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Category: Protests

  • DeSantis Signs Bill That Makes Protests in Front of Private Homes Illegal

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill into law on Monday that will make it illegal to protest in front of a person’s private residence.

    The new law makes demonstrating in front of a private residence illegal, even if the protest is happening in a public space, like a sidewalk. Those in violation of the law will be asked by law enforcement to disperse. If they do not do so willingly, they can be jailed for up to 60 days and fined up to $500.

    The law, which goes into effect on October 1 of this year, will undoubtedly be challenged by free speech advocates for violating their First Amendment protections.

    DeSantis justified his signing of the bill by noting that protesters were gathering in front of the homes of Supreme Court justices who support removing abortion protections established in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision — but the bill was filed in the state legislature back in January, long before such protests were taking place.

    “Sending unruly mobs to private residences, like we have seen with the angry crowds in front of the homes of Supreme Court justices, is inappropriate,” he said in an email to reporters.

    Despite DeSantis’s false characterization of the protests, however, the demonstrations in front of justices’ homes have been peaceful.

    This isn’t the first bill DeSantis has signed in recent years to suppress free speech and criminalize protesting for Floridians. Last year, DeSantis signed a bill into law that increased civil penalties for protesting, and created new crimes such as “aggravated rioting” and “mob intimidation” — the latter of which makes it illegal for a group of three or more individuals to confront someone else to try to make them change their views. The law also made it illegal to block traffic on highways, and granted civil immunity protections to people who drive their vehicles into crowds of protesters.

    Notably, the law only seems to be enforced against protestors who the Florida governor disagrees with; his administration did nothing after a protest that DeSantis favored politically blocked traffic on a highway.

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Atlanta Fights To Save Its Forest

    A harsh chorus of chants and drums erupted in the late afternoon silence of the upscale Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, Georgia, Monday, punctuated by the pops of fireworks and the barks of dogs. A group of 30-40 protestors chanting “Stop Cop City!” converged on the home of Shepherd Long, Principal of Long Engineering, an engineering firm subcontracted to do surveying and other pre-construction work on the Atlanta Police Foundation’s Public Safety Training Center, currently scheduled to open in late 2023.

    The post Atlanta Fights To Save Its Forest appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Johns Hopkins Students Commemorate 74 Years Since The Nakba

    Johns Hopkins University students gathered on Thursday, May 12, to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the Nakba—or “catastrophe”—when, in 1948, what was once Palestine was no longer recognized and was recognized as Israel. Many were killed during what the official account of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement called “Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing.” At least 750,000 Palestinians were displaced.

    The post Johns Hopkins Students Commemorate 74 Years Since The Nakba appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Tsleil-Waututh Land Defender Will George Sentenced To 28 Days In Jail For Breaching Trans Mountain Injunction

    Before a courtroom packed with supporters, Tsleil-Waututh Land Defender Will George was sentenced to 28 days in jail for breaching the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline injunction and was immediately taken into custody. BC Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick deferred to the Crown’s recommended sentence and all but ignored arguments from defence counsel for why George should instead be sentenced to community service hours and probation.

    Today was Day 2 of George’s sentencing hearing. Yesterday, Justice Fitzpatrick stated in the morning that she had not read George’s 16-page Gladue report, which lays out his childhood history and cultural background, and gives reasons why the court should consider non-custodial sentencing options. Although Fitzpatrick has had the report for months, she took only a 15-minute break to scan it, after which she was ready to sentence George the same day. “It was clear from Fitzpatrick’s tone and attitude in court that Will George’s Gladue report, and the principles on which it’s based, don’t matter to her,” said Rita Wong, a supporter of Will George.

    The post Tsleil-Waututh Land Defender Will George Sentenced To 28 Days In Jail For Breaching Trans Mountain Injunction appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Off-Duty Police Protecting Forest Destroying Bulldozer Pushed Out Of Atlanta Forest By Land Defenders

    On Monday, May 9, around 9:15am, people inhabiting the Atlanta Forest witnessed a bulldozer accompanied by two Dekalb County cops bulldozing a path in Intrenchment Creek Park – a public Dekalb County park directly adjacent to the Old Atlanta Prison Farm. On Monday morning, the bulldozer, marked “Dodd Drilling, LLC.,” destroyed a significant swath of forest, injuring plants and animals in its path. When people nearby learned about this, about 30-40 adults and at least 1 child quickly responded and gathered around the bulldozer, confronting the project managers and police officers on the RC Field. Those gathered shouted “Go home!” and “This is a public park!” The cops had called in reinforcements from Dekalb County, but by the time police arrived, workers were driving the bulldozer back to the parking lot. The police were persuaded to leave by the actions of intelligent people acting quickly and collectively in defense of the land.

    The post Off-Duty Police Protecting Forest Destroying Bulldozer Pushed Out Of Atlanta Forest By Land Defenders appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Hundreds Demonstrate In Support Of Julian Assange In Brussels

    On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in support of Julian Assange, Belga News Agency reports.

    The demonstrators called on the United Kingdom to come back on its decision to extradite Assange to the United States, where he could face a 175-year prison term.

