Racial segregation is on the rise in American schools [kids who play together may make babies together]

Raw Story 

A federal district court judge has decided that Gardendale—a predominantly white city in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama—can move forward in its effort to secede from the school district that serves the larger county. The district Gardendale is leaving is 48 percent black and 44 percent white. The new district would be almost all white.

The idea that a judge could allow this is unfathomable to most, but the case demonstrates in the most stark terms that school segregation is still with us. While racial segregation in U.S. schools plummeted between the late 1960s and 1980, it has steadily increased ever since—to the the point that schools are about as segregated today as they were 50 years ago.

As a former school desegregation lawyer and now a scholar of educational inequality and law, I have both witnessed and researched an odd shift to a new kind of segregation that somehow seems socially acceptable. So long as it operates with some semblance of furthering educational quality or school choice, even a federal district court is willing to sanction it.

While proponents of the secession claim they just want the best education for their children and opponents decry the secession as old-school racism, the truth is more complex: Race, education and school quality are inextricably intertwined.

Rationalizing Gardendale’s segregation

In some respects, Gardendale is no different from many other communities.

Thirty-seven percent of our public schools are basically one-race schools—nearly all white or all minority. In New York, two out of three black students attend a school that is 90 to 100 percent minority.

In June 2017, New York City released a plan to diversify its public schools. The plan includes an advisory group that will evaluate current diversity pushes and recommend additional ones by June 2018. 

In many areas, this racial isolation has occurred gradually over time, and is often written off as the result of demographic shifts and private preferences that are beyond a school district’s control.

The Gardendale parents argued their motivations were not about race at all, but just ensuring their kids had access to good schools. The evidence pointed in the other direction: In language rarely offered by modern courts, the judge found, at the heart of the secession, “a desire to control the racial demographics of [its] public schools” by “eliminat[ing]… black students [from] Gardendale schools.”

Still, these findings were not enough to stop the secession. As in many other cases over the past two decades, the judge conceded to resegregation, speculating that if she stopped the move, innocent parties would suffer: Black students who stayed in Gardendale would be made to feel unwelcome and those legitimately seeking educational improvements would be stymied.

Simply put, the judge could not find an upside to blocking secessionists whom she herself characterized as racially motivated. [MORE]

US Muslims struggle to get approval for mosques in towns, cities

The i News

Muslims in the United States are finding it increasingly hard to get approval for the construction of new mosques as they claim rising anti-Muslim sentiments is driving local administrations in various towns and cities to unfairly deny their applications to build places of worship.

However, while Muslims are fighting legal battle for their right of worship in courts, the US Department of Justice is trying to end the discrimination against Muslims by filing law suits against towns and cities denying permissions to build mosques.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that Bernards Township in US state of New Jersey will pay $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit over its denial of a permit to build a mosque. The department has also opened investigation into denial of a mosque in Bayonne, another city of the same state.

In its special report last year, the US Department of Justice had pointed out a sharp increase in the number of its investigations into religious discrimination involving mosques or Islamic schools over the past six years. The department opened 17 investigations involving Muslim groups under the Religious Land Useand Institutionalised Persons Act, which protects groups from discrimination in land-use decisions.

The report cites "particularly severe discrimination faced by Muslims in land use." It notes that 84 percent of investigations that don’t involve Muslim issues ended in a positive resolution without any lawsuit compared to only 20 percent of cases involving mosques and Islamic schools. 

New Jersey, with a growing Muslim population, has seen several recent discrimination cases involving mosques. In 2014, Bridgewater paid $7.5 million to settle a lawsuit after officials rejected a proposal to turn a former banquet hall into an Islamic community center. And in February, the Garden State Islamic Center alleged in a federal lawsuit that Vineland discriminated when it denied a permit for full use of the mosque, also citing unequal treatment. 

In Vineland, Bernards and Toms River, where a mosque application is also pending, boards have changed their zoning rules in ways that have made it more difficult for mosque proposals to proceed.

Adeel Abdullah Mangi, an attorney representing Muslim groups in Bernards and Bayonne lawsuits told the local newspaper NorthJersey.com about hate being spread by Anti-Muslim elements.

Anti-mosque fliers were put in children’s mailboxes at school. The church basement where they used to pray was spray-painted with slurs and curses. A “stop the mosque” Facebook page has drawn hundreds of followers and bigoted comments.

“How much uglier can it gets than that?” said Mangi. “Municipalities around the country should pay close attention to what happened in Bernards Township,” he said. “The American Muslim community has the legal resources, the allies and the determination to stand up for its constitutional rights in court and will do so.” 

Dina Sayedahmed, 22, of Bayonne told the paper that it was hard to hear hateful comments from people in the city where she grew up and attended school. "If someone tells us 'Go back to where came from' or 'We want to save the community from you guys,' that’s going to hurt," she said.

Puerto Rico Votes for Statehood

The Atlantic

Puerto Rican voters overwhelmingly supported the chance to become the 51st state in the U.S. on Sunday’s referendum vote, according to early tallies. It’s a significant gesture from the island, which is a U.S. territory, but low turnout, a boycott by opposition parties, and the likely pushback from Congress, make the decision an unlikely one.

It was the U.S. territory’s fifth referendum vote since 1967, and about 97 percent, or half a million people, voted to become a state. By Sunday evening, only about half of polling centers were finished reporting results, but given the massive margin the end tally will likely be in favor. However, as of 6 p.m. voter turnout was about 23 percent, with some 2.3 million voters in all. This will probably discredit the vote, but Puerto Rico’s Senate president, Thomas Rivera Schatz, said he would continue his push for state hoood anyway.

