Monthly Archives: February 2020

‘Good News for Democracy’: Wisconsin Appeals Court Rejects Voter Purge Targeting More Than 200,000 People

“A win over voter suppression is a win for the people of Wisconsin.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-28-2020

A Wisconsin appeals court overturned a ruling that would have allowed the purge of more than 200,000 from the state voter rolls before the 2020 general election. (Photo: Penn State/flickr/cc)

Voting rights advocates applauded a Wisconsin appeals court ruling Friday which is set to stop a voter purge from going forward—sparing more than 200,000 people from having their names removed from voter lists.

A three-judge panel unanimously rejected a lawsuit filed by conservative law group Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty arguing that the voter purge of about 209,000 should go forward ahead of the 2020 election.

The decision represented “good news for democracy for all,” tweeted Mary Kay Henry, president of the SEIU. Continue reading →

‘This Is a Nightmare’: Trump Accused of Weaponizing DOJ With New Task Force Focused on Stripping US Citizenship

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“Of all the dystopian shit—a department of denaturalization at DOJ might take the biscuit.”

By Eoin Higgins, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-27-2020

Photo: ICE (Public domain)

Rights advocates expressed outrage and severe concerns after the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it is creating an official task force devoted to “denaturalization”—the process by which the government strips citizenship from foreign-born Americans, or naturalized citizens.

“Of all the dystopian shit—a department of denaturalization at DOJ might take the biscuit,” tweeted activist Joel Braunold. “Means immigrant Americans (such as myself) will always have a threat to displace us if we step out of line.” Continue reading →

Netanyahu, Trump, and Kushner Named in ‘War Crimes’ Lawsuit Filed by Palestinians in US Court

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The suit claims that the behavior of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a “violation of the Nuremberg principles.”

By Eoin Higgins, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-26-2020

Gaza 2014. Photo via Facebook

A Washington attorney on Tuesday filed suit against U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, White House advisor Jared Kushner, and others for their involvement in “the denationalization and dehumanization of the Palestinian population” in occupied Palestine.

The 175-page suit (pdf), filed on behalf of a group of Palestinians and Americans, claims that the actions of the defendants, most of whom are U.S. and Israeli officials, “have aided and abetted the commission of numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Continue reading →

In Shadow of Trump’s India Visit, New Delhi Sees Worst Attacks on Muslims in Decades

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“That this recent burst of anti-Muslim violence comes during Trump’s visit to India is only proof of not only Trump’s own legitimizing power of violence against Muslims but also the Pavlovian fascist reactionism in India to a fascist like Trump.”

By Eoin Higgins, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-25-2020

A shop set on fire during clashes between a group of anti-CAA protestors and supporters of the new citizenship act, near Maujpur and Jaffrabad metro station on February 24, 2020 in New Delhi, India. (Photo: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times)

As President Donald Trump left India Tuesday after a state visit to the world’s largest democracy that saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing government signing a $3 billion arms deal with the U.S., attacks on Muslims in New Delhi that coincided with the trip killed at least 13 people in the worst violence in the city in at least two decades.

“Muslim friends in Delhi are contemplating leaving the city, some are already leaving for fear of riots spreading across Delhi,” tweeted journalist Rana Ayyub. Continue reading →

“Unconscionable”: Fury as Federal Appeals Court Upholds Trump’s Anti-Women, Anti-Choice “Gag Rule”

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“Leaving women in the dark about their healthcare and restricting from providing candid advice is simply not in the best interest of public health.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-24-2020

Reproductive rights advocates criticized a federal court’s ruling on Monday upholding the Trump administration’s Title X rule, which bans health clinics from counseling patients on abortion care. (Photo: Mikasi/cc/flickr)

Women’s healthcare advocates fumed Monday after a federal appeals court upheld the Trump-Pence administration’s so-called domestic “gag rule.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed down the 7-4 decision regarding the administration’s policy of preventing Title X funds from going to clinics that provide referrals for abortions, even though no federal funds pay for abortions. Continue reading →

Think the US is more polarized than ever? You don’t know history

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Gary W. Gallagher, University of Virginia

It has become common to say that the United States in 2020 is more divided politically and culturally than at any other point in our national past.

As a historian who has written and taught about the Civil War era for several decades, I know that current divisions pale in comparison to those of the mid-19th century.

Between Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army at Appomattox in April 1865, the nation literally broke apart. Continue reading →

What the Trump budget says about the administration’s health priorities

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Simon F. Haeder, Pennsylvania State University

The Trump administration recently released its budget blueprint for the 2021 fiscal year, the first steps in the complex budgetary process.

The final budget will reflect the input of Congress, including the Democratic House of Representatives, and will look significantly different.

However, budget drafts by presidential administrations are not meaningless pages of paper. They are important policy documents highlighting goals, priorities and visions for the future of the country. Continue reading →

‘Meant to Hide the Poor’: Trump Gets His Wall—In India—Ahead of Monday Visit

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The newly-erected barrier will allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to offer a carefully-curated view for the U.S. president.

By Eoin Higgins, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-21-2020

U.S. President Donald Trump with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two will meet in India on Monday. (Photo: White House/Flickr)

U.S. President Donald Trump with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two will meet in India on Monday. (Photo: White House/Flickr)[/caption[

When President Donald Trump arrives in Ahmedabad, India on Monday, he’s expected to be greeted by roughly 100,000 cheering Indians along a sparkling clean route to the world’s largest cricket stadium where another crowd of 110,000 will attend a rally with the U.S. president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It’s pure spectacle. Continue reading →

Yemen’s deadly ghost ship

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An abandoned oil tanker with over a million barrels of oil on board is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen.

By Chris Baraniuk. Published 2-18-2020 by openDemocracy

he FSO Safer is moored five nautical miles off the coast of Ras Isa on Yemen’s west coast. | Image: Conflict and Environment Observatory

Five miles off the coast of Yemen lies a floating bomb. An oil storage vessel called the FSO Safer has been sitting more or less unattended in the Red Sea for half a decade.

A victim of Yemen’s current civil war, the Safer has fallen in to a dire state of disrepair, with rust spreading around her hull and on-board equipment. She is packed with more than a million barrels of crude oil, which over time is thought to have steadily released flammable gases meaning the Safer could explode if she doesn’t simply begin leaking huge volumes of oil into the sea. Continue reading →

Damning New Report Says Every Nation Undermining Children’s Hopes for a Livable Planet

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Children’s “collective concerns must now be heard, and effective actions taken to prevent the next generation inheriting an irreversibly damaged planet.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-19-2020

Climate Strike demonstration in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Julian Meehan/flickr/CC

A major new report released Wednesday says every nation on the planet is failing children because of the threats to their health and wellbeing from the climate and ecological crises and commercial exploitation.

The damming assessment comes from 40 global child and adolescent health experts in “A Future for the World’s Children?” The expert commission was convened by the World Health
Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. Continue reading →

Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Monthly Archives: February 2020

In Shadow of Trump’s India Visit, New Delhi Sees Worst Attacks on Muslims in Decades

“That this recent burst of anti-Muslim violence comes during Trump’s visit to India is only proof of not only Trump’s own legitimizing power of violence against Muslims but also the Pavlovian fascist reactionism in India to a fascist like Trump.”

What the Trump budget says about the administration’s health priorities

Yemen’s deadly ghost ship

An abandoned oil tanker with over a million barrels of oil on board is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen.