2021-04-01: News Headlines

The Socialist Program (2021-04-01). In the News: What Will Happen if Derek Chauvin Walks Free? liberationnews.org The panel discuss the trial of Derek Chauvin and other grotesque features of the American police state, protests across the country over the weekend against anti-Asian racism, exciting new developments in the case of the framed Denver protest leaders, and more.

WSWS (2021-04-01). Brutal assault on female Filipino immigrant captured on security camera in New York City. wsws.org Vilma Kari, a 65-year-old immigrant from the Philippines who has lived in the US for decades, was violently attacked in Midtown Manhattan by a man who was subsequently arrested for committing a hate crime.

Wayne Nealis (2021-04-01). Witnesses who exposed George Floyd's murder by police recount what they saw. peoplesworld.org MINNEAPOLIS—In testimony Tuesday, witnesses who were bystanders outside Cup Foods could be seen reliving the trauma of May 25, 2020, the day they witnessed the life fade from George Floyd under the knee of Derek Chauvin. The witnesses included three women in their late teens and a 9-year-old girl, a cousin of one of the …

Ko Thet Paing & Johanna Son (2021-04-01). Journalism Has No 'Safety Zone' in Myanmar After the Coup. telesurenglish.net Two months after the Feb. 1 coup, being a journalist has become a risk in Myanmar. Many are being hunted down, arrested, or targeted while on coverage. As of 30 March, 57 reporters, photojournalists, and publishers had been arrested. | RELATED: | These days, journalists are working while on the run, even with little or no pay, and using whatever internet they can find. Many too have lost their jobs and have not receive…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-04-01). Activists slam UK government commission's denial of systemic racism in the country. peoplesdispatch.org The commission was formed after the Black Lives Matter protests rocked the country last year. It said that while there was racial discrimination in the country, it was not systemic or deliberate…

WSWS (2021-04-01). The trial of Derek Chauvin and the epidemic of police murder in America. wsws.org The testimony over the last three days has confirmed what millions of workers around the world already know: George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020 was a brutal police murder in cold blood.

Demand Justice, BLM Global Network, & more (2021-04-01). Saturday 4/17: #ExpandTheCourt: Bring Balance Back to SCOTUS National Organizing Call. indybay.org Online action…

Robert Maxim (2021-04-01). How an Illegal Employment Policy Contributed to the Death of George Floyd. indybay.org Exploring a nexus of facts, which might insinuate how an illegal employment policy of Minneapolis convenience store Cup Foods contributed to the death of George Floyd.

Staff (2021-04-01). Headlines for April 1, 2021. democracynow.org Witness in Derek Chauvin Murder Trial Breaks Down After Viewing Footage of George Floyd's Killing, Four Killed as Gunman Opens Fire on Office Complex in Orange County, California, Biden Defends Infrastructure Plan as Progressives Push for $10 Trillion to Fight Climate Crisis, Wisconsin Supreme Court Voids Governor's Mask Mandate as COVID-19 Cases Rise Across U.S., Brazil's Cemeteries Hold Nighttime Funerals as COVID-19 Deaths Reach New Highs, Yemen Receives First COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments as Doctors Report Surge in Cases, Global Deforestation Increased by 12% in 2020 with Amazon Most Severely Affected, U.S. Cour…

Fight Back (2021-04-01). MN groups stand in solidarity with Palestinians around the world on Land Day 2021. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On March 30, over 50 activists gathered to show solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle against Israeli apartheid and occupation. They waved Palestinian flags and dropped banners on the footbridge over Interstate 94 between the Walker Sculpture Garden and Loring Park – across all eight lanes of traffic – demanding an end of U.S. aid to Israel, an end of Israeli occupation, the right of return for Palestinians, and an end to vaccine apartheid. The response from people passing by was overwhelmingly positive with a lot of honks from cars. | The action coincided with Land Day, which commemora…

MEE staff (2021-04-01). Saudi man arrested as child could face execution despite reforms: HRW. middleeasteye.net Saudi man arrested as child could face execution despite reforms: HRW | Abdullah al-Huwaiti is still on death row despite a royal decree that ended death sentences for crimes committed as a minor | Thu, 04/01/2021 – 18: 37 | Demonstrators in Washington protest against death sentences given to children in the kingdom (AFP/File photo) | A Saudi man who was convicted following a "grossly unfair trial" for crimes…