“Congress never freely gave away statehood,” he told the Associated Press. “U.S. states had to fight for it.”

Shaun King: I'm boycotting the NFL because of its blatant bigotry and anti-blackness

From [HERE] I love sports. Since I was a young boy, they've been one of the greatest passions of my life. For many years, my dream was to be a general manager of a professional sports team. I still think about it actually and sometimes allow my mind to drift to what my life would look like if I still went that route. The stance I am taking today did not come easily. It's heartbreaking, actually.

I'm an NFL fan. I watch the draft. I pay extra for the season pass on television so I can watch every single game. I follow the stats and standings and rankings religiously. It's an escape for me. Day in and day out, as I fight against injustice, watching a great game allows me to decompress from the stress of the cases I'm working on or writing about. I'm 37 years old and literally cannot remember a year in my life where I have not been a sports junkie.

But I won't be watching the NFL this year. I can't, in good conscience, support this league, with many of its pro-Trump owners, as it blacklists my friend and brother Colin Kaepernick for taking a silent, peaceful stance against injustice and police brutality in America. It's disgusting and has absolutely nothing to do with football and everything to do with penalizing a brilliant young man for the principled stance he took last season.

I did not want to make this decision, but it became inevitable when the Seattle Seahawks, after flying Kaepernick across country to meet with the team, instead decided to sign Austin Davis as their backup quarterback. It's a disgrace. I sincerely want to apologize for how hard I am about to go against Austin Davis, because it's great that he got the job, but the man is a scrub.

In 2012 he wasn't even drafted. He signed a free agent deal with the Rams that year and was later cut without playing a single snap. Colin Kaepernick took the 49ers to the Super Bowl that season and had some of the best stats of any quarterback in the playoffs. His 98.3 QB rating for the season was right behind that of Tom Brady.

In 2013, the Dolphins signed Austin Davis to the practice squad, but cut him one week later. In Kaepernick's opening game that season for the 49ers, he threw for 412 yards with three touchdowns — the most passing yards in a single game for a 49ers quarterback in a decade. Again, Kaepernick took his team deep into the playoffs and was only a pass away from being back in the Super Bowl. That year, Kaepernick had 21 passing touchdowns with just 8 interceptions and again had a stellar 91.6 QB rating and the team had a 12-4 record. The 49ers responded by making Kaepernick one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.

In 2014, Austin Davis finally got his first NFL playing time for the St. Louis Rams, but despite some success, he was back on the bench by the end of the season. The following year, Davis served as a backup for the Cleveland Browns and got some playing time but was later benched in favor of Johnny Manziel and cut by the team in August. The Broncos signed Davis to a one-year deal, but cut him near the end of the 2016 season.

Last year, while Davis didn't play a single snap of a regular season game, Colin Kaepernick — playing under his third head coach in three years — threw 16 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions. Facing national scrutiny, Colin Kaepernick played well on the field, with his best QB rating in years and more rushing yards per attempt than any year of his career. His teammates voted to give him the highest honor the team has for a player for his stellar performance on and off the field. [MORE]

Barry Scheck and Yusef Salaam Urge New York Lawmakers to Pass Recorded Interrogations Legislation

Innocence Project

Innocence Project Co-Founder Barry Scheck and Yusef Salaam of the Central Park Five sat down with PIX11 News on Tuesday to discuss proposed reforms which intend to prevent wrongful convictions in New York.

The budget, which is currently before the state legislature, includes provisions which would require police to video record all custodial interrogations of suspects in major crimes and eyewitness identification best practices.

Salaam was wrongfully convicted of the notorious 1989 Central Park jogger rape case, along with Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise and Antron McCray after his codefendants falsely confessed to the crime after hours of interrogation by police. Their confessions were recorded, but the many hours of coercive interrogation that led up to the confession were not.

“When officers get in the room with suspects, we want to show juries everything that happens,” Salaam told PIX11 News.

In 2015, a bill with these provisions passed the state senate but not the assembly. The budget proposal is backed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Scheck urged lawmakers to finally pass the legislation.

“That will greatly reduce wrongful convictions at the front end,” Scheck told PIX11 News. “There’s no reason why New York shouldn’t lead the way.”

Watch the PIX11 News broadcast here.

Learn how you can voice your support for wrongful conviction reforms in New York here.

Study Reveals How Aparthied Is Hurting Chicago

Here & Now

The Chicago region is one of the most segregated in the country, both racially and economically, and according to a new study from the Chicago-based Metropolitan Planning Council and the D.C.-based Urban Institute, that's hurting the city.

The study finds that if the region were to address its segregation problem, it could reduce the murder rate, raise salaries for black residents and dramatically improve the economy. Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson talks with one of the study's co-authors, Marisa Novara (@marisa_novara), vice president at the Metropolitan Planning Council.

Blue Pill- The Secret Power of Meditation, Changing Your Frequency, and Positive Thoughts

Black prosecutor: “[Florida Gov.] Scott said he was only interested in my recusal and refused to have a detailed conversation.”

TheIntercept

THE TOP PROSECUTOR in Orlando, Florida, took to a podium outside the Orange County courthouse last week to outline a new policy: Her office would no longer seek the death penalty in any capital case.

The prosecutor, State Attorney Aramis Ayala, told assembled reporters that seeking the death penalty is “not in the best interests of this community or in the interest of justice.” After considerable research, she said, she had concluded that capital punishment offers no empirical benefits to society: It is not a deterrent, it neither enhances public safety nor protects law enforcement officers from violence, and it costs millions more — in litigation and housing — to kill a defendant than it does to confine them behind bars for life.

