(2021-05-23). On Contact: 'Except For Palestine'. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges discusses why American liberals refuse to speak out about the crimes the Israeli apartheid state carries out against the Palestinians, with political analyst and author Mitchell Plitnick. | Mitchell Plitnick's new book, with co-author Marc Lamont Hill, is: Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics. | "Israel is in breach of more than 30 U.N. Security Council resolutions. It is in breach of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention that defines collective punishment of a civilian population as a war crime. It is in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Con…
(2021-05-23). US Trying To Extradite Diplomat For The 'Crime' Of Securing Food For The Hungry. popularresistance.org Special envoy and ambassador to the African Union for Venezuela, Alex Saab, was on a humanitarian mission flying from Caracas to Iran to procure food and gasoline for the Venezuelan CLAP food assistance program. Saab was detained on a refueling stop in the African nation of Cabo Verde and has been held in custody ever since June 12, 2020. | Saab's "crime," according to the US government, which ordered the imprisonment, was money laundering. That is, Saab conducted perfectly legal international trade, but his circumventing the US sanctions — which are designed to prevent relief to the Venezuelans — is…
(2021-05-23). UN Recognizes Venezuela's Efforts to Strengthen Human Rights. orinocotribune.com The United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights recognized this Friday, May 21, via Twitter, the efforts of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to strengthen the exercise of human rights. | The UN body, led since 2018 by High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, expressed its satisfaction after the government of President Nicolás Maduro adopted procedures that coincide with the recommendations issued by the multilateral organization. | In this sense, the Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, recently announced the restructuring of the SEBIN and the DGCIM, Venezuelan State secur…
(2021-05-23). Governor of La Guaira State García Carneiro Passes Away. orinocotribune.com 
The governor of the state of La Guaira, Jorge Luis García Carneiro, passed away on the morning of this Saturday, May 22. He was 69 years old. | "We regret to report the departure of our Governor of La Guaira, General García Carneiro," wrote Delcy Rodríguez, executive vice president of Venezuela, on her Twitter account. | Communicating the sad news, she described García Carneiro as a "patriotic, loyal, brave and indispensable soldier." She also sent condolences to his wife, María del Valle, his children, and the people of La Guaira. "Venezuela has lost a distinguished son. Fly high general in chief," she added.
(2021-05-23). IMF Proposes $50 Billion Vaccine Plan to End Pandemic and Boost Economy. indybay.org As worldwide COVID cases peak, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva unveiled a $50 billion proposal to support vaccinations of 60% of the world's population. During a G20 and European Commission summit, Georgieva argued the global vaccine investment would end the pandemic and spur $9 trillion in economic gains by 2025.
(2021-05-23). Sanctions, Making Venezuela Scream. zcomm.org Interview on the economic and political impact of the sanctions…
(2021-05-22). [Perspectives] An ironic guide to colonialism in global health. thelancet.com There is something axiomatic about the idea of an evidence-based approach to global health. Who could argue against such a noble enterprise? The uses of evidence and its applications—extended from individual patients to populations at large—are attractive whether in the boardrooms of Geneva or among humanitarian doctors in South Sudan's refugee camps. This approach rationalises complex and diffuse social processes, subtly reconstituting them as discernible medical problems to be solved through technical intervention.
(2021-05-22). The Jab, Star Wars, and the Bubble Net of Digital Gulags. dissidentvoice.org 
See, hear, speak no evil! And, we are the slow fish, the 80 percent: The world's 85 richest individuals possess as much wealth as the 3.5 billion souls who compose the poorer half of the world's population, or so it was announced in a report by Oxfam International. The assertion sounds implausible to me. I …
(2021-05-22). Venezuelan Opposition Parties to Present Unified Ticket for Regional Elections. venezuelanalysis.com The country will choose mayors and governors in "mega-elections" on November 21.
(2021-05-22). [Correspondence] Refugee access to COVID-19 vaccines in Lebanon. thelancet.com Lebanon is currently experiencing multiple unprecedented crises—political, infrastructural, and economic. The Beirut port explosion, in August, 2020, damaged 36% of health facilities.1 The Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value, pushing more than half of the population into poverty.1 Complicating its desperate plight, Lebanon hosts the largest refugee population per capita in the world.2 The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this situation, leaving an ill-equipped health-care system overwhelmed.
(2021-05-22). [Perspectives] Yee-Sin Leo: a leader in Singapore's fight against infectious diseases. thelancet.com In January, 2020, Yee-Sin Leo, Executive Director of the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in Singapore, and her team followed an unexplained pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, very closely for any evidence of human-to-human transmission. Given population movement in the region, they knew that if they saw that evidence it meant "that Singapore will get hit with COVID-19 cases", Leo says. So the National Public Health Laboratory at NCID prepared to detect and diagnose cases, drills were done to smooth workflow, and the COVID-19 Research Workgroup was set up.
(2021-05-22). Cuba — Empresa estatal socialista: øLos dueños se adueñan? globalizacion.ca Fue tan imponente y lapidaria aquella sentencia en una reunión sindical que, pasados 10 años, no logro olvidarla: °El único que no puede perder es el Estado!, proclamó un funcionario, como quien eleva a los cielos, decía entonces, una plegaria…
(2021-05-22). US Trying to Extradite Venezuelan Diplomat for the "Crime" of Securing Food for the Hungry: The Case of Alex Saab v. The Empire. dissidentvoice.org The case of Alex Saab raises dangerous precedents in terms of extraterritorial judicial abuse, violation of diplomatic status, and even the use of torture to extract false confessions. This is according to Montréal-based international human rights lawyer John Philpot. He spoke on May 19 at a webinar sponsored by the Alliance for Global Justice and …
(2021-05-22). The End of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. popularresistance.org U.S. representatives have introduced two bills that would finally end Puerto Rico's subordinate Commonwealth status. But continued colonial rule may be the only option Congress seriously considers.
(2021-05-22). Misión àÅrbol: Ecosocialism in an Oil-Rich Nation. orinocotribune.com By Dakotah Lilly — May 21, 2021 | "We must change the system, not the climate." These are some of the words that the Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías opened up his remarks with at the COP15 climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. He went on to say: | Capitalism is a destructive development model that is putting an end to life; it threatens to put a definitive end to the human species. And another slogan calls for reflection. It is very in tune with the banking crisis that swept the world and still affects it, and of how the rich northern countries gave aid to bankers and the big banks. The U.