2020-02-13: News Headlines

Staff (2020-02-13). Did Amy Klobuchar Send an Innocent Teenager to Life in Prison? Questions Mount over Her Record as DA. democracynow.org After a surprising third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is attempting to gain ground in the national polls. But Klobuchar is also facing mounting scrutiny over her record as a district attorney in Minnesota. The Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and other racial justice groups recently called on Klobuchar to suspend her presidential campaign following a shocking investigation by the Associated Press. The AP report centered on the case of Myon Burrell, an African-American teenager who was sentenced to life in prison over the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tye…

Staff (2020-02-13). Did Amy Klobuchar Condemn an Innocent Teenager to Life in Prison? truthout.org After a surprising third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is attempting to gain ground in the national polls. But Klobuchar is also facing mounting scrutiny over her record as a district attorney in Minnesota. The Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and other racial justice groups recently called on Klobuchar to suspend her presidential campaign following a shocking investigation by the Associated Press. The AP report centered on the case of Myon Burre…

RT (2020-02-13). 'Surely you can pull some strings!' Darren Till pleads with US President Donald Trump to seal his visa for UFC 248. rt.com Former UFC title challenger Darren Till has appealed directly to US President Donald Trump to allow him to enter the country after being taunted by headliner Israel Adesanya about his bid to 'whoop' Jarrod Cannonier at UFC 248. | In social media messages to Trump, Till asked the head of state to "do me the favour of getting my visa for UFC 248 so I can fight please," adding alongside a photo of Cannonier: "Get me my visa for UFC 248 so I can whoop this man." | Till, who was arrested after an incident in the Canary Islands last year and reportedly fined more than $10,000 alongside the group he had traveled with…

Fight Back (2020-02-13). FRSO calls for the immediate release and repatriation of political prisoner Facundo Molares. fightbacknews.org Facundo Molares Schoenfeld is an Argentinian photojournalist who was illegally arrested by the Bolivian dictatorship, and who is currently held in terrible conditions in a Bolivian prison. His life is in danger, as he does not receive adequate medical attention for a life-threatening condition. | This photojournalist was on assignment, for the Argentinian left-wing magazine El Centenario, in Bolivia to document the election of Evo Morales and its aftermath in October, 2019. Bolivia suffered a coup d'état by fascist elements and the military, with the support of the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, on November 10, 2019. A…

Staff (2020-02-13). The Wet'suwet'en Fight Against New Pipeline Spreads Across Canada with Blockades & Occupations. democracynow.org A major anti-pipeline struggle continues in Canada, where protests have broken out across the country in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en land defenders whose sovereign land in northern British Columbia was raided last week and over the weekend by Canadian police. Dozens were arrested in the days-long raid of unceded indigenous territories, where hereditary chiefs have been in a protracted battle to protect their land from the construction of TransCanada's 400-mile, $4.7 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline. The raids took place about 700 miles north of Vancouver and sparked outrage across the country. In Ontario, a Moha…

Norman Solomon (2020-02-13). Why the Buttigieg Campaign Tried to Have Me Arrested for Handing Out Information About Medicare for All. indybay.org Trying to block information on a New Hampshire campus…

Staff (2020-02-13). The Wet'suwet'en Fight Against New Pipeline Spreads Across Canada. truthout.org A major anti-pipeline struggle continues in Canada, where protests have broken out across the country in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en land defenders whose sovereign land in northern British Columbia was raided last week and over the weekend by Canadian police. Dozens were arrested in the days-long raid of unceded indigenous territories, where hereditary chiefs have been in a protracted battle to protect their land from the construction of TransCanada's 400-mile, $4.7 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline. The…

COLA 4 UCSC (2020-02-13). COLA Strikers Take Base of UCSC Campus; Arrests Made. indybay.org The main entrance to UC Santa Cruz is shut down right now. Over a dozen COLA strikers were arrested today. (Videos from today. Credit: Kyron Foo)…

Staff (2020-02-12). Feminist Scholar Barbara Smith on Identity Politics & Why She Supports Bernie Sanders for President. democracynow.org We speak with the legendary African-American feminist scholar Barbara Smith. She is a founder of the Combahee River Collective and of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. Barbara Smith recently wrote a column in The Guardian newspaper titled "I helped coin the term 'identity politics'. I'm endorsing Bernie Sanders." Her latest book is "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith."

Staff (2020-02-12). Meet the Journalist Who Exposed Bloomberg's Racist Defense of Targeting Black & Brown Youth. democracynow.org "#BloombergIsRacist." That's the hashtag that's trending on Twitter since audio of remarks made by 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg surfaced earlier this week. In the clip from the 2015 Aspen Institute, Bloomberg is heard defending the New York City Police Department's controversial "stop-and-frisk" policies, saying, "Ninety-five percent of your murders and murderers and murdered victims fit one MO. You can just take the description, xerox it and pass it out to all the cops." He continues, "They are male minorities, 15 to 25. That's true in New York. It's true…

Staff (2020-02-12). South Bend Residents Condemn Mayor Pete's Treatment of Black Community. truthout.org 2020 presidential candidate and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg has surprised many with his strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, two of the country's whitest states. But as the race moves on to South Carolina and Nevada, Buttigieg continues to poll extremely low with African-American voters. His own former constituents are condemning his treatment of the Black community in South Bend during his time as mayor, calling out systemic racism in the police force. During Buttigieg's…

BDS South Africa (2020-02-12). South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Slams Donald Trump's Israel Plan as Apartheid. globalresearch.ca The National Coalition for Palestine (NC4P), Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and BDS South Africa welcome the speech delivered by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa. | Addressing the AU, as the newly elected …

Juan Cole (2020-02-12). Israeli Blocking of Palestinian Exports to Jordan Shows Reality of Apartheid that the Kushner Plan Would Only Cement. globalresearch.ca The

Yves Engler (2020-02-12). Canadian Embassy: Militarily Supporting Israeli Apartheid. dissidentvoice.org Canada is celebrating the agents of Palestinian misery. Last month the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv held an event to celebrate Canadians fighting in the Israeli military. They invited all 78 Canadians in the IDF to the ambassador's residence to demonstrate their appreciation. Referring to non-Israelis who join the IDF, ambassador Deborah Lyons told the …

Staff (2020-02-12). South Bend Politician: I Worked with Pete Buttigieg. He Did Not Respect Black Residents' Struggles. democracynow.org 2020 presidential candidate and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg has surprised many with his strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, two of the country's whitest states. But as the race moves on to South Carolina and Nevada, Buttigieg continues to poll extremely low with African-American voters. His own former constituents are condemning his treatment of the black community in South Bend during his time as mayor, calling out systemic racism in the police force. During Buttigieg's tenure, black residents were 4.3 times more likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana than white people. We…

teleSUR (2020-02-12). Chile: Almost 10,000 People Arrested in Four Months of Protests. telesurenglish.net Chile's National Institute of Human Rights (NHRI) released Wednesday a new report revealing the number of people arrested in the country over the popular protests is increasing. | RELATED: | Based on observations officials from the

teleSUR (2020-02-12). Mexico: Fugitive Former Pemex Executive Arrested in Spain. telesurenglish.net Medico Attorney General's Office of Mexico confirmed that the former director of the state-owned RELATED: | Lozoya, who had not been seen publicly since mid-2019, is wanted by Lopez Obrador's Government to be prosec…

Gary Leupp (2020-02-12). Talking Points For News Anchors Against Sanders. counterpunch.org It appears the news directors of the cable channels have directed their anchors to note the following about Bernie Sanders in their objective, fair and balanced news coverage. 1. Bernie Sanders is a self-described socialist. A socialist cannot win in America. Repeat. A socialist cannot win in America. 2. Black people don't like him, and

Staff (2020-02-10). "Our Very Existence Is the Resistance": An Hour w/ AOC, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib & Ilhan Omar. democracynow.org On Friday, Democracy Now! co-host Nermeen Shaikh sat down for a rare joint interview with the Squad, the group of four freshmen Democratic congresswomen who have taken Capitol Hill by storm: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Omar and Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar is a former refugee from Somalia, and Tlaib is the first female Palestinian-American member of Congress. Ayanna Pressley is the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Ocasio-Cortez was just 29 years old w…

Andrea Woods (2020-02-05). Using Bail as Ransom Violates the Core Tenets of Pretrial Justice. aclu.org Rebecca Gill was out of | options. At 39 years old, she was arrested and though not convicted of a crime | and presumed innocent, confined to a jail cell. This happened because of a cash | bail requirement that she couldn't afford. Her friends didn't have extra money | to help, and she was unlikely to see a judge until she'd been in jail for two | full weeks. | Stuck in jail, she was in | jeopardy of losing her job and her driver's license. Losing her license would result | in myriad consequences, such as preventing her from getting to work and making | it more difficult to take care of her son and mother. | T…

splcenter (2020-01-29). Weekend Read: 2020: African Americans and the Vote. splcenter.org Historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926 established "Negro History Week" to celebrate the contributions to our nation made by Black people.