And in Florida in particular, she said, the death penalty system has been the “cause of considerable legal chaos, uncertainty, and turmoil.”

Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court last year found the state’s capital sentencing scheme unconstitutional. Florida’s highest court subsequently concluded that more than 200 of the 381 inmates on death row in the state could be eligible for new sentencing hearings as a result of the Supreme Court ruling.

Even with the system in such disarray, Ayala’s decision to stop seeking the death penalty was bound to be controversial. But the announcement has kicked off a firestorm — especially due to its impact on a high-profile murder case, in which a man named Markeith Loyd is accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and, perhaps more politically potent, an Orlando police officer.

The controversy sets Ayala, the first black elected state attorney in Florida, who campaigned last year on a promise to reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system, against Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott, and the knee-jerk “tough-on-crime” politics still prominent in the state.

Millions of Muslims take part in mass pilgrimage of Arbaeen – in spite of Isis

Independent.Uk

Millions of Shia Muslims have taken part in one of the biggest marches in the world, as they travel through Iraq in celebration of a famous Muslim martyr.

The marchers made their way to the city of Karbala, 62 miles south west of Baghdad, on Sunday and Monday for the holy day of Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual that commemorates the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein in 680 AD. 

Large crowds visit the shrines of Imam Hussein and his half-brother Abbas in Karbala, where they were killed in a revolt against the Umayyad ruler Yazeed in the 7th century AD when they refused to pledge allegiance to Yazeed's Umayyad caliphate. 

Nusayyef al-Khattabi, who heads the Karbala provincial council, said he expected the total number of visitors over several days to range “between 17 million and 20 million”. Among them are an estimated three million foreigners, the majority Iranians who started crossing the border days ago. 

Many choose to make the journey on foot, despite travelling near Isis-controlled areas in the country and the extremist group having made frequent deadly attacks on the pilgrimage. [MORE]

White House refuses to condemn murder of black man by white supremacist

WashPost

James Harris Jackson, a 28-year-old white supremacist from Baltimore, traveled to New York City and brutally murdered Timothy Caughman, a 66-year-old black man, with a sword.

On Monday, April Ryan, Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks, asked Press Secretary Sean Spicer if the White House had anything to say about this hate crime.

Spicer repeatedly refused to saying anything specific about the murder, stating that he was “not going to reference any particular case before the DOJ right now.” He later added the he didn’t “know all the details.”

One detail is that Jackson reportedly told authorities that he killed Caughman for the “rush.” Jackson, who has taken responsibility for the murder, traveled to New York “to kill as many black men as he could.” He also expressed regret that he didn’t kill a “young thug.”

Instead of addressing the murder, Spicer went on a number of bizarre tangents. He told Ryan that there has been “a rush to judgment in a lot of other cases,” specifically anti-semitic attacks, where people have demanded Trump condemn the violence. Later, Spicer said, people have learned that the attacks were not perpetrated by “people on the right.”

Of course, Ryan wasn’t asking the White House to comment because Jackson was a member of the “right” but because he stands accused of a vicious racially-motivated murder.

Spicer also noted, somewhat inexplicably, that Trump had discussed “crime and education” with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Trump has a history of reticence to condemn hate crimes and hate groups. At a press conference in February, Trump was asked about the rise in anti-semitic attacks in the United States and responded with an analysis of the electoral college. [MORE]

SNigger David Clarke Should Know His Masters Can Replace Him @ Anytime: Suit says jail forced a white woman to give birth while in shackles

Thinkprogress

In July 2016, a newborn baby died at the Milwaukee County Jail after the mother was forced to give birth on her cell floor. Now, three months after Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke’s Office was sued over the baby’s death, the controversial law enforcement leader is being sued for additional jail abuse of pregnant women.

According to a federal lawsuit filed on March 14, plaintiff Melissa Hall was shackled before, during, and after childbirth at a local hospital in 2013. A “belly chain” was allegedly wrapped around her waist when she needed to use the restroom, and she had “her wrists attached to the waist and her legs attached to one another by leg-irons.” Hall claims the jail deputies also denied medical providers’ request to take the chains off her during childbirth, which made it difficult for those providers to give her an epidural.

“The shackling and its consequences caused emotional and physical pain and suffering, discomfort, left marks on Plaintiff’s body, and exposed her to unreasonable risks of harm,” the lawsuit states.

Hall is the only plaintiff named so far, but her attorneys hope to represent more than 40 other women who were shackled while pregnant under Clarke’s leadership. The lawsuit claims that his jail has a “blanket shackling policy” as opposed to one that considers the security threat and risks associated with shackling individual women.

The shackling of pregnant detainees is a widespread trend, despite health risks to women and their babies. The practice leaves marks and bruises and prohibits women’s movement during labor and childbirth, rendering them unable to find a position to minimize pain. The restraints impede women’s balance, and hinder doctors’ ability to perform emergency procedures and maneuver the mothers to ensure a safe delivery.

Several law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement restrict the use of shackles on pregnant women, reserving the chains for detainees who are considered a safety or security threat.

“The misconduct described in this Count was undertaken with malice, willfulness, and reckless indifference to the rights of others, and was objectively unreasonable,” Hall’s lawsuit says. Her allegations are the most recent in a long line of abuse accusations lodged at Clarke and his jail. In June, Clark will appear in court as a defendant in a class action lawsuit regarding the jail’s shackling of additional pregnant women from February 2010 on.

