Scholar Created an Interactive Map of Slave Rebellions

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ColorLines

Vincent Brown, a professor of African and African-American History at Harvard, has made study of the Transatlantic Slave Trade accessible in a new way. Brown has created an interactive map of Jamaican slave uprisings in the 18th century called, "Slave Revolt in Jamaica, 1760-1761, A Cartographic Narrative." 

Brown teamed up with Axis Maps to do the project. "An emerging alliance between historians and mapmakers promises to enlighten public perceptions of black insurrection...As with more recent disturbances, people at the time debated whether the slave insurrection in Jamaica in 1760-61 was a spontaneous eruption or a carefully planned affair," Brown said to a British newspaper. "Historians still debate the question, their task made more difficult by the lack of written records produced by the insurgents. Cartographic evidence developed in collaboration with Axis Maps shows that the rebellion was in fact a well-planned affair that posed a genuine strategic threat, not an indiscriminate outburst."

Holder Releases Millions for Criminal Defense of the Poor

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ColorLines

Today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced $6.7 million in grant money for the often underfunded and understaffed work of representing defendents of low income in court. This is one of Holder's latest reform moves as he continues to attempt to upend the criminal justice system that has led to mass incarceration, particularly of black and Latino men and women. 

"Everyone accused of a serious crime has the right to legal representation - even if she or he cannot afford it," said Attorney General Holder by press statement today.  

"These awards, in conjunction with other efforts we're making to strengthen indigent defense, will fortify our public defender system and help us to meet our constitutional and moral obligation to administer a justice system that matches its demands for accountability with a commitment to fair, due process for poor defendants," said Associate Attorney General Tony West.

Holder has often publicly lamented that the justice system is undermined by all of the budget cuts the federal government has suffered lately. The sequestration ax earlier this year took a huge chunk of the Justice Department's budget. In a Washington Post op-ed in August he wrote that "draconian cuts have forced layoffs, furloughs ... and personnel reductions through attrition. Across the country, these cuts threaten the integrity of our criminal justice system and impede the ability of our dedicated professionals to ensure due process, provide fair outcomes and guarantee the constitutionally protected rights of every criminal defendant."

[white supremacy is carried out through violence and or deception]

Automatic Cuts to Food Stamps Coming This Week

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ColorLines

A temporary stimulus boost to SNAP or food stamp benefits from 2009 expires on November 1, which means $5 billion in funding cuts to a program that provides much-needed support for low-income families and individuals across the nation.  An estimated 47 million people currently rely on SNAP benefits, nearly 49 percent of which are children,  a number that has increased during the current economic recession. The total cuts will amount to about a five percent reduction for families who already struggle to make ends meet, and some states already began making cuts. Talks around the contentious farm bill resume this week, which could add an additional $40 billion in cuts if the Senate approves a House bill proposed earlier this year. 

The NSA has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world

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WashPost

The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with knowledgeable officials.

By tapping those links, the agency has positioned itself to collect at will from among hundreds of millions of user accounts, many of them belonging to Americans. The NSA does not keep everything it collects, but it keeps a lot.

According to a top secret accounting dated Jan. 9, 2013, NSA’s acquisitions directorate sends millions of records every day from Yahoo and Google internal networks to data warehouses at the agency’s Fort Meade headquarters. In the preceding 30 days, the report said, field collectors had processed and sent back 181,280,466 new records — ranging from “metadata,” which would indicate who sent or received e-mails and when, to content such as text, audio and video.

Negro Removal: Brazil judge suspends construction on Amazon dam

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Jurist

The Brazilian Regional Federal Court for the First Region (TRF1) [official website, in Portuguese] on Tuesday suspended [press release, in Portuguese] construction on the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil's Amazon rain forest on grounds that environmental commitments have not been met. The decision is summarized in a statement on the court's website, detailing Judge Antonio Souza Prudente's suspension of the project's environmental license in addition to the suspension of construction. The decision also imposes a fine of R$500,000 for a breach in its terms. Souza Prudente agreed with the argument that the original license did not remain valid after construction violated environmental standards. In its consideration to grant the preliminary injunction, the TRF1 reasoned that the environmental impacts already negatively affected communities because of social tension due to the increased migration to the region and decreased quality of natural resources. Construction on the Belo Monte Dam can only resume once the Norte Energia [official website] consortium that is building the dam honors its commitments.

In August 2012 a judge in Brazil ruled [JURIST report] that construction on the Belo Monte Dam must stop until local indigenous communities were allowed to voice their opinions on the environmental impact of the dam. The Brazilian government declared [BBC report] that the dam would help make Brazil more self-sufficient in energy. However, many environmental and indigenous rights groups have condemned the project [CBC report], arguing that the dam will destroy wildlife and displace thousands of residents in the Amazon. In his earlier decision, Souza Prudente ordered that the Brazilian government must consult with native communities [CNN report] before any further construction on the dam proceeds.

