(2021-03-05). EU okays $155M for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan. yenisafak.com The EU will support Syrian refugees and host communities in Jordan and Lebanon with ‚Ǩ130 million ($155 million), the bloc announced on Friday.The EU adopted a ‚Ǩ130 million package to help Syrian refugees and hosting local communities in Jordan and Lebanon in providing social protection, healthcare, education and sanitization.‚Ä®Lebanon will receive ‚Ǩ98 million, while Jordan will get ‚Ǩ32 million.‚Ä®The support also aims at helping the COVID-19 vaccination in Lebanon, as well as assisting the reconstruction of…
(2021-03-05). COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Uganda, Mali. yenisafak.com Uganda and Mali on Friday received their first batches of AstraZeneca vaccine donations from the COVAX Facility, a UN initiative to ensure COVID-19 vaccine access to the world's most vulnerable.The first doses in the landlocked country of Uganda will be used to vaccinate people who are most vulnerable and those at more risk such as healthcare workers, security personnel, teachers, and other essential social service providers, said the country's health minister.The Ugandan Health Ministry says it will administer the AstraZeneca vaccine eight weeks apart despite studies showing that a gap of 12 weeks leads to highe…
(2021-03-05). Michigan high school students fight racism. liberationnews.org 
"It can be scary to be Black in America. [Our kids] shouldn't have to be scared at school."
(2021-03-05). The Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Mental Health. globalresearch.ca Summary | The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on mental …
(2021-03-05). US jobless rate in February falls to lowest level since onset of pandemic. laprensalatina.com Washington, Mar 5 (efe-epa).- The United States' unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point in February to a seasonally adjusted 6.2 percent, its lowest monthly level since the coronavirus pandemic began battering the world's largest economy in March 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That result was due in part to the …
(2021-03-05). Covid-19 has been 'really good' for CNN's ratings, WarnerMedia CEO says at Morgan Stanley conference. rt.com 
While Covid-19 has claimed more than 2.5 million lives worldwide, the chief executive at CNN's parent firm is looking on the bright side, telling a virtual audience the pandemic has been "really good" for the outlet's ratings. | Jason Kilar — the CEO of WarnerMedia, which owns the cable network — appeared at Morgan Stanley's 'Technology, Media and Telecom' virtual conference on Thursday, where he was asked about CNN and whether it could keep up its current momentum. | "I'd say that it turns out that pandemic is a pretty big part of the news cycle, and that's not going away anytime soon," he replied,…
(2021-03-05). Ph.D university entrance exam. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Mar. 05 (MNA) — This year's Ph.D university entrance exam started on Friday morning. The following photos show the students doing the test at Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran (SBU) while wearing a face mask amid the pandemic.
(2021-03-05). Typical Republican: The Racism and Anti-Science behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbot's Lifting of Covid Restrictions. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this week lifted the Texas mask mandate and allowed businesses freely to open. Roughly half the deaths and severe illness owing to Covid-19 are among minorities, including African-Americans and Latinos, even though those two groups make up less than a third of Americans. State Sen. Borris …
(2021-03-05). US economy adds 379,000 jobs, unemployment at 6.2%. yenisafak.com The US economy added 379,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 6.2% in February, the Department of Labor announced Friday.The market estimate for nonfarm payrolls was an increase of 182,000 for February, while job losses for January were revised up by 117,000, from 49,000 to 166,000, according to data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The unemployment rate also managed to beat the market expectation as the consensus for it was to remain unchanged at 6.3% in February from the previous month.The number of unemployed individuals in the US decreased to 10 million last month. Due to COVID-19, more than 22 million…
(2021-03-05). #LettersToBessemer: Black Workers Matter. workers.org 
From People's Power Assembly NYC and Workers Assembly Against Racism: Since early February 2021, a Black women-led unionizing struggle has been happening in a Bessemer, Ala., Amazon warehouse. They've organized in response to dangerous working conditions including: 1) dangerously inadequate COVID-19 protocols; 2) no hazard pay, even as essential workers . . . |
(2021-03-05). Republican senator forces clerks to read Biden's Covid bill for TEN HOURS, in last-ditch effort to block. rt.com 
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) has infuriated Democrats by demanding that Senate clerks read each and every page of Joe Biden's $2 trillion Covid-19 relief bill aloud. To some Dems, bills are better passed with no debate. | President Joe Biden's Covid-19 relief bill, which passed the House of Representatives last week, weighs in at a whopping 628 pages. It offers relief checks of $1,400 to eligible Americans, though more than three quarters of its $1.9 trillion
(2021-03-05). New York Congressmember Mondaire Jones: Israel Should Ensure Palestinians Have Access to COVID Vaccine. democracynow.org 
Israel has failed to make COVID-19 vaccines available to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, despite its responsibility under the Geneva Conventions. Critics in the United States say this "vaccine apartheid" is another example of Israeli human rights abuses going unpunished, even as the country receives billions in U.S. aid each year. Congressmember Mondaire Jones of New York says Israel must ensure that Palestinians are vaccinated. "There's no question about that," he says. "I don't think that anyone can argue otherwise in good conscience."
