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Author: Democracy Now

  • “Harm Is Still Being Done”: 36 Years After MOVE Bombing, Misuse of Children’s Remains Reopens Wounds

    This week marks the 36th anniversary of the day the city of Philadelphia bombed its own citizens. On May 13, 1985, police surrounded the home of MOVE, a radical Black liberation organization that was defying orders to vacate. Police flooded the home with water, filled the house with tear gas, and blasted the house with automatic weapons, all failing to dislodge the residents. Finally, police dropped a bomb on the house from a helicopter, killing 11 people, including five children. The fire burned an entire city block to the ground, destroying over 60 homes. But the tragedy didn’t end on that day. We look at how Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania have used bones from one or two of the murdered children in their classes for years. “We still don’t know all the details about what happened in terms of the chain of custody,” says Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, an organizer and writer in West Philadelphia who helped bring the revelations to the public. “You can’t even begin to heal because the harm is still being done,” adds Mike Africa Jr., a second-generation MOVE member. “Everybody is just retraumatized.”

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israel Kills Dozens in Gaza While Imposing “Constant War” on Palestinian Residents of Jerusalem

    Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed at least 26 Palestinians, including nine children, as tension in the region has escalated sharply. Hundreds were also injured by Israeli forces Monday when they stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Hamas responded by firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, which reportedly caused dozens of injuries but no deaths. The tension in Jerusalem has been mounting for weeks as Palestinians have been organizing to block Israel from forcibly evicting dozens of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to give their homes to Jewish settlers. The United Nations has described the planned eviction as a possible war crime. Raji Sourani, award-winning human rights lawyer and director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, says Israel’s latest assault is compounding the suffering of people in the besieged territory. “We have the occupation. We have the blockade for the last 14 years, which paralyzed our entire lives. We have the pandemic, and now we have this fourth war against Gaza,” he says. We also speak with Orly Noy, an Israeli political activist and editor of the Hebrew-language news site Local Call, who says the latest outbreak of fighting is likely to help Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cling to power. “Israeli politics is now in a very strange phase,” Noy says. “Extreme right-wingers are controlling both sides of the Israeli map.”

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-11 Tuesday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Headlines for May 11, 2021

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Weaponizing Trump’s Big Lie: Ari Berman on GOP’s War on Democracy & Voting Rights

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Afghanistan in Mourning After School Bombing in Kabul Kills 85, Mostly Hazara Shiite Girls

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Ethnic Cleansing”: Amid Protests of Palestinian Evictions in Jerusalem, Israel Raids Al-Aqsa Mosque

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-10 Monday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Headlines for May 10, 2021

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “They Were Tortured”: 4 Families Torn Apart by Trump Are Reunited. 1,000+ Still Separated, Missing.

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Headlines for May 7, 2021

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-07 Friday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Shoshana Zuboff: Facebook’s Oversight Board Is Not Enough. The Government Has to Regulate Big Tech

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Nothing to Lose”: Colombians Protest “Fascist Mafia Regime” Amid Deadly Police & Military Crackdown

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Monumental Moment”: U.S. Backs Waiving COVID Vaccine Patent Rights After Months of Blocking Talks

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-06 Thursday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Headlines for May 6, 2021

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Filipino Activist Walden Bello: Global Vaccine Disparity Shows “Irrationality of Global Capitalism”

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Millions of Lives Are at Stake”: Pressure Grows on Biden to Back WTO Waiver on Vaccine Technology

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Headlines for May 5, 2021

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even DOUBLE your gift, which means it’ll go twice as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-05 Wednesday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • “Exterminate All the Brutes”: Filmmaker Raoul Peck Explores Colonialism & Origins of White Supremacy

    A new four-part documentary series, “Exterminate All the Brutes,” delves deeply into the legacy of European colonialism from the Americas to Africa. It has been described as an unflinching narrative of genocide and exploitation, beginning with the colonizing of Indigenous land that is now called the United States. The documentary series seeks to counter “the type of lies, the type of propaganda, the type of abuse, that we have been subject to all of these years,” says director and Haitian-born filmmaker Raoul Peck. “We have the means to tell the real story, and that’s exactly what I decided to do,” Peck says. “Everything is on the table, has been on the table for a long time, except that it was in little bits everywhere. … We lost the wider perspective.”