Alabama agrees to permanently block parts of immigration law

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JURIST

The state of Alabama agreed [text, PDF] Tuesday to permanently block several provisions of its immigration [JURIST backgrounder] law [HB 56; PDF], according to the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA) [advocacy website]. The key provisions that were permanently blocked include Sections 28; 11(f) and (g); 10, 11(a), 13, and 27; 12, 18, and 20; and 19. One of the provisions requiring public schools to check the immigration status of students had been struck down [JURIST report] by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] in August of last year. Along with the agreement, Alabama agreed to pay $350,000 in legal fees and costs to the plaintiffs' attorneys.

In April the US Supreme Court [official website] denied [JURIST report] certiorari in an appeal over the immigration law. Before the denial in September 2012, the state petitioned [JURIST report] the Eleventh Circuit to reconsider a ruling partially striking down the immigration law. In August a three-judge upheld several provisions, including one allowing police officers to check the immigration status of persons suspected of a crime, but rejected provisions making it a crime for undocumented immigrants to work or solicit work, imposing criminal penalties on persons who rent property to illegal immigrants and requiring state officials to check the immigration status of children in public schools.

(feel any safer?) Jesse Jackson, now Inmate No. 32451-016

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Miami Herald

Former Illinois U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. entered a North Carolina prison Tuesday to begin serving a 2 1/2-year term for illegally spending $750,000 in campaign money on everything from cigars to a gold watch — a day after he tried but failed to get into the federal complex.

In an odd twist to Jackson's long-running legal saga, the 48-year-old had sought to enter the Butner Correctional Center Monday but was turned away because of "a snafu," C.K. Hoffler, an Atlanta-based attorney who had accompanied the Chicago Democrat, told reporters Tuesday evening.

"He was ready to pay his debt," she said during a news conference in Atlanta about why the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson chose to report days earlier than required. "The sooner he reported, the sooner he'd be able to get back home to his children to begin the process of healing."

Jackson bid farewell to his wife, Sandi, and two children on Sunday, in Washington, D.C., then went to the prison in a heavily wooded area 30 miles north of Raleigh Monday afternoon. But his attorney had to return hours later to pick up Jackson when prison officials called her and said say an administrative obstacle would delay processing him, she said.

Jackson spent the night at a hotel, then reported to the prison again — this time successfully — around 10 a.m. Tuesday, Hoffler said.

Jackson, now Inmate No. 32451-016, was in custody as of Tuesday morning, said Bureau of Prisons spokesman Chris Burke, who declined to provide additional details.

Hoffler said someone representing Jackson had let prison officials know in advance of his plan to report on Monday. "He didn't just show up," she added.

Court documents were never clear about when Jackson had to report. In her sentencing order this year, Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington said only that he would have to surrender to prison authorities "no earlier" than Nov. 1.

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a North Carolina Democrat, also accompanied Jackson to the prison Monday, Hoffler said. Butterfield was quoted as saying in a statement, "I am happy to report that he is in good spirits, all things considered."

By quietly reporting, Jackson avoided the crush of media that swirled around other prison-bound Illinois politicians. For example, when Rod Blagojevich reported to a Colorado prison last year to serve a 14-year term for corruption, helicopters hovered above and cars filled with journalists trailed the former Illinois governor.

But Hoffler insisted Jackson wasn't seeking to avoid the media's glare.

HPV Vaccine Less Likely To Help Black Women Because Clinical Trials Were Mostly White

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ThinkProgress

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that has cut teen girls’ risk of cancer in half is less likely to shield African American women, according to new research unveiled Monday. Black women, who have higher rates of cervical cancer than the general population, are susceptible to different strains of HPV than the most common types for white women. Unfortunately, the only approved HPV vaccines in the US target the strains that most affect white women, leaving black women more or less unprotected.

Cancer epidemiologists at Duke University School of Medicine found that black and white women with precancerous cervical abnormalities contracted almost completely different types of HPV. This major divergence, researchers said, highlights how lack of ethnic diversity in clinical trials can skew new treatments and therapies. Senior author Catherine Hoyo explained that the two trials for the vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix failed to include “enough people of African descent,” adding, “We may be rethinking the vaccine itself.”

Company that Brought You 'Stolen Election 2004' (Diebold) Charged With Bribery, Falsifying Docs, 'Worldwide Pattern of Criminal Conduct'

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BlackListedNews

One of the world's largest ATM manufacturers and, formerly, one of the largest manufacturers of electronic voting systems, has been indicted by federal prosecutors for bribery and falsification of documents.

The charges represent only the latest in a long series of criminal and/or unethical misconduct by Diebold, Inc. and their executives over the past decade.

According to Cleveland's Plain Dealer, a U.S. Attorney says the latest charges are in response to "a worldwide pattern of criminal conduct" by the company....

Federal prosecutors Tuesday filed charges against Diebold Inc., accusing the North Canton-based ATM and business machine manufacturer of bribing government officials and falsifying documents in China, Indonesia and Russia to obtain and retain contracts to provide ATMs to banks in those countries.

 

The two-count criminal information and deferred prosecution agreement calls for Diebold to pay nearly $50 million in penalties: $23 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and $25 million to the Department of Justice.