(2021-03-05). 460 Dead 243,612 Reported Injuries from COVID-19 Vaccines Reported in the U.K. globalresearch.ca The UK Government's
(2021-03-05). 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 . . . |
(2021-03-05). Why the Biden Administration Is Dead Wrong to Oppose International Criminal Court War Crimes Inquiry in Occupied Palestine: A Betrayal of the Rule of Law. globalresearch.ca
(2021-03-05). Israel: Orthodox Religious Parties Shaken by Supreme Court Ruling on Law of Return. mintpressnews.com 
The Israeli Supreme Court ruling on the application of the Law of Return threatens ultimate dilution of the political power of Israel's Orthodox religious parties, and thus has the potential to shake up the upcoming election's dynamics.
(2021-03-05). Rep. Mondaire Jones: Voting Rights Bill H.R. 1 Is of "Foundational Importance" to U.S. Democracy. democracynow.org 
The House of Representatives has approved sweeping legislation protecting the right to vote with the For the People Act, which has been described as the most sweeping pro-democracy bill in decades. The legislation is aimed at improving voter registration and access to voting, ending partisan and racial gerrymandering, forcing the disclosure of dark money donors, increasing public funding for candidates, and imposing strict ethical and reporting standards on members of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. The bill, which comes amid a nationwide attack on voting rights in courthouses and statehouses, is heading to…
(2021-03-05). Palestine: Blinken Blinks on Human Rights. globalresearch.ca On March 3, the US State Department has put on its …
(2021-03-05). Trump and Biden's Secret Bombing Wars. counterpunch.org 
On February 25, President Biden ordered U.S. air forces to drop seven 500-pound bombs on Iraqi forces in Syria, reportedly killing 22 people. The U.S. airstrike has predictably failed to halt rocket attacks on deeply unpopular U.S. bases in Iraq, which the Iraqi National Assembly passed a resolution to close over a year ago. The
(2021-03-05). Trump and Biden's Secret Bombing Wars. dissidentvoice.org 
Credit: The Intercept: U.S.-led coalition airstrike — Mosul, Iraq on November 7, 2016 On February 25th, President Biden ordered U.S. air forces to drop seven 500-pound bombs on Iraqi forces in Syria, reportedly killing 22 people. The U.S. airstrike has predictably failed to halt rocket attacks on deeply unpopular U.S. bases in Iraq, which the …
(2021-03-05). Killer Kim Reynolds and the Fascist State of Iowa. counterpunch.org 
The affluent and older white male "leftists" who minimize the threat posed by the ever more fascistic Republican Party tend to live in big "blue" cities where the Amerikaner Republivolk are a distinct minority. Some of these privileged urbanites might want to spend some time in a pandemo-fascist white-supremacist state like Iowa, which sent Steve
(2021-03-05). What the Ecuadoran Elections Mean for the U.S. counterpunch.org 
The pink tide is coming back in — much to the chagrin of many in the U.S. government. With leftist governments in Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, Nicaragua, Mexico and Cuba, the prospect of yet another, this time in Ecuador, doubtless keeps regime changers, right-wing think tankers and other assorted Washington imperialists up at night. All those leftists the U.S. had murdered over the years, all the death squads the U.S. gave the nod to, all those dictators the North American empire supported — for what? After generations of slaughter, the victims' heirs keep taking over. The U.S. sponsored the exterm…
(2021-03-05). Top Pentagon commander requests astronomical sum of money to prepare for war with China. liberationnews.org 
The funding increase that Davidson is seeking for his command — not the total allocation — is greater than the entire budget of the whole armed forces of Brazil.
(2021-03-05). "We Do This 'Til We Free Us": Mariame Kaba on Abolishing Police, Prisons & Moving Toward Justice. democracynow.org 
Outrage over police brutality and the mass incarceration of Black and Brown people has generated calls to defund and abolish the police. Longtime organizer Mariame Kaba's new book, titled "We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice," brings together collected essays, interviews and other writings that she and numerous collaborators produced between 2014 — the year of the uprisings in Ferguson, Missouri, over the police killing of Michael Brown — and today. Kaba says the book grapples with "the fact that so many people around the country recognize the complete and utte…
(2021-03-05). Rev. William Barber to Democrats: Overrule the Senate Parliamentarian & Pass the $15 Minimum Wage. democracynow.org 
The Senate has voted to open debate on President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The legislation has widespread support from voters, with one new poll showing 77% of Americans support the bill, including nearly 60% of Republicans. But the Senate bill has some key differences from the package approved by the House, including a reduction in the number of people eligible for direct stimulus checks and no provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. However, the Fight for 15 continues, with the Senate considering an amendment by Senator Bernie Sanders to raise the minimum wage fro…
(2021-03-05). Failing Upward: Pentagon's more and more Expensive Boondoggles (that don't even work). juancole.com 
( Tomdispatch.com) — Cancel culture is a common, almost viral, term in political and social discourse these days. Basically, somebody expresses views considered to be outrageous or vile or racist or otherwise insensitive and inappropriate. In response, that person is "canceled," perhaps losing a job or otherwise sidelined and silenced. In being deplatformed by Twitter, …
(2021-03-05). Houston demonstration demands, "Fix our broken pipes, no more airstrikes!" liberationnews.org 
Texans were told to drink pool water while Biden prioritized bombing Syria.