The Milwaukee jail is also known for an alarming number of deaths in 2016. Four people died within its walls last year, including the newborn baby and a male detainee who died of thirst.

Clarke himself is an enthusiastic supporter of President Donald Trump and a proponent of vigilante justice. In the past he encouraged violence against Trump’s opponents and said Black Lives Matter activists are “black slime” who should be “eradicated from American society.”

100% of the Africans Invited to a US-Africa Trade Conference Were Denied Their Visas

From [HERE] and [HERE] The annual African Global Economic and Development (AGED) Summit, held every year in the United States, is used to some visa troubles. “Usually we get 40 percent [of visas] that get rejected, but the others come,” said Mary Flowers, chair of the AGED Summit. “This year it was 100 percent. Every delegation.”

Voice of America reported that the delegates, many of them government officials and business leaders, were denied a chance to enter America to meet their counterparts in what an organiser termed discrimination against African nations. "I have to say that most of us feel it's a discrimination issue with the African nations...We experience it over and over and over, and the people being rejected are legitimate business people with ties to the continent," said Mary Flowers, who chairs the African Global Economic and Development Summit.

"I have to say that most of us feel it's a discrimination issue with the African nations...We experience it over and over and over, and the people being rejected are legitimate business people with ties to the continent," said Mary Flowers, who chairs the African Global Economic and Development Summit.

This year's summit started on March 16, 2017 and ended two days later. The summit, organised by The University of Southern California, was meant to promote bilateral foreign direct investment, international trade, cultural exchange and tourism with the 54 individual countries in Africa. It was the first time that the event went on without Africans, organisers said. The Trump administration is progressively tightening its immigration policies and slamming doors on foreigners. The American government has introduced visa bans for citizens from six Muslim countries. Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Kiprono Kittony expressed disgust, saying: "If the reports are true, then this is something that we would like to condemn in the strongest terms possible." ALSO READ: No exams for Tanzanian doctors as medical board releases requirements Social media users, reacting to the VOA report, were equally disappointed. "Why not hold the summit in Ghana, Ethiopia or South Africa? I am sure that The University of Southern California can partner with African institutions to organise it....bring us some much needed revenue. The weather is great here," said one social media user. Another one replied: "Because the point is to get Africans to meet with business leaders and government officials who are not easy to reach. If the first step was for them to travel to Africa they would never go on this trip!" "This kind of idiotic travel ban is just the beginning of the sharp decline of the American soft power the Trump administration is heading to. In a couple of years, US officials and businesses alike will complain that other global players such as China will have replaced them on the fastest growing continent on earth..." yet another added. Countries whose delegations were affected included Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa. Reports indicated the delegates are said to have been called for visa interviews a few days before their travel date though they had applied several weeks before. "Usually we get 40 per cent that get rejected but the others come," said Flowers. "This year it was 100 per cent. Every delegation." VOA reported that one of those denied a visa was Prince Kojo Hilton, a Ghanaian artist, whose work includes special effects and graphic art. He paid his Sh51,500 ($500) fee to attend the event and was asked to lead a session on filmmaking.

Read more at: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001233293/africans-denied-visas-to-attend-trade-meeting-in-us

Palestine: Resistance against Occupation, Colonialism and Apartheid

Global Research

Hatem Abudayeeh, an Arab leader in the United States, speaks out on the Question of Palestine. An American son of Palestinians, Hatem is Executive Director of Arab American Action Network (AAAN), and co-founder and national coordinating committee member of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN).

Edu Montesanti: How do you see the meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 15, especially the following observations by the American president: “I’m looking at two-state and one-state” formulations, Mr. Trump said during a White House news conference with Mr. Netanyahu. “I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with the one that both parties like. I can live with either one”?

Hatem Abudayyeh: Half of what Trump says is based on a lack of knowledge and understanding of domestic or foreign policy. He says the first thing that comes into his head with no regard for precedent or ramifications. He wants to run the U.S. like he runs his businesses and his relationships with women, like an autocrat. But the other half of what he says is based on an ultra-right wing worldview, so this could be that.

This sounds like he wants to help Israel achieve the Ersatz (Greater) Israel dream of the most fascist and rabid of zionists, not the one state solution that most progressive Palestinians like we in the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) would want.

Edu Montesanti: Why cannot Israel and the Palestinians decide alone the question? Why do Palestinians need a third party to get an agreement?

Hatem Abudayyeh: The Palestinian question is not only one that affects us and the settler-colonialist Europeans who live on our land, but the entire region of the Arab World and the Middle East.  So it’s a global question that does not necessarily need only a third party, but many parties. 

We know clearly that the U.S. is not an honest broker and has never been one, so we have absolutely no interest in Trump or his ideas, even if he has invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House.

The Israelis will not accept any political or diplomatic pressure, so the pressure must instead come from the Palestinian resistance, in all its forms.

Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) has become an international phenomenon, even in the U.S., and Palestinians inside the borders of historic Palestine, including those who live inside the 1948 territories, must continue organizing and struggling to put pressure on the racist Israeli regime.

Edu Montesanti: The passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 voted on December 23 last year, condemning the Israeli settlements as a flagrant violation of international law and a major impediment to the achievement of a two-state solution, changes nothing on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians. UN member states “agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council” according to the UN Charter. Human rights and the international community also condemns the Israeli settlements and military attacks against Palestinians. As journalist Daoud Kuttab observed last month in Al-Jazeera, in the article US and Israel join forces to bury Palestinian statehood:”Ever since the 1967 occupation, the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly expressed the illegality of the occupation, as in the preamble of Resolution 242 “emphasizing inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war.” Why does nothing change year by year, massacre after massacre?

