tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47355382427978600512024-03-18T21:10:45.604-04:00THE BROOKS BLACKBOARD: Race, Politics & Social Change News you can use Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.comBlogger285125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-57237866663788167782024-03-18T19:53:00.000-04:002024-03-18T19:53:44.684-04:00Haitian Prime Minister Henry Agrees to Resign as CARICOM Announces Formation of Presidential Council<p><span 19px="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" merriweather="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">By <a href="https://cepr.net/staff-member/jake-johnston/">Jake Johnston</a></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4-L-H_D6CNLQudRyKocr5EsHFhJuDNN0WdET-PmiLPp1Y_zUcmpVlLseuKzY1qnDJXEtp0T-qRpMiucc3txefv4oBDUW3aeyiFGG4uFjMXfTQIzvQj0VcdQLN-_-Jk6dXrF2C18iA5DwCYHNxXapvqZTL-P5YC6aidNYgNqsNhYrOFIOW7Cuys3ONVE/s465/Haiti%20Prime%20Minister%20A%20Henry%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="465" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4-L-H_D6CNLQudRyKocr5EsHFhJuDNN0WdET-PmiLPp1Y_zUcmpVlLseuKzY1qnDJXEtp0T-qRpMiucc3txefv4oBDUW3aeyiFGG4uFjMXfTQIzvQj0VcdQLN-_-Jk6dXrF2C18iA5DwCYHNxXapvqZTL-P5YC6aidNYgNqsNhYrOFIOW7Cuys3ONVE/w640-h550/Haiti%20Prime%20Minister%20A%20Henry%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span 19px="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" merriweather="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">In a prerecorded message released on social networks just after midnight, Ariel Henry, who has held de facto power in Haiti since shortly after the 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse, agreed to resign. Sort of.</span></p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Henry has been holed up in Puerto Rico for a week, unable to return to Haiti as coordinated attacks from armed groups shut down the airport. Once the US pulled its support last week, he was left in limbo and had not issued any public statements until early this morning. It is unclear to what extent he was under pressure from the US to remain out of the country and to stay quiet.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Henry’s announcement came shortly after the conclusion of a series of political negotiations among dozens of Haitian stakeholders, CARICOM heads of state, the US Secretary of State, the Canadian prime minister, and other foreign diplomats held in Kingston, Jamaica. A proposal, agreed to by those foreign powers and accepted by a number of Haitian political parties and civil society organizations who participated via Zoom, calls for the <a href="https://caricom.org/outcome-declaration-of-caricom-international-partners-and-haitian-stakeholders/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4998f2; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.4s ease 0s;">formation of a seven-member presidential transitional council</a> that will name a new prime minister to replace Henry.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Henry made it clear that he intended to resign once the presidential council had officially formed. Those with a seat on the council have 24 hours to name their representative. It is likely that Henry will stay until the new council has picked an interim prime minister to replace him, delaying his ultimate resignation further, depending on how long it takes the new council to reach consensus.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUrNRHOExxA34sV2ZDkjoIC-nGlzC3Q47AWLjwXUgVMJ8pRCkZzyRvQTl8JL9MCDqWwAXC8yR6I0Jdi3KRVIxy3TzuShHgAFiFhRl8rGZCNMufzWjJe92eKtPhCQO2x8_OyrxJx0yCyqsWZkeWhZ-B3mNDvnJHkXfSAS6-8ZiA3vb3_7yFClcfBOoZbk/s1212/CARICOM%20meeting%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1212" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUrNRHOExxA34sV2ZDkjoIC-nGlzC3Q47AWLjwXUgVMJ8pRCkZzyRvQTl8JL9MCDqWwAXC8yR6I0Jdi3KRVIxy3TzuShHgAFiFhRl8rGZCNMufzWjJe92eKtPhCQO2x8_OyrxJx0yCyqsWZkeWhZ-B3mNDvnJHkXfSAS6-8ZiA3vb3_7yFClcfBOoZbk/w640-h328/CARICOM%20meeting%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><br />The seven representatives on the council will reportedly come from the private sector, the January 30 Collective (a grouping of political parties), Fanmi Lavalas (the party of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide), the Montana Accord, the December 21 Accord (allies of Henry), les Engagés pour le Développement (the party of former PM Claude Joseph), and Petit Dessalines (the party of former senator Moïse Jean Charles). There will also be two observer members, with one representing civil society and the other the religious sector.<p></p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Notably, Moïse Jean Charles appeared in the capital two weeks ago, as the coordinated attacks against government institutions began, to announce a political accord with former police officer and paramilitary leader Guy Philippe. He has previously criticized the internationally backed process to select a new government, and it is unclear how the party’s inclusion in the new council will affect the situation on the ground or if it will offer Philippe a path to influence the new structure. Réveil National pour la Souveraineté Nationale, the political coalition backing Guy Philippe, released a statement this morning rejecting the CARICOM-backed presidential council.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">After a period of intense attacks beginning in late February targeting the airport, police stations, and other government institutions, the situation in Port-au-Prince has calmed over the last two days as the political negotiations played out in Kingston. But it is unclear if the new government will do anything to appease the disparate armed groups that have come together in recent weeks.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Though there has been no explicit alliance, multiple sources close to both factions said that Guy Philippe was working directly with the armed groups in the capital in his effort to seize power in Henry’s absence. Who ultimately is in control of that alliance, however, remains to be seen. Much remains in flux.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">What is clear is that the announcement in Kingston late last night is unlikely to lead to a solution to the current crisis by itself. After criticizing Henry for relying on the support of the US and other foreign powers, an agreement pushed by those same foreign powers is likely to face legitimacy concerns from the moment it forms. Though negotiations have been taking place for the better part of a week, none of the participants or discussions have been made public, leaving the vast majority of Haitians in the dark. Notably, CARICOM set conditions for participation, including accepting deployment of a Kenyan-led intervention force.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">An initial proposal of a five-member council was rejected by some CARICOM members, who instead pushed for the inclusion of additional political actors in an attempt to break the armed anti-government mobilization in the capital.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">If the inclusion of Moïse Jean Charles and allies in the presidential council is not enough to convince the capital’s armed groups to lay down their arms — and there is little indication it will — violence is likely to continue, forcing the new council to rely on external security assistance to function.</p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">It was US and foreign support for Henry that pushed the situation to its dire state. But rather than letting a truly Haitian-led process play out, those same foreign powers have opted for a stability pact that, it would seem, is likely to lock in an unsustainable status quo at least in the short term.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="https://cepr.net/">Center for Economic and Policy Research</a> on March 12th, 2024. </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: times; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: times; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: times; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><br /></p><p 0px="" 19px="" 20px="" 30px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" merriweather="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><br /></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-55868015632717691462024-03-14T19:12:00.001-04:002024-03-14T19:12:47.464-04:00Columbia Sued Over 'Retaliatory' Suspension of Pro-Palestine Student Groups<div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">By Brett Wilkins</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">"Universities should be havens for robust debate, discussion, and learning—not sites of censorship where administrators, donors, and politicians squash political discourse they don't approve of," said the head of the NYCLU.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-8zCPZLGtBH1NM0Dx6TPNkUDxp8bMEiNy9rEBC7eaJR1xWTiMepFDqfqFfj8ZH9lT16MdWmoT8JVtBcw67Gz4b9_Cd3t88h4nEVMEDDDz-u9wvB9iQyxjfEHTYdB8nUDl3zgbnJlhtxM9nTVTkMLC8p8QKXcq2F5Mcfh0yR5MPFZ94LS_8ZmQJOdLu4/s1107/Columbia%20Univ%20palestine%20protests%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="1107" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-8zCPZLGtBH1NM0Dx6TPNkUDxp8bMEiNy9rEBC7eaJR1xWTiMepFDqfqFfj8ZH9lT16MdWmoT8JVtBcw67Gz4b9_Cd3t88h4nEVMEDDDz-u9wvB9iQyxjfEHTYdB8nUDl3zgbnJlhtxM9nTVTkMLC8p8QKXcq2F5Mcfh0yR5MPFZ94LS_8ZmQJOdLu4/w640-h354/Columbia%20Univ%20palestine%20protests%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The New York Civil Liberties Union and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/palestine" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Palestine</a> Legal on Tuesday <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.nyclu.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/verified_petition_for_website_updated.pdf" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">filed a lawsuit</a> on behalf of members of two pro-Palestine student groups at Columbia University which avocates say were illegally suspended for engaging in peaceful protests and other events protected under the First Amendment.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The suit—filed on behalf of the Columbia chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)—seeks the groups' reinstatement. Under pressure from people including wealthy pro-Israel donors, Columbia officials unilaterally <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2023/11/10/columbia-suspends-sjp-and-jvp-following-unauthorized-thursday-walkout/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">suspended</a> the school's JVP and SJP chapters in November, claiming the groups repeatedly held "unauthorized" events including protests and teach-ins since October 7, when Hamas-led attacks on Israel prompted genocidal retaliation against the people of <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a>.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Universities should be havens for robust debate, discussion, and learning—not sites of censorship where administrators, donors, and politicians squash political discourse they don't approve of," NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said in a <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.nyclu.org/en/press-releases/nyclu-and-palestine-legal-sue-columbia-university-over-student-group-suspension" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"These student groups were peacefully speaking out on a critical global conflict, only to have Columbia University ignore their own longstanding, existing rules and abruptly suspend the organizations," Lieberman added. "That's retaliatory, it's targeted, and it flies in the face of the free speech principles that institutes of higher learning should be defending. Students protesting at private colleges still have the right to fair, equal treatment—and we are ready to fight that battle in court."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="06cb8a4297cc3e185ec0938d315fa4a5" id="53813" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><span class="rm-embed-spacer rm-embed-spacer-desktop" style="display: block; padding-bottom: 461.997px;"></span><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: flex; height: 461.997px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 550px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1767556091079176426" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1767556091079176426&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fcolumbia-suspension&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=eaee4d3d81b14d2f0ea18c9b39bc4e5dff50294a&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 440px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Maryam Alwan, an organizer with Columbia's SJP chapter, said that "Ivy League institutions should not attract students who value justice and equality if they do not want to be held accountable for the ideals that they claim to uphold."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"As a Palestinian American student, I should have the same right to speak out on my campus as everyone else—and no amount of targeted policy changes or illegitimate suspensions will prevent us from advocating for the Palestinian people," Alwan added.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Cameron Jones, a JVP organizer at the school, argued that "Columbia must protect all Jewish students and voices, not just those adhering to a specific political belief."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"The university's decision to suspend a Jewish group sets a concerning precedent for safeguarding free speech on college campuses," Jones added. "It not only took away our rights as a club, but told us that our university does not support or respect anti-Zionist Jews or their beliefs."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Palestine Legal staff attorney Radhika Sainath noted that "for decades, Columbia students have been at the forefront of speaking out against segregation, war, and apartheid and SJP and JVP sit squarely in this tradition."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"It is precisely because these principled students pose a threat to the status quo that they are being targeted for McCarthyist censorship, but the law does not allow it," Sainath asserted. "Universities must abide by their own rules and may not punish student groups speaking out for Palestinian rights in the moment when they are most essential—even if donors and lobby groups complain."</p><p class="pull-quote" style="border: 0px; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; line-height: 28.8px; margin: 0px 50px 0px 30px; max-width: 580px; padding: 30px 0px 0px 39px; position: relative; text-align: justify;">"For decades, Columbia students have been at the forefront of speaking out against segregation, war, and apartheid and SJP and JVP sit squarely in this tradition."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The Columbia suspensions came amid a nationwide campus crackdown on criticizing Israel or advocating for Palestinian rights. Some students have fought back. In November, the University of Florida SJP chapter <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/students-for-justice-in-palestine" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">sued</a> state education officials and Republican Gov. <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/ron-desantis" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">Ron DeSantis</a> over their move to deactivate the group over its support for Palestinians' <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://law4palestine.org/do-palestinians-have-the-right-to-resist-and-what-are-the-limits-short-article/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">legally enshrined</a> right to resist Israeli occupation, apartheid, and other crimes.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Conversely, five Jewish students and two organizations last month <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2024/02/21/columbia-barnard-hit-with-lawsuit-alleging-particularly-severe-and-pervasive-antisemitism/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">sued</a> Columbia and Barnard College alleging "particularly severe and pervasive" campus antisemitism, while a Jewish student at Columbia's School of Social Work <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2024/02/13/school-of-social-work-student-sues-columbia-alleges-antisemitic-discrimination/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">filed</a> a separate discrimination lawsuit last month.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">There has been a dramatic increase in reports acts of both <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/01/us/antisemitism-campus-jewish-students.html" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">antisemitism</a> and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/rise-in-islamophobia" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Islamophbia</a> on U.S. campuses and in wider society since October 7.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.commondreams.org">Common Dreams</a> on March 12th, 2024. </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-85021033717136882192024-03-14T19:09:00.000-04:002024-03-14T19:09:28.418-04:00House Votes Against TikTok—and for More Cold War<p> By <a href="https://fair.org/author/ari-paul/">Ari Paul</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4s-I_uG0eM7hV-lVTL4mAh4N8SHn8wLE3gj6xLIzqlYGate6AR0aaUR2tjEXhsetQmwnUH2vFyr71rCqQEjckDlpZzB6P-VQqE2xkRGackShEzyh7rfVRQ8kLCum-y2QKuh8hosng2aTda96b0kBhL9epjCGttTYSumtYFStHPn5lNpi4GHaCLJjKaQw/s4096/tik%20tok%20ajay%20sureish.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4s-I_uG0eM7hV-lVTL4mAh4N8SHn8wLE3gj6xLIzqlYGate6AR0aaUR2tjEXhsetQmwnUH2vFyr71rCqQEjckDlpZzB6P-VQqE2xkRGackShEzyh7rfVRQ8kLCum-y2QKuh8hosng2aTda96b0kBhL9epjCGttTYSumtYFStHPn5lNpi4GHaCLJjKaQw/w640-h480/tik%20tok%20ajay%20sureish.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span 1.6rem="" face=""Open Sans", "sans-serif"" font-size:="">A bipartisan effort to effectively ban the social media network </span><b style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 1.6rem;">TikTok</b><span 1.6rem="" face=""Open Sans", "sans-serif"" font-size:=""> </span><span 1.6rem="" face=""Open Sans", "sans-serif"" font-size:="">in the United States has taken a great leap forward. The House of Representatives voted 352–65 that the network’s parent company</span><span 1.6rem="" face=""Open Sans", "sans-serif"" font-size:=""> </span><b style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 1.6rem;">ByteDance</b><span 1.6rem="" face=""Open Sans", "sans-serif"" font-size:=""> </span><span 1.6rem="" face=""Open Sans", "sans-serif"" font-size:="">must divest itself from Chinese ownership.</span></p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Lawmakers contend that “<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>’s Chinese ownership poses a national security risk because Beijing could use the app to gain access to Americans’ data or run a disinformation campaign” (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">New York Times</b>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/technology/tiktok-ban-law-congress.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/13/24</a>). While proponents of the legislation say this is only a restriction on Chinese government control, critics of the bill say this constitutes an effective ban.</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. That doesn’t make its passage in the House any less chilling, especially when President Joe Biden has said he will sign it into law if it reaches his desk (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Boston Herald</b>, <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/03/13/u-s-house-passes-tiktok-ban-that-biden-says-he-will-sign-fate-in-senate-uncertain/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/13/24</a>).</p><h3 0px="" 1.25="" 10px="" 2.8rem="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">‘Profound implications’</b></h3><div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_9038673" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 245); border: 1px solid rgb(187, 195, 232); box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 360px;"><img alt="Politico: The Chinese government is using TikTok to meddle in elections, ODNI says" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9038673" class="size-medium wp-image-9038673" decoding="async" height="365" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" src="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Politico-TikTok-350x365.png" srcset="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Politico-TikTok-350x365.png 350w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Politico-TikTok-600x625.png 600w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Politico-TikTok-640x667.png 640w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Politico-TikTok.png 661w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-9038673" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.4rem; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Below the scary headline, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Politico</strong> (<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/china-is-using-tiktok-for-influence-campaigns-odni-says-00146336?fbclid=IwAR22QLV3lfj7a5ojANw5Jun0F62EipBf8yE4t2vio3NiDfGktFpfo4Rj-2k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/11/24</a>) acknowledges that “there have been no concrete examples publicly provided showing how TikTok poses a national security threat.”</em></p></div><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">I have written for almost four years (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">FAIR.org</b>, <a href="https://fair.org/home/trumps-tantrum-against-tiktok-is-no-laughing-matter/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">8/5/20</a>, <a href="https://fair.org/home/montana-tiktok-ban-a-sign-of-intensified-cold-war-with-china/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">5/25/23</a>, <a href="https://fair.org/home/free-speech-fans-call-for-censoring-tiktok-as-chinese-plot-to-make-israel-look-bad/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">11/13/23</a>) about how the US government campaign against <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok </b>has very little to do with user privacy, and everything to do with McCarthyism and neo–Cold War fervor. Before the vote, a US government report (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Politico</b>, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/china-is-using-tiktok-for-influence-campaigns-odni-says-00146336?fbclid=IwAR22QLV3lfj7a5ojANw5Jun0F62EipBf8yE4t2vio3NiDfGktFpfo4Rj-2k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/11/24</a>) said that the “Chinese government is using <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> to expand its global influence operations to promote pro-China narratives and undermine US democracy.”</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Sounds scary, but fears about <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>‘s user surveillance, or platforming pernicious content or disinformation, apply to all forms of social media—including US-based <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Twitter</b> (now known as <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">X</b>) and <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Facebook</b>, which let political misinformation flow about the US elections (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Time</b>, <a href="https://time.com/5949210/facebook-misinformation-2020-election-report/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/23/21</a>; <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">New York Times</b>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/us/politics/elon-musk-election-misinformation-x-twitter.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">1/25/24</a>). And the Chinese government point of view flows freely on <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Twitter</b>: Chinese state media outlets <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">CGTN</b> and <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Xinhua</b> have respectively 12.9 and 11.9 million followers on the network owned by Elon Musk.</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">The <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Global Times </b>(<a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1308489.shtml" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/8/24</a>), owned by China’s Communist Party, predictably called the legislation a “hysterical move” against Chinese companies. But the American Civil Liberties Union (<a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-slams-house-for-latest-plan-to-ban-tiktok-and-stifle-free-speech" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/5/24</a>) was also alarmed:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-radius: 3px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10px; margin: 5px 5px 20px 30px; padding: 25px 30px 5px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 1.6rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 550px; padding: 0px 10px 10px;">The ACLU has repeatedly explained that banning <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> would have profound implications for our constitutional right to free speech and free expression, because millions of Americans rely on the app every day for information, communication, advocacy and entertainment. And the courts have agreed. In November 2023, a federal district court in Montana ruled that the state’s attempted ban would violate Montanans’ free speech rights and blocked it from going into effect.</p></blockquote><h3 0px="" 1.25="" 10px="" 2.8rem="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Bipartisan support</b></h3><div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_9038670" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 245); border: 1px solid rgb(187, 195, 232); box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 360px;"><img alt="CNBC: Former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is putting together an investor group to buy TikTok" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9038670" class="size-medium wp-image-9038670" decoding="async" height="512" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" src="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CNBC-TikTok-350x512.png" srcset="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CNBC-TikTok-350x512.png 350w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CNBC-TikTok-600x878.png 600w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CNBC-TikTok-640x936.png 640w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CNBC-TikTok.png 711w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-9038670" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.4rem; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">“There’s no way that the Chinese would ever let a US company own something like this in China,” Seth Mnuchin told <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">CNBC</strong> (<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/14/former-treasury-secretary-mnuchin-is-putting-together-an-investor-group-to-buy-tiktok.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/14/24</a>)—as though the Marxist-Leninist state should be the model for US media regulation.</em></p></div><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">We can’t write this off as MAGA extremist paranoia. In fact, 155 Democrats voted for the bill (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">AP</b>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-house-vote-china-national-security-8fa7258fae1a4902d344c9d978d58a37" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/13/24</a>), joining 197 Republicans. Democratic Rep. <a href="https://fair.org/home/conflating-jewish-and-pro-israel-is-wrong-and-misleading/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Ritchie Torres</a> (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Twitter</b>, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRitchie/status/1767608036649038273" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/12/24</a>) said <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> “poses significant threats to our national security,” and that the “entire intelligence community agrees.” While the bill may not pass the Senate, it does enjoy some bipartisan support in the upper house (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">NBC</b>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/tiktok-bans-fate-uncertain-senate-less-urgency-act-rcna143162" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/13/24</a>).</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Former President Donald Trump reversed course, and now opposes new restrictions on <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Washington Post</b>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/12/trump-tiktok-ban-lobbying/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/12/24</a>), in part because of his hostility toward <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> competitor <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Facebook</b>, which would benefit from a <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> ban. Trump might have been hyperbolic in calling <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Facebook</b> “the enemy of the people,” but it is true that <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Facebook</b> owner <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Meta</b> is behind the political push against its competitor (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Washington Post</b>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/30/facebook-tiktok-targeted-victory/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/30/22</a>).</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Former Trump Treasury Secretary <a href="https://fair.org/home/hey-nyt-the-relentless-populist-relented-long-ago/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">Seth Mnuchin</a> is enthusiastic about the bill, however—because he hopes to be <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>‘s new owner. “I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin told <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">CNBC</b>’s <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Squawk Box</b> (<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/14/former-treasury-secretary-mnuchin-is-putting-together-an-investor-group-to-buy-tiktok.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/14/24</a>). “It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>.”</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Mainstream conservative outlets like the <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Economist</b> (<a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/03/12/time-for-tiktok-to-cut-its-ties-to-china" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/12/24</a>) and <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Wall Street Journal</b>, at least, have united signed on to the crusade. The <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Journal</b> editorial board (<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-tiktok-bill-bytedance-chinese-communist-party-social-media-26d648cd" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/11/24</a>) wrote:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-radius: 3px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10px; margin: 5px 5px 20px 30px; padding: 25px 30px 5px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 1.6rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 550px; padding: 0px 10px 10px;">Xi Jinping has eviscerated any distinction between the government and private companies. <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">ByteDance</b> employs hundreds of employees who previously worked at state-owned media outlets. A former head of engineering in <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">ByteDance</b>’s US offices has alleged that the Communist Party “had a special office or unit” in the company “sometimes referred to as the ‘Committee.’”</p></blockquote><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">The <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Journal</b>’s editors (<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-bill-tiktok-bytedance-china-cd4f51c1?mod=opinion_lead_pos1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/14/24</a>) followed up to celebrate the House bill’s passage. “Beijing treats <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> algorithms as tantamount to a state secret,” it wrote. This is <a href="https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1835&context=nlj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">another way</a> that <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</strong> resembles US-based social media platforms, of course—but for the <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Journal</strong>, it’s “another reason not to believe <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>’s denials that its algorithms promote anti-American and politically divisive content.”</p><div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_9038671" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 245); border: 1px solid rgb(187, 195, 232); box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 360px;"><img alt="WSJ: Tackling the TikTok Threat" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9038671" class="size-medium wp-image-9038671" decoding="async" height="379" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" src="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WSJ-TikTok-350x379.png" srcset="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WSJ-TikTok-350x379.png 350w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WSJ-TikTok-600x651.png 600w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WSJ-TikTok.png 641w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-9038671" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.4rem; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Wall Street Journal</strong> (<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-tiktok-bill-bytedance-chinese-communist-party-social-media-26d648cd" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/11/24</a>) complains that on TikTok, “pro-Hamas videos trend more than pro-Israel ones”–which is also true of <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Facebook</strong> and Instagram (<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Washington Post</strong>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/13/tiktok-facebook-instagram-gaza-hastags/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">11/13/23</a>). (By “pro-Hamas,” of course, the <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Journal</strong> means pro-Palestinian.)</em></p></div><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">In other words, while the US government can’t legally block content it deems politically questionable on <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Facebook</b> and <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Twitter</b>, it can use <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>’s foreign ownership as means to attack “anti-American” content. The paper ignored the issue of censorship and anti-Chinese fearmongering, and denounced “no” votes as either fringe Republicans swayed by Trump, or left-wingers whose political base is younger people who simply love fun apps.</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">The <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">National Review</b>‘s Jim Geraghty (<a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/could-a-ban-on-tiktok-really-happen/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/3/23</a>) earlier scoffed at Democratic lawmakers who continue to engage with <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>:</p><blockquote style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-radius: 3px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10px; margin: 5px 5px 20px 30px; padding: 25px 30px 5px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-size: 1.6rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 550px; padding: 0px 10px 10px;">Way to go, members of Congress. This thing is too dangerous to carry into the Pentagon, but you’re keeping it on your personal phone because you’re afraid you might miss the latest dance craze that’s going viral. And if the last three years of our lives have taught us anything, hasn’t it been that anything that comes to us from China and “goes viral” probably isn’t good for us?</p></blockquote><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, a major backer of the legislation, took to <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fox News</b> (<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tiktok-digital-fentanyl-congress-biden-act" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">3/12/24</a>) to say that Chinese ownership of <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> was a “cancer” that could be removed, that the problem wasn’t the app itself but “foreign adversary control.”</p><h3 0px="" 1.25="" 10px="" 2.8rem="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Vehicle for anti-Chinese fervor</b></h3><div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_9038672" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 245); border: 1px solid rgb(187, 195, 232); box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 360px;"><img alt="Wired: A TikTok Army Is Coming for Union Busters" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9038672" class="size-medium wp-image-9038672" decoding="async" height="249" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" src="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wired-TikTok-350x249.png" srcset="https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wired-TikTok-350x249.png 350w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wired-TikTok-600x426.png 600w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wired-TikTok-768x546.png 768w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wired-TikTok-640x455.png 640w, https://fair.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Wired-TikTok.png 1050w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-9038672" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.4rem; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">It’s important to remember that people use <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</strong> to educate and organize, not just amuse—boosting efforts to unionize workers at <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Amazon</strong> and Starbucks, for example (<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Wired</strong>, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-army-union-busters-amazon/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">4/20/22</a>).