    The post Hundreds Demonstrate In Support Of Julian Assange In Brussels appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Upside Down Black Sedan Barricades South Power Line Cut Pathway To Atlanta Forest​

    A black sedan barreled it’s way into the south power cut blocking off a MAJOR entrance to the woods off Constitution Road across from Black Hall Studios Sunday night, May, 8th, accompanied by a banner that states, “Fuck this World And It’s Cops”– kicking off the, “Week of Action,” to, “Defend the Forest,” in south Atlanta…

    A huge ass bonfire along with a vast array of fireworks & feral friends silhouetted & serenaded the break in the forest that has now come to be one of the main zones to defend against police incursion into the woods so many people & non-human animals call home.

    The post Upside Down Black Sedan Barricades South Power Line Cut Pathway To Atlanta Forest​ appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Activists Demanding Psilocybin For Terminally Ill Patients Arrested Outside DEA Headquarters

    More than a dozen activists staged a “die-in” outside the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) headquarters in Arlington, Va., Monday, demanding the agency allow patients with life-threatening conditions to legally access psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” to treat psychiatric disorders.

    Federal police arrested 17 protesters who were lying down in front of the building’s entrance and refused to leave until a representative from the agency met with them to discuss their demands. The DEA refused to send anyone out to speak with demonstrators, which included terminally ill cancer patients.

    The post Activists Demanding Psilocybin For Terminally Ill Patients Arrested Outside DEA Headquarters appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Hundreds Of Day Cares Are Closed Today As Educators Go On Strike. Here’s Why

    Hundreds of child care providers in 27 states and Washington, D.C., went on strike Monday to remind policymakers how essential they are, not only to families but to the nation’s economy.

    Early childhood professionals – and the parents they serve – said they’re fed up with the lack of progress on policy promises such as better wages and expanded subsidies.

    The post Hundreds Of Day Cares Are Closed Today As Educators Go On Strike. Here’s Why appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • In Response to Peaceful Protests, Senate Expands Protections for SCOTUS Justices

    On Monday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill that would grant Supreme Court justices added security for their family members.

    The bill’s passage comes as protests have erupted across the country — including in front of justices’ homes — following the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting that the conservative bloc majority is ready to undo the abortion protections that were established in the Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

    The Supreme Court Police Parity Act would amend existing statutes to expand security protection to the immediate family members of justices should the Marshal of the Supreme Court deem it necessary.

    In Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) introduction of the bill, he condemned the recent protests in support of abortion rights that have taken place in public areas outside of some justices’ homes, wrongly implying that the protests have not been peaceful.

    “Threats to the physical safety of Supreme Court Justices and their families are disgraceful, and attempts to intimidate and influence the independence of our judiciary cannot be tolerated,” Cornyn said in a statement.

    Other commentators, including Fox News constitutional consultant Jonathan Turley, have used similar language to criticize the protests, describing them as “harassment of judges and their families” — despite the fact that the demonstrations have been peaceful, and are an exercise of citizens’ First Amendment rights.

    On Monday evening, around 150 protesters demonstrated in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside the home of Justice Samuel Alito, the author of the leaked draft opinion. On Saturday, around 100 protesters gathered outside of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Many of those same protesters also marched to Chief Justice John Roberts’s home, which is nearby.

    Some commentators and social media users noted how quickly the Senate was able to pass added protections for justices, pointing out that lawmakers have refused to pass desperately needed abortion rights protections in the same expeditious manner. They also blasted statements that derided the protests themselves.

    “The Senate voting unanimously on a bill that would expand security protections to the family members of Supreme Court justices show [sic] how they can work fast when it’s something that benefits their own,” one Twitter user pointed out.

    “The sidewalks adjacent to a powerful person’s property are not more sacred than 73 million women’s bodies,” wrote Daily Beast columnist Erin Gloria Ryan. “And yet, from the way some voices have responded to protests outside of SCOTUS homes, you’d swear the real victim here was Brett Kavanaugh.”

    “Protesting at people’s homes is not my go to move unless a lot of options have been exhausted and…. *waves around* we’re here folks,” tweeted Democratic Party strategist Atima Omara. “Folks are about to lose civil rights and bodily autonomy in a democracy on the brink. When is it okay to protest exactly, when we’re in jail?”

    Meanwhile, conservatives have spread false rumors alleging that justices’ lives have been in danger as a result of the demonstrations.

    Ilya Shapiro, a conservative lawyer and frequent Fox News guest, said on Saturday evening that he had “heard that Justice Alito has been taken to an undisclosed location with his family” due to the protests. When pressed by Politico to explain where he had gotten that information, Shapiro admitted that he didn’t know where it had originated.

    Protesters have also demonstrated in front of the home of Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who frequently touts herself as a supporter of abortion rights but who voted to confirm three of the most recent conservative picks to the Supreme Court, dismissing warnings about their views on abortion. Earlier this year, Collins also voted against legislation that would have codified abortion protections established in Roe; she recently said that she would vote against the bill again when it comes up for a vote in the Senate this week.