Hatem Abudayyeh: Nothing changes because of the U.S., which uses and needs Israel as its proxy state in the Arab World.  Many people misrepresent the conflict and believe that the zionists dictate U.S. foreign policy, whether those zionists are in Israel, Europe, the U.S., or even the Arab World.  But in reality, it is U.S. imperialism that unequivocally supports Israel diplomatically, politically, militarily, and financially, because the U.S. needs Israel to safeguard its economic interests in the Arab World.

The U.S. knows that the Arab masses will not stay silent, and will rise up to overthrow dictators like they did in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen in 2011. The white, settler-colonialist state of Israel provides the U.S. security that Arab states (regardless of how corrupt and autocratic they are) cannot.

So it is U.S. policy that allows Israel to continue to violate the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, including self determination, the Right of Return, and independence.

Edu Montesanti: You know the Western media distorts the facts involving this massacre against Palestinians. Please number the crimes or at least some of them committed by Israel.

Hatem Abudayyeh: Collective punishment, home demolitions, expropriation of land, administrative detention, settler violence and killings, military violence and killing, racist legislative and judicial decisions inside Israel affecting 1948 Palestinians, and many others.

Edu Montesanti: How do you evaluate the Western media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Hatem Abudayyeh: Ultimately, the media is the tool of the government in the U.S. and other Western countries.  As I stated above, the U.S. needs Israel to safeguard its interests in the Arab World and Middle East, so its media coverage of the conflict must reflect almost unequivocal support of Israel as well.

That is why there is no balance in the Western media coverage, and why independent media is so important in this day and age.

Edu Montesanti: Would you please comment a little more about the Zionist lobby in US politics? And comment please how it interferes in the peace process in the Question of Palestine.

Hatem Abudayyeh: The zionist lobby is powerful, we acknowledge, but it is not the ultimate determinant of U.S. foreign policy.  It has money and political capital, of course, and definitely pushes Israeli propaganda in the U.S. Congress and across the country, but even if it were non-existent, the U.S. government would still support Israel the way it does currently.

Edu Montesanti: Professor Avi Shlaim observed weeks ago, in Al-Jazeera: ”Sadly, the Palestinians are handicapped by weak leadership and by the internal rivalry between Fatah and Hamas.” Your view on the internal politics among Palestinians, please.

Hatem Abudayyeh: The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank became a comprador years ago, and the cabal around PA President Mahmoud Abbas will continue to work with the enemy to repress Palestinian resistance.

There are many elements of Fatah that are patriotic and want to resist Israel, but ultimately, they never truly challenge the PA. Hamas, on the other hand, has recently played the most leading role in the military resistance against Israel, so its popularity has risen accordingly over the years.

But it is also guilty of some repression against non-Hamas Palestinian forces in Gaza, and it has not been able to administer the Gaza Strip in a way that makes people’s lives better, but this is mostly due to the Israeli and Egyptian siege on the tiny piece of land.

The vast majority of Palestinians want peace and justice, and know that can only happen if we continue our resistance against the oppressor.

The best way for that to happen is to give up on the notion that we are in a “state building” stage of our revolution. We are not. We are still in the national liberation stage, so it doesn’t matter who the president of the PA is, or even that there are two PAs right now, one in the West Bank and one in Gaza.

What needs to happen is for true national unity that includes not only Fatah and Hamas, but all the other Palestinian political parties and forces as well.  The Palestinian victory against Israel in 2014 was won because the resistance was unified, and only political unity can win freedom and independence.

We need a re-formed PLO that does not make concessions to Israel and the U.S., and that truly represents all the resistance forces and social sectors of Palestinian society.

Edu Montesanti: What could we expect from Arab leaders from now on?

Hatem Abudayyeh: Most Arab leaders in the Arab World are corrupt tools of the U.S., and by extension, Israel.  These leaders will do nothing to challenge the status quo, and only care about keeping themselves in power.

On the other hand, the Arab masses can and will make a difference, by winning their own independence in their own countries, and then providing leadership that supports the Palestinian people in our struggle for freedom.

Edu Montesanti: What is the solution to the conflict?  What are the principal obstacles to a fair agreement and solutions?

Hatem Abudayyeh: The solution is a simple one.  We do not accept the notion of a racist, white, settler-colonialist state, like the one in South Africa during the Apartheid regime there.

Israel is a racist state, and so it must be dismantled like Apartheid South Africa was. If this happens, and if Palestinian refugees are able to return to their homes and lands inside historic Palestine, and if the military occupation is defeated and ended, then all the people can live together in one, single state.

This is the only solution, because Palestinian refugees will never give up their Right of Return, and Israel will eventually be forced to end its occupation and oppression of Palestinians in the 1948 territories, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

When the racist structures of zionist Israel are dismantled, then there can be equality for all people living there.  And this will happen as long as the international community continues to organize BDS campaigns, the people of the U.S. continue to strike blows against U.S. imperialism they way they have been in the anti-Trump movement, and the Palestinians continue their legitimate resistance against occupation, colonialism, and apartheid.

Second State In Less Than A Month Challenges Fed, Passes Bill To Treat Gold And Silver As Money

BlackListed News

The second state in less than a month has made a direct challenge to the Federal Reserve monopoly on money, by forwarding a bill that would “eliminate capital gains taxes on gold and silver specie.” The Idaho House voted by a margin of 56-13 on March 14 to pass House Bill 206, following the Arizona House’s approval of a similar bill.