Andrew Cohen (2021-04-01). The Police Reform Movement Transcends Derek Chauvin's Trial. zcomm.org The debate over policing in the wake of Floyd's death will last beyond Chauvin's trial and has already been shaped by what happened last May in Minneapolis…

Staff (2021-04-01). "The System of Policing Is on Trial": Derek Chauvin Murder Case Is About More Than Just George Floyd. democracynow.org After the third dramatic day in the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, we speak with Mel Reeves, who has been following the case as community editor at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, the oldest Black-owned newspaper in the state. Reeves discusses the testimony heard so far, and juror selection, and says more is at stake than just what happened to George Floyd. "It is political. The system of policing is on trial," says Reeves. "You can see now how the police operate when they run into Black people." We also speak with Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, who says the…

Staff (2021-04-01). "Check His Pulse": In Derek Chauvin Trial, Outraged Bystanders Describe Witnessing George Floyd Death. democracynow.org Jurors in Minneapolis heard another series of dramatic testimonies during the third day of the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd. A teenage clerk named Christopher Martin at the Minneapolis convenience store outside which Floyd was killed told jurors during questioning that he felt guilty for reporting the fake $20 bill to his manager, who called the police on George Floyd. Jurors also heard a recording of Charles McMillian, who witnessed George Floyd's death last year, approaching Chauvin to say, "I don't respect what you did," as Floyd's body was being load…

samidoun (2021-03-31). On Land Day, Palestine will be free from the river to the sea #AllLandPalestine. samidoun.net 30 March 2021 marks the 45th Palestinian Land Day, a day of struggle and commitment to resisting colonization, occupation and apartheid, and to achieving victory and liberation for the land and people of Palestine. Land Day commemorates the anniversary of the mass rising in occupied Palestine '48 in 1976 in response to Israeli land confiscation targeting 20,000 dunums of Palestinian land in the Galilee. Palestinians inside occupied Palestine '48, who remained on their land after 80% of their people were expelled in the Nakba, confronted these new Zionist attacks with a general strike and mass popular protests, wh…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-03-31). Global solidarity with anti-imperialist struggle in Haiti and other stories. peoplesdispatch.org Today we look at the global actions in solidarity with Haiti, the beginning of the trial of former police officer accused of killing George Floyd, protests against UK policing bill, and mobilizations to commemorate Land Day in Palestine.

Steve Karnowski, Amy Forliti (2021-03-31). Firefighter ready to help Floyd was blocked by police. peoplesworld.org MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis firefighter who wept as she recalled being prevented from using her EMT training to help George Floyd will be back on the stand today in the trial of the fired police officer charged in Floyd's death. Genevieve Hansen, one of several bystanders seen and heard shouting at Derek Chauvin as he …

Steve Martinot (2021-03-31). Twisting the Law. counterpunch.org The trial of Derek Chauvin is getting started. The press writes articles searching for ways to say something unimportant about it. On Sunday, 3/28, an article in the SF Chronicle wonders if a "snap decision" defense would work, or would the defense be better off with a "trying to do his job well" approach. Six

Andrew Emett (2021-03-31). Former deputies arrested after man dies in police custody. nationofchange.org "While we can never take away the pain of the Ambler family, the grand jury has sent a clear message that no one is above the law."

Fight Back (2021-03-31). Chicano and Black families speak out at forum to stop Los Angeles Sheriff attacks. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – Centro CSO and Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles cohosted a March 27 Zoom forum to denounce the killings of Chicanos and Blacks by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, deputy gangs like the Banditos, Executioners, and 3000 Boys that terrorize communities, and against the harassment of families who speak out against Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD). Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis and Holly Mitchell attended the meeting, listened to the families' testimonies, and committed to work with organizations to fight back against LASD and its embattled leader S…

Fight Back (2021-03-31). Tampa rally demands justice for George Floyd, jail for killer cops. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On Saturday, March 27, the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) and others rallied at Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa to demand a guilty verdict for killer cop Derek Chauvin. Chauvin is charged with the murder of George Floyd, whose killing inspired an unprecedented uprising last summer. | "We need to come together to stand against any attempt to let this murderer off. We need to do it for the Floyd family, and the families of all others affected by police brutality," said Jhosn Pena of TBCAC. | Protesters called attention to local cases of police brutality such as the case of Josiah Pinne…

Eleanor J. Bader (2021-03-31). 'Criminalization Makes the Situation Worse': Victoria Law on Incarceration. progressive.org In an interview about her new book "Prisons Make Us Safer," the prison abolition advocate speaks on the negative impacts of prisons and jails on our communities.