    Demonstrators used sidewalk chalk in front of the senator’s home over the weekend, imploring her to change her mind and support the legislation. Apparently, the chalk warranted a call to the police, who arrived at the scene and deemed the writings as “not overtly threatening.”

    In a statement, Collins called the chalked message in front of her home a “defacement of public property.”

    Activists have pointed out that the bill has the potential to increase interactions between police and protesters, and could result in further crackdowns on free speech and protests across the country.

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Sri Lankan Prime Minister Resigns Following Protests Over Economic Crisis

    Sri Lanka’s prime minister stepped down Monday following weeks of street protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in its history, which has seen skyrocketing food and fuel prices in the island nation. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s resignation came after supporters of the ruling party stormed a major protest site in the capital Colombo, attacking protesters and prompting clashes with police. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the outgoing prime minister’s brother, has declared a state of emergency and remains in power, despite protesters’ demands for the resignations of all members of the political dynasty that has dominated Sri Lanka’s politics for decades. “The gross mismanagement of our economy by this regime combined with a history of neoliberal policies is what has brought Sri Lanka to its knees,” says Ahilan Kadirgamar, a political economist and senior lecturer at the University of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka.

    TRANSCRIPT

    This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

    AMY GOODMAN: We begin today in the Indian Ocean nation of Sri Lanka, where the government has granted emergency powers to its military and police forces after protests erupted in the capitol Colombo as the country faces its worst economic crisis in its history. This comes after Sri Lanka’s prime minister was forced to resign, following large anti-government protests in recent weeks that have demanded the ouster of all members of the Rajapaksa family. The move clears the way for the formation of a new cabinet as Sri Lanka looks for ways to end the devastating economic crisis. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is the brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has faced charges of nepotism and corruption since he installed three siblings into high-level government posts. On Monday, supporters of his ruling party violently stormed a major peaceful protest site in the capital Colombo, attacking protesters and prompting clashes with police, who fired tear gas and water cannons. This is one of the opposition leaders.

    SAJITH PREMADASA: [translated] Everyone who is involved in this government, including President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Rajapaksa, must be held responsible for this inhumane attack. This was a planned attack. This was a thought-out project. This was an act of state terrorism and political terrorism. The Rajapaksas must be held responsible for this.

    AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, thousands of protesters responded to the attack by defying curfew, setting fire to homes and businesses belonging to ruling party lawmakers. At least five people have been killed, hundreds injured. This is an anti-government protester speaking outside the prime minister’s residence in Colombo.

    PROTESTER: Almost about 20,000 came with, you know, sticks, heavy sticks, and they beat all of us. They demolished our place. We were having this place. Can you see? These were the tents that we were having. They came. They took off our buffers, everything. They hammered three of my colleagues. And these are university young graduates who are fighting for their rights — no education, no food, economy at a standstill — because we want the Rajapaksas to go.

    AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go to Jaffna, Sri Lanka, to speak with Ahilan Kadirgamar, the political economist and senior lecturer at University of Jaffna.

    Welcome back to Democracy Now! Can you just lay out for us what is happening in your country, how come the prime minister resigned, the hundreds of people injured, at least five dead?

    AHILAN KADIRGAMAR: Thank you, Amy.

    Sri Lanka is going through perhaps the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. There are shortages of essential items. Gas and diesel prices have doubled, and there are huge lines because of shortages. The price of bread has doubled. The price of rice has doubled. And shortages of medicine. So, all of this — and the people are asking: What is the reason for this? And people are putting the blame squarely on the Rajapaksa regime, that came to power in late 2019.

    Now, this economic crisis, of course it’s been aggravated by the war in Ukraine, with global commodity prices going up; the pandemic, which disrupted the tourism sector in Sri Lanka. But it also goes much longer back to liberalization in Sri Lanka, because until the 1970s Sri Lanka was considered a model development state globally, along with Cuba and the Indian state of Kerala, because even though we had very low per capita incomes, we had very high human development indicators, mainly thanks to free education and free healthcare policies, that continue to today. Even in my university for my students, university students — all universities are state universities — education continues to be free.

    But the gross mismanagement of our economy by this regime combined with the history of neoliberal policies is what has kind of brought Sri Lanka to its knees. And the people are asking very serious questions about particularly this regime and how they’ve handled this economic crisis since they came to power. Mahinda Rajapaksa was prime minister and just resigned. He was president for 10 years, from 2005 to 2015. And because of a two-term limit that was brought about, his brother then contested in 2019. And when they came back to power, they focused only on consolidating their power. In fact, despite the pandemic, Sri Lanka did the least amount of relief, even compared to other South Asian countries. People got very little relief during the pandemic. They’ve suffered quite a bit. And all along, they tried to consolidate their power. In fact, after the parliamentary elections in 2020, they brought about an amendment to the Constitution to put — to heap huge amounts of power in the president. We have both a parliamentary system and a presidential system in Sri Lanka, and the president has huge amounts of power. So, now, even though the prime minister has resigned after weeks of protests, now there’s militant protests calling for the resignation of the president. And that’s where Sri Lanka is at the moment.

    JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And could you tell us: How has the family been able to consolidate power so completely in terms of so many siblings of the president being in office? Was there not a reaction by the rest of the elected officials in the government about this, or the public at large?