According to the Tenth Amendment Center:

The legislation would amend Idaho revenue statutes, providing “that capital gains and losses on precious metals bullion and monetized bullion sales be added to or subtracted from Idaho taxable income.…

Idaho H206 is a revenue neutral proposal over the long run. That’s because both precious metals gains (income) and losses are backed out of the calculation of taxable income for Idahoans. While H206’s passage will have little fiscal impact on Idaho tax revenues, it will have a larger impact on Idahoans’ freedoms.

Capital gains tax on gold and silver is an insidious disincentive based on intentional dollar devaluation. When the dollar’s purchasing power goes down, the metals’ nominal dollar value goes up, triggering a “gain” which is taxed.

If the bill can survive the attack of central economic planners who believe that crushing debt and inflation is the best path toward prosperity, it could pave the way for currency competition. Critical to the Fed’s campaign is perpetuating the belief that gold and silver are merely investments and speculation – rather than the market opportunity is it of creating sound money.

Even though the Constitution recognizes gold and silver as money, the Internal Revenue Service classifies them as “property” which should be taxed as a commodity. It’s no coincidence that the personal income tax (16th Amendment) and the Federal Reserve were established in the same year, 1913. Prior to this, America was experiencing its greatest period of economic growth in history.

Arizona and Idaho seek to join two other states, Utah and Oklahoma, in freeing gold and silver from taxation in the interest of pursuing currency competition and sound money. While these four states are certainly not the most enlightened in other areas – namely the War on Drugs – their efforts at challenging the Federal Reserve are laudable.

Passage into law would mark an important step towards currency competition. If sound money gains a foothold in the marketplace against Federal Reserve notes, the people would be able to choose the time-tested stability of gold and silver over the central bank’s rapidly-depreciating paper currency. The freedom of choice expanded by H206 would allow Idaho residents to secure the purchasing power of their money.

“This isn’t going to end the fed’s monetary monopoly overnight, but it sets the foundation and opens the door for more market activity by the people,” Tenth Amendment Center executive director Michael Boldin said. “This is an important part of the overall strategy, and activists in Idaho should continue working to get this bill passed.”

Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem, when introducing the sound money bill in his state, argued that any perceived capital gain from gold and silver is not actually a gain, but a protection against losing money in the inflationary federal reserve system.

“Let’s say it takes 1,200 of them to buy a U.S. Mint gold coin today, but tomorrow it takes 1,300 of those federal reserve notes,” said Finchem. “You’ve actually experienced a loss. It’s called inflation. The Internal Revenue Service for many, many years has been taxing inflation as though it was a gain.

“The U.S. Mint is charged with protecting the value of money, but the Federal Reserve creates nothing but debt,” Finchem continued. “Yet Congress authorized a tax when making the exchange of precious metals for dollars. It’s illegal and they know it, this bill is an effort by one state to protect the people from such confiscation.”

US House approves bill making it easier for 'mentally incompetent' veterans to purchase guns

Jurist

The US House of Representatives [official website] approved [materials] a bill [text] on Thursday making it easier for certain veterans to obtain firearms. The bill adds a requirement that declaring a veteran mentally defective for purposes of restricting their ability to purchase or own a firearm must be done with an "order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others." 18 USC § 922 [text] makes it illegal to sell a firearm to an individual who has been adjudicated as a mental defective...

In E-mails, Neil Gorsuch Praised a Leading Republican Activist Behind Voter Suppression Efforts

From [HERE] Few people in the Republican Party have done more to limit voting rights than Hans von Spakovsky. He’s been instrumental in spreading the myth of widespread voter fraud and backing new restrictions to make it harder to vote. 

But it appears that von Spakovsky had an admirer in Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, according to e-mails released to the Senate Judiciary Committee covering Gorsuch’s time working in the George W. Bush Administration.

When President Bush nominated von Spakovksy to the Federal Election Commission in late 2005, Gorsuch wrote, “Good for Hans!”

In another e-mail, when von Spakovksy said he was participating in a “Ballot Access and Voter Integrity Conference” at the Justice Department, Gorsuch wrote, “Sounds interesting. Glad to see you’re doing this. I may try to attend some of it.” Though the Justice Department was supposed to investigate both voting discrimination and voter fraud, the latter cause took priority and eventually led to Republican US Attorneys’ being wrongly fired from their jobs for refusing to prosecute fraud cases.

At very least, the e-mails suggest Gorsuch was friendly with von Spakovksy. But it’s far more disturbing if Gorsuch shares Von Spakovsky’s views on voting rights. Given that we know almost nothing about Gorsuch’s views on the subject, this is something the Senate needs to press him on during confirmation hearings next week.

Though the e-mails sound mundane, they’re much more important when you consider what was happening at the Justice Department during the time Gorsuch overlapped with von Spakovksy. In 2005–06 Gorsuch was principal deputy to the associate attorney general and von Spakosvky was special counsel to Brad Schlozman, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, who said he wanted to “gerrymander all of those crazy libs right out of the [voting] section.” It was a time when longtime civil-rights lawyers were pushed out of the Justice Department and the likes of Schlozman and von Spakovsky reversed the Civil Rights Division’s traditional role of safeguarding voting rights. When von Spakovsky was nominated to the FEC, six former lawyers in the voting section called him “the point person for undermining the Civil Rights Division’s mandate to protect voting rights.”