</em></p></div><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">This anger toward <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>—which, just like other social media networks, is full of brain-numbing content, but has also been used as a platform for social and economic justice (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">NPR</b>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/07/871065917/tiktok-pivots-from-dance-moves-to-a-racial-justice-movement" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">6/7/20</a>; <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Wired</b>, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-army-union-busters-amazon/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">4/20/22</a>; <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TechCrunch</b>, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/19/trevor-project-tiktok-mental-health-survey-social-media/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">7/19/23</a>)—is not about <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b>, but is rather a vehicle for the anti-Chinese fervor that infects the US government.</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="">Think, for example, how Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) embarrassed himself by repeatedly asking <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</b> CEO Shou Zi Chew in a Senate hearing if he had ties to China’s Communist Party—despite repeated reminders that Chew is Singaporean, not Chinese (<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">NBC</b>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/tom-cotton-backlash-tiktok-ceo-shou-chew-rcna136673" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;">2/1/24</a>). Is Cotton ignorant enough to think Singapore is a part of China? Or was the lawmaker using his national platform to make race-based political insinuations, in hopes of bolstering the fear that Chinese government agents are simply everywhere (and all look alike)?</p><p></p><div 10px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="awac-wrapper" font-family:="" font-size:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><div class="awac widget text-42" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="textwidget" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div></div><p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 25px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">That fear is already potent enough to bring together a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to line up against the First Amendment. are doing just that, using a social media app to ramp up a Cold War with China. The targeting<span> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">TikTok</span><span> </span>is an attack on free speech and the free flow of information, as the ACLU has argued, but it’s also part of a drumbeat for a dangerous confrontation between nuclear powers.</p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><i>This article originally appeared in <a href="http://FAIR.org">FAIR.org</a> on March 14th, 2024. </i></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p><div><i><br /></i></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-64298948124254976682024-03-08T19:46:00.000-05:002024-03-08T19:46:40.555-05:00Biden warns ‘freedom and democracy are under attack’ in fierce State of the Union address<p> <span 14px="" 15px="" barlow="" black="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleByline" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" sans-serif="" text-transform:="" uppercase="" var="">BY: </span><span 15px="" 700="" barlow="" black="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleBylineAuthor" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" sans-serif="" text-transform:="" uppercase="" var=""><a class="author url fn" href="https://scdailygazette.com/author/jennifer-shutt/" rel="author" style="background-image: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 0%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Jennifer Shutt">JENNIFER SHUTT</a> AND <a class="author url fn" href="https://scdailygazette.com/author/ariana-figueroa/" rel="author" style="background-image: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 0%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Ariana Figueroa">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBxX8TrQili6cj2P6gqfRnE1X4RrM9tixwgY5PyOAHI08nQn3nU6hNlhQ7Sndi89sIgNfpPjWPgS3pHB8EmcMPjNuDDn9eDJ1swVcvdPQAyvsu0nY7rtvm-wfI9DQU1Jj55cqikpBxiq-eaHqS0sNpBzKOSOPDVZdpPmYwrZsVbB4dgWTS0zDgF-pbmo/s1366/SOU2024%20Biden%20back.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBxX8TrQili6cj2P6gqfRnE1X4RrM9tixwgY5PyOAHI08nQn3nU6hNlhQ7Sndi89sIgNfpPjWPgS3pHB8EmcMPjNuDDn9eDJ1swVcvdPQAyvsu0nY7rtvm-wfI9DQU1Jj55cqikpBxiq-eaHqS0sNpBzKOSOPDVZdpPmYwrZsVbB4dgWTS0zDgF-pbmo/w640-h360/SOU2024%20Biden%20back.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>WASHINGTON — In remarks pivotal to his reelection this fall, President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address Thursday night portrayed himself as the defender of democracy, touted the bipartisan deals he’s brokered during his first term in office and appealed to Congress to support Ukraine in its battle against the Russian invasion.</p><div 0="" 100="" 20px="" 24px="" 28px="" 2="" 791.656px="" auto="" black="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" bs-gutter-x="" bs-gutter-y="" calc="" class="col-xxl-10 col-xl-10 col-lg-10 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-12 contentHolder" color:="" flex:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" id="dataContent" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" max-width:="" newsreader="" padding-left:="" padding-right:="" serif="" var="" width:=""><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,” Biden said. “A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a differently: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Without ever uttering his name, Biden rebuked likely Republican opponent Donald Trump by calling him “a former president” and said that Trump’s recent comments at a rally in South Carolina about allowing Russia’s military to attack NATO allies were outrageous, dangerous and unacceptable.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“History is literally watching,” Biden said. “If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk. The free world will be at risk, emboldening others to do what they wish, to do us harm.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden said that “what makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The president promised to seek the restoration of reproductive rights — speaking to a chamber full of Democratic women dressed in white, intended to show their support for such rights — and with a heavy emphasis on an economic agenda he vowed to reduce health care costs, impose higher taxes on the wealthy and bring back an expanded child tax credit.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i>Back and forth over immigration</i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Trump has made immigration a main theme of his campaign, and the Republican-led House earlier Thursday <a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-approves-immigration-bill-linked-murder-georgia-college-student" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">passed legislation </a>named for a murdered college student from Georgia, Laken Riley, whose death has been tied by conservatives to White House immigration policies.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As Biden walked down the House aisle before the speech, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who was wearing a t-shirt bearing Riley’s name, attempted to hand Biden a button with Riley’s name on it. And when Biden mentioned immigration during his remarks, Greene continued to interrupt the president.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden’s address to the joint session of Congress was part campaign speech, part legislative agenda and part victory lap on the laws enacted during his first term. But it was also significant because it was the largest audience he is likely to have to himself all year, both in person and watching on television.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The speech marked an especially important moment for Biden’s reelection bid after dozens of Republicans questioned his mental faculties following Special Counsel Robert Hur’s <a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/five-big-takeaways-special-counsels-report-biden-and-classified-documents" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">report on classified documents</a>, which said the president “would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden will have dozens of opportunities to take the message in his State of the Union speech directly to voters in the months ahead, beginning with a visit to the Philadelphia area on Friday and a trip to Atlanta on Saturday.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">On foreign policy, Biden used the address to call for the protection of civilians in Gaza and for Hamas to release the hostages that militants have held since attacking Israel in October.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">He pressed Congress to approve aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as the bipartisan border security and immigration bill that senators negotiated earlier this year — and that Republicans then dropped under pressure from Trump.</p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><i><b><span style="font-family: times;">FDR refer</span>ence</b></i></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVptJiFg1LoxVujvbXt7Dt41nbNMIKYMVwUi7dcMlcgVD6UKx_k_0xHPRKeI2xihqGXpigAUN-4J6wDUFTHkKG7yZ1PRtI4x22QwIHEcHFZAFS4sdHyWsxkD45JjFlnH9iAbJkKFB2AG-DFsLJ6dbYYIqV4XSyY0iqZKOx5TsUTzhAOKbsHRI5mMCfM-M/s625/fdr%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="625" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVptJiFg1LoxVujvbXt7Dt41nbNMIKYMVwUi7dcMlcgVD6UKx_k_0xHPRKeI2xihqGXpigAUN-4J6wDUFTHkKG7yZ1PRtI4x22QwIHEcHFZAFS4sdHyWsxkD45JjFlnH9iAbJkKFB2AG-DFsLJ6dbYYIqV4XSyY0iqZKOx5TsUTzhAOKbsHRI5mMCfM-M/s320/fdr%20(2).png" width="320" /></a></div>Biden began his speech referencing one that President Franklin Roosevelt gave in January 1941.<p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary time. Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world,” Biden said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“Tonight I come to the same chamber to address the nation. Now it is we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union,” Biden added. “And yes, my purpose tonight is to wake up this Congress, and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden assured lawmakers who think that Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop if he successfully overtakes Ukraine that he will not end his military campaign there.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden criticized Trump and Republican lawmakers in statehouses throughout the country for restricting or banning access to abortion in the last two years after the Supreme Court’s conservative justices overturned the constitutional right to end a pregnancy that had stood for nearly 50 years.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“My predecessor came into office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned,” Biden said. “He’s the reason it was overturned and he brags about it. Look at the chaos that has resulted.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden then called on voters to flip the U.S. House back to Democratic control while keeping the Senate blue during November’s elections.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“Clearly those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America,” Biden said. “But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again in 2024.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again,” Biden added.</p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>Popular policy issues</i></span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden’s address touched on many of the policy issues that Americans view as important areas for lawmakers to address, according to a recent <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/02/29/americans-top-policy-priority-for-2024-strengthening-the-economy/?utm_campaign=2024-03-07+SOTU+day-of&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Pew&subscriberkey=00Q7V00001hV1TCUA0" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">Pew Research Center survey.</a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0QrLQaHTPtMin_dbSQe-kmNuASiUh2jKgbUv4Q4fTHWwTYfRJmTYlW1yZpjvAwP3UdNmI6UDqGv3fbkePnBD51CfPKQhdgXbLo91tLa3XmwDO96SXTZzj4cPzXzxubLyYiRIBkJICjflZ8U0pM3XuRa9MV64gXaJ0SvvMkb3Bw3TIQZSBWuQyfI01QM/s640/empty%20wallet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="640" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0QrLQaHTPtMin_dbSQe-kmNuASiUh2jKgbUv4Q4fTHWwTYfRJmTYlW1yZpjvAwP3UdNmI6UDqGv3fbkePnBD51CfPKQhdgXbLo91tLa3XmwDO96SXTZzj4cPzXzxubLyYiRIBkJICjflZ8U0pM3XuRa9MV64gXaJ0SvvMkb3Bw3TIQZSBWuQyfI01QM/w400-h290/empty%20wallet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>About 73% of Americans view the economy as a top policy priority for the Biden administration, followed by defending against terrorism at 63% and reducing the influence of money in politics at 62%.<p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Reducing health care costs, improving education and making Social Security financially sound all tied at 60% in the poll.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Dealing with immigration received 57% while reducing the availability of illegal drugs got 55% in the survey.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden also called on Congress to pass a so-called Unity Agenda that includes issues he believes Republicans and Democrats can agree on.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Those bills, he said, should increase penalties for people who traffic fentanyl, provide protections for children online, bolster artificial intelligence while protecting people from “its peril” and find new ways of treating cancer.</p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>Israel-Hamas war</i></b></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGezGP7Ik5LKUVMVrX65AekCGQHz0hZCfiIzcG9WfkAr5NxfS393bORhBkBnpEkQqpfb-O0IAABsvrVVw7Y9IQi7pMkb1cn7IPzKCKrITEeMAhaPpPvcOh4RwKs0YMs73CKpxaIOT3EiV6_fouy2VI2kDCNAHJJkSEzFFP6Or-ydWDkeoLPzEejv6lUec/s1366/Gaza%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="1366" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGezGP7Ik5LKUVMVrX65AekCGQHz0hZCfiIzcG9WfkAr5NxfS393bORhBkBnpEkQqpfb-O0IAABsvrVVw7Y9IQi7pMkb1cn7IPzKCKrITEeMAhaPpPvcOh4RwKs0YMs73CKpxaIOT3EiV6_fouy2VI2kDCNAHJJkSEzFFP6Or-ydWDkeoLPzEejv6lUec/w640-h242/Gaza%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div></b></span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden also discussed the war in Gaza, saying that Hamas’ attack on Israel was the “deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden added that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, “many of whom are not Hamas.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population, like cowards – under hospitals, daycare centers and all the like,” Biden said. “But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden said the United States would <a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-announce-us-will-construct-port-gaza-coast-deliver-humanitarian-aid" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">lead an effort</a> to get more humanitarian assistance through a temporary pier installed off the coast, but he called on Israel to “do its part” and allow more aid into Gaza.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“To the leadership of Israel I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” Biden said. “Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“As we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two-state solution over time,” Biden said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Democratic Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan held up small posters that called for an immediate ceasefire.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Hours before the president’s address, pro-Palestinian activists blocked roads leading to the U.S. Capitol, <a href="https://twitter.com/GaryGrumbach/status/1765898839427346808" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">according to media reports</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Many activists have pushed for Biden to call for a permanent ceasefire, as Israel’s assault on Gaza since October. Voters across numerous primary states in this week’s Democratic 2024 Super Tuesday cast “uncommitted” ballots as a protest of Biden’s continued support of Israel’s bombardment in Gaza.</p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>GOP blowback</i></b></span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama <a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/alabamas-britt-blasts-biden-economy-immigration-gop-state-union-reply" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">delivered the traditional Republican response </a>to Biden after he spoke, blasting his handling of immigration, the economy, crime and foreign policy, while questioning if the 81-year-old is up to the challenge of leading the country.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“The American people are scraping by while the President proudly proclaims Bidenomics is working,” she said, seated at a kitchen table. “Goodness, y’all. Bless his heart. We know better.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSJlFvwJjzeNWnLDXCHwz6pdm_OveayCMPdNI8iqU9yBFcVaryG4NQoRA7lKOdvWtJXhT8PbPORHo0iK5Igpb0xyzu0wh89RMlCsj-15qQAQkPJjM08xBOnBTJd3Sif40stGQL-dfSjmccjB2YKz9CjGzGLakMdzWmNF7ryLzWcZePkUByL4jZSPnyIk/s877/MGT%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="877" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSJlFvwJjzeNWnLDXCHwz6pdm_OveayCMPdNI8iqU9yBFcVaryG4NQoRA7lKOdvWtJXhT8PbPORHo0iK5Igpb0xyzu0wh89RMlCsj-15qQAQkPJjM08xBOnBTJd3Sif40stGQL-dfSjmccjB2YKz9CjGzGLakMdzWmNF7ryLzWcZePkUByL4jZSPnyIk/s320/MGT%20(2).png" width="320" /></a></div>Other Republicans, such as Greene, yelled at Biden to “say her name” during his speech, referring to Riley. Greene and Troy Nehls of Texas wore pins with Riley’s name on their clothes. Greene also wore a shirt that read: “Say Her Name,” followed by Riley’s name.<p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The “Say Her Name” is a social movement spurred by intersectional feminist Kimberlé Crenshaw that specifically raises awareness for Black women who are victims of police brutality and gender based violence.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Biden expressed his condolences to Riley’s family, saying he knew how it felt to lose a child, talking about his son, Beau, who died of cancer.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">After the outburst from Greene, Biden took another swipe at Trump. He called out how the former president has used dehumanizing language to describe migrants claiming asylum at the southern border.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“I will not demonize immigrants saying they are ‘poisoning the blood of our country,’” Biden said. “I will not separate families. I will not ban people because of their faith.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">House Republicans have repeatedly clashed with the Biden administration on its policies at the southern border, as the White House deals with the largest number of migrant encounters at the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/09/whats-happening-at-the-u-s-mexico-border-in-7-charts/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">U.S.-Mexico border in 20 years</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That disagreement has continued to escalate, first with the walking back of a bipartisan border security deal that would have resulted in the overhaul of U.S. immigration law. It reached a crux with the <a href="https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/02/13/u-s-house-republicans-impeach-homeland-security-chief-mayorkas-on-second-try/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">recent impeachment</a> of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Since Republicans walked away from that immigration deal, Biden has pressed for them to reconsider it, so his administration can adequately address migration at the southern border.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“Unfortunately, politics has derailed this bill so far,” Biden said. “I’m told my predecessor called members of Congress in the Senate to demand they block the bill.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Republicans have argued that Biden can take executive action to address the border — however, immigration law is set by Congress. So far, the Biden administration has taken 535 executive actions related to immigration compared to the 472 executive actions under the Trump administration, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/biden-three-immigration-record" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">according to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute. </a></p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>Democrats celebrate</i></b></span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Following the speech, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pumped his fists up and down and shouted, “We are exhilarated.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Sen. Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said that “the whole world is watching” what the U.S. does. He also dismissed worries about Biden’s age.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia said he was pleased to hear Biden’s support for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza, and wants to see humanitarian aid delivered quickly to the region.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan said she felt optimistic after Biden’s speech, especially how he touched upon conservation and climate initiatives. She said she believes he’ll be supportive of the Senate’s work on the delayed farm bill.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“Our farmers need it, our families need it and our rural communities need it,” Stabenow, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Louisiana’s GOP Rep. Garret Graves said he felt Biden’s speech was more of “a campaign speech” rather than a “sincere sort of message to the American people.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“This administration thought it was a good idea to double and triple down on stupid,” Graves said, talking about some tax proposals Biden mentioned. “The very policies that got us into this quandary that we’re in right now.”</p><div><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i>This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://scdailygazette.com/">South Carolina Daily Gazette</a> on March 8th, 2024</i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><br /></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Twitter</u><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks" style="font-size: 20px;">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p></div><div><br /></div></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-34406573332441938302024-03-06T19:08:00.001-05:002024-03-06T19:08:55.095-05:00Legislature approves $26M in spending during crime session. Here’s where the money’s going.<p>By Greg Larose</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOj3YW3a5NmwxvTtH8a1xWplQX3ySOuwFTxwM-r6RATjrnWmj0LQYZOjvC_Max1WOsIxNBjvFj0KnOTH7jPXlF90ttGD7fMKEYG2nz0srMxggiuVdPFzZcJEktJ_wES7wvGS92PRZY1z0nKDGgRea7qGdEffQs_qP6aGryUO59ym8h40sZuSIJeeT6t8/s1051/Governor%20Landry%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1051" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOj3YW3a5NmwxvTtH8a1xWplQX3ySOuwFTxwM-r6RATjrnWmj0LQYZOjvC_Max1WOsIxNBjvFj0KnOTH7jPXlF90ttGD7fMKEYG2nz0srMxggiuVdPFzZcJEktJ_wES7wvGS92PRZY1z0nKDGgRea7qGdEffQs_qP6aGryUO59ym8h40sZuSIJeeT6t8/w640-h400/Governor%20Landry%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>It was difficult for lawmakers and fiscal experts to pinpoint an exact cost of the stricter crime prevention measures Republican Gov. Jeff Landry called on the Louisiana Legislature to approve during a special session on criminal justice policy that concluded Thursday. </div><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Just how many more people will be incarcerated and how much longer they will stay in prison as a result of the new laws is a moving target, meaning so is the price tag. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">But what we do know is that legislators approved nearly $26 million in spending in an </span><a href="https://legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1350182" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">appropriations bill</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> authored by Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, the top budget architect in the Louisiana House. He and other GOP members of the Legislature countered arguments from Democrats that the unforeseen cost of higher incarceration rates won’t be justified. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“I think people want to be safe and people are willing to spend money to be safe,” McFarland said this week. “I’m inclined to think the benefits will outweigh the costs.” </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The spending lawmakers backed will include money to send 150 Louisiana National Guard members to assist with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s immigration enforcement at the border with Mexico. Landry has committed the support over a three-month period, which didn’t sit well with some Democrats who consider it a political expense rather than a practical, crime-fighting one.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">By far, the largest portion of the appropriations bill — more than $22 million — will go to Louisiana State Police. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The specific line items in the bill are split into two sections:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALQ3hu5Ik_ssaS6LERI9eX7_eJ-eHaPfdkpKYxITNeB10ihyphenhyphenSGixq_aCq1BSOVjcRiP4LEto-Nh1Ggt5mrSrzdPFZNd4QMEyEZ8Mt8J4vkkv4iPwZ6bKRXUjBeuYJO3cntEYeV6VpqldYnoEFLvpAj9kvrk7eVUYjycHsBYZPmzB6rjfc2tzA0NNEC0E/s1366/dollar%20bills%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="1366" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALQ3hu5Ik_ssaS6LERI9eX7_eJ-eHaPfdkpKYxITNeB10ihyphenhyphenSGixq_aCq1BSOVjcRiP4LEto-Nh1Ggt5mrSrzdPFZNd4QMEyEZ8Mt8J4vkkv4iPwZ6bKRXUjBeuYJO3cntEYeV6VpqldYnoEFLvpAj9kvrk7eVUYjycHsBYZPmzB6rjfc2tzA0NNEC0E/w400-h186/dollar%20bills%20(2).png" width="400" /></a></div><h4 0.5rem="" 0px="" 1.2="" 1.5rem="" 500="" arlow="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" brand_one="" class="editorialSubhed" color:="" condensed="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" quot="" sans-serif="" var="">Executive branch</h4><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$ 3 million: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This will cover the cost of Operation Lonestar, the Louisiana National Guard mission to assist its counterparts in Texas with border security for the next three months. Abbott’s efforts to prevent migrants from crossing into his state have clashed with federal immigration enforcement, which a court has confirmed has jurisdiction over local authorities. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This hasn’t dissuaded Landry and other Republican governors from sending National Guard members to Texas. They insist states have a sovereign right to defend their borders. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In a Feb. 20 House Appropriations Committee meeting, McFarland referred to the Louisiana Guard’s mission in Texas as a “military training exercise.” The state money will be used for payroll, training and operational expenses, he said, adding that the military nature of the expense meant details could not be shared.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Louisiana is sending 150 National Guard members to Texas. The first 50 troops have been requested.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$600,000: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lawmakers approved an allocation to the Office for the State Public Defender, a new entity placed under the governor’s authority through </span><a href="https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=245612" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">legislation approved in the special session</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">. The proposal in question gives Landry the power to pick the state’s chief public defender, a task the Louisiana Public Defender Board has handled.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The board will still have to approve the governor’s choice, who will also need state Senate confirmation. But even the changes in a watered down proposal add muscle to the executive branch’s influence over policy and pay for local public defenders. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The money is intended for distribution to local public defender offices, according to the Public Defender Board. But the final language of the appropriation bill and changes made to the public defender legislation left the exact use of the money in doubt. Some lawmakers questioned whether the new Office of the Public Defender will filter all of that money down to the local level. State law calls for local defenders to receive at least 65% of allocations to the Public Defender Board, but that might not apply to the new offshoot of the governor’s office.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjgqD6cdnx2T-53t0lFOVJwgze8AYHEr2rY6m6ENJKIDSviRn2rL8Iskq_PKhS4ekLxuYxMlsWt2ZK0Cgro8VgdPnnDaV1PFJ9Ftm6wbKtmBwxIYmyIlrTz46_q_InvhFJv2uCOrmCwS2Oy57IItp_kZMrUPGDCFHRlLFBr-yWbXl2fiJJsBqfJ0xsIA/s1306/louisiana%20state%20police%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1306" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjgqD6cdnx2T-53t0lFOVJwgze8AYHEr2rY6m6ENJKIDSviRn2rL8Iskq_PKhS4ekLxuYxMlsWt2ZK0Cgro8VgdPnnDaV1PFJ9Ftm6wbKtmBwxIYmyIlrTz46_q_InvhFJv2uCOrmCwS2Oy57IItp_kZMrUPGDCFHRlLFBr-yWbXl2fiJJsBqfJ0xsIA/w400-h194/louisiana%20state%20police%20(2).png" width="400" /></a></div><h4 0.5rem="" 0px="" 1.2="" 1.5rem="" 500="" arlow="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" brand_one="" class="editorialSubhed" color:="" condensed="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" quot="" sans-serif="" var="">State Police</h4><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Landry has committed to spend more than $19 million to set up and staff a Louisiana State Police troop in New Orleans, but the special session spending only covered some of that expense. According to McFarland, the following money could be used statewide, including for what’s being called Troop NOLA. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">McFarland said the governor’s budget proposal for the regular session, which starts March 11, includes more money for the New Orleans troop. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$9.2 million: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This isn’t new spending but money being moved from one fund to another so the state can cover the remaining balance for a pay raise promised to State Police last year, State Budget Director Ternisa Hutchinson said. The money expected to fund that increase, from taxes on vape products, didn’t meet forecasted expectations. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Additional allocations from the state general fund for a raise the Louisiana State Police Commission approved last May are detailed below. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$3.23 million: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This general fund allocation will also go toward fulfilling last year’s raise for State Police, directed to its Traffic Enforcement Program. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$2.74 million:</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> The money will increase the uniform allowance for dry cleaning and cover additional overtime pay for troopers who are relocated to New Orleans. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$2 million: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The expenditure description says the money will be used for an “operational review” of Louisiana State Police. Landry announced before taking office the state had hired an outside law firm to conduct a review into the law enforcement agency’s policy and practices. </span><a href="https://lailluminator.com/2024/01/14/heres-what-louisiana-will-pay-a-law-firm-to-review-state-police-policy/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Public records the </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Illuminator</span></i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> requested</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> show the legal services will cost the state a maximum of $300,000. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$1.75 million: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This will be spent on an evidence room in New Orleans and trooper overtime to supplement “local law enforcement capabilities.”</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$1.08 million:</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> This line item covers ballistic plates, which are placed into bulletproof vests, and safety leg restraints. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$812,350: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This will be spent on “bomb suits and robotic platforms,” ostensibly to respond to bomb threats.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$617,500: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This is another general fund allocation to the State Police Criminal Investigation Program to cover the raise lawmakers approved in 2023.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$522,500: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Another portion of the promised raise, directed to the Operational Support Program.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">$380,000: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Another portion of the promised raise, directed to the State Police Gaming Enforcement Program.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i>This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://lailluminator.com/">Louisiana Illuminator</a> on March 2nd, 2024</i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><b><u>Additional Posts that are related to this topic: </u></b></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/02/bill-to-make-juvenile-crime-records.html">Bill to make juvenile crime records public advances to Louisiana House</a></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/02/new-sheriff-in-town-gov-jeff-landry.html">New sheriff in town: Gov. Jeff Landry ready to reverse Edwards’ criminal justice </a><i><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/02/new-sheriff-in-town-gov-jeff-landry.html">policy</a> </i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/02/bill-to-make-juvenile-crime-records.html">Bill to make juvenile crime records public advances to Louisiana House</a></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Twitter</u><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks" style="font-size: 20px;">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-59114930805016952152024-03-05T17:58:00.001-05:002024-03-05T17:58:04.799-05:00Majority of Americans Want Halt of US Weapons Bound for Israel: Poll<div style="text-align: left;"><i>By <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/julia-conley">Julia Conley</a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">"Everyone knows that the U.S. could end this today if we wanted to," said one analyst.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtUSPy8rPorAY3jpuo-xIJeaSrLHALjSg0X1wea4VQfrL63Ja10FYvf-J7kUvrOEqB_adA7o8HCQjl7nDs5xUCeFbTFaJqBAI9ZWBrPABl_dEXb_rRu-Q7opcOSUqdKp-uY-Ia0LKf9U4uvQkQmb2Rrj2ftBqogpgd7QBmbhxodWGLolgDlFpiXfJU-U/s2048/Military%20planes2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtUSPy8rPorAY3jpuo-xIJeaSrLHALjSg0X1wea4VQfrL63Ja10FYvf-J7kUvrOEqB_adA7o8HCQjl7nDs5xUCeFbTFaJqBAI9ZWBrPABl_dEXb_rRu-Q7opcOSUqdKp-uY-Ia0LKf9U4uvQkQmb2Rrj2ftBqogpgd7QBmbhxodWGLolgDlFpiXfJU-U/w640-h428/Military%20planes2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">A new poll released Tuesday revealed that a majority of Americans want to the U.S. government to stop supplying the Israeli military with weaponry to carry out its brutal assault on </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #005dc7; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"> that has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, most of them civilian men, women, and children.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">As organizers <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/uncommitted-states" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">called on</a> Democratic voters in at least seven states to vote "uncommitted" on their Super Tuesday primary ballots on Tuesday to help push the Biden administration to demand a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, the YouGov poll provided another measure of Americans' growing outrage over their government's material and political support for the "genocidal" campaign by Israel's far-right government.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Commissioned by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), the poll of 1,000 U.S. adults <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://cepr.net/press-release/poll-majority-of-americans-say-biden-should-halt-weapons-shipments-to-israel/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">asked</a> respondents whether they agreed with the statement: "The U.S. should stop weapons shipments to Israel until Israel discontinues its attacks on the people of Gaza."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Fifty-two percent of people said they agreed with the statement, while just 27% said they disagreed.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">CEPR co-director Mark Weisbrot noted that while the call for a cease-fire "can mean different things to different people... the support for halting weapons shipments is specific and unambiguous."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Less than two weeks after scientists <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-civilians" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">projected</a> that at least 6,500 people would likely die in Gaza in the coming months even in the case of an immediate, permanent cease-fire, Weisbrot said many Americans may have "already moved past" the idea that a cease-fire is sufficient.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="845c152462cc34789427d9579d363e27" id="d69d3" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded rm-off" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: contents; height: 100%; left: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; width: 100%;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1765038356965003762" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1765038356965003762&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fus-weapons-israel-2667435101&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=1a098e3bafcee09133fe01c363821b948a902c9e&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 432px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Support for stopping U.S. weapons shipments to Israel has gained traction in recent days," noted CEPR, "as the Gaza death toll has surpassed 30,000 people, about two-thirds of them women and children."