(2021-03-05). Economic Growth is the Cause of Climate Change, Not the Solution to It. counterpunch.org 
Through 2019, the last year for which data is available, greenhouse gas emissions and global GDP growth remained as highly correlated as they have been for the last half century. What this means is that despite the rhetorical back-and-forth over technological innovation and government policies as potential solutions to climate change, the role of economic
(2021-03-05). Atlanta DA refuses to prosecute killer cop in Rayshard Brooks' murder. liberationnews.org 
Although nearing a year since the murder of Rayshard Brooks, Fulton County officials have yet to prosecute the two killer cops of the Atlanta Police Department. Brooks was killed by officers Garret Rolfe and Devin Brosnan on the night of June 12, 2020, outside a Wendy's restaurant near Atlanta's Pittsburgh neighborhood. Brooks was shot twice …
(2021-03-05). ArcelorMittal is 'slowly becoming a burial site'. peoplesdispatch.org 
Three ArcelorMittal workers were trapped in a control room in the early hours of Wednesday 17 February when the room collapsed after a stack structure fell on it, following an explosion. Workers who witnessed the scene at the company's plant in Vanderbijlpark in south Gauteng paint a grim picture. But the company denies an explosion occurred, despite no managers being there at the time. | The workers say the flames from the batteries were unusual that day, resembling an explosion, with large flames in the ovens. Gas escaped to the stack structure adjacent to the control room, where Thami Molefe, 53, Lesenyeho Mof…
(2021-03-05). The case for abolition, for skeptics. mronline.org 
In the final piece of the series, NLG Anti-Racism Committee Co-Chair and one of the proponents of the 2020 policing resolution Kira Kelley makes the case for the abolition of policing and offers examples of individuals and projects taking power and resources away from police and prisons to create non-carceral, non-punitive alternatives.
(2021-03-05). From the Murder of Berta Cáceres to Dam Disaster in Uttarakhand. dissidentvoice.org 
March 2, 2021 was the five year anniversary of the murder of Berta Cáceres, who opposed the Agua Zarca dam in Honduras. That date was less than one month after the deaths of dozens of people from Tehri Dam disaster in Uttarakhand, India. The two stories together tell us far more about consequences of the …
(2021-03-05). A fight for free speech in Selah, Wash. liberationnews.org 
In a small, conservative town in central Washington, sidewalk chalk has become a highly contentious issue between residents and the City Council.
(2021-03-05). The Private Health Insurance Industry: Should It Be Eliminated? counterpunch.org 
Many Americans assume that the private health insurance industry is an unmovable fixture in the U. S. health care system, but there is a growing need to re-examine that premise. Over recent decades, its performance has been increasingly profit-driven to the point of now becoming unaffordable for patients, their families, employers and taxpayers. The time
(2021-03-05). From the Murder of Berta Cáceres to the Dam Disaster in Uttarakhand. counterpunch.org 
March 2, 2021 was the five year anniversary of the murder of Berta Cáceres, who opposed the Agua Zarca dam in Honduras. That date was less than one month after the deaths of dozens of people from Tehri Dam disaster in Uttarakhand, India. The two stories together tell us far more about consequences of the insatiable greed of capitalism for more energy than either narrative does by itself.
(2021-03-05). Abbott forces Texas "OPEN 100%" just weeks after deadly storm. liberationnews.org 
Abbott has billed the new order as a victory for "freedom," even as he undermines cities' freedom to protect their own populations with mask mandates and protective measures.