In particular, von Spakovsky manipulated the process to approve Georgia’s strict voter-ID law in 2005, which was among the first of its kind. (I tell this story in great detail in my book Give Us the Ballot.) Von Spakovsky had been an advocate of such laws nationally and in Georgia specifically, where he was from, since the 1990s. “Requiring official picture identification such as a driver’s license with a current address would immediately cut down on a large amount of fraud,” he wrote in The Wall Street Journal in 1995. Two years later, he recommended, “Georgia should require all potential voters to present reliable photo identifications at their polling locations to help prevent impostors from voting.”

Georgia’s voter-ID law was submitted to the Justice Department in 2005 under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required states like Georgia with a long history of voting discrimination to approve their voting changes with the federal government. The sponsor of the law, Republican Representative Sue Burmeister, told department lawyers, “If there are fewer black voters because of the bill, it will only be because there is less opportunity for fraud. She said when black voters in her precinct are not paid to vote, they do not go to the polls.”

Her racially inflammatory assertions set off alarm bells among the team reviewing the submission, indicating that the law may have been enacted with a discriminatory purpose. Department lawyers feared the bill would disenfranchise thousands of voters.

Atlanta’s Mayor, Shirley Franklin, told the story of her 84-year-old mother, who had recently moved from Philadelphia to Atlanta and could not obtain a new photo ID for voting. Her expired Pennsylvania driver’s license was rejected as sufficient documentation to obtain a Georgia ID card, and she was told to produce a copy of her birth certificate. But Franklin’s mother had been born at home in North Carolina and, like many elderly African Americans who grew up during Jim Crow, never had a birth certificate. After voting for 40 years, she would be disenfranchised by the new law.

Citing the high number of voters without ID, the disparate rates of ID possession among blacks and whites, the number of DMV offices that did not issue IDs, the cost of the ID and the underlying documents needed to obtain an ID (ranging from $20 for an ID card to $210 for naturalization papers), four of five members of the Georgia review team urged that the law be rejected under Section 5. “While no single piece of data confirms that blacks will [be] disparately impacted compared to whites, the totality of evidence points to that conclusion,” they wrote in a 51-page analysis.

Yet von Spakovsky placed a conservative lawyer on the review team, Joshua Rogers, who argued that the law should be approved. Von Spakovsky began secretly e-mailing Rogers copies of his articles, and arguments and analysis in favor of the Georgia ID law. He told him to password protect his computer so that no other attorneys on the team could see their correspondence. “They chose to put him on the case because of his political leanings and personal connection with von Spakovsky,” said Heather Moss, a member of the review team. Rogers’s dissenting memo, which was drafted with von Spakovsky’s input, became the basis for the Justice Department’s preclearance of the law.

A year later, when von Spakovsky was nominated to the FEC, it was revealed that he published a law article praising voter-ID laws under the pseudonym “Publius” just a week after Georgia submitted its law for review. The article in the Texas Review of Law & Politics, a conservative legal journal, was titled “Securing the Integrity of American Elections: The Need for Change” and its author was identified as “an attorney who specializes in election issues.” Publius, aka von Spakovsky, wrote: “It is unfortunately true that in the great democracy in which we live, voter fraud has had a long and studied role in our elections,” the article began. It continued: “putting security measures in place— such as requiring identification when voting— does not disenfranchise voters and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.”

DOJ ethics guidelines clearly stated that von Spakovsky, given his longstanding advocacy for voter-ID laws and the strong viewpoints in his then-anonymous article, should have recused himself from consideration of Georgia’s law. Indeed, his ethical lapses and deceptive support for new voting restrictions were a major reason Senate Democrats blocked his nomination to the FEC and President Bush was forced to give him a recess appointment. (Then-Senator Barack Obama put a hold on von Spakovsky’s nomination and he withdrew in 2008, joining the Heritage Foundation, which has championed Gorsuch’s nomination.)

But that’s not all. In addition to the FEC, Von Spakovsky was also appointed to the advisory board of the Election Assistance Commission, created by the Help America Vote Act to analyze the country’s election problems. The commission hired two well- respected experts, Republican Job Serebrov and Democrat Tova Wang, to produce a comprehensive study on voter fraud. “There is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling place fraud, or at least much less than is claimed, including voter impersonation, ‘dead’ voters, non-citizen voting and felon voters,” a draft of the report stated. After von Spakovsky complained to the commission’s GOP leadership, the wording in the final report was changed to, “There is a great deal of debate on the pervasiveness of fraud.”

More recently, von Spakovsky has argued against that the Voting Rights Act was “constitutionally dubious at the time of its enactment” and praised Trump’s promised investigation into voter fraud, which has been widely panned by Democrats and Republicans. “The real problem in our election system is that we don’t really know to what extent President Trump’s claim is true because we have an election system that is based on the honor system,” he wrote with John Fund after Trump said with no evidence that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally.

Given that von Spakovsky hailed Gorsuch as “the perfect pick for Trump,” it’s safe to assume he believes that the Supreme Court nominee shares his views. The Senate needs to aggressively question Gorsuch to see if that’s the case.