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Since the Biden administration's <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-weapons-israel" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">approval</a> of weapons <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/u-s-aid-to-israel-2666833315" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">shipments</a> to Israel since October, Israel has decimated civilian infrastructure across Gaza while also blocking nearly all humanitarian aid, leaving the entire population <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/famine-gaza-ceasefire" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">facing</a> "crisis-level hunger" that is approaching famine in some areas.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"We have the power to stop this. Everyone knows that the U.S. could end this today if we wanted to," <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/MarkWeisbrot/status/1765040371006894530" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said </a>Weisbrot, posting a video of European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/josep-borrell-us-arms" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">calling</a> on U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders to "provide less arms" to Israel, considering Biden's stated belief that too many civilians are being killed.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 560px; width: 560px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1765040371006894530" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1765040371006894530&lang=en&maxWidth=560px&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fus-weapons-israel-2667435101&sessionId=1a098e3bafcee09133fe01c363821b948a902c9e&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 316px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 560px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Tuesday's poll revealed that ending weapons shipments for Israel is popular across the political spectrum.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Sixty-two percent of people who voted for Biden in 2020 agreed that the U.S. should end shipments, while only 14% disagreed.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">CEPR pointed out that "Among those who did not vote in the 2020 presidential elections—a key group containing voters that both Democrats and Republicans would like to turn out this year—fully 60% agreed that the U.S. should block weapons shipments."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The latter result is one "that the Biden campaign should be worried about," <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/MarkWeisbrot/status/1765038355534737587" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> Weisbrot. "These are the voters Biden needs to turn out to expand his base."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">People who voted for former Republican President Donald Trump in 2020 were the only group in which a majority opposed halting weapons shipments, with 55% saying the shipments should continue. Thirty percent said they should stop.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.commondreams.org">Common Dreams</a> on March 5th, 2024. </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-75143310877153007222024-03-01T11:26:00.017-05:002024-03-06T19:55:25.126-05:00Death penalty on trial as Racial Justice Act hearing begins<p><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif="">By <a href="https://ncnewsline.com/author/klyons/">Kelan Lyons</a></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_fJ3Gs37e_SQozb_9FtmUO93Fdgzand767PCzVAgf-RJV8VRNsuerfIrXIlZ56VXpYwxY1a_-cgn7T5vNdgcRbMpaHte_I7XYa2BpdmW9W2t-aD54LVDrykB-KZmbZsFiTlsNhdC-TB6EJQZxMzTAmrj75h8S8tizMMNKeXbP7xT7GlgFwNcl3Pwvrs/s640/lethal%20injection%20missnibor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_fJ3Gs37e_SQozb_9FtmUO93Fdgzand767PCzVAgf-RJV8VRNsuerfIrXIlZ56VXpYwxY1a_-cgn7T5vNdgcRbMpaHte_I7XYa2BpdmW9W2t-aD54LVDrykB-KZmbZsFiTlsNhdC-TB6EJQZxMzTAmrj75h8S8tizMMNKeXbP7xT7GlgFwNcl3Pwvrs/w640-h480/lethal%20injection%20missnibor.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif="">In 1968, days after the Ku Klux Klan marched through Black neighborhoods in Benson following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,</span><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif=""> </span><a 0.4s="" 0px="" 0s="" 100="" 20px="" 233="" 237="" 65="" background-image:="" background-repeat:="" background-size:="" background-size="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" ease="" font-family:="" font-size:="" href="https://www.processhistory.org/sanders-1968/" linear-gradient="" newsreader="" no-repeat="" none="" rgb="" serif="" target="_blank" text-decoration-line:="" transition:="" transparent="">five young Black adolescents</a><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif=""> </span><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif="">tried to burn down the Klan’s meeting hall in the Johnston County town. The fire did not travel past the doorway. The boys, all of whom were between the ages of 16 and 20 and did not have criminal records, were each given 12 years of imprisonment and hard labor,</span><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif=""> </span><a 0.4s="" 0px="" 0s="" 100="" 20px="" 233="" 237="" 65="" background-image:="" background-repeat:="" background-size:="" background-size="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" ease="" font-family:="" font-size:="" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23795091" linear-gradient="" newsreader="" no-repeat="" none="" rgb="" serif="" target="_blank" text-decoration-line:="" transition:="" transparent="">harsher</a><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif=""> </span><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif="">than the sentences meted out to white defendants who were found guilty of similar crimes in the county.</span></p><div 0="" 100="" 20px="" 24px="" 28px="" 2="" 791.656px="" auto="" black="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" bs-gutter-x="" bs-gutter-y="" calc="" class="col-xxl-10 col-xl-10 col-lg-10 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-12 contentHolder" color:="" flex:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" id="dataContent" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" max-width:="" newsreader="" padding-left:="" padding-right:="" serif="" var="" width:=""><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">On Monday, more than half a century removed from the “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23795091" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">Benson Five</a>,” a lawyer for a man on North Carolina’s death row argued in a Johnston County courtroom that that history was inseparable from the use of capital punishment — not only in that eastern North Carolina county, but all across the Old North State.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Underpinning the case is the Racial Justice Act, a landmark law passed by Democrats in 2009, repealed by Republicans in 2013, and preserved by the Democratic-controlled state Supreme Court in 2020. The law gives people on North Carolina’s death row an opportunity to be resentenced to life in prison without parole if they can prove racial discrimination played a role in their death sentence.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“The RJA was intended to look at the capital punishment system as a whole, to address this concern that there had been patterns of racial disparities in jury selection and the imposition of the death penalty,” said Henderson Hill, senior counsel for the ACLU. “We hope to do what the RJA was intended to do: break this connection, break this link, between racism and the death penalty.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">For at least the next week, Hill will make that argument in an evidentiary hearing before Superior Court Judge Wayland J. Sermons Jr., a Democrat, in a case that will have serious implications for those on North Carolina’s death row.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Hill is a lawyer for Hasson Bacote, a Black man <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/4926950/" rel="noopener" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">sentenced to death</a> in Johnston County in 2009 after ten white and two Black jurors convicted him of killing Anthony Surles during a robbery.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Over the past few years, the state has turned over 680,000 pages of discovery to Hill and the rest of Bacote’s legal team, documents that include prosecutors’ hand-written notes on jury selection in 176 capital cases between 1985 and 2011.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">According to court filings, data from those documents show:</p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 2rem;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">In 176 capital cases across North Carolina between 1985 and 2011, Black people were two and a half times more likely to be struck from jury pools than other jurors.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Similarly, in seven Johnston County capital cases over that same timeframe, Black people were four times more likely to be struck from the jury pool than other jurors.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">In four capital cases in that timeframe tried by Gregory Butler, an assistant district attorney, Black people were 10 times more likely to be struck from a jury pool than other jurors. Butler also prosecuted Bacote, the defendant in the underlying case.</li></ul><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Hill said those hundreds of thousands of pages of documents will allow Bacote’s team to make the case that “this pattern of racial disparities, of racial terror, even, continues.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“One of the questions that this evidence presents is, when a Black man is charged with a capital case, when a Black citizen presents himself or herself for services as a juror, as a decision maker, to sit in that box, what the history suggests is that the past informs the present.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The Racial Justice Act, and the sheer volume of information turned over to Bacote’s lawyers in discovery, allows Hill and the legal team to argue not just on behalf of Bacote, but for the roughly 120 people on death row who have a pending RJA claim. (There are <a href="https://www.dac.nc.gov/divisions-and-sections/institutions/death-penalty/death-row-roster" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">136 people on North Carolina’s death row</a> — more than half of whom are Black — but not all of them have a pending RJA claim.)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“This is an evidentiary basis that no court has seen before,” Hill said. “This is a tremendous amount of material that had to be provided, that had to be analyzed, had to be distilled, and it’s a sort of remarkable proceeding that we’re about to engage in.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If Hill used his opening statement to argue that North Carolina’s death penalty was going to be put on trial in Johnston County, Jonathan P. Babb, special deputy attorney general with the North Carolina Department of Justice, shrunk the scope of the case and proceedings, arguing it is Bacote’s burden to prove race impacted his death sentence in his particular case.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“Otherwise, a defendant with no trace of unfairness in his or her trial, could obtain relief just as much as the defendant who was convicted and sentenced in an unfair proceeding,” Babb said. “As the court will see from the evidence presented at this hearing, defendant’s sentence of death for this serious crime was not sought or obtained on the basis of race.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Quoting a <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/nc-supreme-court/115621161.html" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">recent state Supreme Court ruling,</a> Babb called racial discrimination “a pervasive evil that deprives citizens of every race of their constitutional right to equal protection of the laws.” But that claim, Babb said, must be proven.</p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><i style="font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;">This article originally appeared in NC Newsline on February 26th, 2024. </i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;"><b><u>Additional posts related to this topic:</u></b></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><div><br /></div></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-1386564346350593132024-02-29T21:07:00.004-05:002024-03-02T16:07:26.556-05:00WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN 2024?<p>words by <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">charles brooks </a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzoH0xYlkLa73LMhO6CaVH5XrLPU93tK6JZS3b6-QtneSaQESdBXmK_JdeLzzYbrie8WadjEKm7qEetYEKIQS1jwcwwdvx4KGpmVqtShIhxZdEkQ2GTXIMREy9W2k2-e0uO8PuFAbPWBXM1KheBeXVo2V2dlPiYjjl0Nywfo72LeQyXSeaiCJ600l9o0/s720/videoframe_2035819.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="720" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzoH0xYlkLa73LMhO6CaVH5XrLPU93tK6JZS3b6-QtneSaQESdBXmK_JdeLzzYbrie8WadjEKm7qEetYEKIQS1jwcwwdvx4KGpmVqtShIhxZdEkQ2GTXIMREy9W2k2-e0uO8PuFAbPWBXM1KheBeXVo2V2dlPiYjjl0Nywfo72LeQyXSeaiCJ600l9o0/w640-h360/videoframe_2035819.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>In 2024, Black History Month continues
to highlight the accomplishments and contributions of Black people to a nation shaped
and influenced by an unforgiving legacy of racism. With Black folk today struggling
with their daily economy, their political conditions, Black history ought to be
used in a way that makes sense of the current moment to prepare for what coming
ahead.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">Historian
Dr. John H. Clarke interrogates the meaning
of history in his seminal essay, “<i>Why Africana History,</i>” where he writes,
“History is a clock that people use to tell their political time of day. It is
a compass that they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. It
also tells them where they are, and what they are. Most importantly, an
understanding of history tells a people where they still must go, and what they
still must be.”<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">Dr. Clarke’s words inform our
understanding of the relentless assault on Black history and Black studies by
the state and the corporate class that is both historical and political. An
assault that’s waged on several fronts by the same hostile forces who look to
chronicle and showcase the Black experience in America for public consumption.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TSqRp-86F4XNBMNzitd1eiqmqGjrmhJGIqP5Qe1K1ZSBRqE_J9mc_XWq3zqw27fl0Sj7E5_JJC0C9OsZFFF0BcwX9uMvgamlVqJPFxpsL0VTqODOOx_2OCj6qaUYcj3DRIVTD163EOIVZEd7YwOl4oiSaixBWTdm1KrYiM5Ox2KL1tauxK4a4zdWyMo/s1028/Negro%20history%20week%20pic%20(2).png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="1028" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TSqRp-86F4XNBMNzitd1eiqmqGjrmhJGIqP5Qe1K1ZSBRqE_J9mc_XWq3zqw27fl0Sj7E5_JJC0C9OsZFFF0BcwX9uMvgamlVqJPFxpsL0VTqODOOx_2OCj6qaUYcj3DRIVTD163EOIVZEd7YwOl4oiSaixBWTdm1KrYiM5Ox2KL1tauxK4a4zdWyMo/s320/Negro%20history%20week%20pic%20(2).png" width="320" /></a></div>Fifty-three years ago, Dr. W.E.B Dubois
wrote about Black people taking a more self-determined approach towards what
was then called, Negro History Week. Dr.
Dubois wrote an essay, “<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4735538242797860051/4452584162255617896"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;">Negro History Week</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink">,” </span>where
he outlined the achievements of Black folk in areas such as politics, science, literature, religion, art,
and Nobel prize winners. But Dubois also makes a compelling argument about the
purpose and practice of Negro History Week, where he wrote, “…There comes
however today a question of the deeper meaning in all of this and of future
aims…”<p></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">For example, in this 1951 essay, Dubois asks<i> </i>two critical questions that remains
relevant today, “<i>What now does Negro
History Week stand for</i>?” and he goes on to ask, “<i>Shall American Negroes continue to learn to be ‘proud’ of themselves,
or is there a higher broader aim for their research and study</i>?”</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">Dubois presses forward with his contention
that Black folk should redirect their attention from anti-social behaviors towards
the important current events of the day.
He argues for more of an emphasis
placed on the fundamental role that racism occupies in the broad global
reach of capitalism and imperialism. Dubois also makes a point about reading
and suggests Paul Robeson, Howard Fast and other radical literature because, <i>“…American Negros are not yet aware of the
economic basis of race prejudice and of the methods by which American wealth
today is erecting and investment imperialism in Africa and Asia, in the West
Indies, and Central and South America. Indeed, further than that, the lack of
fundamental economic teaching in America which Big Business today plays in
human relationships. Here is a field for Negro History Week.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">Dubois ends his essay with, “…<i>Above all, from the horrible experience of
two world wars and the present policies of military masters, it will become a
series of centers set on eternal opposition against the white and the colored
peoples of the earth. It will teach Negro youth that no matter who wins such a
war will mean the degradation of the American Negro. </i>Let the Negro History
Week of the future start with slogan; Peace, no more War!”</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWHwH8IAyRTIGLMIJH1RjUOHhj9wTYtchvczZsaMxWTF7eMU09MExaN4p7MHTJT-Sy9i1YPU6Rd9t0Ma-qv2KK4pAdYg18hqNtNtGfYSmg5JH_f4gfDH6K5kyQaqlqUmCC3lDlipTdfoC_sCsukWa8cguLCihdbu-x6x9b0Ut6VbGMYgtD9K76ZZT1fk/s1366/Gaza%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="1366" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWHwH8IAyRTIGLMIJH1RjUOHhj9wTYtchvczZsaMxWTF7eMU09MExaN4p7MHTJT-Sy9i1YPU6Rd9t0Ma-qv2KK4pAdYg18hqNtNtGfYSmg5JH_f4gfDH6K5kyQaqlqUmCC3lDlipTdfoC_sCsukWa8cguLCihdbu-x6x9b0Ut6VbGMYgtD9K76ZZT1fk/w400-h151/Gaza%20(2).png" width="400" /></a></div><br />In 2024, the geo-political landscape
witnesses a public display of imperialism and militarism. American dollars feeding
military and economic aid to the military conflict in Ukraine. Feeding the genocidal/military
occupation of Palestine. There’s the ongoing military conflicts in the Congo
and the Sudan. The fears of a pending military intervention in Haiti. The
self-determining activities in the Sahel region. And, the tentacles of American
military bases along with AFRICOM feeding instability in Africa compels attention.
<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">During these troubled times, we’re
reminded of the traditional position of peace, Black people have taken versus
war. And, of the traditional engagement Black people has had with the global
community beyond the role of soldiers as organizers, activists and
revolutionaries.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">Meanwhile, Black History Month can clarify
the current moment by shedding light on Harlem rent strikes, Freedom Schools, Citizen
schools, the significance of the Black Studies movement, as well as the Black
Student movement. Highlighting the practice of independent politics during the
19<sup>th</sup> and early 20<sup>th</sup> century that grappled with racial capitalism,
fascism, imperialism, socialism, Marxism, and communism, etc.,</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">But despite the on-going attacks on
Black history and Black studies, new stories of Black life will continue to emerge
with many more waiting to be unearthed. The future relevance of Black History
month lies in the self-determining opportunities to tell these stories. <i>Our
stories.</i></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00b050;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><b><u>Additional Reading:</u></b></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><a href="https://www.aaihs.org/the-political-origins-of-black-history-month/">The Political Origins of Black History Month</a></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><a href=" https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/06/17/the-long-war-on-black-studies/">The Long War on Black Studies</a>, Robin D.G. Kelley</p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00b050;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00b050;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><br /><p></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-81623648983013569272024-02-26T19:47:00.001-05:002024-02-26T20:14:39.435-05:00After Setting Himself on Fire, US Airman Aaron Bushnell Dies Declaring 'Free Palestine'<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">By Brett Wilkins</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">"Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it."</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBOAg0pzLsLCrYFmbON4QRFFSxklREtzF6qIGHRyMnOggIzd1E6cWMqcvf6bzivzwpPS5rljkQxkFwcw2K1d0hlHCldktxTxFjuWV4948LYvp-hb2FbCv0JZ2JivAra33ejUnxYjd6ijrklzVqBXcl01hT43aL0IwQBq9Wf6AndAxC3IyKLOesvcWhRo/s1200/aaron-bushnell-poses-for-a-photo-in-a-red-shirt.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1200" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBOAg0pzLsLCrYFmbON4QRFFSxklREtzF6qIGHRyMnOggIzd1E6cWMqcvf6bzivzwpPS5rljkQxkFwcw2K1d0hlHCldktxTxFjuWV4948LYvp-hb2FbCv0JZ2JivAra33ejUnxYjd6ijrklzVqBXcl01hT43aL0IwQBq9Wf6AndAxC3IyKLOesvcWhRo/w640-h214/aaron-bushnell-poses-for-a-photo-in-a-red-shirt.webp" width="640" /></a></div></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">"My name is Aaron Bushnell, I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force, and I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/palestine" style="color: #005dc7; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Palestine</a><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"> at the hands of their colonizers, it's not extreme at all."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">That's how the 25-year-old introduced himself—and bade farewell—to the world in a livestream video of his Sunday afternoon walk to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. Arriving outside the front gate, Bushnell set down his phone, took eight paces, turned to face the camera, doused himself in an unknown accelerant, donned his service cap, and set himself alight. He repeatedly screamed "Free Palestine" as he burned.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Uniformed Secret Service officers arrived on the scene even before Bushnell was able to ignite the fire. They repeatedly ordered him to "get on the ground."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Get on the ground, you fucker," someone—presumably an officer—can be heard saying in the video as Bushnell screams and writhes in agony. He managed one final, garbled yet unmistakable shout of "free Palestine" as his body was engulfed in flames.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><em><strong>Note: The following video contains blurred graphic images that some readers may find disturbing.</strong></em></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="17f18cf50f793dfcbadcb568ae9d2892" id="4716e" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><span class="rm-embed-spacer rm-embed-spacer-desktop" style="display: block; padding-bottom: 825px;"></span><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: flex; height: 825px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 550px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762018555900359005" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762018555900359005&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Faaron-bushnell&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=178780b491b2441b12c9303786f4fb4e13a2e6a0&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 811px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Nearly two-and-a-half minutes into the video, an officer in a white shirt rushes in with an extinguisher while an officer points his pistol at Bushnell's burning body.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"I don't need guns," implored the man in the white shirt, "I need fire extinguishers."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><em>NPR </em><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/25/1233810136/fire-man-israeli-embassy-washington" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reported</a> Bushnell was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. He died Sunday evening.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Bushnell left a final message on social media early Sunday morning.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?'" he <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.facebook.com/aaron.bushnell.94" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">wrote</a> in his first Facebook post in nearly six years. "The answer is, you're doing it. Right now."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Some observers criticized U.S. corporate media outlets for publishing articles with headlines omitting the words "<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza</a>," "Palestine," or "genocide."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d63072dac287e937a87e5177dd03d2ef" id="ab680" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><span class="rm-embed-spacer rm-embed-spacer-desktop" style="display: block; padding-bottom: 671px;"></span><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: flex; height: 671px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 550px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; 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flex-grow: 1; height: 422px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Others took aim at reports attributing Bushnell's act to mental health issues.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"They will try to spin-doctor it as mental health issues, but he was rational and clear about his political reasoning, which resonates with [the] majority of the world," Syracuse University professor Farhana Sultana said on social media. "May his sacrifice not be in vain. Indeed. it was legitimate moral outrage and courage against the holocaust and barbarity in Palestine with U.S. full participation. May his sacrifice not be in vain, may his last words on this earth ring true. #FreePalestine."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><em>CounterPunch</em> editor Joshua Frank <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/joshua__frank/status/1762202579680084458" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">wrote</a>: "Please, stop saying Aaron Bushnell was mentally ill. The real mental illness is witnessing a genocide taking place and not doing a thing to stop it."<br /></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1b376a05bbe98e0d5b7e1bad7f9e9820" id="890c5" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded rm-off" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: contents; height: 100%; left: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; width: 100%;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1761986204881596688" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1761986204881596688&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Faaron-bushnell&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=178780b491b2441b12c9303786f4fb4e13a2e6a0&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 305px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eda259a58760b6fd8d26d49c949b3b1b" id="3f66b" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded rm-off" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: contents; height: 100%; left: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; width: 100%;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762137802349666579" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762137802349666579&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Faaron-bushnell&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=178780b491b2441b12c9303786f4fb4e13a2e6a0&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 328px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">More than 100,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed or wounded by Israeli bombs and bullets since the October 7 attacks on Israel. Around 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced, and at least hundreds of thousands of Gazans are on the brink of starvation.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The U.S. government backs Israel with nearly $4 billion in annual military aid and diplomatic support including <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-vetoes-ceasefire" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">three vetoes</a> of United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolutions. The Biden administration is <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-request-arms-israel" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">seeking</a> an additional $14.3 billion in armed assistance for Israel, and has <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/u-s-aid-to-israel-2666833315" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">twice sidestepped </a>Congress to fast-track emergency military aid.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Last month, <em>The Intercept </em><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://theintercept.com/2024/01/11/israel-air-force-targeting-intelligence/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reported</a> that documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request suggested that the Biden administration deployed a U.S. Air Force team to Israel to assist the Israel Defense Forces with targeting intelligence.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Bushnell's death is the second reported U.S. self-immolation since the start of the Gaza genocide. On December 1, a woman—whose identity and outcome remain unknown—carrying a Palestinian flag was hospitalized in critical condition after <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/protester-self-immolates-outside-israeli-consulate-atlanta-2023-12-01/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">setting herself alight</a> outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Police called it an "act of extreme political protest." Israeli Consul-General Anat Sultan-Dadon called it an act of "hate and incitement toward Israel."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d494481176a8b0e845f194792a439566" id="4b863" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded rm-off" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: contents; height: 100%; left: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; width: 100%;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762137190518476853" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-5" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-5&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762137190518476853&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Faaron-bushnell&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=178780b491b2441b12c9303786f4fb4e13a2e6a0&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 305px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">People have set themselves on fire as an act of political protest for many centuries. Following the examples of Vietnamese Buddhist monks and nuns who self-immolated in 1963 to protest persecution by the U.S.-backed Ngô Đình Diệm dictatorship, at least half a dozen Americans burned themselves to death to protest the Vietnam War. Americans also self-immolated over the 1991 and 2003 invasions of Iraq, the climate emergency, alleged corruption at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and other reasons.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">In December 2010, the self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/17/remembering-mohamed-bouazizi-his-death-triggered-the-arab" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Mohamed Bouazizi</a> was a major catalyst for the Arab Spring uprising that swept across North Africa and the Middle East.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The late Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, and author Thích Nhất Hạnh <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/in-search-of-the-enemy-of-man" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">explained</a> in a letter to the Rev. <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/martin-luther-king-jr" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Martin Luther King Jr</a>. that the monks and nuns who self-immolated were not committing suicide. Rather, their self-sacrifices were aimed "at moving the hearts of the oppressors, and at calling the attention of the world to the suffering endured."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"It is done," he <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/d8ab2797-9f3f-4159-91f8-3fb09816e754/content" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">explained</a>, "to wake us up."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><em>The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline—which offers 24/7, free, and confidential support—can be reached by calling or texting 988, or through chat at <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://988lifeline.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">988lifeline.org</a>.</em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.commondreams.org">Common Dreams</a> on February 26th, 2024. </span></i></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Photo credit: Talia Jane via X</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-67155327504559200762024-02-25T18:02:00.003-05:002024-02-25T18:02:59.223-05:00Michigan State Police releases independent report on racial bias, ACLU calls it ‘concerning’<p><span 20px="" color="var(--black)" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span 14px="" 15px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" center="" class="singleByline" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" line-height:="" text-align:="" text-transform:="" uppercase="">BY: </span><span 15px="" 700="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" center="" class="singleBylineAuthor" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" text-align:="" text-transform:="" uppercase=""><a class="author url fn" href="https://michiganadvance.com/author/ken-coleman/" rel="author" style="background-image: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 0%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Ken Coleman">KEN COLEMAN</a> </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVUMkIlkFCGtT0eFA1pkYT8ui0ZJnjj89cIx2DkdHoNecpL51RsmC0kN-KwteUcrhzYu7aryLnwg5B37fzG253GpqHqYzWwzEHqqO4ohCnZwtpizcFD6kTmjFP97vMRTuxlyArqdKLEcFVqKO8PzcIgOd8Ysl2GGjjH2ji4xmoIqK8tcoho9HGALybtU/s1366/michigan%20state%20police%20stop%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1366" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVUMkIlkFCGtT0eFA1pkYT8ui0ZJnjj89cIx2DkdHoNecpL51RsmC0kN-KwteUcrhzYu7aryLnwg5B37fzG253GpqHqYzWwzEHqqO4ohCnZwtpizcFD6kTmjFP97vMRTuxlyArqdKLEcFVqKO8PzcIgOd8Ysl2GGjjH2ji4xmoIqK8tcoho9HGALybtU/w640-h270/michigan%20state%20police%20stop%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Michigan State Police (MSP) has released an independent report centered on the issue of whether it has carried out racially discriminatory policing practices.</span></p><p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;"><span>In a news release, MSP said that “racial disparities observed in the traffic enforcement activities of Michigan State Police troopers do not appear to be the result of widespread discriminatory policing practices.” </span></span></p><p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;">The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan has </span><a href="https://michiganadvance.com/2021/06/23/aclu-files-discrimination-suit-against-michigan-state-police/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">argued </span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;">that African Americans have been stopped disproportionately by state troopers. The group pushed for the external review.</span></p><div -apple-system="" 0="" 100="" 16px="" 2="" 760px="" arial="" auto="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" bs-gutter-x="" bs-gutter-y="" calc="" class="col-xxl-8 col-xl-8 col-lg-8 col-md-10 col-sm-12 col-12" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" flex:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-top:="" max-width:="" neue="" oto="" padding-left:="" padding-right:="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="" var="" width:=""><div class="row" style="--bs-gutter-x: 1.5rem; --bs-gutter-y: 0; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; margin-left: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) / -2); margin-right: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) / -2); margin-top: calc(var(--bs-gutter-y) * -1);"><div class="col-12 contentHolder" id="dataContent" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); flex: 0 0 auto; font-family: Newsreader, serif; line-height: 28px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) / 2); padding-right: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) / 2); width: 760px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The 18-month independent </span><a href="https://www.michigan.gov/msp/-/media/Project/Websites/msp/reports/MSP_Traffic_Enforcement_Assessment.pdf?rev=da3820f4d01048cca142888849b42620" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">evaluation report</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> conducted by the CNA Corp.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> was released in December. It came after MSP announced in January 2022 a </span><a href="https://www.michigan.gov/mspnewsroom/news-releases/2022/01/12/state-police-finds-racial-disparities-in-traffic-stops-and-pledges-action" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">five-point plan to address racial disparities in its traffic stops</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“As a law enforcement agency, we are committed to fair and equitable policing,” stated Col. James Grady, MSP director, who is African American. “Although previous research conducted by the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University has identified the presence of racial and ethnic disparities in MSP traffic stops, the reasons for such disparities remain unknown.