    AHILAN KADIRGAMAR: This has been a long project, from 2005 — you know, Sri Lanka went through a three decade-long civil war. In 2005, years before the end of the civil war, Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power as president. And he was credited with crushing the Tamil Tigers. And that left a legacy. And then he won the next term in office, where then he became even more arrogant in bringing more of his family into politics. There was a reaction. After the war, mounting trade union struggles and so on led eventually to regime change in 2015, and they were thrown out of power.

    But the new government that came to power really did little to address the economic issues. There was a drought for two years. So they started to lose credibility. And in 2019, you might remember, 2019, Easter Day, there were terror attacks in Sri Lanka. And questions remain as to who was behind it, but it’s claimed to be ISIS-inspired attacks. And that terror attacks brought the Rajapaksas to power in late 2019. Along with that, they have used a sort of virulent nationalism, a Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, to mobilize the majority of the population against the minorities. Over the last decade, there have been huge amounts of attacks against the Muslim community, in particular, mobilizing Islamophobic forces. All of this has led to them being able to consolidate power.

    But with this economic crisis, I think the majority population has also finally come to understand that this regime has really looted the country. And so, at the heart of it is an economic crisis that has now turned into a very serious political crisis, as well.

    JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And as in many countries in the developing world, the international agencies can often play a big role in shaping government policies. Could you talk about the role of the World Bank and the IMF in terms of Sri Lanka’s economic policies?

    AHILAN KADIRGAMAR: Yeah, definitely, the — if we look at 1970s, until then we had a left-leaning government. And with the long economic downturn in the 1970s, we went into — a right-wing government emerged. A very pro-U.S. government emerged in 1977 under the leadership of J.R. Jayewardene, and Sri Lanka went through structural adjustment policies with the support of the World Bank and IMF. And we decided to liberalize trade, liberalize our financial system. And that, over the last four decades, has led to huge amount of — much higher levels of inequality in the country. And that’s been continued.

    But over the last 12 years after the war, in particular, with the support of the IMF — we’ve gone through 16 IMF agreements in Sri Lanka. With the support of the IMF, we’ve been borrowing considerable amounts in the international capital markets, what are called sovereign bonds, at very high interest rates, on the order of — annual interest rates on the order of 7.5%, which means when these bonds are repaid in 10-year time frame, the interest cost is equaling to the principal. So, if you borrowed $500 million U.S., by the time you repay it, it’s $1 billion U.S. But this came with the support of these international agencies. So, in my view, they are part of the problem.

    And now the solution to the current economic crisis is also considered to be going back to the IMF for an agreement. The government has come in line with that, even the opposition. Even if there’s a change of government, their main way forward, they think going to the IMF is a magic bullet. In my view, you know, the IMF creditors, like India, might be able to aid us through to address these shortages of supplies due to the real fall in foreign reserves. But in the long run, we have to be very careful, because the IMF conditionalities that are likely to be placed — it’s already there in many of the IMF reports — are calling for austerity, further cuts to social welfare, market pricing utilities. Now, if you take a country like Sri Lanka, it’s a model because 99% of our people have electricity. And that electricity is given at very low costs. Rural households can afford electricity at almost less than $2 U.S. per month. But all that is going to be market price now, so there are huge questions as to the future of our social welfare if we go through such austerity policies, as well.

    AMY GOODMAN: Ahilan, before we end, if you can talk about, is this the end of the Rajapaksa dynasty? I mean, you have Mahinda Rajapaksa resigning, but his brother, who’s the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, remaining. Explain who they are, how they’ve retained power for so long, and if you see the whole family dynasty collapsing?

    AHILAN KADIRGAMAR: The whole family and the regime has been completely delegitimized, so it’s going to be very hard for them. There’s probably no political future for them, though we can’t say for sure. As you are talking in your show about the history of Marcos in Philippines, you know, maybe their kids down the line, they may try to make a comeback. But I think for the next couple decades they are done. But they are also possibly going to face prosecution for all these corruption allegations and so on, not to mention the various sort of human rights violations that have been part and parcel of their rule.

    So, the president, who holds immense amount of powers, is unlikely to resign. They are probably going to try to prolong this as much, as long as they can. But even as they prolong if the president stays in power, it’s going to bring about almost a state of anarchy in the country. The economic crisis continues to deepen. All trade unions are on a continuous strike. We are seeing protests unseen in this country from close to 70 years. So, it’s a major moment.

    But I think Rajapaksa will have to go. Their family politics is done for. But the real question is: What kind of alternative is going to emerge? The liberals really don’t have an alternative to this economic crisis. We really have to focus on our food system. We are looking at starvation and even possibly famine type of conditions going forward. So, how all of this is going to play out and whether we can rebuild our food system, focus on local production, and think about self-sufficiency and really to try to reduce inequality in this country, which would mean implementing something like a wealth tax, as opposed to the recommendations of the IMF, which is to try to return to the same path of inequality and trade liberalization and financialization, which has actually led to this crisis. And so, Rajapaksa has to go out, but who is going to take the reins and sort of set Sri Lanka in a different direction is the main question before us.

