Tag Archives: Equality

Violent Arrest of Emory Professor Spotlights Brutality of Police Crackdown on Campus Protests

“To sustain this level of blind support for Israel, the U.S. must erode its own democracy,” said one foreign policy expert. “And that is what we see happening on U.S. campuses now.”

By Julia Conley. Published 4-26-2024 by Common Dreams

Emory University economics professor Caroline Fohlin was pushed to the ground and subdued by police officers on April 25, 2024 after asking an officer why a student was being arrested, in Atlanta. Screenshot: CNN

Emory University economics professor Caroline Fohlin approached several police officers who were holding a student down on the ground on Thursday and demanded an explanation—but by the end of the day videos of her own arrest became some of the most widely circulated images of the rapidly spreading anti-war movement on college campuses across the U.S.

As she knelt down to ask the university officers, “What are you doing?” another law enforcement agent grabbed her arm and pushed her away before repeatedly ordering her to “get on the ground.”

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‘Everyone Should Celebrate’: FCC Restores Net Neutrality Rules

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“Today marks the last day that internet service providers can continue to put profit over people,” said one advocate.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 4-25-2024 by Common Dreams

*FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel at State of the Net 2015. Photo: Internet Education Foundation/flickr/CC*

Open internet advocates on Thursday applauded the Federal Communications Commission’s long-anticipated vote to revive net neutrality rules and reestablish FCC oversight of broadband.

The 3-2 vote along party lines to reclassify broadband as a public service under Title II of the Communications Act came seven months after FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced the push in the wake of the U.S. Senate confirming Commissioner Anna Gomez.

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‘Seismic Win for Workers’: FTC Bans Noncompete Clauses

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Advocates praised the FTC “for taking a strong stance against this egregious use of corporate power, thereby empowering workers to switch jobs and launch new ventures, and unlocking billions of dollars in worker earnings.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 4-23-2024 by Common Dreams

*FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo: New America/flickr/CC*

U.S. workers’ rights advocates and groups celebrated on Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a ban on most noncompete clauses, which Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khan said “keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism.”

“The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market,” Khan added, pointing to the commission’s estimates that the policy could mean another $524 for the average worker, over 8,500 new startups, and 17,000 to 29,000 more patents each year.

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Liberal Justices Grill Attorney in Supreme Court Case on Criminalizing Homelessness

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“Where are they supposed to sleep? Are they supposed to kill themselves not sleeping?” asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor of unhoused people who have been barred from sleeping outside in Grants Pass, Oregon.

By Julia Conley. Published 4-21-2024 by Common Dreams

*Grants Pass homeless encampment. Screenshot: 5NEWS*

As housing rights advocates and people who have been unhoused themselves rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to demand an end to the criminalization of homelessness, the court’s three liberal justices demanded to know how the city of Grants Pass, Oregon can penalize residents who take part in an act necessary for human survival—sleeping—just because they are forced to do so outside.

After an attorney representing Grants Pass, Thomas Evangelis, described sleeping in public as a form of “conduct,” Justice Elena Kagan disputed the claim and reminded Evangelis that he was presenting a legal argument in favor of policing “a biological necessity.”

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AI chatbots refuse to produce ‘controversial’ output − why that’s a free speech problem

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*AI chatbots restrict their output according to vague and broad policies.* *Image: CAPACOA/CC*

By Jordi Calvet-Bademunt and Jacob Mchangama, Vanderbilt University. Published 4-18-2024 by The Conversation

Google recently made headlines globally because its chatbot Gemini generated images of people of color instead of white people in historical settings that featured white people. Adobe Firefly’s image creation tool saw similar issues. This led some commentators to complain that AI had gone “woke.” Others suggested these issues resulted from faulty efforts to fight AI bias and better serve a global audience.

The discussions over AI’s political leanings and efforts to fight bias are important. Still, the conversation on AI ignores another crucial issue: What is the AI industry’s approach to free speech, and does it embrace international free speech standards?

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Rwandan genocide, 30 years on: Omitting women’s memories encourages incomplete understanding of violence

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*A father is searching for his missing child using ICRC assistance during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Photo: British Red Cross/flickr/CC*

By Anneliese M. Schenk-Day, Ohio State University. Published 4-5-2024 by The Conversation

The eruption of violence that Rwanda experienced beginning on the evening of April 6, 1994, continues to haunt the central African nation 30 years on – it has also changed the country’s gender dynamics.

The genocide resulted in hundreds of thousands of men being killed, with many more fleeing the country or being incarcerated. It left a previously male-centered society with hundreds of thousands of female-headed households. Of course, women were also subjected to the violence itself, with many killed and between 250,000 and 500,000 raped in the three months of genocide.

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Dark Money-Backed ‘No Labels’ Drops Third-Party Presidential Bid

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One observer quipped that No Labels was calling it quits “to spend more time with their lobbyists.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 4-4-2024 by Common Dreams

Less than a month after No Labels announced it would nominate a “unity ticket” for the 2024 presidential election, the group said Thursday that it is abandoning its longshot third-party White House bid.

“No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House,” the group said in a statement. “No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.”

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Alabama Republicans Try to ‘Criminalize Librarians Simply for Doing Their Jobs’

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“Not only is this wrong, it’s also unconstitutional. You are not protecting children; you are protecting extremists who are trying to dismantle the very foundations of my country.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 4-3-2024 by Common Dreams.

*Banned Books Week installation on the second floor of Kennedy Library at Cal Poly on Monday, September 24, 2018. Photo: Kennedy Library/flickr/CC*

The Alabama Library Association and other critics on Wednesday called out the state’s Republican policymakers for pushing a new bill that opponents warn will unfairly jail librarians and have a chilling impact on collections.

House Bill 385, introduced Tuesday by state Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43) and 30 other legislators, says that “under existing law, certain obscenity laws do not apply to public libraries, public school libraries, college libraries, or university libraries, or the employees or agents of any such libraries.”

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Conservative Texas District Court Won’t Implement Anti-Judge Shopping Policy

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The chief judge of the Northern District of Texas indicated the court will not follow new guidance, while a lower court judge called out a pro-business group’s use of “judge shopping.”

By Julia Conley. Published 3-31-2024 by Common Dreams

*Shopping for judges by right-wing crusaders undermines public trust.. Screenshot: CNN*

Right-wing groups will still be able to pick and choose the judges who hear their cases in one of the most conservative federal court districts in the United States, following a decision by the Northern District of Texas on Friday that goes against new anti-“judge shopping” guidance.

Chief U.S. District Judge David Godbey of the Northern District wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that the court would not abide by new guidance from the Judicial Conference, which said earlier this month that the court system should randomly assign lawsuits to any judge throughout the district where they’re filed.

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Montana Supreme Court Strikes Down 4 ‘Unconstitutional’ Voting Laws Passed by GOP

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The laws disproportionately impacted the ability of Native people to participate in voting, the court noted.

By Julia Conley. Published 3-28-2024 by Common Dreams

Native rights groups were among those applauding a decision by the Montana Supreme Court late Wednesday as four voting restrictions, passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, were struck down as “unconstitutional.”

The sweeping 2021 laws had ended same-day voter registration, eliminated the use of student ID cards as a form of identification for voters, banned the distribution of absentee ballots to teenagers who would turn 18 by Election Day, and prohibited third parties from collecting ballots and returning them on behalf of voters.

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Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Equality