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Discriminatory behavior is not an acceptable practice within this agency and anyone engaging in it will be addressed through training, discipline or termination, dependent on the circumstances of the incident. Today, as always, we reaffirm our commitment to the highest standards of anti-discrimination education and training and always look to serve Michigan to the best of our ability.” </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">To assess the department’s traffic enforcement policies and programs, CNA studied document reviews, targeted interviews, focus groups, ride-alongs and quantitative data analysis. MSP commissioned as part of its five-point plan announced in January 2022 to address racial disparities in its traffic stops. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mark Fancher, staff attorney for the Racial Justice Project of the ACLU of Michigan, told the </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Advance </i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">that MSP has some “cultural, systemic features of the agency that lead to discriminatory outcomes.” </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“We find the conclusions very concerning, if not alarming,” he said. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyam3ysZd5lADpWvcqbiiWwGartMC2hXzaHxBcWLx6Aa_SIRDy_3J1gWoMilWhTDpx8ClHvSlUkz7DrZRiJvsXPWkNkZopDQxWZAhcdkYTrz5xgxlTBpnls1Pz2BqPl0x5iy30eC4EaSioifpE0Eh3ASMRx0QfWuQ5G1S2wUvG02XCsaBPp_noF3R2OA/s496/aclu%20report%20michigan%20police%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyam3ysZd5lADpWvcqbiiWwGartMC2hXzaHxBcWLx6Aa_SIRDy_3J1gWoMilWhTDpx8ClHvSlUkz7DrZRiJvsXPWkNkZopDQxWZAhcdkYTrz5xgxlTBpnls1Pz2BqPl0x5iy30eC4EaSioifpE0Eh3ASMRx0QfWuQ5G1S2wUvG02XCsaBPp_noF3R2OA/s320/aclu%20report%20michigan%20police%20(2).png" width="263" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span 20px="" font-size:="" style="font-size: large;"><span 20px="" font-size:="">However, Fancher did point out the ACLU was “pleased” that MSP agreed to have the independent review carried out. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">“The report validates many of the conclusions that we reached on our own, and identifies some specific problems that make it possible for MSP to try and address them in an effective way,” Fancher added. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The report includes 54 findings and associated recommendations. Among them emphasize policies and programs that require greater attention and improvement.</span></p><div class="snrsInfobox" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin: 34px 0px;"><div class="snrsInfoboxContainer" style="border-bottom: solid 2px var(--brand_two); border-top: solid 2px var(--brand_two); box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 0px;"><div class="snrsInfoboxSubContainer" style="background-color: var(--very_light_gray); box-sizing: border-box; padding: 24px 72px;"><h4 class="editorialSubhed" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--brand_one); font-family: "Barlow Condensed", sans-serif; font-size: 1.5rem; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 14px;">Key findings of the independent evaluation: </h4><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 2rem;"><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP has a defined, comprehensive hiring process for applicants. </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP has consistently emphasized a written commitment to recruiting a diverse workforce in its strategic plans and recruiting strategy, but the department can improve on its followthrough and accountability for such commitments. </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">As part of recruit training, MSP provides eight hours of implicit bias training, six hours of ethics training, and 15 hours of a cultural diversity speaker series. </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">Disparities exist in graduation and attrition rates by demographics. </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP has made tangible efforts to institute recruiting and hiring practices that reduce barriers to applying for the trooper position.</span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP has several policies that provide guidance to troopers to ensure constitutional and bias-free policing. </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP’s policies on traffic enforcement do not sufficiently recognize the community being served nor provide sufficient guidance on the use of discretion. </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP has recently delivered two trainings on bias and policing, one that was not well received and a more recent one that was well received. </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP does not provide sufficient training on the use of discretion, particularly with the concept of “going beyond the stop.” </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">Supervisors do not sufficiently manage where and how troopers patrol, leading to disproportionate “congregation in high-population areas with greater minority populations.” </span></li><li aria-level="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 14px;">MSP now takes a more systematic approach to provide training and address identified gaps. </span></li></ul></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">On Friday, MSP issued a statement that the “employee-led African American Employee Resource Group (AAERG), one of the department’s commitments to diversity” that has been highlighted in a new </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4prM_Y7bgBM&list=PLlSvp_iW_UZDIPZEuJHbd-OtIxo3vDQ8n&index=1" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">video</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> series celebrating Black History Month.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Being part of and leading the AAERG is a source of gratitude for me,” said Sgt. DiJon Ware, AAERG co-chair. “It not only instills a sense of belonging but also nurtures inclusivity, fosters a supportive community and encourages diverse perspectives, thereby enriching the workplace culture. Over the past year, we’ve educated both our members and allies about African American culture and we’ve proactively forged connections within our communities through various outreach events across the state.”</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">This article originally appeared in <a href="https://michiganadvance.com/">Michigan Advance</a> on February 21st, 2021. </span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p></div></div></div></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-322065625697591382024-02-25T17:21:00.000-05:002024-02-25T17:21:53.247-05:00Bill to make juvenile crime records public advances to Louisiana House<p><span 14px="" 15px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleByline" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase="">By: </span><span 15px="" 700="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleBylineAuthor" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase=""><a class="author url fn" href="https://lailluminator.com/author/richardawebster/" rel="author" style="background-image: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 0%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Richard A. Webster, Verite">RICHARD A. WEBSTER, VERITE</a> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2M6ocJFGBp9LnVg0n-iuH1U_1z3gYL0fGqIJlR__Om9eMMxUno6y4NAubbj2o0sjT2a7HHxh9XghKZdCOCnw6gSdeaBVy-OQsCMZ38nfnRadZcKMK0yBNWfqD8nGA95IJm27rsIn1XiGJeic2WAeEV3ILFdEdDI9EOGxGhhIx4KOywPCbMZo14BjdIhU/s1177/louisiana%20crime%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1177" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2M6ocJFGBp9LnVg0n-iuH1U_1z3gYL0fGqIJlR__Om9eMMxUno6y4NAubbj2o0sjT2a7HHxh9XghKZdCOCnw6gSdeaBVy-OQsCMZ38nfnRadZcKMK0yBNWfqD8nGA95IJm27rsIn1XiGJeic2WAeEV3ILFdEdDI9EOGxGhhIx4KOywPCbMZo14BjdIhU/w640-h336/louisiana%20crime%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Juvenile crime once again took center stage at the State Capitol as a bill that would publicize the confidential court records of young people accused of crimes moved forward to the Louisiana State House.<p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The Administration of Criminal Justice Committee approved the proposed legislation 13-1 Wednesday, just one day after a Senate committee <a href="https://veritenews.org/2024/02/20/bill-to-allow-prosecution-of-17-year-olds-as-adults-moves-forward/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">greenlit a bill</a> that would lower the age teens can be tried as adults from 18 to 17.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">House <a href="https://legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1342725" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">Bill 1</a> by Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, would create a “Truth and Transparency” program to require clerks of court to provide public electronic access to some criminal court records of teenagers accused of serious crimes, including their names.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The public information would include but not be limited to the name of the defendant, arrest details, custody or bail decisions, and court dates, among other facts associated with the case.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Most youth criminal case records are currently confidential in Louisiana.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">A similar bill introduced last year by Rep. Debbie Villio was dogged by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/juvenile-records-louisiana-e95896fcc0ca3e1a8d92409a345ad706" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">accusations of racism </a>as it proposed a two-year pilot program focusing on three majority-Black parishes: Caddo, East Baton Rouge and Orleans. Last year’s bill passed the House but <a href="https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=244218" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">ultimately died in the Senate</a>; the bill lacked funding to enable parishes to implement the initiative. Bacala said his new bill will be funded through a fee collected by the Louisiana Clerks Remote Access Authority.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUja3V74wynyFIsSPnQPWHvVNkdfiGq1WERNDsZTgIDQYQgq8ARDHtPvsRax4gjMfdI8-KLG_xx_ACTqNRrdJUASWE3A_q7ldndNeqUFxXTfad9CABgOV19tffsaaiPS48OEe2xtINFZE2wyr9PanB5Guhu82eCCoPw7y1g5nVS26tb5Wz_IEYIW5UTKM/s1051/Governor%20Landry%20(2).png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1051" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUja3V74wynyFIsSPnQPWHvVNkdfiGq1WERNDsZTgIDQYQgq8ARDHtPvsRax4gjMfdI8-KLG_xx_ACTqNRrdJUASWE3A_q7ldndNeqUFxXTfad9CABgOV19tffsaaiPS48OEe2xtINFZE2wyr9PanB5Guhu82eCCoPw7y1g5nVS26tb5Wz_IEYIW5UTKM/s320/Governor%20Landry%20(2).png" width="320" /></a></div>The juvenile records bill was introduced as part of a special session on crime called by Gov. Jeff Landry that started this week and will run through March 6. The newly elected governor made juvenile crime a key issue throughout his campaign and during a speech he gave Monday to open the session.<p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“These juveniles are not innocent children any longer; they are hardened criminals,” Landry said during his comments before the Legislature. “They violently attack our citizens, our law enforcement officers, and even our juvenile correction officers without hesitation.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">During the debate on Bacala’s bill, supporters of the measure included the mothers and grandmothers of crime victims who were fatally shot or left permanently disabled. Sheralyn Price, whose son <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/city-officials-criticized-by-mother-of-slain-comedian-boogie-b-montrell-deny-her-allegations/article_91b41094-977f-11ed-a6fd-6f519133192a.html" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">Brandon “Boogie B” Montrell </a>was shot to death in 2022, pushed back against those who voiced concerns about privacy.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“If your kid’s name is splattered all over the internet, you won’t have to pick out a casket. You won’t have to plan a funeral,” Price told committee members. “My child is dead. … I buried him in the last gift I gave him for Christmas, his Saints jersey.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">In 2019, Darrelle Scott, was shot and paralyzed by 13-year-old<a href="https://www.fox8live.com/2023/09/24/attempted-murder-victim-says-his-attacker-escaped-juvenile-custody-no-alert-public/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"> Lynell Reynolds</a>, who was later found guilty and sentenced to remain in state custody until the age of 21. Scott’s grandmother, Dorothy White, told lawmakers that making the public aware of the extensive criminal histories of juveniles might spare someone from suffering the same fate as Scott.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“We must hold these juveniles accountable,” White said during Wednesday’s hearing. “This is not about Black and white. It’s not about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about our lives, our safety. We have to go out and tell the public. We need to put the names out. We need the faces out.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Opponents of Bacala’s bill warned that the goal of the criminal justice system is to rehabilitate juveniles. The bill’s critics argued that publicizing the names of young defendants, especially of those later found to be innocent, will make it harder, if not impossible for them to get a job, housing, or even go to college.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“For juveniles who are adjudicated and are not convicted, that has an extremely serious impact on them in their future,” said Sarah Whittington, an attorney with the Justice and Accountability Center. “It is not the same as losing a child. It is not the same as losing a family member. I am not making that correlation. But it will follow that child forever.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Others noted that the law already requires the courts and district attorneys to provide information to victims and their families, but in many cases they are failing to do so. Instead of passing legislation that might harm children, the state should ensure that prosecutors are following the existing law, said Natalie Sharp, an investigator with the Promise of Justice Initiative.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“I recently spoke with a person whose brother was shot and killed in the 1990s. They never even knew that an arrest had been made, let alone that someone had been incarcerated for decades,” Sharp said. “The prosecutor never took the time to speak with them.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Despite later voting in favor of Bacala’s proposal, Rep. Alonzo Knox, D-New Orleans, said the bill would not prevent or deter crime. Knox warned that publicizing the names of youths suspected of shooting or killing someone could lead to retaliation, causing “chaos in the streets.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“I think that’s an unintended consequence, that many of my colleagues sitting up here don’t know and realize about our community,” Knox said, referring to the majority-white committee. “And when I say our community, let me specify and be clear if there’s any doubt: in my Black community, in my district of New Orleans. When this goes out, and someone’s actually not guilty, we’re going to have some serious unintended consequences.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Bacala defended his bill as being about one thing: transparency.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“If I have a son or daughter who’s murdered, and someone is arrested who happens to be a juvenile, should I have the ability to see what’s happening with the case?” Bacala said.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Ashley Hamilton, director of policy with the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, rejected Bacala’s argument, saying the public’s money would be better spent on programs helping disadvantaged children who might resort to violence.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Hamilton told the committee members she spoke from experience, noting that yesterday would have been her sister’s 31st birthday.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">In 2021, Hamilton’s sister was murdered. Knowing the killer’s identity has not brought her family any comfort, Hamilton said.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“What does bring me comfort is being in a community, with organizations … working tooth and nail with limited resources to ensure disadvantaged children have the support they need to prevent things like this from happening, and to build healthy and productive adults. Any money we have, put it there.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Rep. Joy Walters, D-Shreveport, was the lone vote against the bill.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://veritenews.org/">Verite</a> on February 22nd, 2024. </i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif"><br /></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif"><br /></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif"><br /></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><br /></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"></em></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><br /></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-89643099327280114522024-02-21T13:46:00.002-05:002024-02-21T13:46:57.587-05:00New sheriff in town: Gov. Jeff Landry ready to reverse Edwards’ criminal justice policy <p><span 14px="" 15px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleByline" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase="">BY: </span><span 15px="" 700="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleBylineAuthor" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase=""><a class="author url fn" href="https://lailluminator.com/author/piperhutchinson/" rel="author" style="background-image: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 0%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Piper Hutchinson">PIPER HUTCHINSON</a> </span><span 14px="" 15px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleByline" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase="">- FEBRUARY 19, 2024 </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIIRK-7SnzW00TgKb45KHCkcdgvLFfDoAcbAPuNVjzINuIF-fYrhzq4yqw7uWwm3T6uRVGPlsvZJa1EhHpgwc840SzboK1wfkxECDY5QOLdv-mk1wxUbJvPElqvBEwQvwwcMyABZIdS_Viw8x0l_1m638KHzprmGYYk49Gx4kyd3QyHwTCJE8o7cqLCI/s1051/Governor%20Landry%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1051" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIIRK-7SnzW00TgKb45KHCkcdgvLFfDoAcbAPuNVjzINuIF-fYrhzq4yqw7uWwm3T6uRVGPlsvZJa1EhHpgwc840SzboK1wfkxECDY5QOLdv-mk1wxUbJvPElqvBEwQvwwcMyABZIdS_Viw8x0l_1m638KHzprmGYYk49Gx4kyd3QyHwTCJE8o7cqLCI/w640-h400/Governor%20Landry%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Longer sentences, more executions and harsher penalties for juveniles. These are among the proposals Gov. Jeff Landry wants the Republican-supermajority Louisiana Legislature to approve in a special session on crime. </p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The self-styled, tough-on-crime GOP governor also wants to allow people to carry concealed firearms without a permit, place more police in New Orleans, expanded immunity for law enforcement and provide more public access to juvenile records. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In his speech Monday to lawmakers to start the session, Landry said he’s thinking of victims. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Today, I ask you to place the voices of the tired, the weary and the broken-hearted victims of crime in this state above the irresponsible rhetoric that is destroying our quality of life,” Landry said. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The governor’s requests, and others from far-right lawmakers, amount to a near-complete rollback of Louisiana’s 2017 criminal justice overhaul under former Gov. John Bel Edwards. That bipartisan effort was meant to save the state money by reducing its nation-leading incarceration rate, shortening non-violent criminal sentences and providing flexibility on parole. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Landry opposed those measures as attorney general and is seizing his first opportunity as governor to roll back the changes. </span></p><p><span 14px="" 15px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleByline" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase=""></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“As attorney general, I warned that the goal of criminal justice reform should not be about letting people out of jail, but how to keep people from going to jail,” Landry said. “Those warnings went unheeded.” </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Edwards’ criminal justice reinvestment initiative resulted in the state spending millions less on incarceration and using some of that money for crime victim services. The proposals from Landry and Republican legislators could undo those savings and perhaps cost the state additional money. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">A proposal that Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, a former prosecutor, has submitted would effectively eliminate parole in Louisiana, except for groups from whom it is constitutionally required — including those sentenced to life terms as juveniles. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptjq6lhlL9lJnkGcyVpT1sKm5qNlNYjUPOM_timuQuVjo0j8ecLjg3WSrbzBX8q5Uk0nEEYrsIcqG3IRTOXsGwcW6gdxHBnot-9r6gxsy_W-0P_FXxXADiDWrEvUcbefvN6AOAHKFHwz4Phf0SmyclSGnNJHM9q66iZfeLwsAm8TX_Kge5q2PoX-7730/s1177/louisiana%20crime%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1177" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptjq6lhlL9lJnkGcyVpT1sKm5qNlNYjUPOM_timuQuVjo0j8ecLjg3WSrbzBX8q5Uk0nEEYrsIcqG3IRTOXsGwcW6gdxHBnot-9r6gxsy_W-0P_FXxXADiDWrEvUcbefvN6AOAHKFHwz4Phf0SmyclSGnNJHM9q66iZfeLwsAm8TX_Kge5q2PoX-7730/w640-h336/louisiana%20crime%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Villio’s </span><a href="https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=245601" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">House Bill 9</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> could cost the state more than $14 million annually, according to a fiscal note generated by the Legislative Fiscal Office. </span><p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Landry said fiscal impact shouldn’t be the deciding factor for lawmakers. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“While many say focus on the cost, I say focus on the cost to society. I say focus on the cost to our citizens in loss of property, in the disruption of their lives and in the irreparable tragedy of losing a loved one,” the governor said. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">In the audience for Landry’s speech at the State Capitol were victims of violent crime, relatives of murder victims and law enforcement leaders. The governor told the Legislature these three groups represent his priorities.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“The propensity of some to signal their virtuous compassion for criminals has become a liberal custom to many, without forethought of the consequences to society and the danger it creates in our neighborhoods and homes,” Landry said. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">While the governor insisted criminal justice reform should be about preventing crime, he offered few proposals addressing this aim. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Every proposal that his team has put forward is reactive. None of it will help to reduce crime and keep our community safe,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Matthew Willard said at a press conference after Landry’s speech. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“If we want to talk about addressing crime, we need to talk about mental health, substance use disorder, reentry programs and eliminating barriers for kids coming home from prison so that they can successfully reintegrate into society,” Willard added. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Democrats noted none of their members were consulted in putting together the call for the special session, resulting in an agenda in which few bipartisan measures will even be discussed. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Along with a lack of bipartisanship came a lack of transparency, Democrats argued — despite Landry’s overtures toward openness in his speech. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“The lack of transparency in our criminal justice system is unacceptable,” Landry said. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">House Republicans moved to suspend the rules on each of their proposals, allowing them to be heard in committee the next day. Despite Democratic objection, Republicans used their supermajority to fast-track the bills. That means the public will have less time to process a serious policy proposal, Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, said. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Landry-backed bill to expand the methods by which Louisiana executes people also limits transparency. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><a href="https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=245598" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">House Bill 6</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, by Rep. Nicholas Muscarello, R-Hammond, would add electrocution and nitrogen gas inhalation to the acceptable methods of execution. It also shields all records related to the execution, including which companies provide execution drugs and how much they cost, from public disclosure. If anybody were to leak those records, they could face jail time. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Louisiana banned use of the electric chair in 1991, when it was last used, in favor of lethal injection. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Landry’s vision of transparency involves public access to juvenile justice records that are typically shielded to protect minors’ right to privacy. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Our transparency legislation will allow people to access this information and provide online access to the data from our criminal and juvenile courts,” Landry said. “Through this simple and common-sense measure, we hope to ease the suffering of victims, offer more transparency in the legal process, and find better solutions to our crime problem.” </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Democrats say </span><a href="https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=245593" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">the proposal</span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> would punish children who commit offenses well into their adulthood. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“We don’t want to penalize juveniles by having those records public and having them exposed as adults for something that they did in childhood,” Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, said. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i style="background-color: transparent;">This article originally appeared in Louisiana Illuminator on February 19th, 2023. </i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><i style="background-color: transparent;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><br /></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-78862622318504862042024-02-20T18:59:00.003-05:002024-02-20T19:04:30.966-05:00Gaza: Israeli advance on Rafah would have ‘dire humanitarian consequences’<p> <span 0.5rem="" 1.125rem="" 1.3="" 700="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="views-field views-field-field-news-date" color:="" condensed="" d4d4d="" display:="" elvetica="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" helvetica="" inline-block="" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" neue="" oboto="" quot="" sans-serif=""><span class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">19 February 2024 </span></span><span 0.5rem="" 1.125rem="" 1.3="" 140="" 31="" 3px="" 700="" arial="" border-box="" border-inline-start:="" box-sizing:="" class="views-field views-field-field-news-topics" color:="" condensed="" d4d4d="" display:="" elvetica="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" helvetica="" inline-block="" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-inline-start:="" neue="" oboto="" padding-inline-start:="" quot="" rgb="" sans-serif="" solid=""><span class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://news.un.org/en/news/topic/peace-and-security" hreflang="en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b75bb; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;">Peace and Security</a></span></span></p><div -apple-system="" 16px="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="views-element-container block block-views block-views-block-content-fields-block-lead" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" id="block-views-block-content-fields-block-lead" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><div class="block-content block__content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="view view-content-fields view-id-content_fields view-display-id-block_lead js-view-dom-id-b3b9744820b2be4829095efd0924bbefa9b4bcb964e589d7f24ab889cf47dbca" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="view-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="views-row" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="views-field views-field-field-news-story-lead" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); box-shadow: rgba(34, 25, 25, 0.2) 0px 1px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 2rem; padding: 2rem;"><div class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW72214334 BCX0" style="box-sizing: border-box;">An extension of Israel’s military operation in Rafah, where over a million internally displaced Palestinians have been forced to shelter, will have “dire humanitarian consequences”, the UN Senior Humanitarian Coordinator for Gaza said on Monday.</span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="block block-system block-system-main-block block-un-base-theme-content" id="block-un-base-theme-content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", "Noto Sans", "Liberation Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px;"><div class="block-content block__content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><article class="node node--type-news-story node--view-mode-full clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><header style="box-sizing: border-box;"></header><div class="node__content clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></article></div></div><div -apple-system="" 16px="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="views-element-container block block-views block-views-block-content-fields-block-body" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" id="block-views-block-content-fields-block-body" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><div class="block-content block__content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="view view-content-fields view-id-content_fields view-display-id-block_body js-view-dom-id-d56c9ff60b8459df73a40fac714f7ad5ae89270ab159a5fbb836cd42f7d33549" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="view-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="views-row" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="views-field views-field-field-news-story" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="field-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--one-column-text paragraph--view-mode--default" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1rem;"><div class="_none" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="w-100" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 723px;"><div class="layout row layout-builder__layout" style="--bs-gutter-x: 1.5rem; --bs-gutter-y: 0; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; margin-left: calc(-0.5 * var(--bs-gutter-x)); margin-right: calc(-0.5 * var(--bs-gutter-x)); margin-top: calc(-1 * var(--bs-gutter-y));"><div class="col-12" style="-webkit-box-flex: 0; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 0 0 auto; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) * 0.5); padding-right: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) * 0.5); width: 747px;"><div class="_none block block-layout-builder block-field-block-paragraph-one-column-text-field-text-column" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="block-content block__content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text-column field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-JzvBrFCU5-gStGOLHyedmW5GMPE_AmHUrW4wWGtaC1JWItchuNuuFFu9AjD2dRQ2duN2a6hflti_d69yyxCZc4sMVivfz01zUZh_W2_4p0k0Sn-QC0hDQHHHF98YIdGSK238-8ypeL9q-m2oX_GjQn_M4AYC-Malg8kQhTrFo9ryWycHUcn2GBrYMU/s1230/rafah%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="1230" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-JzvBrFCU5-gStGOLHyedmW5GMPE_AmHUrW4wWGtaC1JWItchuNuuFFu9AjD2dRQ2duN2a6hflti_d69yyxCZc4sMVivfz01zUZh_W2_4p0k0Sn-QC0hDQHHHF98YIdGSK238-8ypeL9q-m2oX_GjQn_M4AYC-Malg8kQhTrFo9ryWycHUcn2GBrYMU/w640-h238/rafah%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Sigrid Kaag reiterated <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;">Secretary-General António Guterres</a>’s concern that such an operation at present time would be potentially disastrous for innocent civilians.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“There are more than a million people crammed in Rafah. It's not intended for a million people in shelters, in random sort of plastic sheeted constructions. Health conditions are very worrisome,” she told correspondents in Brussels after briefing European Union foreign ministers.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">She also voiced deep concern over getting aid into the Gaza Strip and distributing it to those in need.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“We have to acknowledge the fact that the security conditions, separate from military operations, due to what is called self-distribution by desperate civilians, but also looting and criminalization, is hampering efforts by the humanitarian community…to deliver assistance to the people that actually need it,” she said.</p><div class="align-right context-un_news_large_credit type-twitter media media--type-twitter media--view-mode-un-news-large-credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; float: right; font-size: 1.5rem; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: 1.5rem; margin-right: unset; overflow: visible; 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border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 618px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 335px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b75bb; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Roboto Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.75rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; width: 723px;">More needs to be done </h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Also on Monday, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, visited the Gaza Strip, where he met with internally displaced families.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">He also met with NGO and UN personnel the see the challenges they face first hand, including the breakdown of law and order which is impacting the distribution of humanitarian supplies.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“It’s clear that more needs to be done,” UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told correspondents in New York at the <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ossg/noon-briefing-highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">regular press briefing</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“The UN needs the tools to deliver on the ground, including the need for Israel to allow entry of items critical to UN operations and to improve deconfliction,” he added. </p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b75bb; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Roboto Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.75rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; width: 723px;">Continued hostilities</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Intense Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea continues across much of the war-torn enclave, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<a href="https://www.unocha.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">OCHA</a>), resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Widespread ground operations and heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups also continue to be reported, especially in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, OCHA said in a <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-121" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">flash update</a> on Monday.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Between 17 and 19 February, dozens of rockets were also reportedly fired by armed Palestinians toward Israel, it added.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b75bb; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Roboto Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.75rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; width: 723px;">Nasser hospital evacuations</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Furthermore, the Israeli military operation in the Nasser Hospital complex in Khan Younis have continued, OCHA said, noting that on Sunday, the UN and the Palestine Red Crescent Society evacuated 14 patients. Negotiations are ongoing for the evacuation of the remaining patients.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">According to the UN World Health Organization (<a href="http://www.who.int/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">WHO</a>), over 180 patients and 15 doctors and nurses remain inside the hospital.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“The hospital is still experiencing an acute shortage of food, basic medical supplies, and oxygen. There is no tap water and no electricity, except a backup generator maintaining some lifesaving machines,” WHO said.