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‘Sanctioner-In-Chief’ Bob Menendez Indicted On Corruption Charges

September 29, 2023 Calla Mairead Walsh, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
On Wednesday, September 27, US Democratic Senator Bob Menendez plead not guilty to charges of bribery, fraud and extortion in Manhattan federal court. It is not Menendez’s first indictment, but now, Menendez faces resounding calls from top Democrats to resign and not jeopardize their Senate majority in the 2024 election. In addition to facing widespread criticism over corruption allegations, Menendez has long been criticized by pro-peace and human rights activists in the US due to his positions while serving as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC). With regards to US policy towards Cuba, despite an opening for better relations when Donald Trump left office, Menendez used his position as chair to hold Biden’s Cuba policy hostage to the extreme anti-Cuba right.

Federal Complaint Alleges University Conspired Against Palestinians

September 29, 2023 Nora Barrows-Friedman, The Electronic Intifada. , , , , ,
Students at the University of Illinois Chicago have filed a federal complaint against the school, alleging that staff discriminated against them because of their ethnicity and national origin. The seven students, six Palestinian Americans and one Jewish American, attempted to join an informational session over the videoconferencing platform Zoom in January about a study abroad summer program in Israel. During and after the video call, students say they were racially profiled, harassed and silenced by university staff and, later, by campus police. In the Zoom call, UIC staff denied the students with Arab and Muslim names admission to the session while other students who had Western-sounding names were able to participate.

Understanding The RICO Indictments Against Stop Cop City Activists

September 29, 2023 National Lawyers Guild International. , , , ,
National Lawyers Guild Atlanta, NLG International Committee and NLG National hosted a discussion on Monday, September 25: “Understanding the RICO Indictments Against Stop Cop City Activists.” Panelists and moderators were Stanley Cohen, Devin Franklin, Mo Meltzer-Cohen, Don Samuel and Azadeh Shahshahani, and the webinar was hosted by Suzanne Adely, Susi Durán and Sarina Larson. 

Philadelphia Youth React When Charges Are Dropped Against Killer Cop

September 28, 2023 Betsey Piette, Workers World. , , , ,
Reminiscent of the mass reaction in the aftermath of the George Floyd lynching in May 2020, angry youth reacted in a similar situation in Philadelphia in the wake of a Sept. 26 decision by Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Wendy L. Pew to dismiss all charges against Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial, who fatally shot Eddie Irizarry, Jr on Aug. 14.   As the evening developed, large groups of youth were taking to the streets across the city. Reports are coming in of youth expropriating expensive items from high priced Center City stores and in multiple shopping corridors — beyond what the cops can control.

Journalists Fight Back Against Attacks On Our Right To Know

September 25, 2023 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
Information control in the United States is growing stronger as journalists face more restrictions on their ability to speak with people who work for the public good in agencies and institutions from the local to federal levels and are being targeted through illegal raids and confiscation of their equipment. Clearing the FOG speaks with Kathryn Foxhall, a journalist who works on freedom of information, about another journalist, Brittany Hailer, who is suing over restrictions on her ability to interview employees at a local jail where an unprecedented number of deaths are occurring. Foxhall explains why these restrictions are human rights abuses. Clearing the FOG also speaks with Seth Stern of the Freedom of Information Foundation and Bobby Block of the Florida First Amendment Foundation about journalists' legal rights and their new Know Your Rights Guild for journalists.

Trial Of Honduran Ex-President Reveals Washington’s Protection Of ‘Narco-State’

September 24, 2023 Alexander Rubenstein and Anya Parampil, The Grayzone. , , , , , ,
“Juan Orlando effectively operated Honduras as a narco-state, acquiring political power through narcotics-fueled bribes and maintaining it by allowing the free flow of drugs through Honduras,” US government prosecutors alleged in a May 1 motion filed in the Southern District of New York. Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment targeting Hernández on April 21, 2022, the same day that Honduras extradited him to the US. He currently faces three drug and weapons smuggling charges in the Southern District of New York, including one count of conspiracy to import cocaine to the United States. His trial begins this week, on September 18.

Plan To Clean Up Radioactive Fracking Waste Ends In Monster Lawsuit

September 24, 2023 Justin Nobel, DeSmog. , , , , , ,
In rural West Virginia, largely hidden among steep hills, stands a $255 million facility designed to transform fracking waste into freshwater and food grade quality salts. Proponents hailed it as one of the most important environmental projects undertaken by the oil and gas industry in recent U.S. history. But local conservation groups and residents remained skeptical from the start, warning that the plant could leak toxic waste into water and air, harming human health and ecosystems in a largely forested region where tight-knit communities live close to the land.  The facility, called Clearwater, was built by the Denver, Colorado-based oil and gas extraction company, Antero Resources, and an affiliate of Veolia, the multinational French waste, water and energy management company.