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Headlines for May 4, 2021

    This year Democracy Now! is celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of bringing you fearless, independent reporting. Since our very first broadcast in 1996, Democracy Now! has refused to take government or corporate funding, because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. But that means we rely on you, our audience, for support. Please donate today in honor of our 25th anniversary and help us stay on air for another 25 years. We can’t do our work without you. Right now, a generous donor will even TRIPLE your gift, which means it’ll go three times as far! This is a challenging time for us all, but if you’re able to make a donation, please do so today. Thank you and remember, wearing a mask is an act of love.
    -Amy Goodman

    We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

    Please do your part today.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-04 Tuesday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-04 Tuesday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • As Global Pandemic Worsens, U.S. Keeps Blocking Vaccine Patent Waivers Amid Big Pharma Lobbying

    Big Pharma has hired an army of lobbyists to pressure U.S. lawmakers to block an effort at the World Trade Organization to loosen intellectual property rules on COVID-19 vaccines, which would allow countries around the world to ramp up production, vaccinate more people and bring the pandemic to an end sooner. Dozens of countries from the Global South, led by India and South Africa, are demanding a temporary waiver on vaccine patents, but rich countries, including the U.S. under both the Trump and Biden administrations, have opposed the move. Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept, says there is a “glut” of vaccines going to wealthy countries while much of the rest of the world is left waiting. “These initiatives that are based on voluntary agreements with the pharmaceutical companies have not worked,” he says. Fang also discusses his reporting on the Biden’s administration’s ties to the vaccine makers: White House adviser Anita Dunn is co-founder of the consulting firm SKDK, which works closely with Pfizer; Biden’s domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, holds up to $5 million in Johnson & Johnson shares; and White House science adviser Eric Lander holds up to $1 million in shares of BioNTech, which co-developed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • May Day 1971: Daniel Ellsberg on Joining Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn at Historic Antiwar Direct Action

    This week marks the 50th anniversary of the 1971 May Day protests, when tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C., and brought much of the capital to a standstill through acts of civil disobedience. The mass demonstrations terrified the Nixon administration, and police would arrest over 12,000 people — the largest mass arrest in U.S. history. Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, who attended the May Day protests, says it was part of a wave of popular discontent about the war that mobilized millions. “There was a movement of young people who felt that what was happening in the world … was wrong, had to change, and they were ready to risk their careers and their lives to try to change it. And we need that right now,” Ellsberg says. He recently spoke with Amy Goodman at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the release of the Pentagon Papers. We play excerpts from that conversation, which also included National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Chicago Police Need “Overhaul” After Foot Chases Led to Alvarez & Toledo Killings Within 48 Hours

    More than 100 people marched alongside the family of Anthony Alvarez in Chicago Saturday, calling for the police officer who shot and killed him to be charged. Newly released video reveals police killed 22-year-old Alvarez while he was running away during a foot chase. Police have not said why they initially confronted and then chased Alvarez, who was killed just two days after Chicago police shot dead another young Latinx male, 13-year-old Adam Toledo. This comes four years after the Department of Justice found foot pursuits by Chicago police were leading to too many deaths. Now Chicago’s mayor and police superintendent say a new police foot pursuit policy is underway. “We need to do a complete overhaul of our Chicago Police Department,” says Luis Gutiérrez, former Democratic congressmember for Illinois. “There is this real sense that Brown and Black lives, they don’t have the value that they should when Chicago police officers confront our youth.”

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Democracy Now! 2021-05-03 Monday

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Headlines for May 3, 2021

    The COVID-19 crisis continues to ravage India, the world’s second most populous nation, which now accounts for one in every three new cases reported worldwide. On Saturday, India reported over 400,000 daily infections for the first time, while a record 3,700 deaths were reported Sunday. On Saturday, a fire at a COVID-19 hospital ward in western India killed 18 patients. Health workers are rushing to ramp up inoculations. So far, fewer than 2% of India’s 1.4 billion people have been fully vaccinated. This is a New Delhi resident speaking after receiving his first vaccine.

    Sahil Kapoor: “The situation is extremely grim. I mean, of course, there aren’t any words that can explain the situation. It’s extremely, extremely grim. The system is at brink of collapse. And that’s the reason why we try to get vaccinated as early as possible. In fact, for whoever I can reach, I would only want to urge that get your vaccination as soon as it’s possible.”

    The head of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, warns shortages will persist for months because the government of Narendra Modi failed to prepare for the massive second wave. As India faces an acute vaccine shortage, the Los Angeles Times is reporting the U.S. government and big drug companies last year rejected a WHO initiative to scale up global vaccine manufacturing. The program, known as C-TAP, would have trained manufacturers in Latin America, Asia and Africa to produce the shots once they were approved for market.
    In other news from India, Prime Minister Modi and his right-wing BJP party lost key state elections in West Bengal Sunday. Health officials fear that voting and massive campaign rallies in the region will lead to a spike in new infections.

    Here in the U.S., the White House said it will start barring entry for travelers who have been in India within the previous 14 days. The order, which goes into effect Tuesday, does not apply to U.S. citizens or legal residents.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.