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A Year After Mike Brown’s Death, Ferguson Activists Fear Little Has Changed
Activists hold signs condemning police violence at a #ReclaimMLK protest in Silver Spring, Maryland. January 24, 2015. (Flickr / Stephen Melkisethian)
August 10, 2015
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A Year After Mike Brown’s Death, Ferguson Activists Fear Little Has Changed

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

It’s been one year since Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown outside his apartment complex in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Despite superficial changes in the political landscape, people are still being shot by police and community members and activists are still struggling for justice.

Speaking with MintPress News, Joshua Saleem, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s Peace Education program, said the past year has made him more cynical about the future. The AFSC is a nonprofit created by the Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers, who have a strong emphasis on nonviolent conflict resolution and peace.

“I was very hopeful a year ago when I saw people paying attention to something that the community of color here in St. Louis has known for a long time,” Saleem said. “But now I’m a little more skeptical, even with the Department of Justice and the work they’ve done, there’s a lot of pushback and a lot of resistance to the change that needs to happen when it comes to undoing institutional racism in the St. Louis region.”

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The Forgotten 5 Million Non-Jewish Victims Of The Holocaust
"Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under the National Socialist Regime" in Berlin, Germany. May 15, 2014. (Flickr / Victoria Nesfield)
August 5, 2015
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The Forgotten 5 Million Non-Jewish Victims Of The Holocaust

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

According to most figures, about 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis and their supporters in the Holocaust, one of the most disturbing examples of genocide in human history. But the Nazis took around 11 million lives, leaving another 5 million dead that are all too often overlooked or forgotten when in discussions of this grim period of history.

Terese Pencak Schwartz is a Polish-American Jew, born of two Holocaust survivors who were not Jewish. Because she identified strongly with her family history, Schwartz realized there was a crucial piece missing from the history of that time period. “The impression I got was that people were not aware of any other Holocaust victims except Jews,” she wrote on Remember.org in 1997. “This concerned me greatly.”

Schwartz acknowledged that the Nazis sought the total destruction of the Jews, “a significant fact that I do not repudiate, nor want to diminish in any way,” then continued:

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Death Of Paul Castaway Highlights Denver’s Overlooked Police Brutality Problem
Denver police violently arrest activists at a protest against the Columbus Day march. October 9, 2007. (Flickr / AJ Schroetlin)
July 27, 2015
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Death Of Paul Castaway Highlights Denver’s Overlooked Police Brutality Problem

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The death of a Rosebud Sioux man in Denver earlier this month is a painful reminder that police shootings are not limited to any one part of the United States, and certainly not just to places that received mainstream media attention after recent killings.

On July 12, Lynn Eagle Feather called police for help with her schizophrenic son, Paul Castaway. Witnesses and police give conflicting accounts of an incident that quickly spiraled out of control. Officers shot Castaway multiple times while he held a knife to his own neck. He died the following day at an area hospital. Police say they shot in self-defense, but witnesses and Castaway’s family disagree.

As his family struggles for justice, a diverse coalition of protesters from the American Indian Movement to local groups like Denver Community Defense Committee are working with the families of the victims of Denver police brutality. They’re hoping to draw attention to a largely overlooked epidemic of police violence that rivals other cities like Baltimore or New York City for its ability to destroy lives. Now, police are targeting activists and journalists who support them with arrests and even violence.

Read moreDeath Of Paul Castaway Highlights Denver’s Overlooked Police Brutality Problem
“On the Draft”: How Prisoners Suffer During and After Prison Transfers
A prison bus parked in a lot. (Flickr / Mike Demers)
July 14, 2015
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“On the Draft”: How Prisoners Suffer During and After Prison Transfers

Posted in Journalism, and Truthout

Before his first phone interview, Tim Burgess, a former prisoner, sent Truthout an email describing his experience during transport from a state prison in Vermont to a private prison 1,000 miles away in Kentucky.

“Imagine being ripped from a sound sleep, told to pack your belongings,” he wrote. “Having orders shouted at you, and being shackled at 2 am, when you have not done anything wrong and were a model inmate. When you ask questions because you have a heart condition, the only answer is, ‘Quiet inmate!’ And that was the first 20 minutes…”

Prisoners are secretly moved through US cities every day by bus, van or even airplane. The longest trips can involve days in cramped seats with a limited range of motion; prisoners remain heavily shackled even on rest stops and during meals. Being transferred is already a disorienting experience for any prisoner, usually tearing them away from their families and friends. Prisoners are often forced to drop out of classes or lose some of their valued possessions like books or musical instruments.

However, an issue that is rarely touched on is the brutality of the transport itself: The journey between prisons can be a traumatic experience that lingers long after the hours spent on the road.

Read more“On the Draft”: How Prisoners Suffer During and After Prison Transfers
10 Years Later, Israel Under Pressure From Successful Boycott Movement
Activists near the White House hold a "Boycott Israel" banner during a rally for Palestine. August 2, 2014. (Flickr / Stephen Melkisethian)
July 8, 2015
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10 Years Later, Israel Under Pressure From Successful Boycott Movement

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Ten years after Palestinian civil society put out the original call to action, the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement has become a global force. With Israel and its supporters now spending millions to prop up the country’s public image, it’s hard to deny the changes these activists have created through global solidarity.

First published July 2005, the original BDS letter was signed by over 170 global human rights organizations as well as unions, political parties and other associations based in Palestine. A year after Israel continued building its Gaza wall, despite the objections of the United Nations and international courts, and with illegal Jerusalem settlements similarly continuing to expand, there seemed no other choice than to target Israel’s finances directly. The movement is modeled after similar, successful efforts to boycott supporters of South Africa’s racist apartheid regime, and the BDS movement counts high profile fighters of apartheid like Desmond Tutu among its supporters.

Below are five of the biggest achievements of the last 10 years:

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Environmental Justice Report: 81% Of Products Tested At U.S. Dollar Stores Are Unsafe
Protesters in hazardous material-handling suits gathered at a Family Dollar discount store in Austin, Texas on July 1, 2015 to demand “independence from toxic products.” It was part of a national day of action highlighting a report showing over 80% of products tested at dollar stores were unsafe.
July 3, 2015
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Environmental Justice Report: 81% Of Products Tested At U.S. Dollar Stores Are Unsafe

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

On July 1, activists gathered at dollar stores nationally to declare their “independence” from toxic chemicals, after a report earlier this year suggested products sold by these discount chains could be hurting consumers.

To produce the report, issued in February by Environmental Justice for All’s Campaign for Healthier Solutions, researchers tested 164 products from multiple discount chain stores nationwide and found that 133 contained “at least one hazardous chemical above levels of concern,” meaning that 81% of tested products were hazardous. These include chemicals identified to be carcinogenic, capable of causing developmental disabilities in children, or were otherwise found at levels considered toxic. Unlike major chains like Wal-Mart and Target, no major dollar store chain has a formal policy on selling or disclosing toxic ingredients in products.

In Austin, Texas, the campaign partnered with local activists from Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS) and Texas Campaign for the Environment. Dressed in white hazardous material-handling suits, they gathered in front of a Family Dollar store on the south side of the city to chant and hold protest signs and banners.

Read moreEnvironmental Justice Report: 81% Of Products Tested At U.S. Dollar Stores Are Unsafe