Illinois Just Ended Cash Bail; Here’s How Organizers Made It Happen

September 19, 2023 Alice Herman, In These Times. , , ,
Illinois is poised to eliminate the use of cash bail in the state’s carceral system following the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act by the state legislature on January 13. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who has said he favors ending cash bail, is expected to sign the bill into law. The policy of conditional pretrial detention — holding accused people in jail until their trial, unless they can afford to pay bail — is currently practiced in all 50 states, although New Jersey did drastically reduce the use of cash bail. It’s a practice that necessarily penalizes poor people and disproportionately affects Black and Brown people, already overrepresented in U.S. jails and prisons.

A Justice System That Is Not Fair and Just For Everyone Is Not Fair and Just For Anyone

September 14, 2023 Jacqueline Luqman, Black Agenda Report. , , , , ,
Enrique Tarrio , the former leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced on September 5, 2023, to 22 years in prison. He was convicted in May on seditious conspiracy and other charges for the central role he played in organizing Trump followers to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021, while Congress was certifying the electoral results of the 2020 presidential election. Until now, the longest prison term connected to the January 6 events had been 18 years. That sentence was issued to co-defendant Ethan Nordean. Three other men in the case — Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola — were each sentenced to between 10 and 17 years in prison.

Justice Department Says Google ‘Flexed Its Muscle’ As A Monopolist

September 14, 2023 Luke Goldstein, The American Prospect. , , ,
Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, the government opened its first major monopolization case in decades at the D.C. District Court with opening statements from both the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the defendant, Google. Despite the stakes of the trial, the remainder of the legal proceeding will take place in a near-total blackout, since requests for public audio have been denied by Judge Amit Mehta and even in-person attendants are restricted from digital access inside the courtroom. For nearly two decades, Google has served as the “on-ramp” and gatekeeper of the digital world through its dominance of search engine functions, which is the target of this case.

NLG Condemns Georgia Indictments Of Stop Cop City Protesters

September 6, 2023 National Lawyers Guild. , , , , ,
The National Lawyers Guild condemns in the strongest terms the state of Georgia’s indictments, announced today, Tuesday, September 5, against 61 people targeted for allegedly being part of the movement to #StopCopCity. These indictments, filed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, aim to quell the growing, massive public movement to bring an end to the construction of a military police training facility in the Atlanta Forest, and to use RICO, domestic terrorism and money laundering charges to portray a popular movement as an unlawful conspiracy. “The National Lawyers Guild strongly condemns the state of Georgia’s organized effort to silence, criminalize, and punish movements for justice,” says NLG President Suzanne Adely.

More Than 60 Atlanta ‘Cop City’ Activists Named In RICO Indictment

September 5, 2023 Jozsef Papp and Shaddi Abusaid, Atlanta Journal Constitution. , , , ,
More than five dozen activists were indicted on RICO charges last week over the ongoing efforts to halt construction of the city of Atlanta’s planned public safety training center in DeKalb County. The sweeping indictment, handed up last Tuesday in Fulton County, is being prosecuted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office. A total of 61 protestors have been charged with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act. Some face additional charges of domestic terrorism and money laundering. Most are not from Georgia.

I’m Proud To Stand Trial Defending The Right To Rescue Animals

August 31, 2023 Cassie King, Waging Nonviolence. , , , ,
After over four years of our court case dragging on, my co-defendants and I are scheduled to go on trial Sept. 8 in Sonoma County, California. We are facing dozens of criminal charges, including eight felonies, for nonviolent animal rescues. Growing up, I prided myself on following the rules. I was a straight-A student and faithful Catholic. My teachers trusted me so much they let me teach the class. Today, I’ve been arrested multiple times as part of a group that’s being surveilled by the FBI. It might surprise you to know I still love following rules and doing what is right, but my understanding of what’s right has changed.

Judge Acquits Two Palestine Action Activists After They Shut Elbit Down

August 31, 2023 Palestine Action. , , ,
On Wednesday 30th August, District Judge Grego found two activists not guilty of ‘obstruction of the highway’. The two activists, Jasmine and Iola, had locked themselves into vehicles, each blocking the two entrances of UAV Engines Ltd. Their action took place during an ongoing camp at the site, and led to the factory being forced to close down for the day on 9th September 2022. Whilst locked in, one activist threw paint at the gates which resembled the colours of the Palestinian flag. Three months after the action, the two were given notices of ‘no further action’, meaning no criminal charges would be brought against them.

UN Strengthens Children’s Rights To Fight Climate Change In Court

August 29, 2023 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. , , ,
The United Nations Child Rights Committee has published new guidance on the rights of children in relation to the environment with a particular emphasis on climate change. The UN’s direction on the matter sets forth specific administrative measures nation-states should implement in order to tackle how climate change and humans’ degradation of the environment are affecting children’s rights of enjoyment, as well as to ensure a clean and sustainable planet for current and future generations, a press release from the UN said. The UN Committee adopted its guidance, officially General Comment No. 26, following consultation with national human rights institutions, nations, international organizations, experts, civil society and children.
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