WSWS (2021-03-31). Germany: Airport ground workers stage protest at Verdi trade union headquarters. wsws.org The only realistic defense of jobs requires a break not only with Verdi trade union but also with the IGL leadership, which is offering its services to the bosses as the more effective policeman.

Fight Back (2021-03-31). People v. Derek Chauvin opening arguments protest. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people protested on Monday, March 29, to demand justice for George Floyd and conviction of Derek Chauvin. The demonstration took place after opening statements, and the first witnesses testified in court. Many were still reeling from an emotional day in court, where videos of Floyd's murder were replayed several times, and the proceedings were broadcast live. | In opening arguments, special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told jurors that George Floyd said he could not breathe 27 times while Chauvin kneeled on his neck and back. He played one of the bystander videos taken the day that Flo…

_____ (2021-03-31). Chauvin's Lawyers Are Falsely Implying That Drugs Killed George Floyd. popularresistance.org Drugs have long been used to justify racist police-perpetrated violence, and the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the alleged murder of George Floyd on a Minneapolis street corner last May is, thus far, no different. | In his opening statement in a Minneapolis courtroom on Monday, Chauvin's defense attorney Eric J. Nelson spoke at length about Floyd's health problems and drug use in a clear attempt to cast doubt on the prosecution's central argument: Floyd was killed because Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd pleaded for mercy and gasped, "I can't breathe." | The prosecu…

teleSUR (2021-03-31). Cuban Foreign Minister: US Segregation and Racism Are Endemic. telesurenglish.net "Eighty percent of Americans consider that in the U.S. there is discrimination against blacks, 76 percent against Hispanics and 70 percent against Asians," Rodriguez wrote in a message published Tuesday on his Twitter account, about a recent study by the Pew Research Center, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, which puts it this way. | RELATED: | The head of Cuban diplomacy regretted that "racism and segregation are end…

JBLM COP WATCH (2021-03-31). JBLM Soldiers Kidnapping Civilians in the Local Community. indybay.org Corruption and abuse at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), WA poses a growing threat to the surrounding civilian community. JBLM has a long history of criminal activity and misconduct targeting the civilian community… and now KIDNAPPING!

Staff (2021-03-31). Headlines for March 31, 2021. democracynow.org Eyewitnesses Give Chilling Testimony of Police Killing of George Floyd, Brazil in Crisis as COVID Deaths Soar & Military Chiefs Quit in Protest, U.S. COVID Deaths Top 550,000; Florida Undercounted Thousands of Deaths, Bloomberg Employees Got Special Access to Vaccines at NYU Hospitals, China Delivers 100,000 COVID Vaccines to Palestine, White House Unveils $2 Trillion Jobs & Infrastructure Plan, Two Police Deputies Indicted in Texas for Killing Javier Ambler After Traffic Stop, Capitol Police Officers Sue Trump as GOP Welcomes Oath Keepers Founder in Texas, Man Arrested for Viciously Attacking Filipino Woman in N…

_____ (2021-03-31). Will We Stand Up For Black Trans Lives Too? popularresistance.org Last summer, during what some have called the largest social justice uprising in United States history, the lives of Black trans people were ignored. While many rightly raged against the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, few know the names of Black trans people like Kim Wirtz, who have also been murdered by a racist policing and prison system. In Baltimore, trans activists from the LGBTQ organization Baltimore Safe Haven protested, demanding an end to police violence and an end to the erasure of the Black trans community. The Real News' Eddie Conway talks to activists on the ground in Baltimore about th…

Staff (2021-03-31). Aging Former Black Panthers Mumia Abu-Jamal & Sundiata Acoli Got COVID-19 & Could Die in Prison. democracynow.org We get an update on political prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Sundiata Acoli, who contracted COVID-19 but have yet to be released. Acoli is a former member of the Black Panther Party who is now 84 years old and has been in prison in New Jersey for nearly half a century, even though he has been eligible for parole for almost three decades. He was denied parole again in February. His crime involved the killing of a state trooper. Last year, he contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized, and he reportedly has early-stage dementia. We speak with his longtime advocate, Soffiyah Elijah with Alliance of Families for Justice…

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