Gorsuch has already cited Justice Antonin Scalia as a role model, who said the Voting Rights Act had led to a “perpetuation of racial entitlement.” Gorsuch, if confirmed, could be the deciding vote on whether to weaken the remaining sections of the VRA and whether to uphold discriminatory voter-ID laws and redistricting plans from states like North Carolina and Texas. In many ways, the fate of voting rights in the United States hangs on this nomination. [MORE] 

Netflix Acquires Film About 1969 LAPD Raid of Black Panther Party Headquarters

From [HERE] Deadline reported yesterday (March 16) that Netflix purchased the rights to “The Stand Off,” which will dramatically retell the story of the 1969 Los Angeles Police Department’s newly created SWAT Team launching a violent five-and-a-half-hour assault on the local Black Panther Party headquarters. The film will show the raid from the perspective of the Panthers and the law enforcement officers. It will be helmed by Taiwanese-American director Justin Lin (“Star Trek Beyond”) using a script from writer Mark Heyman (“Black Swan”). There is no word on attached stars or Party consultants.

EPA gives Flint $100M to help repair pipes

From [HERE] Flint will soon start receiving $31.5 million of a total $100 million in federal funding to be used toward replacing old lead water lines, and it will be making other infrastructure repairs with the other tens of millions to follow.

U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, all D-Mich., said this morning that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had approved $100 million in funding for Flint authorized under legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by former President Barack Obama late last year.

"Today, we have good news for families in Flint who have already waited far too long for their water system to be fixed,” they said in a joint statement. “After a hard-fought victory to secure $100 million in assistance last year, the City of Flint will finally begin receiving funding."

Lead levels jumped significantly in Flint residents' tap water after the city switched water sources in April 2014 and the state Department of Environmental Quality failed to require corrosion-control treatments. Without those treatments, the more corrosive Flint River water caused lead to leach out of old water pipes into the city's drinking water supply.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, along with Kildee, who is from Flint Township, and others in Congress, fought throughout 2016 to try to secure funding that would allow the city to replace many of the old water lines, a task expected to cost $55 million or more. Millions more are believed to be needed to pay for other repairs and improvements throughout the city's water treatment and delivery system, as well as to fund maintenance.

Weaver, who has argued that the improvements are necessary to restore confidence in the local water system, said today she was "very grateful" for the funds.

“The City of Flint being awarded a grant of this magnitude in such a critical time of need will be a huge benefit," she said, adding that the city has a goal of replacing 6,000 pipes this year.

Gov. Rick Snyder said the funding, combined with nearly $250 million in state funding already committed toward addressing the water crisis in Flint since 2015, will help keep the city moving toward full recovery.

Added new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, “The people of Flint and all Americans deserve a more responsive federal government. EPA will especially focus on helping Michigan improve Flint’s water infrastructure as part of our larger goal of improving America’s water infrastructure.”

In order to win passage of the funding, Michigan senators had to battle to get it included in other legislation — first losing a fight to have it included in an energy bill, then getting it put into a bill related to water projects. It passed despite efforts in the House to have it stripped out of the final bill.

Under today's announcement, the EPA will start doling out the initial $31.5 million. That will also trigger $20 million in state matching funds for a total of $51.5 million for lead service-line replacements, distribution-main improvements and corrosion control.

At a later date, the remaining $68.5 million will be released to the city but will only be provided after Flint and state officials gather public comments and technical reviews on the projects to be funded.

Beyond the $100 million authorized, the law approved last year included a provision to forgive another $20 million in past infrastructure loans to Flint. It also included $50 million for monitoring and addressing the needs of children exposed to lead, though that funding wasn't specifically for Flint.

Federal Judge says lawsuit claiming Va. suspends driver’s licenses of poor people in ‘unconstitutional scheme’ should be in state court

From [HERE] A federal court dismissed a class-action lawsuit this week that claimed Virginia suspends the driver’s licenses of some poor people in an “unconstitutional scheme.”

The suit, filed last year in U.S. District Court in Western Virginia by the Legal Aid Justice Center, which represents low-income Virginians, said more than 940,000 people in the state had their licenses suspended for nonpayment of fees and fines. On Monday, Judge Norman K. Moon ruled that the claims may be “meritorious” but said Virginia’s state courts were the proper venue for the case.

“Virginia law leads state judges to automatically suspend a defendant’s driver’s license for nonpayment of court fees and fines, regardless of his ability to pay,” the opinion read. “That unflinching command may very well violate plaintiffs’ constitution rights to due process and equal protection. But the Constitution does not allow a federal district court to decide the matter.”

The suit claimed hundreds of thousands of Virginians have lost their licenses because they cannot pay fines and court costs, “effectively depriving them of reliable, lawful transportation necessary to get to and from work, take children to school, keep medical appointments, care for ill or disabled family members, or, paradoxically, to meet their financial obligations to the courts.”

The Justice Department and the Virginia NAACP filed briefs in support of the suit, which detailed the claims of Damian Stinnie, a 24-year-old Charlottesville man diagnosed with lymphoma who fell into homelessness after failing to pay about $1,000 in traffic fines.

“Mr. Stinnie has been and still is unable to get on a payment plan in any of these courts because they each have highly restrictive payment plan policies that prevent his entry,” the lawsuit said.

The federal court also said that state courts, not Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner — the defendant named in the lawsuit — were legally responsible for suspending the licenses.

Angela Ciolfi, a Legal Aid Justice Center senior attorney, said the organization was considering its options, which include appealing the decision or filing a new complaint.

“Although we are disappointed in the court’s decision, we stand steadfast with our clients and the nearly one million long-suffering Virginia drivers who will continue to endure a never-ending cycle of debt and incarceration, so long as the law forces them to choose between driving illegally and forsaking the needs of their families,” the Legal Aid Justice Center said in a statement. [MORE]

Irritated Genie: Entertainment Fighting the Poltergeist pt1