</p><div class="align-right context-un_news_large_credit type-twitter media media--type-twitter media--view-mode-un-news-large-credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; float: right; font-size: 1.5rem; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: 1.5rem; margin-right: unset; overflow: visible; width: auto;"><div class="field field--name-field-media-twitter field--type-string field--label-visually_hidden" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.625rem 0px 0.625rem 0.625rem; padding: 0px; width: 335px;"><div class="field__label visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-wrap: nowrap; width: 1px;">Tweet URL</div><div class="field__item" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 335px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-8522453_12="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-8522453_172="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-9="true" data-tweet-id="1759761794887795032" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=UN_News_Centre&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1759761794887795032&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.un.org%2Fen%2Fstory%2F2024%2F02%2F1146672&sessionId=9a631f778195964702b260ffe72e08268f8485e4&siteScreenName=UN_News_Centre&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 675px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 335px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b75bb; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Roboto Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.75rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; width: 723px;">‘Steep rise’ in child malnutrition</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">UN agencies on Monday warned of a steep rise in malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, posing grave threat to health.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The situation is especially serious in north Gaza, which has been almost completely cut off from aid for weeks, and where one in six children under the age of two is acutely malnourished.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The situation is not much better in southern Gaza Strip the UN Children’s Fund (<a href="https://www.unicef.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">UNICEF</a>), WHO and the World Food Programme (WFP), said in a <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/childrens-lives-threatened-rising-malnutrition-gaza-strip" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">new report</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In Rafah, where aid has been more available, five per cent of children under two are acutely malnourished.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“This is clear evidence that access to humanitarian aid is needed and can help prevent the worst outcomes,” the agencies said, reiterating the call to protect Rafah from the threat of intensified military operations. </p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b75bb; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Roboto Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.75rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; width: 723px;">West Bank violence</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">OCHA also reported further violent incidents in the West Bank over the weekend, claiming both Israeli and Palestinian lives.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">On 16 February, two Israeli men were shot and killed in southern Israel, and four others including a child were injured, by a Palestinian man from Shu’fat refugee camp in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian man was then shot and killed by an armed Israeli civilian.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">On Sunday, Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men in Tulkarm Refugee camp, during an exchange of fire with a Palestinian man whose body was later withheld by Israeli forces from being handed over.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The second fatality was an unarmed Palestinian who was reportedly killed by an Israeli army sniper while standing on the rooftop of his house, OCHA said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Between 7 October 2023 and 18 February, 393 Palestinians have been killed, including 100 children, and 4,511 Palestinians, including 699 children, have been injured in conflict-related incidents across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">During the same period, 12 Israelis, including four members of Israeli forces, were killed and 80 injured in conflict-related incidents in the same areas, according to OCHA.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1b75bb; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: "Roboto Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.75rem; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; width: 723px;">World court asked for legal opinion</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Meanwhile, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the International Court of Justice (<a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">ICJ</a>) is holding a <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203551" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">hearing</a> concerning an advisory opinion on the <a href="https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n23/004/68/pdf/n2300468.pdf?token=d0pFjUBDEHpx8llwLn&fe=true" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The advisory, non-binding, opinion on the occupation was requested by the General Assembly in December 2022.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The hearings will be held from 19 to 26 February, with over 50 countries, groups and the State of Palestine scheduled to speak.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i style="font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;">This article originally appeared in <a href="https://news.un.org/en/">UN News</a> on February 19th, 2023. </i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><br /></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-462782295458326562024-02-18T15:02:00.000-05:002024-02-18T15:02:23.959-05:00ICJ Hearings to Examine 57 Years of Israeli Occupation of Palestine<div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i>By Brett Wilkins</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i>"Decades of injustice will finally face scrutiny," said U.N. human rights official Francesca Albanese ahead of next week's Hague hearings on the legal consequences of Israel's illegal occupation.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGr3aYav_lWOtkcxejjUXhl_mSz0j8UDe_CneRYNTcQDPYHmlsFH3WQx87egVRxru_yrcs-zLD4APWkNt7ECtmgLYUm2Hxyqtm7k6dwQ2S9cvKrxK1ULyApgJXZUg4pWqt9SOkUUuCq0_IdGZK_9P7uYOIgxGVzfgFzJhUg4gftE6l0Y5_Qew-VHnSuUU/s4483/Gaza%20IDF%20troops_Ronan%20Shenhav.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2979" data-original-width="4483" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGr3aYav_lWOtkcxejjUXhl_mSz0j8UDe_CneRYNTcQDPYHmlsFH3WQx87egVRxru_yrcs-zLD4APWkNt7ECtmgLYUm2Hxyqtm7k6dwQ2S9cvKrxK1ULyApgJXZUg4pWqt9SOkUUuCq0_IdGZK_9P7uYOIgxGVzfgFzJhUg4gftE6l0Y5_Qew-VHnSuUU/w640-h426/Gaza%20IDF%20troops_Ronan%20Shenhav.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">More than 50 countries are set to participate in next week's hearings at the International Court of Justice focusing on Israel's illegal 57-year occupation of </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/palestine" style="color: #005dc7; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Palestine</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">, a forum that follows the Hague tribunal's finding last month that Israel is "plausibly" committing genocide in occupied </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" style="color: #005dc7; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Gaza.</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The ICJ—also known as the World Court—will hold a <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/186/186-20240209-pre-01-00-en.pdf" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">week of hearings </a>on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestine, which dates to the Israeli conquest of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, Syrian Golan Heights, and Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the 1967 Six-Day War.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"The International Court of Justice is set for the first time to broadly consider the legal consequences of Israel's nearly six-decades-long occupation and mistreatment of the Palestinian people," Human Rights Watch senior legal adviser Clive Baldwin said in a <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/02/16/world-court-review-57-year-israeli-occupation" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">statement</a>. "Governments that are presenting their arguments to the court should seize these landmark hearings to highlight the grave abuses Israeli authorities are committing against Palestinians, including the crimes against humanity of <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/04/27/scathing-human-rights-watch-report-says-israel-guilty-apartheid" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">apartheid</a> and persecution."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="516d8cb553ace3bada071c3d507433aa" id="51ef7" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loaded" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><span class="rm-embed-spacer rm-embed-spacer-desktop" style="display: block; padding-bottom: 737px;"></span><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: flex; height: 737px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 550px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 550px; width: 550px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1758420863806833120" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1758420863806833120&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fisraeli-occupation&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=645fe9f210e6d87d245b76c4ec32f84a841f14f4&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 714px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights remain under Israeli military occupation six decades after their conquest. The United Nations—to which the ICJ belongs—and many international NGOs <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/007/2009/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">contend</a> that, despite removing its troops and settlers from Gaza two decades ago, Israel continues to occupy Gaza by controlling the besieged enclave's airspace, territorial waters, and the entry and exit of people and goods.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><strong></strong>Since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have killed or wounded more than 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza while forcibly displacing around 90% of the population. Numerous Israeli leaders have <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/ethnic-cleansing-gaza" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">called for</a> the renewed physical occupation, Jewish resettlement, and ethnic cleansing of the strip.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><strong></strong>During the current assault on Gaza, occupation forces have also killed at least 388 Palestinians, including 99 children, in the West Bank, <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-78-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-Jerusalem" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to</a> U.N. human rights officials.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Israeli settlers have for decades been <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/settlements-in-israel" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">steadily colonizing</a> the occupied territories under the protection of the IDF, while <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/01/20/israel-accused-war-crime-ethnic-cleansing-sheikh-jarrah" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ethnically cleansing</a> Palestinians whose lands and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/05/04/israeli-man-trying-take-over-palestinian-home-says-if-i-dont-steal-it-someone-else" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">homes</a> they steal.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMAs3ZOxmb_L9lz1y1ckwgseCbvV3ZFUb9Y6qeSPUKsfGL8oVZJaIhh_MRb5AIiezcCDO0MQMbssBgZbJBL32tMKlUyLtp2qKdoX5fBX_nW444t4XlYkjOuKuVDEzTttjQuo_MVWtEsgjaM3lYY18E0W_ch0TSWVYDNtVdTkqsAeQpWdGAvSYmNmsOLI/s1209/ICJ%20(4).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="1209" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMAs3ZOxmb_L9lz1y1ckwgseCbvV3ZFUb9Y6qeSPUKsfGL8oVZJaIhh_MRb5AIiezcCDO0MQMbssBgZbJBL32tMKlUyLtp2qKdoX5fBX_nW444t4XlYkjOuKuVDEzTttjQuo_MVWtEsgjaM3lYY18E0W_ch0TSWVYDNtVdTkqsAeQpWdGAvSYmNmsOLI/w640-h186/ICJ%20(4).png" width="640" /></a></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Next week's hearings come on the heels of the ICJ's provisional ruling last month in a case led by South Africa—which will be the first nation after Palestine to present at next week's hearing—that Israel is "plausibly" committing genocide in Gaza. The tribunal <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/watch-live-international-court-of-justice-delivers-ruling-in-israel-genocide-case" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ordered</a> Israel to "take all measures within its power" to adhere to its obligations under <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/genocide-conv-1948/article-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Article II</a> of the Genocide Convention.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Earlier this week, South Africa<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/south-africa-rafah" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> urgently appealed</a> to the ICJ to act amid the looming threat of an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah. More than 1.5 million Palestinians, most of them refugees ordered to flee to the south of Gaza by invading Israeli forces, are crammed into what is now one of the world's most densely populated places.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">On Friday, the ICJ <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240216-pre-01-00-en.pdf" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">declined</a> to take any additional action against Israel, while <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/rafah-gaza" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reiterating</a> that the "perilous situation" in Rafah "demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the court" in last month's ruling.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.commondreams.org">Common Dreams</a> on February 16th, 2024. </span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-36741387239068193482024-02-16T18:55:00.000-05:002024-02-16T18:55:57.957-05:00Fulton DA delivers fiery testimony against Trump, co-defendants quest to disqualify her<p><span 14px="" 15px="" barlow="" black="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleByline" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" line-height:="" sans-serif="" text-transform:="" uppercase="" var="">By: </span><span 15px="" 700="" barlow="" black="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleBylineAuthor" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" sans-serif="" text-transform:="" uppercase="" var=""><a class="author url fn" href="https://georgiarecorder.com/author/stanley-dunlap/" rel="author" style="background-image: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 0%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Stanley Dunlap">Stanley Dunlap</a> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhow4NATyi6uyCm8Wl6RFRIQrr1_xrHsJ26wWc9cMsxMSrOgJhyphenhyphenzY6o_LTLIBrSTBYEgCLxdcjPKKSnIod2R9T_LQRB6_eOdXLJrLHXaAFhGMIV-urDTfJl_v32_g2u-h6o2GfFikYuZwpO44v0KyvdjLca0AGN2P8NVoE7_K7PNLrEYBJrhpZPFguDQ/s1296/Fani%20Willis%20smile%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1296" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhow4NATyi6uyCm8Wl6RFRIQrr1_xrHsJ26wWc9cMsxMSrOgJhyphenhyphenzY6o_LTLIBrSTBYEgCLxdcjPKKSnIod2R9T_LQRB6_eOdXLJrLHXaAFhGMIV-urDTfJl_v32_g2u-h6o2GfFikYuZwpO44v0KyvdjLca0AGN2P8NVoE7_K7PNLrEYBJrhpZPFguDQ/w640-h380/Fani%20Willis%20smile%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span 20px="" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif="">Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Thursday fiercely defended herself against allegations of prosecutorial misconduct while she had a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she appointed to oversee the 2020 presidential election interference case.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">A surprise appearance in a Fulton County courtroom saw Willis agree to testify in response to defense attorneys and a witness contradicting her statements that she only became romantically involved with Nathan Wade a few months after she hired him as a lead special prosecutor in a sweeping racketeering case charging interference in Georgia’s 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants were <a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2023/08/14/fulton-grand-jury-indicts-trump-members-of-his-inner-circle/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">indicted by a grand jury</a> in August on charges of illegally trying to alter the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia and several other swing states.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Willis repeatedly denied allegations that she or Wade misappropriated taxpayer funds for personal gain based on her relationship with Wade outside of work. The motion to disqualify her is centered on that issue, as opposed to the just-admitted nature of the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Willis’ appearance also means another day of testimony Friday in the judge’s hearing on defendants’ request to have her disqualified.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsbpm_Hvhxn4JB0dRCYJ3yYwVAtQA2jxV9XfHn6OCRlqK7pzRCPCKMGpxV-HteCGQMVyXSQ1KVu2cStskIiEGZ7mk9bUR-9cqY5H8kz47JPUd-PjNtb9UDX5hSwSb1Z5PnjXZRm6H8ZC84JCbaE_M-fTK6b8Sjz5ISFoMH9tyeLxifpewHRyNsYoyOwA/s943/Fani%20Willis%20judge%20(2).png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="943" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsbpm_Hvhxn4JB0dRCYJ3yYwVAtQA2jxV9XfHn6OCRlqK7pzRCPCKMGpxV-HteCGQMVyXSQ1KVu2cStskIiEGZ7mk9bUR-9cqY5H8kz47JPUd-PjNtb9UDX5hSwSb1Z5PnjXZRm6H8ZC84JCbaE_M-fTK6b8Sjz5ISFoMH9tyeLxifpewHRyNsYoyOwA/s320/Fani%20Willis%20judge%20(2).png" width="320" /></a></div>Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee scheduled the hearing last month to address whether Willis should be barred from overseeing the election interference case in the future. Wade’s estranged wife revealed in a January divorce filing that airline tickets were purchased for him and Willis for trips to San Francisco and Miami from 2022 to 2023 under Wade’s name on credit cards.<p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Willis’ harshest barbs Thursday were targeted at Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who publicly surfaced the existence of a romance between Willis and Wade in January. Merchant, along with Trump attorney Steve Sadow and others representing co-defendants, raised doubts to the former couple testifying that Willis repaid Wade thousands of dollars in cash for several flights, cruises and other trips they took together while dating from March 2022 until summer 2023.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Merchant repeatedly questioned Willis about whether she tracked each cash payment and why she didn’t provide documents showing withdrawals from her bank account or other financial changes that would support her testimony.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“So you have no proof of any reimbursement for any of these things because it was all cash,” Merchant said to Willis.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Willis called her line of questioning insulting, especially the charge that the DA had started the affair as soon as she met Wade at a 2019 conference. She said she would reimburse Wade for her share of travel expenses with cash she kept at home over time that she incrementally saved. According to her, the largest reimbursement was about $2,500 for one trip.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">”The testimony of one witness is enough to prove a fact. Are you telling me that I’m lying to you, is that what you’re intimating here?” Willis asked.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Merchant said Willis should be aware that how she uses public funds will be scrutinized as a district attorney. Since November 2021, Wade’s firm has received more than $650,000 from Fulton County.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“You understand that you’re under a microscope,” Merchant said. “You have reporting requirements to all types of things. You have no record other than your testimony of the money that you’ve given Mr. Wade.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Willis rejected defense questioning if Wade visited her south Fulton home before Willis launched the investigation into Trump’s role in Georgia’s election. She also reaffirmed her decision to pursue the felony racketeering case against Trump, several members of his inner circle and other Trump supporters because they attempted to illegally influence election results in his favor.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">One of Willis’ angry reactions to pointed personal questions led McAfee to order a five-minute break after Willis repeatedly told Merchant “It’s a lie” while holding court documents filed by the Marietta attorney.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“He never came to my house, let alone live with me, as you falsely put in these documents,” Willis said about the residence she lived in during 2019 and 2020.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_33IJmyNWKE2iSEWzADCkA9X0pYH98aHO3HNQThO7ex0uCWGTuHqd9kXrc6iCu-szYm4OBAsD4DwxU276Yxtc16PiHNKT4J_taykPTJP5jqqDatpQHIpvRqt0DYZojNTT443I2WFdN1Cs9oRKG_Z607kmLw2qTalKKE3DaDv-PNMgAQYPS7oXJphmIbg/s1366/Wade1%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="1366" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_33IJmyNWKE2iSEWzADCkA9X0pYH98aHO3HNQThO7ex0uCWGTuHqd9kXrc6iCu-szYm4OBAsD4DwxU276Yxtc16PiHNKT4J_taykPTJP5jqqDatpQHIpvRqt0DYZojNTT443I2WFdN1Cs9oRKG_Z607kmLw2qTalKKE3DaDv-PNMgAQYPS7oXJphmIbg/w640-h204/Wade1%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div>As pressure mounted in the high-profile case, Willis and Wade ended their relationship last summer, they said. The two continue to be friends as well as professional colleagues, she said.<p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“Mr. Wade has been my friend since 2020,” Willis said. “He started out as a mentor and professional colleague and he became my friend and somebody that I really respected. I feel very indebted to Mr. Wade for taking on the task of this job.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">On Thursday, defense attorneys also criticized Willis for not listing Wade’s travel expenses on financial disclosure reports that require public officers to disclose gifts of at least $100 or more from anyone contracting with the government.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The district attorney said she never considered the vacations with Wade to be gifts since she would later cover her share of the expenses.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Wade provided his own testimony in advance of Willis’ time on the stand, disputing the testimony of a former longtime friend of Willis, Robin Bryant-Yeartie, who claimed that Wade and Willis were intimate before he began working on the election investigation.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Wade testified that he never discussed his relationship with Bryant-Yeartie or with anyone else in social settings, and that Willis frequently reimbursed him for trips with cash. Occasionally, the two took one-day trips to Tennessee in order to escape the spotlight on Willis as she became well known around Atlanta due to the case, Wade said. </p><figure 0px="" 100="" 13px="" 14px="" 1rem="" 22px="" 300px="" barlow="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="wp-caption alignleft" color:="" dark_gray="" float:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" id="attachment_30549" left="" line-height:="" margin:="" max-width:="" sans-serif="" var="" width:=""><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 8px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p></figcaption></figure><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">He told the court that because of a cancer diagnosis in 2020 and 2021, he was focused more on staying healthy rather than dating anyone.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“It wasn’t secret. It was just private,” said Wade, a former prosecutor who also spent a decade as a Cobb County municipal judge. “I wouldn’t have discussed my relationship with Ms. Yeartie or anyone publicly.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Bryant-Yeartie testified Thursday that she sublet her condo to Willis in April 2021, and that the two were close friends from the early 1990s until March 2022. Bryant-Yeartie said that she was certain that she witnessed Willis and Wade hugging, kissing and holding hands on a few occasions prior to November 2021.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Under cross examination, she acknowledged having a falling out with Willis that ultimately led to the DA telling her to resign or be terminated due to poor job performance.</p><h4 0.5rem="" 0px="" 1.2="" 1.5rem="" 500="" arlow="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" brand_one="" class="editorialSubhed" color:="" condensed="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" quot="" sans-serif="" var="">Reaction split on Willis sparring with defense counsel</h4><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The reaction to Willis’ testimony was split along partisan lines with election officials and for many spectators who monitored online livestreams that attracted tens of thousand of people at a given time watching the tense-filled moments play out.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Trump sounded a defiant tone in an<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-calls-badly-tainted-fulton-county-case-scam-after-da-fani-willis-courtroom-drama?intcmp=tw_pols" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank"> interview</a> with Fox News Digital during Willis’s testimony.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“There is no case here,” Trump said. “It is so badly tainted. There is no case here. There was a perfect phone call. It was perfect. But by going after Trump, she’s able to get her boyfriend more money than they ever dreamed possible.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Legal experts also had mixed reactions to Willis and Wade’s testimony. While some experts criticized Willis for being overly defensive, they also doubted that the defense attorneys had provided enough evidence to remove her from the election interference case.</span></p><div 10px="" 20px="" 500px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" display:="" flex="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" max-width:="" newsreader="" serif="" style="text-align: center;" width:=""><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1758264958528200770" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=stan_government&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1758264958528200770&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fgeorgiarecorder.com%2F2024%2F02%2F16%2Ffulton-da-delivers-fiery-testimony-against-trump-co-defendants-quest-to-disqualify-her%2F&sessionId=1091dbe10739c7b32ecd894569b866d652f7b150&siteScreenName=GeorgiaRecorder&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=500px" style="border-style: initial !important; border-width: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; flex-grow: 1; float: right !important; height: 345px; margin: 24px 0px 24px 30px !important; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 470px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Norman Eisen, an attorney who served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee majority during Trump’s first impeachment and trial, said Willis has so far defended herself from the allegations.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“The spectacle generated by the allegations and by counsel for the defendants today was not pretty,” said Eisen, who also served as ambassador to the Czech Republic during the Obama administration. “But at the end of the day, it is clear that those who are trying to disqualify DA Willis have not met their steep burden under Georgia law to prove a conflict. On the contrary, the judge has made clear that he’s assessing financial benefit, and the unrebutted evidence shows that Wade and Willis split expenses. There was no benefit to Willis.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Rep. Shea Roberts, House Democratic Caucus treasurer, described Thursday’s hearing as nothing more than a sensationalized attack by Trump on Willis for pursuing charges against him and others. </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“We all heard the smoking gun recording of the phone call in which Trump pressured Secretary (Brad) Raffensperger to alter Georgia’s election results, and no amount of manufactured controversy the Trump team tries to conjure up can change that,” Roberts said in statement.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Georgia Recorder reporter Ross Williams contributed to this report.</em></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/">Georgia Recorder</a> on February 15th, 2024. </i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i style="color: #222222; font-family: times;"><span><span>Please support the news you can use and visit The </span><span><a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">Brooks Blackboard's website</a>, for more news and share our posts! </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i style="color: #222222; font-family: times;">And read my </i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: times;"><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life </i></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><i><b>On social media, visit me on </b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span>Facebook: <span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a> </span></span></i></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"></em></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span style="border: 0px; font-family: times; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"></i></span></em></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif;"><i style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman";"></i></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"></em></p><div><p arial="" box-sizing:="" color:="" font-family:="" inherit="" quot="" sans-serif="" serif=""><i><span style="font-family: times; text-align: center;"></span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><i>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_CharlesBrooks</a> </i></span></p></div><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-65216442652678048032024-02-10T19:06:00.000-05:002024-02-20T19:07:22.449-05:00North Carolina AG’s office pushes for delay in key Racial Justice Act hearing<div style="text-align: left;"><span black="" color:="" font-family:="" newsreader="" serif="" var=""><i>Johnston County prosecutor once compared Black defendants to wild dogs and hyenas, hunting their victims “like the predators of the African plain”</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span black="" color:="" font-family:="" newsreader="" serif="" var=""><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span black="" color:="" font-family:="" newsreader="" serif="" var=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjak2ekWgz9bTV5-4WRj8ec6o80pIZwsg390ZSzDL0dpC5dJVCL26DtquJg8mAVfBh3LpR_UQwGZVZb6TA1GIySShFYa_vdymEpJwIosKn-qNrIT80HhfypQUjD7tSy7kt6G1tWd4GTb4lvRLk81ZtBf8bYJROQVIIgiKzz6c4seH22EKhVkDYRz1Q80tA/s6038/court%20gavel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4057" data-original-width="6038" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjak2ekWgz9bTV5-4WRj8ec6o80pIZwsg390ZSzDL0dpC5dJVCL26DtquJg8mAVfBh3LpR_UQwGZVZb6TA1GIySShFYa_vdymEpJwIosKn-qNrIT80HhfypQUjD7tSy7kt6G1tWd4GTb4lvRLk81ZtBf8bYJROQVIIgiKzz6c4seH22EKhVkDYRz1Q80tA/w640-h430/court%20gavel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>A hearing scheduled for later this month could clear a path for the <a href="https://www.dac.nc.gov/divisions-and-sections/institutions/death-penalty/death-row-roster" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">136 people</a> on North Carolina’s death row to one day get resentenced to life without the possibility of parole — or bring them one step closer to the execution chamber.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Beginning Feb. 26, attorneys are scheduled to present evidence to a Johnston County Superior Court judge arguing that race significantly affected prosecutors’ actions during jury selection, not just in the underlying case of Hasson Bacote, but in capital cases throughout North Carolina.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">But if the state attorney general’s office gets its way, these findings will not be heard in court — at least not this month.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“Racial discrimination in jury selection is abhorrent in all respects and has no place in the criminal justice system,” reads a recent court filing signed by lawyers in the attorney general’s office, including the Attorney General himself, Josh Stein, a Democrat who is running for governor this year. “Nevertheless, like all claims, a claim of racial discrimination cannot be presumed based on the mere assertion of a defendant; it must be proved.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">According to a recent court filing, the evidence to be submitted by Bacote’s lawyers includes several findings:</p><ul 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" 2rem="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" padding-left:="" serif=""><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">In 176 capital cases across North Carolina between 1985 and 2011, Black people were two and a half times more likely to be struck from jury pools than other jurors.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Similarly, in seven Johnston County capital cases over that same timeframe, Black people were four times more likely to be struck from the jury pool than other jurors.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">In four capital cases in that timeframe tried by Gregory Butler, an assistant district attorney, Black people were 10 times more likely to be struck from a jury pool than other jurors. Butler also prosecuted Bacote, the defendant in the underlying case.</li></ul><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The attorney general’s office, however, called the evidence “insufficiently supported.” It took issue with a study conducted by law professors at Michigan State University, arguing that the state Supreme Court has already deemed that research irrelevant and misleading.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Last year, <a href="https://ncnewsline.com/2023/12/17/nc-supreme-court-says-no-new-trial-for-man-on-death-row/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">the state Supreme Court ruled</a> that a study by the same MSU professors was “unreliable and fatally flawed” because it “assumed racial animus in cases in which defendants did not make any such claim, or in which the trial court or appellate courts did not make or sustain any such findings.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">In light of that opinion, the AG’s office asked the trial court judge to deny Bacote’s jury selection claims without holding a hearing. The judge denied the request.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The attorney general’s office is now seeking a second opinion. It has petitioned the state Supreme Court for guidance on how lower courts should use the MSU study in assessing claims of juror discrimination. This decision could drastically impact pending RJA claims, since they rely on the MSU study to support juror discrimination arguments.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Attorney Shelagh Rebecca Kenney, one of the attorneys representing Bacote, filed a motion last week criticizing the AG’s office for trying to derail the pending hearing: “The State appears motivated by its knowledge of the strength of Defendant’s evidence, its reluctance to face that evidence in open court, and its fear of losing.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">The Racial Justice Act’s lead case</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWauq1wkrnJZFBPhWTsJAQLKa_-O9IOc3emmJTkfhZOoSFvplMDZvOlNzw-YX5sd8a_g3Ruhqt7a_U2InDx2PcL6QUbM1Zh-kJYZ-z0dgleJ4r-zm22zL1XEsLWufUS_CDkLzzeNtaU5H8kSVSs5wXJcb0AgbbKtvwQ0icqnhXTp00xiVRUpanoHvfLZU/s1024/death%20penalty%20lethal%20injection.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="1024" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWauq1wkrnJZFBPhWTsJAQLKa_-O9IOc3emmJTkfhZOoSFvplMDZvOlNzw-YX5sd8a_g3Ruhqt7a_U2InDx2PcL6QUbM1Zh-kJYZ-z0dgleJ4r-zm22zL1XEsLWufUS_CDkLzzeNtaU5H8kSVSs5wXJcb0AgbbKtvwQ0icqnhXTp00xiVRUpanoHvfLZU/w640-h234/death%20penalty%20lethal%20injection.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Hasson Bacote, who is Black, <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/4926950/" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">was sentenced to death</a> in Johnston County in 2009 for a crime he committed when he was 20 years old.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Ten white and two Black jurors convicted Bacote of killing Anthony Surles during a robbery. According to attorney Kenney’s motion, Bacote is one of 11 men sentenced to death in North Carolina after being convicted of first-degree murder solely under the theory of felony murder; that means the killing was not premeditated or deliberate, and instead happened during the commission of another violent felony.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">All 11 of those men are people of color.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The core of Bacote’s case is the Racial Justice Act, a landmark law passed by Democrats in 2009, repealed by Republicans in 2013, and preserved by the Democratic-controlled state Supreme Court in 2020. The law gives people on North Carolina’s death row an opportunity to be resentenced to life in prison without parole if they can prove racial discrimination played a role in their death sentence.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The hearing would be the first since 2020, when the Supreme Court ruled that all claims brought under the RJA were still valid and could have their day in court.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Lawyers for the state started sharing discovery with Bacote’s team in 2022, after a Superior Court judge ordered them to turn over data on how prosecutors across North Carolina pick juries in capital cases. Over the past few years, the state has turned over 680,000 pages of discovery, which Kenney called in her motion “the most comprehensive discovery provided by the state on jury selection issues in North Carolina.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Bacote’s is the RJA’s lead case, which means it will set the standard for how other cases are handled. How the Supreme Court handles the attorney general’s request — or a later appeal — will affect how judges deal with future Racial Justice Act claims.