    AMY GOODMAN: Well, we will continue to follow this. Ahilan Kadirgamar, we want to thank you for being with us, political economist, senior lecturer at the University of Jaffna in Sri Lanka, where hundreds of protesters have been injured, at least five are dead.

    Next up, the Pulitzer Prizes have been announced. Among those who won was acclaimed journalist Maria Hinojosa and staff for the podcast Suave, about a man sentenced to life in prison as a juvenile and how she chronicled his story all the way to unexpected freedom. Stay with us.

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Niskithe Prayer Camp Launched In Resistance To Development Project In Lincoln, NB

    On May 2nd, in so-called Lincoln, Nebraska, the Niskithe Prayer Camp was established in opposition to the “Wilderness Crossing development project, which would significantly encroach on sacred Native American purification/sweat ceremonies and disrupt an existing pristine nature park.”

    The post Niskithe Prayer Camp Launched In Resistance To Development Project In Lincoln, NB appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Buffalo Starbucks Workers Strike Against Unfair Labor Practices

    On Thursday, workers at a downtown Starbucks in Buffalo, New York went on strike after the company announced it was planning to withhold proposed wage increases and benefits from employees at newly unionized stores.

    The one-day strike, which shut down the entire store, was a direct response to the announcement by CEO Howard Schultz that proposed raises and benefit increases at corporate-owned Starbucks cafes would not apply to locations that had already unionized or which are planning to unionize. Schultz, who founded the company and now has a net worth of almost $4 billion, claimed that his hands were tied and that Starbucks is legally unable to make changes to wages and benefits at stores that have organized or which are currently involved in collective bargaining. But this is a lie.

    The post Buffalo Starbucks Workers Strike Against Unfair Labor Practices appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • The Full Story Of How Louisianans Defeated The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill

    On May 3, the Louisiana House of Representatives Education Committee struck down this state’s version of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by a seven to four vote. This decision came after a mass upsurge of students, parents, teachers, social workers and LGBTQ+ community members demanding to shut the bill down.

    HB 837, the “Don’t Say Gay” or “Classroom censorship” bill, attempted to prohibit all discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in K-8 classrooms. On top of this, it was an effort to ban teachers from disclosing their gender identities or sexual orientations to students.

    The post The Full Story Of How Louisianans Defeated The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Peace Activists Criminalized While War Criminals Go Free: Shannon Two Fined 10,000 Euros

    Judge Patricia Ryan sent a clear message to protesters objecting to illegal U.S. military flights through Shannon Airport today by fining the Shannon Two 10,000 euros after they were convicted of interfering with the operation, management and safety of the facility.

    On May 3, the jury found Tarak Kauff and Kenneth Mayers not guilty on the two charges of criminal damage and trespass at Shannon airport, but guilty of the unusual charge of interfering with the airport operation, management or safety, which was added to the case two years after the fact. Mayers and Kauff had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

    The post Peace Activists Criminalized While War Criminals Go Free: Shannon Two Fined 10,000 Euros appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Oakland Teachers And Dockworkers Fight For Their Community

    On April 29, thousands of teachers, students and parents from Schools and Labor Against Privatization (SLAP) rallied at Oscar Grant Plaza next to City Hall in Oakland, California, then marched to the Port of Oakland where they held a picket line that shut the port down.

    The innovative joint labor action was an historic day in the campaign led by SLAP, union teachers of the Oakland Education Association (OEA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10, against racist gentrification in Oakland.

    The post Oakland Teachers And Dockworkers Fight For Their Community appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • ‘You’ve Got To Shut It Down’: Lessons From Wisconsin’s 2011 Worker Uprising

    The statewide protests against Act 10, known as the Wisconsin Uprising, comprised one of the largest sustained collective actions in the history of the United States. Anyone who was there in 2011 will attest to the collective spirit of resistance and solidarity that the uprising embodied, and the lasting impact it left on all who participated. But the protests were ultimately unsuccessful in beating back Act 10, and the short- and long-term effects of its passage have been devastating for working people and organized labor. How did this coordinated assault on labor come to pass in Wisconsin? How are people around the state today working to rebuild worker power out of the rubble left by Act 10? And what lessons can the rest of us around the country learn from the 50-year war on workers that has changed the state of Wisconsin for generations?

    The post ‘You’ve Got To Shut It Down’: Lessons From Wisconsin’s 2011 Worker Uprising appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • 55,000 SEIU Members May Strike In Los Angeles. This Is Why I Am Voting Yes.

    “I am a worker at the Department of Mental Health in Los Angeles County, and I’m a member of SEIU Local 721. The Los Angeles Department of Mental Health is the largest mental health service in the U.S. Its annual budget is $3 billion. As one of the workers deployed by the county during the pandemic to work with people with severe disabilities at pop-up shelters in recreation centers, I am voting to strike, and it’s important for all other members of my union local to do the same.”

