The Slave Trade Used to Be Legal. Let's Not Glorify the Law
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-18
Throughout the history of Black America, progress has often required breaking the law. For this reason, it's worth questioning why, in sanitized mainstream narratives (for example, those shared in schools and government functions during Black History Month), the story of Black struggle is often divorced from incendiary, illegal acts. Most Black people in the United States are descended from enslaved Africans, and being Black in this country has never been wholly separated from that history. In fact, it still ha…
truthout.org/articles/the-slave-trade-us…
Mexico: Millions Embezzled During Peña Nieto's Administration
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-18
Mexico's authorities reported that irregularities in projects worth US$30.2 billion were detected during President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration (2012-2018). | RELATED: | Mexico: Fugitive Former Pemex Executive Arrested in Spain | The Public Function Secretary Irma Sandoval said that irregularities were identified in 2019 projects, which generated…
telesurenglish.net/news/millions-embezzl…
Home-made bombs tested on PETS: New Columbine-style school massacre thwarted in Crimea, 2 teen suspects arrested
rt.com | 2020-02-18
Two teenage fans of Vladislav Roslyakov, who killed 20 of his classmates in a Columbine-copycat shooting in the Crimean city of Kerch two years ago, were preparing similar school attacks, the Russian security service has revealed. | The suspects, who "were disciples of extremist ideology and followers of Vladislav Roslyakov" wanted to target two schools in Kerch, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement Tuesday. | Police discovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with striking elements at their homes as well as spare parts to make more IEDs, which the teens had purchased on the internet.
rt.com/russia/481126-crimea-school-attac…
US Activists Demand Lawmakers Back Green Deal, 20 Arrested
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-17
Twenty teenagers were arrested Monday in Washington D.C. at the United States (U.S.) Capitol, home of Congress, as they were demonstrating to demand the senators to back the Green New Deal legislation sponsored by Senator Ed Markey and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. | RELATED: | Milwaukie: 1st City in US State of Oregon To Declare Climate Emergency | The protesters were part of a climate action launched by more than 150 middle- and high-schoolers urging the lawmakers to "step u…
telesurenglish.net/news/Sunrise-Activist…
'Done Playing by the Rules,' 20 Sunrise Activists Arrested at Capitol Protest Demanding Lawmakers Back Green New Deal
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-17
Over 150 middle- and high-schoolers gathered to demand senators "stand up or step aside" on the climate crisis. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/17/done-pl…
MN: County Attorney Mike Freeman's house picketed after cops who killed Brian Quiñones escape charges
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-15
Minneapolis, MN – In response to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman's decision to not press charges against the Richfield and Edina police officers who killed Brian Quiñones, the groups Justice for Brian Quiñones, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J), the Racial Justice Network and others gathered for a spirited picket of Mike Freeman's residence the evening of February 11. | About 50 people chanted, sang and played clips of Brian's music for about an hour. The most popular chant was "Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell!" Family and friends o…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/15/mn-count…
Mistrial declared in case of anti-coup activists arrested in DC police raid on Venezuelan Embassy
rt.com | 2020-02-15
Jurors who heard the case of four activists who were invited by Caracas to protect the Venezuelan Embassy in the US capital
Did Amy Klobuchar Send an Innocent Teenager to Life in Prison? Questions Mount over Her Record as DA
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-13
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…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/13/amy_klobu…
FRSO calls for the immediate release and repatriation of political prisoner Facundo Molares
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-13
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…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/12/frso-cal…
The Wet'suwet'en Fight Against New Pipeline Spreads Across Canada with Blockades & Occupations
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-13
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…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/13/wet_suwet…
Meet the Journalist Who Exposed Bloomberg's Racist Defense of Targeting Black & Brown Youth
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-12
"#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…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/12/michael_b…
Feminist Scholar Barbara Smith on Identity Politics & Why She Supports Bernie Sanders for President
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-12
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."
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/12/barbara_s…
South Bend Politician: I Worked with Pete Buttigieg. He Did Not Respect Black Residents' Struggles
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-12
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…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/12/pete_butt…
Using Bail as Ransom Violates the Core Tenets of Pretrial Justice
Andrea Woods | aclu.org | 2020-02-05
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…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/using-bail-a…
Weekend Read: 2020: African Americans and the Vote
splcenter.org | 2020-01-29
Historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926 established "Negro History Week" to celebrate the contributions to our nation made by Black people.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/01/weekend-re…