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Lawyers with the Attorney General’s office wrote to the state Supreme Court noting that if the hearing takes place on Feb. 26 as scheduled, it would “waste time and resources if it is later determined on subsequent appeal that the claims should have been dismissed at the pleadings stage.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Kenney, meanwhile, rebutted that claim. She argued the research referenced by the attorney general’s office dealt with a 2011 MSU study; that data was updated for Bacote’s case, using information gleaned from the hundreds of thousands of documents turned over by the state. That data, she continued, hasn’t ever been presented or considered by any court.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">She also contested the relevance of the state Supreme Court ruling referenced by the state, since that ruling <a href="https://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=1&pdf=43041" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">explicitly said</a> it did not address the defendant’s RJA claim.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The MSU study is also not the only evidence Bacote’s lawyers plan to use to make their case. Included within those 680,000 documents were prosecutors’ handwritten notes, which Kenney wrote in the motion “reveal that race permeated the State’s approach to jury selection.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Prosecutors’ notes from various trials show a preoccupation with prospective jurors’ race. In one Washington County case, for instance, a prosecutor wrote that they didn’t want a particular person on the jury out of concern she would be “sympathetic to plight” and that she “had a child by BM [Black Man].” In that same case, a prosecutor scribbled that they wanted one juror who seemed favorable to prosecution, noting she seemed like she would “bring her own rope.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Race didn’t just figure into jury selection, but into the prosecutor’s racist views as well. Kenney’s motion includes a newspaper article from another of Butler’s capital cases where he compared the Black defendants to wild dogs and hyenas, hunting their victims “like the predators of the African plain.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The Supreme Court could issue a ruling on the attorney general’s petition as early as the end of this week.</p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i style="font-family: Newsreader, serif; font-size: 20px;">This article originally appeared in NC Newsline on February 7th, 2023. </i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""><br /></p></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-67230910576566794952024-02-10T18:19:00.000-05:002024-02-26T19:48:24.883-05:00Alabama Department of Corrections seeking over $800 million<p>By: Ralph Chapoco</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsFoSZ7kzr7_sha2WgSQ_J7Y8YET0YRBM-xBNYwltvGqsy0kgRWUEhkpRhYbTLis-cis2ETKFWhthmuI5z9pRh7yzfUloI_QWCWH0pLGsDh7oFEIWQ3mlhvvIzkKDAsDv3mFto5QvEDjpyY_ViLKVE4DaPeWMTDF8QpobHfpBL_sJQ7-arQf9HVXmln8/s545/Alabama%20DOC%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="545" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsFoSZ7kzr7_sha2WgSQ_J7Y8YET0YRBM-xBNYwltvGqsy0kgRWUEhkpRhYbTLis-cis2ETKFWhthmuI5z9pRh7yzfUloI_QWCWH0pLGsDh7oFEIWQ3mlhvvIzkKDAsDv3mFto5QvEDjpyY_ViLKVE4DaPeWMTDF8QpobHfpBL_sJQ7-arQf9HVXmln8/w640-h378/Alabama%20DOC%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span 20px="" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif="">Three law enforcement agencies told Alabama legislators Monday they were seeking a total of over $1 billion in funding.</span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) is seeking over $800 million from the state. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is looking for $159 million. The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles is seeking slightly more than $100 million.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">The Alabama Legislature will ultimately decide how much funding the agencies get, and most do not get their full request.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, the chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee, noted those requests are higher than they were three years ago, when the agencies asked for roughly <a href="https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/sgf-fy-2021" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">$635 million combined</a>.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“I am not trying to cast stones,” Albritton said after the meeting. “I am only trying to do it as a means of education as to how much more money it is taking to do the same old thing.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">While ALEA had the largest increase in percentage terms, DOC made the biggest jump in terms of total dollars. The Legislature budgeted $661.7 million to DOC from the General Fund in 2023. Alabama Department of Corrections Commission John Hamm asked for almost $820 million from lawmakers for the coming fiscal cycle, $158 million higher (24%) than the current year’s budget of $661.7 million.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Bennet Wright, executive director of the Alabama Sentencing Commission, who addressed the joint committee prior to Hamm’s presentation to give members some context regarding the ADOC request, said increased capital costs, increased personnel costs and staffing shortages are driving up the cost to continuously incarcerate people. Corrections held 20,403 people <a href="https://doc.alabama.gov/docs/MonthlyRpts/November%202023.pdf" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">last November</a>.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“There is a common myth that money travels with offenders in correctional systems, I hear it all the time,” Wright said. “We get 500 people out of prison, and we can save money on the prison system. That is just not true. Most of those costs are fixed costs.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif=""></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7I4v4wwAWmBqkx55FhlDxpWJUCJ5u4NU7DXYFOYNtwIsE4jcnYrJH-r3bxLYwnJFvCF-7PIB1B5jc2GMLtMk8j4v1KKd4ncLmXEoEsG7mm1D7GTd0jnjTAbRI9mey8r3W6eepxyF0sXj0JyLFx1zhl91l59-2p1Sf-Fc5LN0oo5SpigrSGnkdtUdDuRg/s1366/dollar%20bills%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="1366" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7I4v4wwAWmBqkx55FhlDxpWJUCJ5u4NU7DXYFOYNtwIsE4jcnYrJH-r3bxLYwnJFvCF-7PIB1B5jc2GMLtMk8j4v1KKd4ncLmXEoEsG7mm1D7GTd0jnjTAbRI9mey8r3W6eepxyF0sXj0JyLFx1zhl91l59-2p1Sf-Fc5LN0oo5SpigrSGnkdtUdDuRg/w640-h298/dollar%20bills%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><br />The DOC spent roughly $145 million in 2002 on personnel, about $240 million in 2012 and roughly $280 million in 2023. Despite that, the number of corrections security staff decreased, going from 3,000 in 2012 to about 1,800 in 2023.<p></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“So, what are some of the things that the state has chosen to do, it has increased correctional officer pay, that has increased,” Wright said. “There has been increases in health insurance over the past 20 years, retirement contributions, et cetera. So, while the officers have gone down, the obligation of the department to pay personnel costs and benefits has increased.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Vacancies in the department remain. The DOC said in its presentation that 858 of its 3,800 positions (30%), both administrative postings and corrections officers.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Medical costs to address the health care needs for people incarcerated continue to increase, going from $120 million in 2012 to $235 million in 2023.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“I would also point out to people, the state of Alabama was the first state that was taken into federal court on a lot of these issues,” Wright said. “That was 1975. Alabama has been in and out of federal court, whether it is litigation or receiverships oversight, we have new pieces of litigation for the past 50 years. And medical care has been an ongoing thread of a lot of the federal litigation involving our Department of Corrections.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Hamm said DOC will rely on the construction of a $1 billion men’s prison in Elmore County to improve safety in the department. About 325 people died while incarcerated in Corrections in 2023.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“Every legislator on this dais has received emails about the conditions within our prisons, and the violence within our prisons,” said Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, who asked how a single-cell design could address the issues.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">According to Hamm, about 80% of the inmates are placed into dormitories, spaces with rows of bunk beds where inmates sleep. With the new prison, almost 80% of the population will be in cells.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“If I was a correctional officer in this room, with everybody here, it is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to control everyone in this room as opposed to everyone in their own cell and dealing with you all one at a time,” Hamm said.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">ABPP requested slightly more than $100 million, an increase of about 14% from the $87.8 million in funding from the General Fund budget for the current year’s budget. About $52 million of that will go toward personnel costs, with another $20.6 million to fund benefits. The next highest item, utilities, fees and services, will be another $12 million.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“I will say this—the support staff, the officers, one thing I will say, these are some of the hardest working people you will ever know,” said Cam Ward, the director of ABPP. “If you have to go out to someone’s house, you know they violated their parole terms, and you have gone into their home, and they know you are coming, let’s just say it is not always the safest circumstances.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Ward also addressed the number of people granted parole by the Board of Pardons and Paroles. According to the numbers he presented, the rates have fluctuated between 2% and 18%. The rates were lower in the beginning of 2023 at 2% in January and 5% in February. As of December 2023, it was 18%.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“When you only have two members, if it is a split, one to one vote, it is a denial,” he said.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Ward said target rates for parole are less important, the decision must be made with respect to the individuals.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">“Realistically, the peak of the parole grant system was in 2016-2017,” Ward said. “Sometimes it got over 50%. I think realistically, you are probably talking about a number closer to 25%-30% considering the population that is inside DOC. However, I would caution anyone who talks about parole grant rates to not use an arbitrary spreadsheet or number system. I have seen too many articles talk about that. I think it is a mistake. I still think you still have to look at it as the individual, and realize the board still has that discretion as to who they grant or don’t grant.”</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">ALEA is asking for more money from the Legislature as well, about $44.7 million more (39%) than the $114.3 million the agency is slated to receive this year. That money will be spread across equipment and vehicles, as well as a new driver’s license office in Montgomery.</p><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">Rep. Brett Easterbrook, R-Fruitdale, said the request was “a little bit hard to understand for me.” He added he wasn’t opposed to the increase but requested a breakdown of the expenditures from the agency to better understand the reason for the increase.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="https://alabamareflector.com/">The Alabama Reflector</a> on February 15th, 2024. </span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1rem="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:=""><br /></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-90970331140308836572024-02-08T17:28:00.000-05:002024-02-08T17:28:11.764-05:00DeSantis says homelessness isn’t a big problem in Florida – yet; supports legislative crackdown<div style="text-align: left;"><span 14px="" 15px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleByline" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase="">By: </span><span 15px="" 700="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="singleBylineAuthor" color="var(--black)" face="Barlow, sans-serif" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" text-transform:="" uppercase=""><a class="author url fn" href="https://floridaphoenix.com/author/mitch-perry/" rel="author" style="background-image: none; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 0%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Mitch Perry">Mitch Perry</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span color="var(--black)" font-family:="" newsreader="" serif=""><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span color="var(--black)" font-family:="" newsreader="" serif="">‘We’re not going to let any city turn into San Francisco,’ the governor said.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span color="var(--black)" font-family:="" newsreader="" serif=""><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-bpAAxoLc8ygnHIeLUUSRqIQUyMn-0xzr-FR310UImtXAbNO1OH91a6q6tM6P8EQG8cY4o_hNLD5V2UMvujM602Pfp8sPBWK68vHXEVaUlzYlclzSG1Pt9Dtu5iqFdH96CIvZJ6TmgvZeVjttg5ifqyBaVN9aiWi803M-xFFOc5pIMB3awHSoTzInGY/s2958/homeless%20on%20the%20ground_jerry%20meaden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1664" data-original-width="2958" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-bpAAxoLc8ygnHIeLUUSRqIQUyMn-0xzr-FR310UImtXAbNO1OH91a6q6tM6P8EQG8cY4o_hNLD5V2UMvujM602Pfp8sPBWK68vHXEVaUlzYlclzSG1Pt9Dtu5iqFdH96CIvZJ6TmgvZeVjttg5ifqyBaVN9aiWi803M-xFFOc5pIMB3awHSoTzInGY/w640-h360/homeless%20on%20the%20ground_jerry%20meaden.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></i><span 20px="" font-family:="" font-size:="" newsreader="" serif=""><div style="text-align: left;">Saying that while no city in Florida is contending with the issues of homelessness that are prevalent in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday came out in support of a proposal moving through the Florida Legislature that would ban local governments from allowing people to sleep on public property without a permit.</div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p 0px="" 1rem="" 20px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" newsreader="" serif="">But he added that he would be willing to provide financial resources to any city or county who requested help in adding shelter space or for programs dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse.</p><div 0="" 100="" 20px="" 24px="" 28px="" 2="" 791.656px="" auto="" black="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" bs-gutter-x="" bs-gutter-y="" calc="" class="col-xxl-10 col-xl-10 col-lg-10 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-12 contentHolder" color:="" flex:="" font-size:="" id="dataContent" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" max-width:="" padding-left:="" padding-right:="" var="" width:=""><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">“The Legislature is considering doing something to just ensure from a statewide perspective we’re not going to let any city turn into a San Francisco,” DeSantis declared at a press conference held in Miami Beach. “Not on our watch. We’re not going to let that happen. We’re going to have protections for people.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The governor said that he was supportive of the Legislature moving in this direction as long as it was focused on “ensuring public order. Ensuring quality of life for residents. Ensuring that people’s property values are maintained. Ensuring that businesses are able to operate unobstructed without these problems bleeding.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The homelessness-related legislation refers to a measure sponsored in the Florida House by Clay County Republican Sam Garrison (<a href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=80107&SessionId=103" rel="noopener" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">HB 1365</a>), which would prohibit any city or county in Florida from authorizing or permitting public sleeping or camping on public property, public buildings or public rights-of-way without a lawfully temporary permit. It’s Senate equivalent (<a href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=80065&SessionId=103" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">SB 1530</a>) is sponsored by Lee County Republican Jonathan Martin.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The measure also says that if a city or county wanted to continue to provide a public place for the homeless, they need to provide a wealth of public services: access to clean running water and bathroom facilities; 24-hour security; a ban on drug and alcohol use for all users and access to substance abuse and mental health treatment resources; and it may not be in a location where it “adversely and materially affects the value or security of existing residential or commercial properties.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Though critics charge that the legislation “criminalizes” being homeless, there are no criminal penalties in Garrison’s bill. There are civil penalties, however. The bill says that a person or business may bring a civil action in any court against any local government that did open a space for the homeless without those public services. If that person or business was successful in their lawsuit, the bill says that they could be reimbursed for court costs and attorney fees.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">DeSantis added that he was “open” to providing financial support for local governments when it comes to issues of public shelters for the homeless, as well funding for programs that affect the homeless, such as mental health and substance abuse.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Joining DeSantis at the press conference was Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, who discussed an ordinance approved by the Miami Beach Commission last fall that allows the police to arrest homeless people for sleeping on public streets or the public right of way if they decline placement in a shelter, as reported by the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article280678370.html" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">Miami Herald. </a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">DeSantis and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass boasted about how homelessness has decreased in Florida, but that’s not actually accurate.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">According to the most recent “point in time” count conducted in January of 2023 in Florida, there were approximately 15,706 individuals who were unsheltered, which is defined as people sleeping in cars, park benches, abandoned buildings, or other places not meant for human habitation. That was a 34% increase from the year before, according to the Florida’s Council on Homelessness’ most recent <a href="https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2023-07/Florida%27s%20Council%20On%20Homelessness%20Annual%20Report%202023.pdf#:~:text=According%20to%20raw%20data%2C%20over,row%20where%20homelessness%20has%20increased." rel="noopener" style="background-image: linear-gradient(transparent 65%, rgb(229, 233, 237) 0px); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 0px 100%; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-size 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank">annual report.</a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Newsreader, serif; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">DeSantis said that while the level of homelessness in Florida isn’t nearly as bad as some cities on the West Coast, part of being a good leader is to “see what hurdles could be 5 years out. Ten years out.”</p><div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="https://floridaphoenix.com/">Florida Phoenix</a> on February 6th 2024. </span></i></div><div style="color: #222222; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sworldguy">Jerry Meaden</a></span></i></div><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif="" style="font-family: Newsreader, serif;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p></div><div style="font-family: Newsreader, serif;"><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif;"><br /></p></div></div><div><br /></div></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-84193836171252622992024-02-08T17:15:00.001-05:002024-02-08T17:15:39.444-05:00‘If You Can’t Choose Your Own Leaders, Nothing Else Matters’<p><a 0.2s="" 0s="" 14px="" all="" class="author url fn" color:="" d72c7="" ease-in-out="" font-family:="" font-size:="" href="https://fair.org/author/janine-jackson/" none="" pen="" quot="" rel="author" sans-serif="" sans="" text-decoration-line:="" text-transform:="" title="Posts by Janine Jackson" transition:="" uppercase="">JANINE JACKSON</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFRvjQjGJG4LX3MtAxwWrq7Kq8mulHOXzT2xb5EdCpNwvx2G86yFOU79fJzJnI2RvLn-pJwadMcLAuAe4Cm7H-HBT42CUoBQDzcXGYxC5K3_lBOj-Q8f1W5pDDIDE15_sLZkQd3D-BgfdQUs8MMSz8TsxkTcrIaw6BD8irT27eiTXgzbZ0bUnU_aUaK4/s5829/ElectionDay2022_Philip%20Roeder.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3890" data-original-width="5829" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFRvjQjGJG4LX3MtAxwWrq7Kq8mulHOXzT2xb5EdCpNwvx2G86yFOU79fJzJnI2RvLn-pJwadMcLAuAe4Cm7H-HBT42CUoBQDzcXGYxC5K3_lBOj-Q8f1W5pDDIDE15_sLZkQd3D-BgfdQUs8MMSz8TsxkTcrIaw6BD8irT27eiTXgzbZ0bUnU_aUaK4/w640-h428/ElectionDay2022_Philip%20Roeder.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><i style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Janine Jackson interviewed People For the American Way’s Svante Myrick about roadblocks to voting for the </i><a href="https://fair.org/home/monifa-bandele-on-reimagining-public-safety-svante-myrick-on-roadblocks-to-voting/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #4e64a0; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">January 26, 2024, episode</i></a><i style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: large;"> of </i><b style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: large;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">CounterSpin</i></b><i style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">. This is a lightly edited transcript.</i></p><div 0px="" 14px="" 18px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" font-family:="" font-size:="" geneva="" id="mp3jWrap_0" important="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" padding:="" sans-serif="" user-select:="" verdana=""><span class="wrap_inline_mp3j" id="playpause_wrap_mp3j_0" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-wrap: nowrap; width: auto;"><span class="gfxbutton_mp3j play-mjp" id="playpause_mp3j_0" style="background-color: #404040; background-image: url("//fair.org/wp-content/plugins/mp3-jplayer/css/images/play.png"); background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-radius: 2px; border: 0px solid rgb(112, 112, 112); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 5px; padding: 2px 0px 5px 10px;"> </span> <span class="group_wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: auto;"><span class="bars_mp3j" style="bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 249.906px;"><span class="loadB_mp3j" id="load_mp3j_0" style="background: rgba(245, 5, 5, 0.7); border-radius: 2px; bottom: -5px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 3px; left: 0px; min-height: 3px; position: absolute;"></span><span class="posbarB_mp3j" id="posbar_mp3j_0" style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 249.906px; z-index: 499;"></span></span><span class="T_mp3j" id="T_mp3j_0" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: auto;">CounterSpin240126Myrick.mp3</span><span class="indi_mp3j" id="statusMI_0" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 9.8px; padding-left: 2px; position: relative;"></span></span></span></div><div 0px="" 14px="" 18px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" font-family:="" font-size:="" geneva="" id="mp3jWrap_0" important="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" padding:="" sans-serif="" user-select:="" verdana=""><span class="wrap_inline_mp3j" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-wrap: nowrap; width: auto;"><span class="group_wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: auto;"><span class="T_mp3j" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: auto;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div 0px="" 14px="" 18px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" id="mp3jWrap_0" important="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" padding:="" user-select:=""><div class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" id="mp3jWrap_0" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px; user-select: none;"><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Janine Jackson: We can
argue that, with gerrymandering, Citizens United and the power of money—and
even the Electoral College—“one person, one vote” is not the simple recipe for
fully participatory democracy that we might wish. Still, voting—voting rights,
voting access—is the definition of a keystone issue that shapes many, many
other important issues. So how and why
have voting rights become a contested field in a country that, as I say, has
democratic aspirations, and what can we do, what are we doing about it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">We’re joined now by
Svante Myrick, president of People For the American Way, and former mayor of
Ithaca, New York. Welcome to CounterSpin, Svante Myrick.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Svante Myrick: Thank you so much for having me on. Really appreciate it, and all of us here at People For the American Way appreciate the chance to talk about this issue.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">JJ: Wonderful. Well, let me just ask it simply: What are currently the chief impediments to voting rights that you see, that have led you to say, “It’s up to us to march again,” or that have led Sen. Raphael Warnock to talk about “democracy in reverse”? What are we up against?</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">SM: I wish I could tell you that, hey, there are simple, small fixes. There’s a challenge in a country of 360 million people making sure ballots arrive on time. I wish I could tell you that there was a bureaucratic or technocratic problem. But the truth is, it’s something more akin to a war, in which one half of the American political spectrum, that half that is beholden to extreme MAGA Republicans, is set out to intentionally disenfranchise people of voting. And they really have not been more plain-spoken about this at any time since the ’60s, since George Wallace and since the KKK.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">There was a time where both sides agreed that voting is good, and everybody should have a right to vote. Especially after the 2020 election, led by Donald Trump, state legislators—people who are not household names, folks that you won’t often see on CNN or MSNBC—state legislators are taking their cues from Donald Trump and passing dozens and dozens…. I just came from Utah, where yet another law was passed that makes it harder to vote. Utah used to have very good voting laws. Everybody got a ballot in the mail. You could just fill it out, send it back in. You had weeks and weeks to do it. They just repealed that. Why? Is it because Donald Trump lost Utah? No, it’s because the state legislators are trying to curry favor with a president that just, frankly, does not want everyone’s vote to count.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">And if it’s OK, if I just say what probably is obvious to many of your listeners, but I think it deserves to be said: They’re not trying to take away everyone’s right to vote. They’re trying to take away certain people’s right to vote. I’m a Black American, and I just know for a fact that this Trump-led faction of the Republican Party would love for Black Americans’ votes not to be counted. And I know that because they are moving with almost surgical precision to disenfranchise people like me and my family.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">JJ: And then we see it also, you’re talking about a kind of top-down motivation, and then we see it also at the Supreme Court, and listeners will know about Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, but there were serious impacts from that as well.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">SM: We here at People For the American Way, we are fighting really hard at every state legislature, at every level, to make sure people have a right to vote. Because we think if you can’t choose your own leaders, then nothing else matters. As they say, if you can’t choose from the menu, then you’re what’s for dinner, right?</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">And that is about voting rights. It’s about the voting laws. But, as you mentioned the Supreme Court, it’s also about money. It’s about money in politics. And if a few wealthy billionaires can throw their weight around, as we’re seeing now, and extort university presidents, and donate unlimited amounts of dark money to whatever shady person that they like because of whatever deal they’ve made behind closed doors, then we don’t live in a true democracy anyway.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">And so when the Supreme Court made its Citizens United decision, it allowed that corporations were people, and money was speech, and that money and speech should be unlimited. They really put us on a dark path, one that we’re still living with today.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">So we were also here, People For the American Way, fighting to get money out of politics, to overturn Citizens United, but also to pass things like matching funds for elections, and the stuff that would make it easier for people, frankly, like me—people who grew up without a lot of money, folks who are not the sons of senators, folks who are not in the pockets of big corporations—to run for office and to win.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">JJ: Despite what we’ve just said, or in part because of it, I am surprised when people are surprised that people don’t vote. While I lament it, I see the fact that some people just don’t see a connection between this lever they pull, and the policies and laws governing their lives. I see that as an indictment of the system, and not of the people.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">And so I wanted to ask you to talk about what we’ve seen labeled “low-propensity voters,” and different responses, like what People For is talking about, responses that are better than saying, “These people are so dumb, they don’t even know how to vote their own interests.”</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">SM: And that’s so well-said. Certainly our system has failed in many ways. But extreme right-wingers have also been waging an 80-year war, maybe longer, to convince Americans that government does nothing for them, that their representatives don’t improve their lives. And so when they do things like starve schools and school budgets, starve road budgets so that there are potholes in the street, and try to shrink government down to a size where you can drown it in a bathtub, they make sure it is dysfunctional, from Reagan to George W. Bush to Donald Trump, they break the system, and then say, “Hey, see, government, it can’t work at all. Why bother? Why bother to vote at all?”</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">And so I think it is good to remind yourself that, for the average American, who is not listening to CNN or MSNBC all day—first of all, they’re probably happier; their blood pressure’s lower—but that they’ve also been subject to generations of misinformation about the power of collective action and how much better their circumstances, their lives, the quality of their life, the health of their finances could be if we lived in a country that took more collective action, like we see, frankly, in some Scandinavian nations, where folks really trust that the power of their vote is going to lead to positive, progressive change.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">JJ: Is there legislation, or are there moves afoot, that could be responsive or would be responsive to the suppressive efforts that we’re seeing? Are there things to pull for in terms of policy?</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">SM: Yes, absolutely. So if people go to PFAW.com, you could see all of the work that we’re doing at each state legislature. Now, of course, fighting state by state is an inefficient way to do this. The best way to reclaim our own democratic power is to pass federal legislation, what we call the For the People Act, that would make it easier for people to run for office, easier for people to vote, easier for people to have their voices heard.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">We’re also fighting at the federal level to overturn Citizens United. This is a complicated and lengthy process, to overturn a Supreme Court decision, but you can do it. We are well on our way, and we encourage people to join us.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">JJ: Finally, let me ask you about journalism. Certainly we see all kinds of problems with election coverage, from ignoring down-ballot races that we know can be critical, to focusing on horse race and heavy-handed polling, almost everything but candidates’ actual plans for what they would do and how that would affect us. Coverage of voting rights is not the same as election coverage, but certainly, election coverage gives an opening to talk about those issues. Are there things that you’d like to see more or less of from media?</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">SM: For sure, and you’ve just listed a whole host of them. Honestly, the constant coverage of polling does have a suppressive effect on the vote, because people, when they just listen and follow the polls, they feel like the vote already happened. At least they feel like they know what’s going to happen, why bother, we’re down two, we’re up four, they don’t need my vote. It’s already done. So that’s one problem.The media can help people understand that all this harping about elections and voter disenfranchisement is not dweeby and nerdy. It can seem it, a little bit. It’s like in my family, I was the one that always had the rule book for Monopoly, and I was like, “You can’t do that. The rules are important. Do not pass Go.” And other people are like: “I don’t want to talk about the rules for how we decide this stuff. I just want my streets to be better paved.”</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">I think if the media could help folks understand that he who makes the rules determines the outcome. Whatever it is you care about, whatever it is you’re voting for, if it’s for better healthcare, if it’s peace in the Middle East, if it’s for more money for you and your family, if it’s for a better quarterback for the New York Giants, finally—whoever sets up the rules of the game helps make sure that their outcome is more likely. </p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">And Republicans know that, frankly, better than Democrats do. The Republicans have turned their entire apparatus, not into improving people’s lives, but into taking away their right to vote. So that as soon as they have total power, like they do in places like Tennessee, for example, they can start expelling lawmakers that they don’t like. They can cut corporate taxes basically to zero, and they can abandon the poor and the middle class. And they do all that by making it harder for people to vote first.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">JJ: And we won’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone. Yeah.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">We’ve been speaking with Svante Myrick. He’s president of People For the American Way. Svante Myrick, thank you so much for joining us this week on CounterSpin.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">SM: Absolutely my pleasure. Thank you.</p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" id="mp3jWrap_0" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px; user-select: none;"><br /></div><div class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" id="mp3jWrap_0" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 18px; user-select: none;"><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></div><div class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" id="mp3jWrap_0" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; 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font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div></div><div 0px="" 14px="" 18px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp verdana-mjp" font-family:="" font-size:="" geneva="" id="mp3jWrap_0" important="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" padding:="" sans-serif="" user-select:="" verdana=""><span class="wrap_inline_mp3j" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 700; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-wrap: nowrap; width: auto;"><span class="group_wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: auto;"><span class="T_mp3j" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: auto;"><br /></span></span></span></div><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""> </p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-44988190206564163072024-02-06T20:32:00.001-05:002024-02-06T20:32:12.354-05:00'Citizen Trump': Appeals Court Says No Immunity in Jan. 6 Case<p> By <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/jessica-corbett">Jessica Corbett </a></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i>"A president being immune to prosecution would fly in the face of our nation's core values," said one legal analyst.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnEoBLnVceExlf36tdFVGKjc9bH7LA-FWLF0-Em3OdvQYgIj-sKgYtCl3QlXTa1ANHeVa0GQyQm_Vf3xNkFnNmOPrlFhBu7H7EjzCeLPM_djt1DslvCZTB7PBl47uYnwwFkQmPkK1R_Mvb2Pco5KR7dzmXxBYcpTpF06P8BekH9zlboRfBMOWZmkIdKA/s1359/Trump%20in%20court%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="1359" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnEoBLnVceExlf36tdFVGKjc9bH7LA-FWLF0-Em3OdvQYgIj-sKgYtCl3QlXTa1ANHeVa0GQyQm_Vf3xNkFnNmOPrlFhBu7H7EjzCeLPM_djt1DslvCZTB7PBl47uYnwwFkQmPkK1R_Mvb2Pco5KR7dzmXxBYcpTpF06P8BekH9zlboRfBMOWZmkIdKA/w640-h270/Trump%20in%20court%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><p><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">A three-judge panel from the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1754889338435858610" style="color: #005dc7; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">unanimously</a><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"> ruled against former U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of immunity in a criminal </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-indictment-2020-election" style="color: #005dc7; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">case</a><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"> stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss.</span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against this prosecution," <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.40415/gov.uscourts.cadc.40415.1208593677.0.pdf" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">states</a> the 57-page opinion.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The panel included one judge appointed by former GOP President George H.W. Bush and two appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection this year. Trump is the Republican front-runner despite four ongoing criminal cases and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/donald-trump-14th-amendment" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">arguments</a> he is constitutionally disqualified from holding office again after engaging in insurrection on January 6, 2021.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754886270537392478" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754886270537392478&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftrump-loses-presidential-immunity-appeal-against-jan-6-lawsuits&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=442864206bb4b2f4178c9108c87a00d74058f1eb&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 882px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Welcoming the development, the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://x.com/CREWcrew/status/1754897989892551108?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">declared</a>: "Donald Trump is not above prosecution. The law and the Constitution apply to him just like they apply to every other American. This is a major victory for our democracy and the rule of law."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/public-citizen" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Public Citizen</a>, said: "Yet another court has recognized that Trump's immunity arguments are absurd and held that he can be prosecuted for actions, undertaken while president, that enabled the January 6 insurrection. This decision puts yet another period at the end of the statement, 'No one is above the law.'"</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">People for the American Way President Svante Myrick also praised the decision, saying that "the judges on the D.C. Circuit court got it right: No president can swear to uphold the laws of the land and then enjoy immunity if he breaks them. The idea is absurd on its face and Donald Trump's claim of immunity is a desperate attempt to avoid accountability for his actions."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"But make no mistake; this ruling is likely to make Trump even more desperate, as he tries to escape criminal prosecution by any means—including winning reelection to the presidency so he can make this prosecution go away," he warned. "Now is the time to double down on our work to make sure Trump is held accountable for his crimes, and that he never occupies the Oval Office again."<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The ruling aligns with the panel's <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-immunity" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">skepticism</a> during arguments last month. When one judge had challenged the limits of immunity by asking Trump's attorney whether a president could "order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival," the lawyer responded that "he would have to be and would speedily be impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754887841501368726" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754887841501368726&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftrump-loses-presidential-immunity-appeal-against-jan-6-lawsuits&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=442864206bb4b2f4178c9108c87a00d74058f1eb&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 353px; max-width: 100%; position: static; vertical-align: middle; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The panel's decision comes after Judge Tayna Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia—who rejected Trump's immunity claim in December—last week <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/donald-trump-trial" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">postponed</a> his election interference trial, which had been scheduled for March. Trump is expected to appeal Tuesday's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, whose right-wing supermajority includes three justices he appointed.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The mandate from the appellate court opinion denying Trump immunity "issues in six days on February 12," <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://x.com/harrylitman/status/1754893722859491517?s=20" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">noted</a><em>Los Angeles Times</em> senior legal affairs columnist Harry Litman. "That's very quick and puts him in a box having to find a stay before then," from the full D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court, or Chutkan can proceed with the trial.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The high court in December <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-supreme-court-immunity" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">rejected</a> a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith—who is overseeing Trump's two federal cases rather than the U.S. Justice Department because of the November election—that the justices skip over the appeals court to swiftly settle the immunity debate.</p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-31777423635139741372024-01-31T15:13:00.002-05:002024-01-31T15:18:21.103-05:00Amid UNRWA funding crisis, desperate Gazans scour trucks for food<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulBJLHADNGnqBaAsZ6YGCbjOibGbv7MjqwA57ttg7bvGqtxw-ClgJOxeFM52X3f50Jki2EFxk7OLFIlhZr8NTjLeYWMPPwTqIdCl2gcn1YwcMaZ1lgEdCXfM39Z8sU3oyNf2JGYVjrzmKx_pmYcAFAk-uSHa_j66tuemqem1J-EjTaFWQHj3V-jdvdWQ/s1170/UNWR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="1170" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulBJLHADNGnqBaAsZ6YGCbjOibGbv7MjqwA57ttg7bvGqtxw-ClgJOxeFM52X3f50Jki2EFxk7OLFIlhZr8NTjLeYWMPPwTqIdCl2gcn1YwcMaZ1lgEdCXfM39Z8sU3oyNf2JGYVjrzmKx_pmYcAFAk-uSHa_j66tuemqem1J-EjTaFWQHj3V-jdvdWQ/w640-h290/UNWR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span -apple-system="" 16px="" arial="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">Despite ongoing Israeli bombardment prompted by Hamas-led attacks on 7 October that left some 1,200 dead in Israel and more than 250 taken hostage, <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/">UNRWA</a>,</span><span -apple-system="" 16px="" arial="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""> </span><span -apple-system="" 16px="" arial="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">continues to provide lifesaving aid in Gaza to more than two million civilians.</span><p></p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">The war has killed at least 26,637 Palestinians in Gaza and left 65,387 injured, according to the enclave's health authorities. The Israeli military has reported 218 soldiers killed and 1,267 injured in Gaza.</p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">As the largest humanitarian agency in the enclave, UNRWA also operates shelters for over one million people, providing food, water and healthcare services, while also playing the key role of facilitating the work of other UN and partner agencies there.</p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">“<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">The shelters, the health centres and everything else is provided in Gaza through UNWRA</span>,” said Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (<a href="http://www.who.int/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">WHO</a>). Repeating the words of <a href="http://www.who.int/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">WHO</a> Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Mr. Lindmeier appealed to donors <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">not to suspend funding to UNWRA “at this critical moment. Cutting off funding will only hurt the people of Gaza who desperately need support.”</span></p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">The United States said on Friday it had suspended funding in response to allegations made against 12 UNRWA staffers who Israel says took part in the 7 October attacks. A full and urgent investigation is underway and some of the staff allegedly involved have been dismissed by the agency. </p><h2 0="" 0px="" 1.3="" 1.75rem="" 100="" 1rem="" 723px="" arial="" b75bb="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" bs-gutter-y="" color:="" condensed="" elvetica="" flex-shrink:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" max-width:="" neue="" oboto="" padding-left:="" padding-right:="" quot="" sans-serif="" var="" width:=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Famine threat persists</span></h2><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">Despite the efforts of the UN agency and other humanitarian partners operating in Gaza, many people are on the verge of famine after more nearly four months of war. </p><div -apple-system="" 1.5rem="" 600="" arial="" auto="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" class="align-right context-un_news_large_credit type-twitter media media--type-twitter media--view-mode-un-news-large-credit" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" float:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" iberation="" important="" margin-bottom:="" margin-left:="" margin-right:="" neue="" oto="" overflow:="" pple="" quot="" right="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="" unset="" visible="" width:=""><div class="field field--name-field-media-twitter field--type-string field--label-visually_hidden" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.625rem 0px 0.625rem 0.625rem; padding: 0px; width: 335px;"><div class="field__label visually-hidden" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-wrap: nowrap; width: 1px;">Tweet URL</div><div class="field__item" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 335px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-15="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-8522453_12="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-8522453_172="true" data-tweet-id="1752298011424625033" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=UN_News_Centre&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1752298011424625033&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.un.org%2Fen%2Fstory%2F2024%2F01%2F1146027&sessionId=13ceffe24b264d8e5f6c885e79ef94254cd30659&siteScreenName=UN_News_Centre&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 563px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 335px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div></div></div><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">Some have resorted to scouring aid convoys for food and supplies, including one on Tuesday morning in the southern city of Khan Younis.</p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">“We had a convoy just this morning trying to reach Nasser Hospital with patients, healthcare staff, everybody there needing food, but the very needy population already before basically took the supplies,”</span> Mr. Lindmeier said.</p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">The incident – far from a rare occurrence – “shows how dire the needs are”, he told journalists in Geneva, warning that disease among Gaza’s malnourished population “can just spread like wildfire and <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">that’s on top of the bombing and the shelling and the collapsing buildings</span>”.</p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">Within Nasser Hospital itself, the WHO official reported that the situation “has only gotten worse", with "the shooting, the fighting…the difficulty of access for people to reach Nasser or the difficulty of leaving”.</p><h2 0="" 0px="" 1.3="" 1.75rem="" 100="" 1rem="" 723px="" arial="" b75bb="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" bs-gutter-y="" color:="" condensed="" elvetica="" flex-shrink:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" helvetica="" line-height:="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" max-width:="" neue="" oboto="" padding-left:="" padding-right:="" quot="" sans-serif="" var="" width:=""><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Uprooted again</span></h2><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">The development came as UN aid coordination office <a href="https://www.unocha.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank">OCHA</a> warned that more people had been uprooted from their homes amid ongoing fighting and evacuation orders from the Israeli military.</p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui="">“We're in the midst of another wave of displacement in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline-offset: 0.1875rem;" target="_blank" title="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gaza?src=hashtag_click">#Gaza</a>, following eviction orders for large residential areas and amid intense hostilities,” OCHA said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “More people are killed or injured. The south is overcrowded and humanitarian access to the north is extremely limited.”</p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><i>Originally published January 30th, 2024 in the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/">United Nations News Centre</a></i></p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><u><b>See below for posts related to this topic:</b></u></p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><i><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/groups-intensify-global-push-for-gaza.html">Groups Intensify Global Push for Gaza Cease-Fire After ICJ Ruling</a>,</i></p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><i><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/no-one-is-spared-south-africa-presents.html">'No One Is Spared': South Africa Presents Genocide Case Against Israel at ICJ</a></i></p><p -apple-system="" 0px="" 16px="" 1rem="" arial="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" color:="" color="" egoe="" elvetica="" emoji="" font-family:="" font-size:="" iberation="" margin-bottom:="" margin-top:="" neue="" oto="" pple="" quot="" roboto="" sans-serif="" sans="" symbol="" system-ui="" ui=""><u><b><br /></b></u></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><div><br /></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-87593015552497234482024-01-30T20:32:00.000-05:002024-01-30T20:32:13.662-05:00Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger withdraw from ECOWAS<p><span 18px="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" sans-serif=""><i>Land area under ECOWAS, which is condemned by West Africa’s popular movements as an agent of French imperialism, has been reduced to less than half after their withdrawal</i></span></p><a 0.1s="" 0px="" 0s="" 14px="" background-color="" border:="" color:="" color="" ease-in-out="" f2113="" font-family:="" font-size:="" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/01/30/mali-burkina-faso-and-niger-withdraw-from-ecowas/" margin:="" none="" open="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="" text-decoration-line:="" transition:="">January 30, 2024</a><span 14px="" font-family:="" font-size:="" open="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""> by </span><a 0.1s="" 0px="" 0s="" 14px="" background-color="" border:="" color:="" color="" ease-in-out="" f2113="" font-family:="" font-size:="" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/01/30/mali-burkina-faso-and-niger-withdraw-from-ecowas/" margin:="" none="" open="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="" text-decoration-line:="" transition:=""></a><a 0.1s="" 0px="" 0s="" 14px="" background-color="" border:="" color:="" color="" ease-in-out="" f2113="" font-family:="" font-size:="" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/author/pd/" margin:="" none="" open="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="" text-decoration-line:="" transition:="">Peoples Dispatch</a><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0pZBAbETeFz-gfVRBMFgOVuVlRNX7dnNTv2urzjZjdWPsXwc2nBQaDuq8Qx2LFTaT61ESNHI1NRqYWFU8RjhjstA2xuVeW7w02O8Brd6gHTQZymFdOIB5INB7xR4H0UNeFd7uPPEkcAKfRwyA67Yy3IzEuDD6lbMv4drHwIdyh6OJJ3jYursYbcIH5o/s842/Joint%20statement%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="842" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0pZBAbETeFz-gfVRBMFgOVuVlRNX7dnNTv2urzjZjdWPsXwc2nBQaDuq8Qx2LFTaT61ESNHI1NRqYWFU8RjhjstA2xuVeW7w02O8Brd6gHTQZymFdOIB5INB7xR4H0UNeFd7uPPEkcAKfRwyA67Yy3IzEuDD6lbMv4drHwIdyh6OJJ3jYursYbcIH5o/w640-h514/Joint%20statement%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><div><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In a </span><a href="https://twitter.com/marcus_herve/status/1751611999136420066" style="border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">televised statement</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> on Sunday, January 28, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Their exit has shrunk the regional bloc, </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/03/peoples-movements-oppose-west-backed-military-intervention-by-ecowas-in-niger/" style="border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">condemned by West Africa’s popular movements</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> as an agent of French imperialism, to less than half its previous size, given the relatively vast expanse of Mali and Niger in the region.</span></div><div><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reduced from 15 member states to 12, ECOWAS has nevertheless </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ecowas_cedeao/status/1751703036110508416/photo/1" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">said</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> that the three countries, against whom it was </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/07/31/thousands-rally-in-support-of-nigers-coup-leaders-as-western-backed-ecowas-threatens-military-intervention/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">set to go to war last year</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, “remain important members,” although it had already suspended and sanctioned them.</span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The “illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions in violation of its own texts… have further weakened populations already bruised by years of violence… by… remote-controlled terrorist hordes,” said the joint statement of the three countries.</span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">First to be suspended and sanctioned was Mali, where in 2020, the government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, widely perceived by their populations as a puppet of their former colonizer France, was overthrown by a military coup that enjoyed mass support. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Following another coup in 2021, Col. Assimi Goita formed a transitional military government with popular support, including from the trade unions and the mass protest movement against the domination and military presence of its former colonizer France. Its popularity was consolidated as mass celebratory demonstrations cheered in the streets of Mali’s capital Bamako when Goita’s government ordered the French troops out in February 2022.</span></p><h3 0px="" 1.2em="" 20px="" 400="" border:="" center="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" margin:="" open="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="" text-align:=""><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>Also Read: </i></span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/22/withdrawal-of-french-troops-from-mali-is-a-historic-anti-imperialist-victory" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>Withdrawal of French troops from Mali is a historic, anti-imperialist victory</i></span></a></h3><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9d42mQcyEna0B1sU-NPUOb1NPSS856_ucOC7Bppo7w32oefWOFa0pWjnt_RXtIm0H5QIWA9GQBMiA17vQscKA1dB58Ab54YWLb6_QssOxNe2nnxAsABzKlYTtL6IMXEgPBpElMci3hSjfVAUW7CSzOqc8EWktHhQA0IrsKGwHz0oEp5kQAiomSS4gOk/s1100/Niger-CNSP-Abas-France.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1100" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9d42mQcyEna0B1sU-NPUOb1NPSS856_ucOC7Bppo7w32oefWOFa0pWjnt_RXtIm0H5QIWA9GQBMiA17vQscKA1dB58Ab54YWLb6_QssOxNe2nnxAsABzKlYTtL6IMXEgPBpElMci3hSjfVAUW7CSzOqc8EWktHhQA0IrsKGwHz0oEp5kQAiomSS4gOk/s320/Niger-CNSP-Abas-France.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A month before, in January 2022, a similar set of events had been set into motion with a military coup against the government of Roch Marc Christian Kabore in neighboring Burkina Faso, which was also in the throes of mass anti-French protests.</span><p></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Following another coup in September that year, </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/10/22/ibrahim-traore-takes-over-as-burkina-fasos-leader-amid-worsening-crisis-and-anti-french-sentiment/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Captain Ibrahim Traore formed a popularly supported transitional military government</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> which followed in the footsteps of Mali and </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/01/25/burkina-faso-ejects-french-troops/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ordered the French troops out</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> in January 2023. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Only months after the withdrawal of French troops from Burkina Faso was completed in February 2023, another popular military coup followed in neighboring Niger on July 26. Its President Mohamed Bazoum, who had invited the French troops ordered out of Mali into Niger, was ousted by General Abdourahmane Tchiani. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2vkYbOgTgspzaMV0EX6HE07kJeotm_3cbVlmF2Pq1nnxqbbB0s8zoVhnWiJtj4r5mMmOcDpkkg_TM5FfqK6J9pWC7y7b83Kw3QsDkRlPCJbuU41XExbF5o24LwCxE5GRCRhEaWiUoFbg8wBzUl_i1eHJ4EczWCxrTNZ-76f-cYUJ9UnB3YV15H_F8RI/s1366/ECOWAS%20exit%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="1366" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2vkYbOgTgspzaMV0EX6HE07kJeotm_3cbVlmF2Pq1nnxqbbB0s8zoVhnWiJtj4r5mMmOcDpkkg_TM5FfqK6J9pWC7y7b83Kw3QsDkRlPCJbuU41XExbF5o24LwCxE5GRCRhEaWiUoFbg8wBzUl_i1eHJ4EczWCxrTNZ-76f-cYUJ9UnB3YV15H_F8RI/w640-h244/ECOWAS%20exit%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The ECOWAS not only suspended Niger and imposed sanctions on the largest country in the bloc, but also </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/07/31/thousands-rally-in-support-of-nigers-coup-leaders-as-western-backed-ecowas-threatens-military-intervention/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">threatened a military invasion</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> if Bazoum was not restored to presidency. </span><p></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The West African Peoples’ Organization (WAPO) condemned this ultimatum by ECOWAS as “a maneuver by colonial France and Great Britain, under the hegemony of American imperialism, to resort to armed intervention under the guise of restoring democracy and human rights in Niger.” </span></p><h3 0px="" 1.2em="" 20px="" 400="" border:="" center="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" margin:="" open="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="" text-align:=""><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>Also Read: </i></span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/03/peoples-movements-oppose-west-backed-military-intervention-by-ecowas-in-niger/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>People’s movements oppose West-backed military intervention by ECOWAS in Niger</i></span></a><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i> </i></span></h3><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Thousands took to the streets in Niger to demonstrate in support of the transitional military government, which ended the defense agreements with France on August 3 and ordered the withdrawal of French troops. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Initially refusing to withdraw its troops and its ambassador from Niger on the grounds that it will only deal with the ousted government of Bazoum and does not recognize the military government, France backed the military invasion threatened by the ECOWAS. However, many of its member countries were faced with domestic opposition on the streets as well as in the parliament. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with the strongest military in the bloc, its President Bola Tinubu, chosen as the chairperson of ECOWAS just over two weeks before the coup, </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/05/as-ecowas-prepares-for-a-western-backed-military-invasion-nigeriens-rally-behind-military-authorities/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">could not secure the approval of the Senate</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> for the military invasion. It called on Tinubu’s government to instead focus Nigeria’s armed forces on securing its own territory from Boko Haram’s insurgency. The African Union (AU) also clarified that </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/17/african-union-will-not-back-ecowas-intervention-in-niger/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">it does not support the planned military invasion</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> by ECOWAS. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In the meantime, Mali and Burkina Faso extended support to Niger, and declared that an attack on it would be regarded as an attack on their own countries. Agreeing to mobilize the militaries of all three countries if anyone were attacked, the trio went on to </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/09/18/burkina-faso-mali-and-niger-form-alliance-of-sahel-states-to-advance-collective-defense/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> in mid-September. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Later that month, France, which was also facing increasingly angry </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/29/mass-protests-against-foreign-troops-intensify-in-niger-as-deadline-for-their-withdrawal-approaches/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">mass protests as a regular feature outside its base and embassy</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> in Niger, retreated from its earlier position and announced the withdrawal of its troops, which was completed in December. The G-5 Sahel coalition partnering with France’s failed military campaign against insurgencies in the Sahel also came to an end that month.</span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Following the lead of Mali, which had already </span><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20220515-mali-withdraws-from-g5-sahel-regional-anti-jihadist-force" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">withdrawn from this coalition</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> in May 2022, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from G-5 Sahel in December. “The organization is failing to achieve its objectives. Worse, the legitimate ambitions of our countries, of making the G5 Sahel a zone of security and development, are hindered,” its joint statement </span><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/burkina-faso-niger-join-mali-in-leaving-g5-anti-jihadi-force-/7382159.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">said</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, adding “independence and dignity is not compatible with G5 participation in its current form.”</span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">With three of the five countries of the coalition having withdrawn, the remaining two countries who are not ECOWAS members, namely Chad in central Africa and Mauritania in the continent’s northwest, </span><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20231206-last-g5-sahel-members-chad-mauritania-acknowledge-alliance-is-a-spent-force" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">dissolved the coalition</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> on December 6. </span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">France had </span><a href="https://africanews.com/2022/08/18/barkhane-3000-french-troops-deployed-in-the-sahel-after-mali/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">up to 5,500 troops in the Sahel at the peak of Operation Barkhane</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, which started in 2014 and ended in 2022 in failure as the violence by Islamic insurgencies it was fighting increased multifold in this period. This deployment, anchored in the G-5 Sahel, has been reduced to </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67278027" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">about a thousand troops in Chad</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, which is ruled by a French-backed military junta. However, the future of </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/09/23/under-french-backed-military-ruler-mahamat-deby-chad-is-a-pressure-cooker-waiting-to-explode/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">its grip on power appears uncertain</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> as an anti-French protest movement is growing here too. </span></p><h3 0px="" 1.2em="" 20px="" 400="" border:="" center="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" line-height:="" margin:="" open="" padding:="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans="" text-align:=""><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>Also Read: </i></span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/09/23/under-french-backed-military-ruler-mahamat-deby-chad-is-a-pressure-cooker-waiting-to-explode/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i>Under French-backed military ruler Mahamat Deby, Chad is a “pressure cooker waiting to explode”</i></span></a><span style="font-weight: 700;"><i> </i></span></h3><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/mali-accuses-france-of-allegedly-supporting-terrorists/2663301" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3xzUSoKq_E_DDF__xWmXAFXiMZPnhsROQ51EAAppmNt_uDNraqodim7HxNGv03AWs27dXTVyKhXpV33ImFOCIuoKHhTdx-zsIxjWS7jQZtg5NRsRU0W4vxka8dfk3OpAfsa9jp37IXFWiZPYJZdx4U9oBjEQWkGiOEBXn-s8chhyphenhyphenjC-DExqYAOZkPoY/s726/ECOWAS%20exit_love%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="726" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3xzUSoKq_E_DDF__xWmXAFXiMZPnhsROQ51EAAppmNt_uDNraqodim7HxNGv03AWs27dXTVyKhXpV33ImFOCIuoKHhTdx-zsIxjWS7jQZtg5NRsRU0W4vxka8dfk3OpAfsa9jp37IXFWiZPYJZdx4U9oBjEQWkGiOEBXn-s8chhyphenhyphenjC-DExqYAOZkPoY/s320/ECOWAS%20exit_love%20(2).png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mali</span><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, </span><a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/burkina-faso-blocks-france-24-broadcasts-over-al-qaeda-interview/2856853" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Burkina Faso</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> and </span><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/9/niger-coup-leaders-accuse-french-forces-of-destabilising-the-country#:~:text=Coup%20leaders%20in%20Niger%20have,France%20promptly%20rejected%20the%20allegations." style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #9f2113; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Niger</span></a><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> have all alleged that on being forced to withdraw, France is backing the </span>very terrorist groups it had purported to be fighting over the last decade, after spawning them across the Sahel by participating in NATO’s war destroying Libya in 2011. <p></p><p></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Their statement announcing exit from ECOWAS also mentioned “remote-controlled terrorist hordes,” where the adjective insinuated alleged French involvement. The statement also added that “under the influence of foreign powers”, the regional bloc of ECOWAS “has become a threat to its member states”.</span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ECOWAS has insisted in response that it “remains determined to find a negotiated solution to the political impasse.” Such a statement, in the given context, can also be read as a reiteration of its determination to continue pressuring the three countries, including by penalizing its citizens with sanctions, to force a compromise with the French-backed political elite within.</span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i>This article originally appeared at <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/">PeoplesDispatch.org </a>on December 13th, 2023. </i></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><b><u>Related Posts</u></b></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2023/08/on-july-26-2023-nigers-presidential.html">What’s happening in Niger is far from a typical coup</a></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2023/09/is-this-end-of-french-neo-colonialism.html">Is this the end of French neo-colonialism in Africa?</a></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2023/03/the-long-arm-of-washington-extends-into.html">The long arm of Washington extends into Africa’s Sahel</a></p><p 0px="" 1.6rem="" 25px="" border-box="" box-sizing:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" margin:="" padding:="" pen="" quot="" sans-serif="" sans=""><i style="color: #222222; font-family: times;"><span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2022/12/joe-biden-is-meeting-african-leaders.html">Joe Biden is meeting African leaders - why free trade is a major talking point</a></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-block-end: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></p></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-15841226981127976722024-01-29T13:53:00.003-05:002024-01-29T18:42:49.972-05:00Groups Intensify Global Push for Gaza Cease-Fire After ICJ Ruling<div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Jessica Corbett</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"An immediate cease-fire by all parties remains essential and—although not ordered by the court—is the most effective condition to implement the provisional measures and end unprecedented civilian suffering."</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #222222;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84gJm7Chp9wNSZNuWQr8xMuLnlvPfdscDy6XBS84XDavW08mIMwa7wyjO8_NM8dNW_UEZxvUdwm5SHpJ6hRtZCM_SFIFctHqrBSBTnCBh1YwPLjCGw-QK1STsoA_mmJ-sEABfB9-XAd-Rmboko3NlNCNV25tyasfB1yjLzlG_w32wcoyfivXCf60MLUE/s1366/Gaza%20attack%20Oct2023%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="1366" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84gJm7Chp9wNSZNuWQr8xMuLnlvPfdscDy6XBS84XDavW08mIMwa7wyjO8_NM8dNW_UEZxvUdwm5SHpJ6hRtZCM_SFIFctHqrBSBTnCBh1YwPLjCGw-QK1STsoA_mmJ-sEABfB9-XAd-Rmboko3NlNCNV25tyasfB1yjLzlG_w32wcoyfivXCf60MLUE/w640-h236/Gaza%20attack%20Oct2023%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">While welcoming the International Court of Justice's initial </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/watch-live-international-court-of-justice-delivers-ruling-in-israel-genocide-case" style="color: #005dc7; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ruling</a><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"> in the South African-led case accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, rights groups around the world on Friday renewed calls for a cease-fire.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The United Nations' top judicial body <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ordered</a> Israel to "take all measures within its power" to uphold its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide but stopped short of demanding an immediate cease-fire. The ICJ proceedings that could find Israel guilty of genocide are expected to take years—time that the people of Gaza don't have.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Today's decision is an authoritative reminder of the crucial role of international law in preventing genocide and protecting all victims of atrocity crimes," <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/01/israel-must-comply-with-key-icj-ruling-ordering-it-do-all-in-its-power-to-prevent-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/amnesty-international" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Amnesty International</a> secretary general Agnès Callamard. "It sends a clear message that the world will not stand by in silence as Israel pursues a ruthless military campaign to decimate the population of the Gaza Strip and unleash death, horror, and suffering against Palestinians on an unprecedented scale."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"However, the ICJ decision alone cannot put an end to the atrocities and devastation Gazans are witnessing," she continued. "Alarming signs of genocide in Gaza, and Israel's flagrant disregard for international law highlight the urgent need for effective, unified pressure on Israel to stop its onslaught against Palestinians. An immediate cease-fire by all parties remains essential and—although not ordered by the court—is the most effective condition to implement the provisional measures and end unprecedented civilian suffering."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">As of Friday, Israel's retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on October 7 has killed at least 26,083 Palestinians—including <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/kids-killed-in-gaza" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">11,500 children</a>—and wounded over 64,400 others, <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-1-26-2024-49a168140cbca3778095e8fb437aba37" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">according to</a> Gaza officials. The Israeli blockade and bombardment have also devastated civilian infrastructure, displaced most of the enclave's 2.3 million residents, and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza-strip" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">deprived</a> them of much-needed commercial goods and <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/kerem-shalom-crossing-protests" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">humanitarian aid</a>.