    The post 55,000 SEIU Members May Strike In Los Angeles. This Is Why I Am Voting Yes. appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • State Drops Lawsuit Against Housing Protesters In Boise; Agrees To Build More Units For Houseless

    For two and a half months, unhoused protesters maintained a tent demonstration across from the capitol in so-called Boise, Idaho. In response, folks were given a printout from capitol security and Idaho state police that informed them that they would be ticketed/trespassed from the area and potentially arrested if they remained past the 28th of March (a date that the State conveniently decided to begin early lawn maintenance and sprinkler set up).

    The post State Drops Lawsuit Against Housing Protesters In Boise; Agrees To Build More Units For Houseless appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • In Georgia, Protesters March At Monument To U.S. South’s Pro-Slavery Past

    Carrying signs decrying “racist traitors,” about a hundred civil rights activists marched and chanted at Georgia’s Stone Mountain on Saturday to protest at the return of an annual celebration of the Confederacy at the foot of a towering monument to the heroes of the South’s pro-slavery past.

    As dozens of state and local police, including SWAT teams with armored trucks, looked on, the state chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) with 200 supporters gathered for its celebration, which it says honors the sacrifices of their forebears.

    The post In Georgia, Protesters March At Monument To U.S. South’s Pro-Slavery Past appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Japan’s Toxic Dumping Faces Growing Protests

    Storage tanks for radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters)

    The Japanese government’s decision one year ago to dump radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant storage tanks into the Pacific Ocean, starting in the spring of 2023, is facing increasing pressure to back off, especially in light of the facts that not only is it illegal but also morally reprehensible as well as a despicable disregard for the lifeblood of the ocean.

    Meanwhile, in a startling maneuver indicative of desperation to convince citizens of its true worthiness, the Japanese government is using mind control tactics reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (Chatto & Windus, 1932), which depicts harmful effects that the expansion and development of a capitalist ideology can impose on a society.

    To wit: Japanese citizens are outraged over a new government policy of brainwashing children by distributing flyers to primary school students claiming TEPCO’s “diluted, nuclear-contaminated water is safe.”

    The government sent a total of 2.3 million booklets directly to elementary, junior and senior high schools across the nation in December in an effort to prevent reputational damage caused by the planned water discharge. The school staffers say the leaflets are unilaterally imposing the central government’s views on children. 1

    A Fukushima resident surnamed Kataoka told the Global Times on Wednesday that the Japanese government’s move was a kind of mind control, and she was strongly opposed to it.2

    Japanese citizens are fighting back as four separate civic organizations from Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures submitted a petition signed by 180,000 people to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and to Tokyo Electric Power Company on March 30th, 2022 expressing opposition to the government’s plan.

    Additionally, Japanese environmental protection groups have organized national rallies in Tokyo and Fukushima, stating they will continue to rally in the streets until the government revokes its decision: “Once the nuclear-contaminated water is discharged into the sea, the result is irreversible. It’s not only Fukushima. The ocean connects the whole world. We hope we don’t discharge toxic substances into the sea,” said protester Ayumu Aoyanagi. “I am angry. They completely ignored public opinion. I hope people understand that the danger may not appear soon but will definitely affect our health in the future,” said another protester named Makiyo Takahashi.”3

    Zhao Lijian of the Chinese Foreign Ministry claims the Japanese government has turned a deaf ear to any and all opposition, failing to provide any convincing evidence of the legitimacy of the discharge program, no reliable data on the contaminated water and effectiveness of purification devices, and no convincing evidence about environmental impact. 4

    Moreover, “this water adds to the already nuclear polluted ocean. This threatens the lives and livelihoods of islanders heavily reliant on marine resources. These include inshore fisheries as well as pelagic fishes such as tuna. The former provides daily sustenance and food security, and the latter much needed foreign exchange via fishing licenses for distant water fishing nation fleets,” Vijay Naidu, adjunct professor at the School of Law and Social Sciences at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, told Al Jazeera. 5

    The principal radioactive isotope to be released “tritium is a normal contaminant from the discharges, the cooling water from normal reactor operations, but this is the equivalent of several centuries worth of normal production of tritium that’s in this water, so it is a very large amount,” according to Tilman Ruff, a Nobel laureate and associate professor at the Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne in Australia. 6

    Japan claims the radioactive water dump will be safe, however: “Obviously, the higher the level of exposure [to radiation], the greater the risk, but there is no level below which there is no effect,” Ruff said. “That is now really fairly conclusively proven, because in the last decade or so there have been impressive very large studies of large numbers of people exposed to low doses of radiation. At levels even a fraction of those that we receive from normal background [radiation] exposure from the rocks, from cosmic radiation. At even those very low levels, harmful effects have been demonstrated.”6

    Chang Yen-chiang, director of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Research Institute of Dalian Maritime University is urging the international community to stop the discharge by first requesting the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the illegality of Japan’s dumping plan followed by motions to stop the process by China, South Korea, Russia, North Korea, and Pacific Island nations at the UN General Assembly.

    Japan, as a signatory to: (1) the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (2) the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (3) the Convention on Nuclear Safety (4) the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management, and (5) the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management has clearly and knowingly breached its obligations under international law.

    According to the plan released by TEPCO for the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water generated by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the country will soon begin official preparations for the release of the contaminated water and plans to begin long-term discharge of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2023.