(2021-03-05). The Odyssey of An Wei, the Forest Gump of China. counterpunch.org 
The story of An Wei overlaps almost perfectly with the story of Communist China. Born in a small village some distance from the northwestern city of Xian, An Wei was seven years old when Mao took control of the country in 1949. As the son of peasants, he was part of the first generation of
(2021-03-05). PRO Act, biggest labor law reform in decades, headed for House vote. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The narrowly Democratic U.S. House will vote during the week of March 8 on the nation's most wide-ranging, pro-worker labor law reform in decades, the PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize). Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced the scheduled vote on March 3. His schedule statement comes as unions, led by the AFL-CIO, are stepping …
(2021-03-05). GOP, Senate filibuster in way of 'next great Civil Rights bill'. peoplesworld.org 
The Democratic-led House of Representatives is responding to the largest assault on voting rights since Reconstruction with the For the People Act (H.R. 1). The measure passed in the lower chamber on March 3. The fight to win final adoption of the bill now passes to the nearly evenly divided Senate. But passage in the …
(2021-03-05). Marching Through Georgia. thenation.com 
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(2021-03-05). Harris reaffirms US opposition to ICC probe of Israel in call to Netanyahu. middleeasteye.net 
Harris reaffirms US opposition to ICC probe of Israel in call to Netanyahu | US vice president also 'emphasized the United States' unwavering commitment to Israel's security' | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 08: 26 | The call was the first between Harris and Netanyahu since she became US vice president in January (AFP) | US Vice President Kamala Harris, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne…
(2021-03-05). What is Ur, the 'birthplace' of Abraham? middleeasteye.net 
What is Ur, the 'birthplace' of Abraham? | Pope Francis is due to lead an interfaith service at the ancient Iraqi city where the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is thought to have lived | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 13: 14 | The ziggurat at Ur was a temple to the moon god Nannar, and has been dated to the second millennium BC (Reuters) | On Saturday, Pope Francis will hold an inter-faith s…
(2021-03-05). 'Baba al-Vatican': Pope Francis arrives in Iraq for historic visit. middleeasteye.net 
'Baba al-Vatican': Pope Francis arrives in Iraq for historic visit | Head of Catholic Church greeted by dancing and dignitaries for Iraq's first ever papal visit | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 13: 21 | Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi welcomed Pope Francis at Baghdad International Airport (Reuters) | Pope Francis said he was "happy" to land in Iraq for the first ever papal visit to the country…
(2021-03-05). Egypt: Toddler traumatised after two years in detention with mother. middleeasteye.net 
Egypt: Toddler traumatised after two years in detention with mother | Amnesty International says a 27-year-old woman and her baby were 'forcibly disappeared' by Egyptian security services | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 15: 40 | Manar Adel Abu el-Naga and her husband Omar Abdelhamid Abu el-Naga | Egyptian authorities have been urged to fully investigate the two-year-long "enforced disappearance" of…
(2021-03-05). Arabic press review: Palestine slams Washington's 'lack of understanding' of ICC jurisdiction. middleeasteye.net 
Arabic press review: Palestine slams Washington's 'lack of understanding' of ICC jurisdiction | Meanwhile, British ambassador in Jordan says her country is committed to the two-state solution, and Iraq imposes curfew during Pope's visit | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 17: 07 | US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks about priorities for administration of President Joe Biden in the Ben Franklin…
(2021-03-05). Princess Latifa: UN 'still waiting' for evidence from UAE that she is alive. middleeasteye.net 
Princess Latifa: UN 'still waiting' for evidence from UAE that she is alive | Recent footage showed the daughter of Dubai's ruler saying she was being held captive by her father | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 11: 27 | Friends of Princess Latifa say she has had little medical care and went over a year without a toothbrush (Screengrab/Sky News) | The United Nations has said it is still waiting for proo…
(2021-03-05). Germany-Morocco tensions: Why is Rabat so upset with Berlin? middleeasteye.net 
Germany-Morocco tensions: Why is Rabat so upset with Berlin? | Western Sahara, Libya negotiations, German organisations… the suspension of contact between Rabat and the German embassy in Morocco has been attributed to 'an accumulation of grudges'
| Fri, 03/05/2021 – 13: 17 | German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Berlin in November 2019 (AFP) | A d…
(2021-03-05). Tens of thousands of Palestinians protest against Israeli police violence and inaction. middleeasteye.net 
Tens of thousands of Palestinians protest against Israeli police violence and inaction | Demonstration held on eighth Friday in a row and said to be the largest in 20 years | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 11: 04 | Palestinians take part in a protest against a wave of crime and violence in their communities, amid tensions with Israeli police who the protesters say are unwilling to deal with th…
(2021-03-05). Algeria: Bill to revoke citizenship met with anger and fear among activists. middleeasteye.net 
Algeria: Bill to revoke citizenship met with anger and fear among activists | The proposed law would target people deemed detrimental to the state, in a move condemned as dangerous and vague | Fri, 03/05/2021 – 14: 22 | Demonstrators carry the national flag on a march in Algiers to demand political change (Reuters) | A new bill being considered by the Algerian government, which could see people have thei…
(2021-03-05). Michigan high school students fight racism. liberationnews.org "It can be scary to be Black in America. [Our kids] shouldn't have to be scared at school."