizado el 5 de marzo de 2020 y febrero de 2021 | *** | Nota del autor: | Actualmente existen amenazas militares de Estados Unidos y la Organización del…

Kareem Chehayeb (2021-03-10). Lebanon: Week of protests and unrest as currency falls to record low. middleeasteye.net Lebanon: Week of protests and unrest as currency falls to record low | Authorities have cracked down on protesters taking to the streets, as the Lebanese lira now worth 85 percent less than in late 2019 | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 15: 01 | A man in face mask in the colours of the Lebanese flag stands next to flaming tyres at a make-shift roadblock set up by demonstrators in Dora on the northern outsk…

RT (2021-03-10). Hill reporter suggests Democrats could use BIDEN HOLOGRAM to 'handle his public speeches'. rt.com As President Joe Biden faces scrutiny over his lack of press conferences, and questions about his mental and physical health from the public, the Hill's Sharyl Attkisson has suggested a solution: use a hologram! | "Maybe a Biden hologram can handle his public speeches," she wrote in her Wednesday opinion piece. | Attkisson acknowledges a recent public poll that found half of Americans are questioning whether Biden is physically and mentally up to the task of the presidency, and that over half are concerned about his lack of press conferences — he will reportedly host one before the end of the month. She s…

RT (2021-03-10). NYT journo rages over Tucker Carlson showing widely-available image of her after she claimed online attacks 'destroyed' her life. rt.com The New York Times' Taylor Lorenz blasted Fox News' Tucker Carlson for airing a segment that featured a widely-available picture of her face, insinuating it was part of the harassment she claims has "destroyed" her life. | Lorenz earned widespread attention — and criticism — this week after saying she deals with "deep trauma" stemming from "online harassment." | "It's not an exaggeration to say that the harassment and smear campaign I've had to endure over the past year has destroyed my life. No one should have to go through this," she tweeted on Monday, in commemoration of International Women's Day.

Staff (2021-03-10). "A Big Deal": Bill McKibben on Rutgers Fossil Fuel Divestment & the Future of Climate Justice. democracynow.org Rutgers University has voted to begin divesting from fossil fuels, following a campaign by the student-organized Endowment Justice Collective that grew out of the Global Climate Strike in 2019. The organizing efforts led to a referendum vote in 2020 in which 90% of students supported divestment. About 5% of Rutgers's $1.6 billion endowment is invested in fossil fuels, and under the terms of the agreement, it will now cease new fossil fuel investment and divest from passive index funds with fossil fuel investments. It said it also plans to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency and that the school's inve…

Staff (2021-03-10). Too Radical for Harvard? Cornel West on Failed Fight for Tenure, Biden's First 50 Days & More. democracynow.org The prominent scholar and activist Cornel West has announced he is leaving Harvard Divinity School after he was denied consideration for tenure, and will rejoin the faculty of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he started his teaching career more than 40 years ago. West had left Harvard once before in 2002 and returned to a nontenured position at Harvard in 2017. The news about the denial of West's request for tenure has led to an outpouring of support and incited conversation about diversity in academia. "There's too much Harvard dishonesty, too much Harvard hypocrisy, in terms of mistreating too…

MEE staff (2021-03-10). Yahya Sinwar re-elected as Hamas chief in Gaza. middleeasteye.net Yahya Sinwar re-elected as Hamas chief in Gaza | Sinwar beat four other challengers to lead Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 16: 00 | Yahya Sinwar (right) has run the Gaza Strip since 2017 (AFP) | Yahya Sinwar was re-elected as the leader of Hamas's political wing in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, fending off a challenge from one of the groups' founders, the movement said in a statement. | "Y…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-10). Turkey: Court sentences five to life in prison over Russian envoy's murder. middleeasteye.net Turkey: Court sentences five to life in prison over Russian envoy's murder | Local media said the men were convicted of aiding and abetting gunman who shot Andrei Karlov at a gallery in 2016 | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 09: 43 | A still from a video at the scene shows assassin Mevlut Mert Altintas and the Russian ambassador on the floor (Twitter) | A Turkish court on Tuesday sentenced five men to l…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-10). Saudi Arabia: Loujain al-Hathloul's sentence upheld at appeals hearing. middleeasteye.net Saudi Arabia: Loujain al-Hathloul's sentence upheld at appeals hearing | Activist has championed the right for women to drive and for an end to Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 12: 57 | Walking to the courthouse on Wednesday morning, Hathloul, 31, had told reporters she hoped Riyadh's Special Criminal Court would amend her sentence (AFP) | A Saudi court has uphel…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-10). Israeli-Canadian lobbyist to be paid $2m to 'explain' Myanmar's coup. middleeasteye.net Israeli-Canadian lobbyist to be paid $2m to 'explain' Myanmar's coup | Ari Ben-Menashe to represent junta in Washington as well as lobby countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 07: 42 | Ari Ben-Menashe said Myanmar's generals wanted to resettle Rohingya Muslims who fled a 2017 military assault (AFP) | An Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmar's junta wi…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-10). Libya: Parliament approves interim government. middleeasteye.net Libya: Parliament approves interim government | Abdelhamid Dbeibah's transitional government now tasked with uniting a divided country and preparing for elections in December | Wed, 03/10/2021 – 11: 45 | Abdullah Bleihaq, the Libyan parliament's spokesperson, speaks to reporters outside a conference centre in Sirte on 9 March 2021 after a parliamentary session (AFP) | Libya's parliament ha…

Celeste McGovern (2021-03-10). Israel's 'Green Passport' Vaccination Program Has Created a 'Medical Apartheid,' Distraught Citizens Say. globalresearch.ca Israel has rapidly deteriorated into a segregated culture that discriminates against …

Hope for a Conviction (2021-03-10). San Jose Demonstrators Say "No More Killer Cops Like Derek Chauvin!" indybay.org In San Jose–a peaceful protest to highlight the start of the trial for Derek Chauvin, the man accused of killing George Floyd. Members of Bay Area social justice groups came to speak as a collective voice for justice. At the end of the scheduled program, a smaller group moved into the intersection at Santa Clara Street and 4th St to block traffic and bring attention to the cause.