    However, according to an article in People’s Daily Online d/d April 15, 2022: “Data from TEPCO showed that the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear accident still contains many kinds of radionuclides with a long half-life even after secondary treatment.”

    Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist at Greenpeace East Asia, claims the toxic water dump risks additional nuclear debris into the Pacific Ocean whereas the discharge is not the only option as “ the Japanese government once admitted that there is enough space near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and areas around Fukushima prefecture to build more storage facilities for the water.” (Global Times)

    The Citizens Committee on Nuclear Energy recommends proper storage on land in Japan similar to storage the country uses for its national oil and petroleum reserves. “The argument that they make… is that, if this water was stored not for an indeterminate period, but even for a period of about 50-60 years, then, by then, the tritium will have decayed to a tiny fraction of what it is today and hardly be an issue.” (Al Jazeera)

    Even though the US boldly approves of the dumping plan, the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory with a population of over 50,000 people, has declared Japan’s plan as “unacceptable.” In December 2021, the US territory adopted a joint resolution opposing any nation disposing of nuclear waste in the Pacific Ocean as well as suggesting the only acceptable option is long-term storage and processing using the best technology available.

    In all similar circumstances, historical events have a way of swinging back and forth in time and landing smack dab in the middle of new controversies; for example, when it comes to radioactivity in the Pacific, memories are long. More than 300 atmospheric and underwater nuclear tests by the US, UK, and France from the 1940s, especially in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and French Polynesia, left uninhabitable land in many locations as well as long-term health disorders throughout the region. Japan’s dumping plans bring back haunting memories.

    “Satyendra Prasad, the Chair of Pacific Islands Forum Ambassadors at the United Nations, reminded the world in September last year of the Pacific’s “ongoing struggle with the legacy of nuclear testing from the trans boundary contamination of homes and habitats to higher numbers of birth defects and cancers.” (Al Jazeera)

    Meantime, and especially over the past couple of decades, Japan increasingly and fearlessly adheres to, and puts into actual practice, the overriding theme as expressed in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, which is “the dangers of state control” whilst the father of liberalism John Locke (1632-1704) not surprisingly spins in his grave.

    For example, in December 2013 Japan passed the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets Act providing for whistleblowing civil servants to face up to 10 years in prison and the journalists who work with them could face up to five years for leaking state secrets.

    Here’s a major twist to that law: The guidelines empower the heads of 19 ministries and agencies to subjectively “designate which documents and subjects comprise state secrets.” In short, subjective judgment by any given state official determines who goes to jail.

    “The result is that while civil servants will be aware of a document’s classification, journalists cannot be sure just what comprises a state secret. Whistleblowing civil servants and journalists could face arrest even if they are convinced they are acting in the public’s interest.”  7

    Since Japan appears to be adhering to the precepts of Brave New World, it’s interesting to note that thirty years following publication of Brave New World, Huxley wrote Brave New World Revisited ((Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited, Harper & Brothers, 1958.)) :

    If the first half of the twentieth century was the era of the technical engineers, the second half may well be the era of the social engineers— and the twenty-first century, I suppose, will be the era of World Controllers, the scientific caste system and Brave New World.

    Huxley warned that a Brave New World type of order could be the “final” or “ultimate” revolution when people have their liberties taken from them, but “they will enjoy their servitude and so never question it, let alone rebel.”

    Really?

    1. “Booklets Touting Fukushima Plant Water Discharge Angers Schools”, The Asahi Shimbun, March 7, 2022.
    2. “Japanese Groups Voice Growing Opposition, Organize Rallies Over Govt’s Nuclear-Contaminated Water Dumping Plan Decided One Year Before”, Global Times, April 13, 2022.
    3. “Fukushima Residents Oppose Government Dumping Radioactive Water Into Ocean”, CGTN News, April 14, 2022.
    4. “Japan Severely Breaches Obligations Under International Law by Persisting in Discharge of Nuclear-contaminated Water Into Ocean”, People’s Daily Online, April 15, 2022.
    5. “‘Not a Dumping Ground’: Pacific Condemns Fukushima Water Plan”, Al Jazeera, February 14, 2022.
    6. Ibid.
    7. “Japan’s State Secrets Law, A Minefield for Journalists”, Committee to Protect Journalists-NY, November 4, 2014.
    The post Japan’s Toxic Dumping Faces Growing Protests first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Walking For Peace And Nuclear Abolition With The Kings Bay Plowshares

    Called to enact the Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah and Micah, Plowshares activists seek to “turn swords into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks and train for war no more.” It was this call to action that led Clare Grady, Martha Hennessy, Liz McAlister, Mark Colville, Carmen Trotta, Steve Kelly and Patrick O’Neill to enter Kings Bay Naval Base in St. Marys, Georgia on April 4-5, 2018.

    The post Walking For Peace And Nuclear Abolition With The Kings Bay Plowshares appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • IU Graduate Workers Continue Strike, Faculty Float Vote Of No Confidence In Provost

    As the graduate worker strike at Indiana University extends into finals week, some faculty members and students plan to take bold measures against the administration to show their solidarity.