 

The agreement with federal prosecutors also calls for the implementation of rigorous internal controls that includes a compliance monitor for at least 18 months. The government agreed to defer criminal prosecution for three years, and drop the charges if Diebold abides by the terms of the agreement.

 

Despite at least $1.75 million in bribes said to have been paid the company around the globe, nobody will go to jail for what U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach describes as their "worldwide pattern of criminal conduct," because they are a corporation --- and you are not.

Dorner had to go, "Manifesto" said so: Police Admit to Intentionally Burning Black Man Alive

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StormCloudsGathering 

From [HERE]  on 2/14/13 SWAT officers in the cabin standoff with murder suspect Christopher Dorner decided to use highly flammable "hot gas" canisters as a last resort after other efforts to persuade Dorner to surrender failed, according to law enforcement sources.

Officers made the decision to use the canisters, which caused the cabin to catch fire, Tuesday as the sun was setting and authorities worried about dealing with Dorner at night in the remote Big Bear area, said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. Dorner had continued to fire on officers, and they feared more deputies would be hurt or killed, they added.

Authorities had chased Dorner into the cabin on Seven Oaks Road on Tuesday afternoon amid a massive gun battle in which one San Bernardino County deputy was killed and another badly wounded.

Law enforcement officers lobbed conventional tear gas into the cabin, but when Dorner failed to emerge they used CS gas canisters, a more intense weapon known to start fires, and sent in a demolition vehicle. Dorner is believe to have died inside, though it is unclear if the fire caused his death.

San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said deputies did not purposely burn down the cabin. He said they deployed the CS canisters after they were left with no other options.

"I can tell you it was not on purpose," he said. "We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out." [MORE] 

Pet Negro Ben Carson Shadowboxes for the White Party (Republicans): says "Obamacare Is Slavery"

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(Racial Shadow Boxing occurs when victims of racism (non-white people) are directly or indirectly, "assigned", bribed, coerced, and/or otherwise influenced, by the racists (white Supremacist), to speak or act to do harm to other victims of racism. White Supremacists oftentimes hide behind others whom they use as shadows of themselves. [MORE]) 

ThinkProgress

Dr. Ben Carson, a popular conservative activist turned Fox News contributor who has been floated as a possible 2016 presidential candidate, compared the Affordable Care Act to slavery during a speech at Values Voters conference on Friday.

Interestingly, Carson isn’t the only conservative to make the link. Last July, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) likened the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act to others protecting slavery and Jim Crow. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), who is now a Senate candidate in the state, also predicted in 2010 that “If ObamaCare passes, that free insurance card that’s in people’s pockets is gonna be as worthless as a Confederate dollar after the War Between The States — the Great War of Yankee Aggression.”

Earlier this year, Carson made headlines for comparing marriage equality to bestiality and pedophilia.

Demonstrators Block Deportation Buses in Tucson

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ColorLines

At least 20 demonstrators were taken into custody following today's demonstrations. NDLON representative B. Lowe confirmed that today's demonstration, which lasted more than three hours, led to an unprecedented cancellation of court proceedings for the detainees. 


A group of immigration rights demonstrators blocked an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) bus that was full of of people being taken to Operation Streamline, a federal program that catches immigrants crossing the border, sentences them to jail time, and then deports them en masse--often in just one day. Twelve demonstrators locked themselves to the buses' tires, while six others chained themselves to the entrance of the federal court. Police have arrived on the scene, and allegedly the demonstration is blocking traffic for up to 5 miles. 

NotOneMoreDeportation says Operation Streamline's process of rapid deportation violates immigrants' rights to due process and adequate legal representation.  

In Operation Streamline, people accused of crossing the border without authorization are diverted from immediate deportation and instead sentenced en masse as punishment to 30 to 180 days in private prisons at taxpayers' expense. They are lined up in shackles and rapidly tried as a group to prison terms before eventually being expelled from the country. The Tucson court convicts an average of 80-100 people every weekday in its sessions.

ACLU Calls for Investigation of 'Roving' Border Patrols

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ColorLines

In a letter filed Thursday with the Department of Homeland Security, the ACLU of Arizona is calling for an investigation of "roving" border patrols, which have been cited as far 60 miles north of the Mexico border. The order comes just two weeks after the ACLU won a settlement in Seattle, Wash. over roving patrols, and two days after Arizona police used pepper spray to break up an impromptu immigration rally in Tucson involving the Border Patrol. 

In their letter they outline a number of abuses allegedly perpetrated by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) in Arizona: 

Va. Democrats sue to stop use of voter 'purge list'

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CitizensforLegit

A federal lawsuit filed by the Virginia Democratic Party claims that some voters in the state may be kept from casting a ballot in November after their names were wrongly placed on a list meant to weed out fraud steal the election. The court action names Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) as defendants and alleges that there were political motivations behind a "purge list" of about 57,000 voters whose names were [allegedly] also found on voter rolls in other states. The lawsuit, which comes as the contentious governor's race enters its last month, contends that the list is inaccurate and that many of those voters are eligible to vote Nov. 5 in Virginia.