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Stressing that "the stakes could not be higher," Callamard called on leaders from the United States—which gives Israel billions of dollars in military support—along with the United Kingdom, Germany, and other European Union members to "signal their respect for the court's legally binding decision and do everything in their power to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="49497af2dcde5bf1316f8e66a66631ac" id="dfd37" style="color: #222222; 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flex-grow: 1; height: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; vertical-align: middle; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-custom-tweet twitter-tweet" data-lazy-tweet-id="1750887493098938439" data-loading="true" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-extracted-i1706550556338459166="true" data-twitter-tweet-id="1750887493098938439" style="-webkit-box-align: revert; -webkit-box-decoration-break: revert; -webkit-box-direction: revert; -webkit-box-flex: revert; -webkit-box-ordinal-group: revert; -webkit-box-orient: revert; -webkit-box-pack: revert; -webkit-box-reflect: revert; -webkit-font-smoothing: revert; -webkit-line-break: revert; -webkit-line-clamp: revert; -webkit-locale: revert; -webkit-mask-box-image: revert; -webkit-print-color-adjust: revert; -webkit-rtl-ordering: revert; -webkit-ruby-position: revert; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: revert; -webkit-text-combine: revert; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: revert; -webkit-text-fill-color: revert; -webkit-text-orientation: revert; -webkit-text-security: revert; -webkit-text-stroke: revert; -webkit-user-drag: revert; -webkit-user-modify: revert; -webkit-writing-mode: revert; accent-color: revert; align-content: revert; align-items: center; alignment-baseline: revert; animation-composition: revert; animation: revert; app-region: revert; appearance: revert; aspect-ratio: revert; backdrop-filter: revert; backface-visibility: revert; background-attachment: revert; background-blend-mode: revert; background-clip: revert; background-image: revert; background-origin: revert; background-position: revert; background-repeat: revert; background-size: revert; baseline-shift: revert; baseline-source: revert; block-size: revert; border-block: revert; border-bottom: revert; border-collapse: revert; border-end-end-radius: revert; border-end-start-radius: revert; border-image: revert; border-inline: revert; border-left: 5px solid black; border-radius: revert; border-right: revert; border-spacing: revert; border-start-end-radius: revert; border-start-start-radius: revert; border-top: revert; box-shadow: revert; box-sizing: revert; break-after: revert; break-before: revert; break-inside: revert; buffered-rendering: revert; caption-side: revert; caret-color: revert; clear: revert; clip-path: revert; clip-rule: revert; clip: revert; color-interpolation-filters: revert; color-interpolation: revert; color-rendering: revert; color-scheme: revert; color: #656565; column-fill: revert; column-rule: revert; column-span: revert; columns: revert; contain-intrinsic-block-size: revert; contain-intrinsic-inline-size: revert; contain-intrinsic-size: revert; contain: revert; container: revert; content-visibility: revert; content: revert; counter-increment: revert; counter-reset: revert; counter-set: revert; cursor: revert; cx: revert; cy: revert; d: revert; display: flex; dominant-baseline: revert; empty-cells: revert; fill-opacity: revert; fill-rule: revert; fill: revert; filter: revert; flex-direction: column; 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max-width: revert; min-block-size: revert; min-height: revert; min-inline-size: revert; min-width: revert; mix-blend-mode: revert; object-fit: revert; object-position: revert; object-view-box: revert; offset: revert; opacity: revert; order: revert; orphans: revert; outline-offset: revert; outline: revert; overflow-anchor: revert; overflow-clip-margin: revert; overflow-wrap: revert; overflow: revert; overlay: revert; overscroll-behavior-block: revert; overscroll-behavior-inline: revert; overscroll-behavior: revert; padding-block: revert; padding-inline: revert; padding: 0px 0px 0px 25px; page-orientation: revert; page: revert; paint-order: revert; perspective-origin: revert; perspective: revert; place-self: revert; pointer-events: revert; position: relative; quotes: revert; r: revert; resize: revert; rotate: revert; ruby-position: revert; rx: revert; ry: revert; scale: revert; scroll-behavior: revert; scroll-margin-block: revert; scroll-margin-inline: revert; scroll-margin: revert; scroll-padding-block: revert; scroll-padding-inline: revert; scroll-padding: revert; scroll-snap-align: revert; scroll-snap-stop: revert; scroll-snap-type: revert; scroll-timeline: revert; scrollbar-gutter: revert; shape-image-threshold: revert; shape-margin: revert; shape-outside: revert; shape-rendering: revert; size: revert; speak: revert; stop-color: revert; stop-opacity: revert; stroke-dasharray: revert; stroke-dashoffset: revert; stroke-linecap: revert; stroke-linejoin: revert; stroke-miterlimit: revert; stroke-opacity: revert; stroke-width: revert; stroke: revert; tab-size: revert; table-layout: revert; text-align-last: revert; text-align: center; text-anchor: revert; text-combine-upright: revert; text-decoration-skip-ink: revert; text-decoration: revert; text-emphasis-position: revert; text-emphasis: revert; text-indent: revert; text-orientation: revert; text-overflow: revert; text-rendering: revert; text-shadow: revert; text-size-adjust: revert; text-transform: revert; text-underline-offset: revert; text-underline-position: revert; timeline-scope: revert; touch-action: revert; transform-box: revert; transform-origin: revert; transform-style: revert; transform: revert; transition: revert; translate: revert; user-select: revert; vector-effect: revert; vertical-align: revert; view-timeline: revert; view-transition-name: revert; visibility: revert; white-space: revert; widows: revert; width: 260px; will-change: revert; word-break: revert; word-spacing: revert; writing-mode: revert; x: revert; y: revert; z-index: revert; zoom: revert;"><div style="margin: 1em 0px;">Tens of thousands killed, over a million displaced, Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, Hunger and a humanitarian catastrophe \u2013 all oblige Israel to stop the fighting.\nCeasefire - Now.</div>— (@)<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/btselem/status/1750887493098938439" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, also <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/26/gaza-world-court-orders-israel-prevent-genocide" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">demanded</a> that Israel and its allies immediately comply with the court's order on provisional measures, declaring that "lives hang in the balance, and governments need to urgently use their leverage to ensure that the order is enforced."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"The ICJ's speedy ruling is recognition of the dire situation in Gaza, where civilians face starvation and are being killed daily at levels unprecedented in the recent history of Israel and Palestine," Jarrah added. "The court's clear and binding order raises the stakes for Israel's allies to back up their stated commitment to a global rules-based order by helping ensure compliance with this watershed ruling."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Some governments across the world <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/26/world-reacts-to-icj-ruling-on-south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">hailed</a> the ICJ ruling as progress—even though Israeli leaders quickly <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/hague-schmague-ben-gvir-genocide" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">made clear</a> they have no plans to end the war. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/us-maintains-genocide-allegations-against-israel-are-unfounded-after-icj-ruling/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> in part that "we continue to believe that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make a finding about genocide or call for a cease-fire in its ruling."<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Journalists and legal experts called the response from the United States a "<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://theintercept.com/2024/01/26/icj-ruling-gaza-genocide/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">mischaracterization</a>" of the ICJ ruling intended to "<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://x.com/maitelsadany/status/1750941105527378279?s=20" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">justify U.S. policy instead of adjusting U.S. policy</a>" and a signal that President Joe Biden has no plans to "<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/icj-ruling-poses-the-greatest-political-dilemma-for-the-biden-presidency" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">stand up for justice</a>."<br /></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="31bc66459522ad330338fc18165ddc00" id="1fd14" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><div class="rm-embed-container rm-embed-twitter rm-loading" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; position: relative;"><span class="rm-embed-spacer rm-embed-spacer-desktop" style="display: block; padding-bottom: 704px;"></span><div class="rm-embed-holder" style="align-items: center; display: flex; height: 704px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 550px;"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px; max-width: 550px; width: 260px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1750938657588932942&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ficj-ceasefire&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=2e2493b1465a579fd6b127ce7e2b2fadcede5c5f&siteScreenName=commondreams&siteUserId=14296273&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; vertical-align: middle; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-custom-tweet twitter-tweet" data-lazy-tweet-id="1750938657588932942" data-loading="true" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-extracted-i1706550556338459166="true" data-twitter-tweet-id="1750938657588932942" style="-webkit-box-align: revert; -webkit-box-decoration-break: revert; -webkit-box-direction: revert; -webkit-box-flex: revert; -webkit-box-ordinal-group: revert; -webkit-box-orient: revert; -webkit-box-pack: revert; -webkit-box-reflect: revert; -webkit-font-smoothing: revert; -webkit-line-break: revert; -webkit-line-clamp: revert; -webkit-locale: revert; -webkit-mask-box-image: revert; -webkit-print-color-adjust: revert; -webkit-rtl-ordering: revert; -webkit-ruby-position: revert; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: revert; -webkit-text-combine: revert; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: revert; -webkit-text-fill-color: revert; -webkit-text-orientation: revert; -webkit-text-security: revert; -webkit-text-stroke: revert; -webkit-user-drag: revert; -webkit-user-modify: revert; -webkit-writing-mode: revert; accent-color: revert; align-content: revert; align-items: center; alignment-baseline: revert; animation-composition: revert; animation: revert; app-region: revert; appearance: revert; aspect-ratio: revert; backdrop-filter: revert; backface-visibility: revert; background-attachment: revert; background-blend-mode: revert; background-clip: revert; background-image: revert; background-origin: revert; background-position: revert; background-repeat: revert; background-size: revert; baseline-shift: revert; baseline-source: revert; block-size: revert; border-block: revert; border-bottom: revert; border-collapse: revert; border-end-end-radius: revert; border-end-start-radius: revert; border-image: revert; border-inline: revert; border-left: 5px solid black; border-radius: revert; border-right: revert; border-spacing: revert; border-start-end-radius: revert; border-start-start-radius: revert; border-top: revert; box-shadow: revert; box-sizing: revert; break-after: revert; break-before: revert; break-inside: revert; buffered-rendering: revert; caption-side: revert; caret-color: revert; clear: revert; clip-path: revert; clip-rule: revert; clip: revert; color-interpolation-filters: revert; color-interpolation: revert; color-rendering: revert; color-scheme: revert; color: #656565; column-fill: revert; column-rule: revert; column-span: revert; columns: revert; contain-intrinsic-block-size: revert; contain-intrinsic-inline-size: revert; contain-intrinsic-size: revert; contain: revert; container: revert; content-visibility: revert; content: revert; counter-increment: revert; counter-reset: revert; counter-set: revert; cursor: revert; cx: revert; cy: revert; d: revert; display: flex; dominant-baseline: revert; empty-cells: revert; fill-opacity: revert; fill-rule: revert; fill: revert; filter: revert; flex-direction: column; flex-wrap: revert; flex: revert; float: revert; flood-color: revert; flood-opacity: revert; font-palette: revert; font-synthesis: revert; font: revert; forced-color-adjust: revert; gap: revert; grid-area: revert; grid: revert; height: 704px; hyphenate-character: revert; hyphenate-limit-chars: revert; hyphens: revert; image-orientation: revert; image-rendering: revert; initial-letter: revert; inline-size: revert; inset-block: revert; inset-inline: revert; inset: revert; isolation: revert; justify-content: center; justify-items: revert; letter-spacing: revert; lighting-color: revert; line-break: revert; list-style: revert; margin-block: revert; margin-inline: revert; margin: revert; marker: revert; mask-clip: revert; mask-composite: revert; mask-image: revert; mask-mode: revert; mask-origin: revert; mask-repeat: revert; mask-size: revert; mask-type: revert; mask: revert; math-depth: revert; math-shift: revert; math-style: revert; max-block-size: revert; max-height: revert; max-inline-size: revert; max-width: revert; min-block-size: revert; min-height: revert; min-inline-size: revert; min-width: revert; mix-blend-mode: revert; object-fit: revert; object-position: revert; object-view-box: revert; offset: revert; opacity: revert; order: revert; orphans: revert; outline-offset: revert; outline: revert; overflow-anchor: revert; overflow-clip-margin: revert; overflow-wrap: revert; overflow: revert; overlay: revert; overscroll-behavior-block: revert; overscroll-behavior-inline: revert; overscroll-behavior: revert; padding-block: revert; padding-inline: revert; padding: 0px 0px 0px 25px; page-orientation: revert; page: revert; paint-order: revert; perspective-origin: revert; perspective: revert; place-self: revert; pointer-events: revert; position: relative; quotes: revert; r: revert; resize: revert; rotate: revert; ruby-position: revert; rx: revert; ry: revert; scale: revert; scroll-behavior: revert; scroll-margin-block: revert; scroll-margin-inline: revert; scroll-margin: revert; scroll-padding-block: revert; scroll-padding-inline: revert; scroll-padding: revert; scroll-snap-align: revert; scroll-snap-stop: revert; scroll-snap-type: revert; scroll-timeline: revert; scrollbar-gutter: revert; shape-image-threshold: revert; shape-margin: revert; shape-outside: revert; shape-rendering: revert; size: revert; speak: revert; stop-color: revert; stop-opacity: revert; stroke-dasharray: revert; stroke-dashoffset: revert; stroke-linecap: revert; stroke-linejoin: revert; stroke-miterlimit: revert; stroke-opacity: revert; stroke-width: revert; stroke: revert; tab-size: revert; table-layout: revert; text-align-last: revert; text-align: center; text-anchor: revert; text-combine-upright: revert; text-decoration-skip-ink: revert; text-decoration: revert; text-emphasis-position: revert; text-emphasis: revert; text-indent: revert; text-orientation: revert; text-overflow: revert; text-rendering: revert; text-shadow: revert; text-size-adjust: revert; text-transform: revert; text-underline-offset: revert; text-underline-position: revert; timeline-scope: revert; touch-action: revert; transform-box: revert; transform-origin: revert; transform-style: revert; transform: revert; transition: revert; translate: revert; user-select: revert; vector-effect: revert; vertical-align: revert; view-timeline: revert; view-transition-name: revert; visibility: revert; white-space: revert; widows: revert; width: 260px; will-change: revert; word-break: revert; word-spacing: revert; writing-mode: revert; x: revert; y: revert; z-index: revert; zoom: revert;"><div style="margin: 1em 0px;">\u2696\ufe0fThe provisional measures issued by @CIJ_ICJ order Israel to prevent acts of genocide (incl killing of Palestinians) + to ensure its military does not commit these acts. \n\nThis is very much a challenge to the @StateDept take that has justified illegal collective punishment. (2)</div>— (@)<a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/maitelsadany/status/1750938657588932942" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote></div></div></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Still, in a statement Friday, the U.S.-based anti-war group CodePink <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/statement-on-icj-preliminary-ruling-in-south-africa-v-israel" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">praised</a> the ruling as "a crucial step toward justice" and asserted that "the only way to ensure Israel complies with the provisional measures is through an immediate cease-fire."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"CodePink reiterates its urgent call to the Biden administration and Congress to promptly terminate all financial support to Israel, given its perpetration of genocidal actions, and to demand an immediate cease-fire," the group said. "We will follow this historic case as it proceeds and continue to advocate in Congress, email and call our representatives, push for city cease-fire resolutions, and, of course, protest, rally, and disrupt until the genocide in Gaza ends and Palestine is free."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Leaders at Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which has spearheaded numerous protests across the United States demanding an end to U.S. support for Israel's unrelenting assault of Gaza, also took aim at Biden—who is seeking reelection this year—and vowed to keep up the fight.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"For over 100 days, the Israeli and the U.S. governments have gaslit and smeared the Palestinian people, denying what the entire world was witnessing: a genocide," noted JVP political director Beth Miller. "Now, the highest court in the world has found these claims plausible. President Biden has a choice to make: He can reject the entire system of international law and continue complicity in Israeli genocide, or he can stop arming a genocidal regime and stop attacking the people and movements struggling to build a more just and peaceful future."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">As a <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/Dena/status/1750933435022254496" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">hearing</a> was held in U.S. court for a <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-lawsuit" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">case</a> accusing the Biden administration of complicity in the genocidal violence, JVP executive director Stefanie Fox said, "We don't need courts to tell us genocide is a moral catastrophe, but we do need courts to impose accountability when our own government has so shamefully worked to abet, fund, arm and secure impunity for the Israeli government's genocidal attack on Palestinians in Gaza."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"From here, the next step is clear: an immediate, permanent cease-fire," she added. "We're not stopping until Palestinians, like everyone else, live in justice, safety, and freedom."</p><div><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Read the post below related to this topic<br /></u></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/south-africa-initiates-case-against.html">South Africa Initiates Case Against Israel at International Court of Justice</a>, </i></div><div><span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/crucial-moment-in-history-icj-orders.html">'Crucial Moment in History': ICJ Orders Israel to Prevent Acts of Genocide in Gaza</a></i></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></i></div><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-5265380993216030712024-01-27T12:34:00.048-05:002024-01-31T09:31:15.045-05:00'Crucial Moment in History': ICJ Orders Israel to Prevent Acts of Genocide in Gaza<div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 1em;">By Jake Johnson</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 1em;"><br /></span><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 1em;"><i>"One thing has been made clear on the world stage: There is vastly documented evidence that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians," said the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 1em;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQpB1HYnL8__eW6l5cLl3x46pyh-m8m762MjO_5tCl4re1OaL_TT1fMzZfTjX4OlMCmLxefigeR0H9MMqHOaZM-bpmE8xtaIgLjAXtY5UgbB9gei_GCUsykKvnoGyePivZzVl_TLDY6mHRzdKS7pxpcDJzWOBHo9o88lZqtBh7s5KbX6n-sv6nK6hUSQ/s1209/ICJ%20(4).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="1209" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQpB1HYnL8__eW6l5cLl3x46pyh-m8m762MjO_5tCl4re1OaL_TT1fMzZfTjX4OlMCmLxefigeR0H9MMqHOaZM-bpmE8xtaIgLjAXtY5UgbB9gei_GCUsykKvnoGyePivZzVl_TLDY6mHRzdKS7pxpcDJzWOBHo9o88lZqtBh7s5KbX6n-sv6nK6hUSQ/w640-h231/ICJ%20(4).png" width="640" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">The International Court of Justice ruled Friday that South Africa's genocide case is plausible and ordered Israel to "take all measures within its power" to uphold its obligations under </span><a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/genocide-conv-1948/article-2" style="color: #005dc7; font-size: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Article II</a><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"> of the Genocide Convention.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The court also ordered the Israeli government to ensure its military does not commit violations of the convention in Gaza, punish those who incite genocide, immediately provide basic services and humanitarian assistance to Gazans, prevent the destruction of evidence that could show violations of international law, and submit a report to the ICJ on all steps it takes to implement the above measures.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The ICJ did not grant South Africa's request for a cease-fire.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">While a final determination from the court on whether Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza could be years away, Friday's ruling from the United Nations' highest court was seen as a huge blow to the Israeli government and its top arms supplier, the United States, which <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/south-africa" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">called</a> South Africa's case "meritless."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"This ruling from the ICJ is a massive legal defeat for Israel and its premiere defenders, the U.S. and Germany," <em>The Intercept</em>'s Jeremy Scahill wrote Friday. "The question now is enforceability and whether the U.S. will openly trample international law in an effort to continue aiding Israeli crimes against Palestinians."<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">As she read the court's interim decision, ICJ President Joan Donoghue cited testimony from United Nations officials and others on the appalling conditions on the ground in the Gaza Strip, where most of the population is displaced, starving, and struggling to survive Israel's relentless aerial and ground assault.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Donoghue said the court deemed the threat of "irreparable harm" to Gazans real and concluded that emergency measures were necessary to protect the Palestinian population from genocide.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"This is a crucial moment in history to finally holding Israel accountable," the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://twitter.com/USCPR_" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> in response to the decision. "One thing has been made clear on the world stage: There is vastly documented evidence that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians."</p><div><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Read the post below related to this topic</u></span></div><div><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/south-africa-initiates-case-against.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">South Africa Initiates Case Against Israel at International Court of Justice</a><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">, Common Dreams</i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/groups-intensify-global-push-for-gaza.html"><span>Groups Intensify Global Push for Gaza Cease-Fire After ICJ Ruling</span></a></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">,</i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Common Dreams</i></div><div><br /></div><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p></div><div class="wrap" id="sPost_Layout_Default_0_0_4_0_0_11_0_1" style="margin: 0px auto; max-width: 1252px; position: relative; width: 1226.95px;"><br /><div class="mb-2 lead_post_post_body" id="sPost_Layout_Default_0_0_4_0_0_11_0_1_5" style="margin: 0px auto; max-width: 680px;"><div class="posts-custom posts-custom-section section-holder clearfix" data-attr-all_element_order="custom_field_location,body,custom_field_copywrite_line,all_sections,photo_caption,photo_credit,headline,subheadline,author,date,post_shares,date_modified,badges,badges_sponsored,community_name,snark_line,page_views,section,follow_button,community_comments,like_button,source_link,collection_button,tags,primary_tag,main_author,product_prices,product_vendor,product_buy_link,words_count,time_to_read,custom_field_sourceprofilename,site_field_user_twitter,site_field_job_title,site_field_user_email,custom_field_contact_info,custom_field_organization_phone,custom_field_organization_website,custom_field_organization_twitter,custom_field_organization_fb,custom_field_organization_instagram,custom_field_press_button_link,custom_field_action_button_link,site_field_user_affiliation,site_field_gender,site_field_alumniOf_name,site_field_alumniOf_url,site_field_knows_about,site_field_other_profiles,site_field_worksfor_name,site_field_worksfor_url,custom_field_source_text" data-attr-all_share_buttons="Facebook,Twitter,Linkedin,Separator,Email,Tumblr,GooglePlus,Pinterest,Whatsapp,Reddit,CopyLink,Flipboard,SMS,Slack" data-attr-element_classes="lead_post_post_body" data-attr-filters="section,post_body_pager" data-attr-format="posts-custom" data-attr-from_regular_sections_other_than="breaking-news,about-us" data-attr-header_template="jinja/post/custom-css.html" data-attr-is_current_post="true" data-attr-layout_all_headline_tag="h1" data-attr-layout_all_image_crop="3x1" data-attr-layout_all_subheadline_tag="h2" data-attr-layout_body="bottom" data-attr-layout_custom_field_copywrite_line="bottom" data-attr-layout_custom_field_location="bottom" data-attr-layout_quality="1" data-attr-layout_remove_image="true" data-attr-node_id="/root/blocks/block[post_layout_default]/abtests/abtest[1]/element_wrapper[3]/element_wrapper/element_wrapper[1]/current_post[4]-" data-attr-posts_id="sPost_Layout_Default_0_0_4_0_0_11_0_1_5" data-attr-section_url="" data-attr-source="" data-attr-v="2" data-block="None" data-format="posts-custom" data-has-more="false" data-is-reordable="false" data-section-id="" data-source-type="current_post" data-source-unique="true" data-source="current_post" data-using-stickers="false" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; zoom: 1;"><div class="posts-wrapper clearfix" style="font-size: 0px; line-height: 0; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; zoom: 1;"><div class="widget post-partial tag-gaza tag-genocide tag-israel tag-south-africa tag-international-court-of-justice post-section--news" data-category="News" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 10px; overflow: visible; position: relative; width: 680px;"><article class="clearfix image-article sm-mb-1 quality-HD post-2667094313" data-category="News" data-frozen-sections="[]" elid="2667094313" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.6rem; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; zoom: 1;"></article></div></div></div></div></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4735538242797860051.post-38768674618626456982024-01-22T17:47:00.081-05:002024-01-29T18:46:36.694-05:00'No One Is Spared': South Africa Presents Genocide Case Against Israel at ICJ<div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i>By <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/jake-johnson">Jake Johnson</a></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i>"Israel's political leaders, military commanders, and persons holding official positions have systematically and in explicit terms declared their genocidal intent," a South African lawyer told the top U.N. court.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChJ04rxV5H5QzUIs4FSqXbpGYsUVd34YuKKw4ba4ai5YHxwR12d31cC6rKk1mUxArNbX4Zqoa2CmPV-8zaHY2Qlm4jAqlPHDMJCvsR0dTAovtibWHZBRfTsvGtRJagbc95Xfozj1A_el-NHR2bdb_ezPIBidYt4MRYGftTJm9K_bSir-MG-P956_Uzoo/s934/1South%20African%20atty_ICJ%20(3).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="934" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChJ04rxV5H5QzUIs4FSqXbpGYsUVd34YuKKw4ba4ai5YHxwR12d31cC6rKk1mUxArNbX4Zqoa2CmPV-8zaHY2Qlm4jAqlPHDMJCvsR0dTAovtibWHZBRfTsvGtRJagbc95Xfozj1A_el-NHR2bdb_ezPIBidYt4MRYGftTJm9K_bSir-MG-P956_Uzoo/w640-h502/1South%20African%20atty_ICJ%20(3).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 20px;">South African representatives argued before the International Court of Justice on Thursday that Israel is engaged in a genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip, subjecting the enclave to "merciless" bombing with the clear intent to wipe out the Palestinian population.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"They have deplored anyone feeling sorry for the uninvolved Gazans, asserting repeatedly that there are no uninvolved, that there are no innocents in Gaza, that the killers of the women and the children should not be separated from the citizens of Gaza, and that the children of Gaza have brought this upon themselves," South African attorney Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said during his presentation.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Thursday's hearing also featured remarks from South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, South African Ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela, lawyer Adila Hassim, and international law professor John Dugard, each of whom laid out an aspect of South Africa's <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">case</a> against the Israeli government.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Hassim argued that Israel's "first genocidal act" is the "mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza," pointing to the U.S.-armed military's use of 2,000-pound bombs in southern Gaza-the region to which Israeli forces ordered Gazans to move earlier in the war. </p><p></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"No one is spared. Not even newborns," said Hassim, displaying photos of mass graves in the Gaza Strip. "U.N. chiefs have described it as a graveyard for children."</p><p class="pull-quote" style="border: 0px; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; line-height: 28.8px; margin: 0px 50px 0px 30px; max-width: 580px; padding: 30px 0px 0px 39px; position: relative; text-align: justify;">"Israel has forced—forced—the displacement of about 85% of Palestinians in Gaza. There is nowhere safe for them to flee to."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Hassim made the case that Israel is guilty of violating <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/genocide-conv-1948/article-2?activeTab=undefined" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">articles</a> 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d of the Genocide Convention, which defines genocide as harm inflicted "with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Israel has deliberately imposed conditions on Gaza that cannot sustain life and are calculated to bring about its physical destruction," said Hassim. "Israel has forced—forced—the displacement of about 85% of Palestinians in Gaza. There is nowhere safe for them to flee to."<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">South Africa's presenters sought to demonstrate genocidal intent in part by directly quoting high-ranking Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ngcukaitobi pointed to Netanyahu's repeated invocation of biblical passages to paint Gazans as <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/benjamin-netanyahu-amalek-israel-palestine-gaza-saul-samuel-old-testament/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">modern-day Amalekites</a>.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">The attorney also played <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://thedispatch.com/article/fact-checking-claims-about-israeli-soldiers-and-the-seed-of-amalek/" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">footage</a> of Israeli soldiers chanting that they will "wipe off the seed of Amalek" and that there are "no uninvolved civilians" in Gaza.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Israel's political leaders, military commanders, and persons holding official positions have systematically and in explicit terms declared their genocidal intent," said Ngcukaitobi. "These statements are then repeated by soldiers on the ground in Gaza as they engage in the destruction of Palestinians and the physical infrastructure of Gaza."</p><p></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">South Africa's legal team decided against sharing highly graphic videos and photos during its presentations, saying it did not want to turn the court's proceedings "into a theatre for spectacle."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"South Africa's application in this court today is built on a foundation of clear legal rights, not images," the legal team <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/jan/11/middle-east-crisis-live-updates-israel-gaza-war-hamas-palestine-south-africa-genocide-case-icj?page=with:block-659fce568f08c67fc2910b12#block-659fce568f08c67fc2910b12" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">said</a> <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/jan/11/middle-east-crisis-live-updates-israel-gaza-war-hamas-palestine-south-africa-genocide-case-icj?page=with:block-659fce568f08c67fc2910b12#block-659fce568f08c67fc2910b12" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"></a>Thursday.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube" style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d7d87a25bc4cd1cad5087151eb69a85" style="display: block; padding-top: 382.5px; position: relative;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Id4n7Arns1M?rel=0" style="height: 382.5px; left: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 680px;" type="lazy-iframe" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">South Africa is asking the ICJ to adopt "provisional measures" to halt Israel's mass killing and displacement of Gazans, many of whom are starving and being stalked by disease.<br /></p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Israel is set to offer its counter to South Africa's case on Friday, which will mark the first time Israel has defended itself in person at the United Nations' highest court.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">In the days ahead of the ICJ's public hearings, Israeli officials pressured governments around the world to publicly denounce South Africa's case. The United States, Israel's top ally and leading arms supplier, has dismissed South Africa's arguments as "meritless."</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">But a growing number of national governments are backing South Africa, including Brazil, Malaysia, Bolivia, and Pakistan. South Africa's ICJ effort has also drawn massive support from grassroots organizations across the globe.</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">"Israel's killing, injuring, traumatizing, and displacing large numbers of Palestinians and denying water, food, medicine, and fuel to an occupied population meet the criteria for the crime of genocide," reads an <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://progressive.international/wire/2024-01-08-we-support-south-africas-genocide-convention-case-against-israel/en" style="color: #005dc7; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">open letter</a> signed by more than 1,000 unions, popular movements, and other groups. "If a majority of the world's nations call for a cease-fire, yet fail to press for prosecution of Israel—what is to stop Israel from ethnically cleansing all Palestinians?"</p><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.commondreams.org">Common Dreams</a> on January 11th, 2024. </span></i></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Read the post below related to this topic<br /></u></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/south-africa-initiates-case-against.html">South Africa Initiates Case Against Israel at International Court of Justice</a>,</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Common Dreams</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/2024/01/groups-intensify-global-push-for-gaza.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Groups Intensify Global Push for Gaza Cease-Fire After ICJ Ruling</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">, Common Dreams</span></div><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Please support the news you can use and visit <a href="http://www.charles-brooks.com/">The Brooks Blackboard's</a> website for more news! </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">Take a look at my <a href="https://www.charles-brooks.com/p/about.html">brief bio</a> about my writing life and on social media:</span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Facebook page</u>: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackboardblog/">The Brooks Blackboard</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><span face="Lora, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"><u>Twitter</u>: <a href="https://twitter.com/_CharlesBrooks">@_charlesbrooks</a></span></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><i style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></i></p><p 0px="" 1.5em="" 17px="" 1em="" 24px="" border:="" data-originalcomputedfontsize="16" data-removefontsize="true" font-family:="" font-size:="" lato="" line-height:="" margin-block-end:="" margin:="" padding:="" sans-serif=""><br /></p><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></p></div><p style="color: #222222; font-family: Lora, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></p></div>Brooks Blackboardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225162215629965804noreply@blogger.com0