    On Tuesday, graduate students who are part of the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition voted to extend the graduate student workers’ strike through May 3. The extension was supported by 867 votes, a 95.7% majority.

    Since the strike’s beginning on April 13, graduate workers have been requesting union recognition from IU and an outlined process on how to discuss benefits, higher wages and fee reduction with administrators.

    The post IU Graduate Workers Continue Strike, Faculty Float Vote Of No Confidence In Provost appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Eight Arrested After Two Hours Of Blockading Construction Traffic To Stop New Pratt & Whitney Plant

    It was an Earth Day to remember. On a beautiful sunny spring day, our local citizen coalition Reject Raytheon in Asheville, North Carolina pulled off a three-part demonstration for the protection of the earth and earthlings and against the U.S. military-industrial complex. We rallied, we paraded, and we took direct action.

    The event on Friday, April 22, began at 10 a.m. in the Bent Creek River Park, on the banks of the French Broad River. The park sits exactly next to the new bridge being built for the 1.2 million square foot Pratt & Whitney plant and in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over the river. Across the river from the park is a dirt road, called Old River Road, that provides access to the many trucks coming and going from the plant every day. On this morning, it was busy, full of power and commerce.

    The post Eight Arrested After Two Hours Of Blockading Construction Traffic To Stop New Pratt & Whitney Plant appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Thousands Of Bay Area Nurses Go On Strike Over Pay, Bonuses And Mental Health Services

    More than 4,000 nurses from Stanford health care are on strike in Palo Alto on Monday.

    Nurses from Stanford Hospital went on strike at 6:45 a.m. and nurses from Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto went to the picket line at 7 a.m.

    The nurses say they are serious and united as they negotiate with Stanford Hospital and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital for better pay, better staffing and more mental health support.

    The post Thousands Of Bay Area Nurses Go On Strike Over Pay, Bonuses And Mental Health Services appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Peace & Environmental Activists Protested At Major DOD Fuel Depot For Earth Day

    Activists with Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, 350 West Sound Climate Action, Earth Care Not Warfare and other peace and environmental groups met at noon at Manchester State Park.  From there, they walked to the Manchester fuel depot, the Department of Defense’s largest single-site fuel terminal in the United States, and demanded that the U.S. military reduce its carbon footprint while reducing its global military footprint on the planet.  The U.S. military has approximately 750 military bases around the world and emits more carbon into the atmosphere than 140 nations.

    The post Peace & Environmental Activists Protested At Major DOD Fuel Depot For Earth Day appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Alice Walker And The Price Of Conscience

    There is a steep price to pay for having a conscience and more importantly the courage to act on it. The hounds of hell pin you to the cross, hammering nails into your hands and feet as they grin like the Cheshire cat and mouth bromides about respect for human rights, freedom of expression and diversity. I have watched this happen for some time to Alice Walker, one of the most gifted and courageous writers in America. Walker, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel The Color Purple, has felt the bitter sting of racism. She refuses to be silent about the plight of the oppressed, including the Palestinians.

    The post Alice Walker And The Price Of Conscience appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Belgian Working Class Protests Cost Of Living Crisis, Demands Rise In Wages

    On Friday, April 22, thousands of workers demonstrated in major cities across Belgium protesting the worsening cost of living crisis and calling for a rise in wages. The call for the mobilization was given by major trade unions like the General Labor Federation of Belgium (ABVV/FGTB), Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (ACV/CSC), General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (ACLVB/CGSLB), and political parties including the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB/PVDA). Various student/youth groups expressed support and solidarity with the workers’ mobilization. The protesting workers have called for a revision of the 1996 Wage Margin Act. The act establishes a strict procedure for the Belgian social partners to negotiate a maximum average wage increase and thus effectively prevents any real increase in wages in the country.

    The post Belgian Working Class Protests Cost Of Living Crisis, Demands Rise In Wages appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • TESTIMONY: Alabama’s Warrior Met Coal And Wall Street Greed

    This month marks one year since 1,100 members of the United Mine Workers of America went on strike at Warrior Met Coal in Alabama following the failure of the union and company to agree on a labor contract. The strike continues today. Warrior Met was created to buy the assets of Walter Energy after that company declared bankruptcy in 2015. A number of hedge funds own shares in Warrior Met, with New York-based BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager — controlling the most, at about 13% at the end of 2021. Earlier this year, Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) held a hearing on Wall Street greed and growing oligarchy in the United States that used Warrior Met as a case study. Sanders invited the CEO of BlackRock to appear at the hearing, along with those from two other hedge funds and Warrior Met, but they all declined to testify.

    The post TESTIMONY: Alabama’s Warrior Met Coal And Wall Street Greed appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Hundreds take part in a rally in Chicago in protest of Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa

    Hundreds of protesters took part in a rally yesterday at Wells & South Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago in protest of the recent Israeli raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

    The protest in Chicago came in the aftermath of a series of raids since April 15 in which the Israeli Police used brutal force against Muslim worshipers praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem in an attempt to empty the holy site to make way for Israeli radicals to celebrate Passover there.

    The post Hundreds take part in a rally in Chicago in protest of Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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