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Tag: 2016 election

Islamophobia Industry Spent $206M Building Hatred In US, But Here’s How To Create Love Instead

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Islamophobia is more profitable than ever in America, but a new report from a leading Muslim civil rights organization offers a new strategy to take the national conversation back from the proprietors of hate.

Thirty-three key organizations promoting anti-Muslim sentiment had access to a combined budget of $205,838,077 between 2008 and 2013, according to “Confronting Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the U.S. 2013-2015,” a report published on Monday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in collaboration with the Center for Race and Gender at the University of California, Berkeley.

In addition to these core organizations promoting hatred, the report identified 74 groups involved in the larger “U.S. Islamophobia network.” That’s an increase from the 69 groups identified in the previous report, “Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the United States,” published in 2013.

Beyond ISIS: Orlando Mass Killing Is About Much, Much More Than ‘Radical Islam’

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

In the wake of the worst mass killing on U.S. soil since 9/11, politicians and the media seized on the killer’s purported declaration of allegiance to Middle Eastern terrorist groups as an excuse to demand more military intervention overseas and an increasingly militarized homeland.

Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old shooter who killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando on Sunday, reportedly declared allegiance to Daesh (an Arabic acronym for the the terrorist group known in the West as ISIS or ISIL) during a 911 call placed just before he began his attack.

As journalists and investigators piece together the evidence, a complex picture is emerging of a conflicted man whose hate and violence were decidedly homegrown.

But this hasn’t stopped the presumptive presidential nominees from both major political parties from using Mateen’s actions as an excuse to call for waging more war and expanding the power of domestic intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Green Party Candidate Jill Stein Endorses BDS Movement As Dem- & GOP-Backed Bans Spread

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

While members of both major political parties seek to oppress the free speech rights of human rights activists, the presumptive Green Party nominee is taking a stand against foreign wars and imperialism.

On Monday, Dr. Jill Stein tweeted a link to a statement in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, demanding radical change in U.S. foreign policy:

Maryland’s Green Party Senate Candidate Says It’s Time To ‘Build A Political Alternative’

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

A pediatrician and activist from Maryland who’s running for the U.S. Senate says it’s time for Americans to demand a voice in government.

“This seems like a really important time to start to build a political alternative that’s the opposite of what the two corporate parties are,” Margaret Flowers told MintPress News.

In January, a Gallup poll showed that fewer Americans identify with either major political party than at almost any other time in history. And voters seem increasingly interested in third-party candidates, with Google searches for both Jill Stein and the Libertarian Party seeing a marked increase in recent months.

“The Democratic and Republican parties are dying. They’re at the smallest stage that they’ve ever been and the majority of people are rejecting them, becoming independent or becoming members of other parties,” Flowers, who also occasionally contributes analysis and reporting to MintPress, said.

Trolling Her Way To The White House?: Clinton-Linked PAC Launches $1M Campaign Against Trump & ‘Bernie Bros’

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Hillary Clinton is taking her battle for the White House to social media, as a new super PAC linked to her campaign prepares to spend big to participate in online flame wars.

Correct the Record will help Clinton’s supporters “push back on online harassment,” according to a statement recently published on the organization’s website. The campaign, which claims to have a budget of over $1 million, will specifically target “attackers on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram.”

Evan Halper, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, suggested the campaign “seems to have been inspired by some of the Internet’s worst instincts.”

UPDATE: Uber & Lyft Cease Operations In Austin After Voters Reject Record-Breaking Electoral Campaign

Posted in Archive, Austin, Journalism, and MintPress News

Two big corporations with almost limitless bank accounts are bent on circumventing local law by buying a municipal election, according to their opponents.

Facing new regulations from the Austin City Council, Uber and Lyft, the popular ride-booking apps, brought the battle to the ballot box, launching a campaign to pass Proposition 1. Both drivers and paid petitioners canvassed widely for the issue last year, collecting thousands of signatures in order to trigger the election.

Based on the most recent electoral filings, Uber and Lyft have sunk over $8 million into Ridesharing Works For Austin, their joint PAC urging voters to vote in favor of Prop 1, the sole item on the ballot in the special election. By contrast, two smaller PACs opposed to the resolution, Our City Our Safety Our Choice PAC and Austin Unites, have raised less than $100,000 combined.

The election comes after months of negotiations between the City Council and the corporations, according toDelia Garza, a City Council member from Austin’s District 2. “Every time we tried to solve an issue they’d bring up, they’d move the ball,” she told MintPress News.