Protesters step off for final permitted march of Chicago DNC. Screenshot: ABC 7 Chicago/YouTube
The Democratic National Convention has been packed with prominent speakers and musical interludes that all focus on unity and moving forward into a more hopeful future.
Activists take part in a #NotAnotherBomb day of action calling for a U.S. arms embargo on Israel in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 18, 2024. (Photo: Uncommitted National Movement/X)
On the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, proponents of a U.S. arms embargo on Israel—which is on trial for genocide at the World Court for its assault on Gaza that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians—took to the streets of cities in states from New York to Hawaii on Sunday to amplify their demand of “Not Another Bomb” for Israeli military forces.
“It is crystal clear: In order to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza, the U.S. must immediately stop arming Israel,” the Not Another Bomb campaign—an initiative led by the Uncommitted National Movement—said in a statement ahead of this weekend’s demonstrations.
“It is impossible to conduct a polio vaccination campaign with war raging all over,” said António Guterres after a 10-month-old infant became Gaza’s first new poliomyelitis case in 25 years.
A view of Jabalia refugee camp. Jabalia is the largest of the Gaza Strip’s eight refugee camps. Photo: IRIN Photos/flickr/CC
Following over a month of warnings, Gaza recorded its first case of polio since the highly contagious virus was eradicated there 25 years ago, prompting a Friday call by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for a temporary truce to enable a vaccination drive in the embattled strip.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that an 10-month-old infant in the central city of Deir al-Balah “who has not received any polio vaccine dose” has tested positive for the virus, which often causes paralysis and can be fatal. The ministry said the baby is one of “a number of children” who have presented with symptoms consistent with polio in recent days.
Former Secretary of State Pompeo meets with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Bahraini Foreign Minister Al-Zayani in 2019. Photo: Public Domain
A move by Israeli police units to enter the Sde Teiman army base to investigate ten reservists on suspicion of torturing a Palestinian prisoner sparked fury among those on Israel’s far right last week.
Many felt that even investigating the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) was utterly unacceptable, and a substantial number of protesters tried to occupy the base.
“When politicians use ‘great replacement’ conspiracies and xenophobia to stoke fear and divide us, real people pay the price in blood,” said Democratic Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro.
The remnants in January 2020 of the makeshift memorial erected after the August 3, 2019 mass shooting at the Cielo Vista Walmart. Photo: TomStar81/Wikimedia Commons/CC
Saturday marked five years since a self-described white nationalist killed 23 people and injured 22 others with an AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and the anniversary sparked fresh calls for efforts to combat gun violence and racism.
“Five years after a man armed with hate and a gun drove into our community and stole the lives of 23 of our friends and neighbors, we still feel the pain of their absence,” said Myndi Luevanos, a volunteer with the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action in El Paso, in a statement. “Since the shooting, our leaders have refused to meet the moment, failing to enact common-sense gun safety measures that could save lives and address the disproportionate rate of gun violence faced by the Latinx community in Texas.”
One lawyer warned it will not only “push 9/11 victim family members over an emotional cliff,” but likely lead “prosecutors to resign and defendants to seek dismissal of all charges for unlawful command influence.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Photo: U.S. Secretary of Defense/flickr/CC
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday withdrew plea agreements the Pentagon had reached with three men accused of planning the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and detained in Guantánamo Bay, the American military prison in Cuba infamous for torture.
“I have determined that… responsibility for such a decision should rest with me,” Austin wrote to Brig. Gen. Susan Escallier, the convening authority for the legally dubious Guantánamo Bay military commissions. “Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements that you signed on July 31.”
Amnesty International activsits demostrate for the closure of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay outisde the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. in this undated photograph. (Photo: Amnesty International/Twitter)
Forced into a legal corner due to the torture of men accused of planning the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the Pentagon on Wednesday announced it has reached plea agreements with three top 9/11 suspects.
The U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement that Brig. Gen. Susan Escallier, the convening authority for the legally dubious Guantánamo Bay military commissions, “has entered into pre-trial agreements” with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
“The verdict does not bring back the husbands and sons who were killed,” said one attorney, “but it sets the record straight and places accountability for funding terrorism where it belongs: at Chiquita’s doorstep.”
Then-AUC commander Carlos Castaño is seen here with some of his paramilitary fighters. Photo: Carlos Castaño Gil/Facebook
In what case litigants are calling the first time an American jury has held a U.S. corporation legally liable for atrocities abroad, federal jurors in Florida on Monday found that Chiquita Brands International financed a Colombian paramilitary death squad that murdered, tortured, and terrorized workers in a bid to crush labor unrest in the 1990s and 2000s.
The federal jury in West Palm Beach, Florida found the banana giant responsible for funding the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and awarded eight families whose members were murdered by the right-wing paramilitary group $38.3 million in damages.
Though many analysts feared an uncontrolled military escalation between Israel and Iran last month, this seems to have been avoided for now at least. Many states across the world are, however, witnessing a political escalation – not least those in North Africa and West Asia, which are often overlooked in conversations about protest.
“This will not be the final word; what happened in Abu Ghraib is engraved into our memories and will never be forgotten in history,” one plaintiff vowed.
U.S. Army Spc. Charles Graner tortures hooded and handcuffed prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo: U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command)
The federal judge presiding over a case filed by three Iraqis who were tortured by U.S. military contractors in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison two decades ago declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
After eight days of deliberation—a longer period than the trial itself—the eight civil jurors in Alexandria deadlocked over whether employees of CACI conspired with soldiers to torture detainees. The Virginia-based professional services and information technology firm was hired in 2003 during the George W. Bush administration to provide translators and interrogators in Iraq during the U.S.-led invasion and occupation, conspired with soldiers to torture detainees.
