This report was published on YouTube on July 12.
Source: PBS NewsHour
Friday, July 13, 2018
The Brutal Emmett Till Murder Case is Being Reopened. Here's What We Know
This report was published on YouTube on July 12.
Source: PBS NewsHour
How the Fight Against Affirmative Action at Harvard Could Threaten Rich Whites
If preferences for black and Hispanic applicants are abolished, expect a backlash against admissions boosts for children of alumni and donors.
Perpetually in jeopardy, the use of racial preferences in college admissions is under greater threat than ever.
President Donald Trump has scrapped Obama-era guidelines that
encouraged universities to consider race as a factor. He has proposed
replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion in a
2016 case upholding affirmative action by one vote, with the more
conservative Brett Kavanaugh. Meanwhile, a lawsuit challenging Harvard’s
preferences for Hispanics and African Americans has uncovered the
university’s dubious pattern of rejecting academically outstanding
Asian-American candidates — who don’t qualify for a race-related boost —
by giving them low marks for personality. Either the Harvard case, or a
similar lawsuit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, could put an end to affirmative action.
If it is abolished, though, there will undoubtedly be increased
pressure to also eliminate admissions criteria that favor a very
different demographic — children of alumni and donors. Colleges are
reluctant to drop these preferences of privilege for fear of hurting
fundraising. But the political price of clinging to them could be
significant.
Click here for the full article.
Source: ProPublica
Mexico Opposes U.S. Plan to Make It Take Asylum Seekers - Document, Source
A Reuters Exclusive
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico is opposed to a U.S. request to make
people seeking asylum in the United States apply in Mexico instead,
according to a source and a briefing note, in a setback to U.S. efforts
to deepen cooperation on immigration before a leftist president takes
office.
U.S. officials believe a deal known as a “Safe Third Country
Agreement,” could prove a deterrent to thousands of Central Americans
who travel through Mexico each year to seek U.S. asylum, clogging
immigration courts and causing a headache for U.S. President Donald
Trump’s administration.
Yet despite growing U.S. pressure for it
to accept the treaty, Mexico views the proposal as a red line it will
not cross, according to the briefing note prepared for Foreign Minister
Luis Videgaray for a meeting he had with U.S. Homeland Security
Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in Guatemala on Tuesday.
Click here for the full article.
'Flashback Friday': College Kids Lesson on Racism in America (Via a 1940s Movie Clip)
This video was published on YouTube on September 30, 2017.
Source: NehemiYAH
Violent Racism During Peaceful Protests in the Civil Rights Movement
Something to think about, given the current political, racial and social climate in the country.
"G-Man"
Trailblazers in Black History: Delores P. Aldridge
In 1971, Aldridge became the first African American woman faculty member
of Emory University and founding director of the first African American
and African Studies degree-granting program in the South, which she
administered until 1990.
In 1988 and 1992, she studied gender and race
issues in the Soviet Union and Brazil. Aldridge served as national
president of four separate national organizations including an
unprecedented two terms as president of the National Council for Black
Studies. She has been chairman of the board of a number of organizations
including the International Black Women’s Congress (IBWC).
As chair of
the IBWC, she organized international conferences on issues related to
the health of Africana women. Aldridge also published Toward Integrating Africana Women into Africana Studies in 1992 and co-edited River of Tears: The Politics of Black Women’s Health in 1993. She is popularly known for her 1994 work, Focusing: Black Male Female Relationships.
Click here for additional information.
Americans Choose Obama as Best President in Their Lifetime, Survey Says
Millennials aged 22 to 37 overwhelmingly backed the 44th president.
Barack Obama is the best president in their lifetime for nearly half of Americans, according to a new survey.
A Pew Research Center survey asked participants to reveal who
they believe has done the best job and second best job in the executive
office in their lifetimes; apparently the 44th president topped the
list, with 44 per cent of Americans backing Mr Obama. Former presidents
Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan followed in popularity with 33 per cent
and 32 per cent choosing them respectively.
Donald Trump,
who has previously said his approval ratings were higher than Mr
Obama’s, came in fourth with 19 per cent saying he has done the best or
second best job in office thus far.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Independent
As Eight Guantánamo Detainees Ask for Freedom, the Trump Administration Says It Could Hold Them for 100 Years
On Wednesday a federal court in Washington, D.C., heard the
first major challenge to the Trump administration’s policy on Guantánamo
Bay — a case arguing against the ongoing detention of eight of the 40
Muslim men still left at the island prison. The judge’s decision in the
case could impact any future attempt to bring detainees to the detention
center and torture site, and become a judgment on the United States’s
endless war on terror.
Twenty-six prisoners at Guantánamo remain detained without charge or
trial, including the eight men represented in court Wednesday, who have
been at Guantánamo between 10 and 16 years. Two of them have been
cleared for release by a government review panel. Lawyers from the
Center for Constitutional Rights, along with other attorneys, are
challenging the prisoners’ detention both as a violation of due process
and also under the laws of war as dictated by the authorization for the
use of military force, or AUMF.
Passed by Congress in 2001, the AUMF granted the executive branch
license to “use all necessary and appropriate force” against individuals
or groups responsible for the 9/11 attacks or those who helped them.
Critics say the law is now being stretched beyond recognition to
legalize military action around the globe, including against groups that
did not exist in 2001.
While the government originally used the broad powers granted by the
AUMF to justify the detention of their clients, CCR attorneys argued
that this authority has since “unraveled.” Under the AUMF, limited
detention was justified for the narrow purpose of preventing the return
of the detainees to the battlefield. Calling today’s war on terror an
“amorphous, interminable morass” and a “conflict disconnected from
reality,” CCR urged the court to recognize the vastly different
landscape from when the AUMF was passed by Congress.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept_
Man Held in ICE Custody Dies of Suspected Suicide
By John Bowden
A 40-year-old Mexican man detained in Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) custody at a Georgia facility died as a result of
apparent suicide, ICE said Friday in a statement.
Efrain
De La Rosa died Tuesday at an area hospital near the Stewart Detention
Facility in Lumpkin, Ga., after he was found unresponsive in his cell as
a result of a strangulation, according to the statement.
De La Rosa died of "self-inflicted strangulation" according to the statement which notes that his death will be investigated.
ICE
added in the press release that it notified authorities at the Mexican
consulate of De La Rosa's death, who notified his next of kin.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Hill
NBC News Exclusive: Pentagon in 'Damage Control' Mode After Trump's NATO Threat
by Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Geoff Bennett
WASHINGTON — Hours after President Donald Trump departed NATO
headquarters Thursday, U.S. military leaders embarked on a full-scale
“damage control” operation with calls to their counterparts across
Europe to reassure them that America will abide by its defense
commitments in the region.
The outreach, directed by the Pentagon leadership, came after Trump threatened to reassess
those commitments during a gathering with NATO allies in Brussels,
according to multiple current and former diplomatic and military
officials familiar with the calls.
Click here for the full article.
Judge Upholds Lawsuit Against White Supremacists Involved in Deadly Charlottesville Rally
A federal judge this week decided that a lawsuit against the racist
organizers of the "Unite the Right" rally last August can go to trial.
The judge dismissed some allegations but found that the suit falls under
the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was designed to curb violence
against African Americans after the Civil War.
The trial in the case,
brought by 13 people who were hurt or attacked by racists at the rally,
is scheduled for July 2019.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Southern Poverty Law Center
Gaza Marks More Than 100 Days Since Mass Protests Began
The Zeldin report was published on YouTube on May 15, 2018.
'Trump Baby' Balloon Takes Flight Over Parliament Square in London
Protesters fly a huge blimp depicting US President Donald Trump as a
baby holding a mobile phone over Parliament Square to protest against
his visit.
Source: euronews.
Source: euronews.
Donald Trump Said Boris Johnson Would Make a Great Prime Minister
Trump said he thought that May's Brexit plan would "probably kill" a
trade deal with the US. He later went on to add that he thought Boris
Johnson would make a great Prime Minister.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Black Man Told to Leave Pool at His Own Apartment Complex in Indianapolis
By Nick Visser
A black man says he was told to leave the pool at his own apartment complex where he has been renting a unit for more than a year in an incident he described as racial profiling.
Shayne Holland told the Indianapolis Star he was relaxing after a workout last Friday when he was approached by an off-duty police officer working as a security guard at his apartment complex. The woman, seen in a video Holland posted to Twitter, reportedly asked if he lived in the area then asked for his address without identifying herself. He showed her his apartment key, which gives him access to the pool, but declined to give his exact address.
Click here for video.
Source: The Huffington Post
Investigation Into Emmett Till's 1955 Slaying Reopened
The federal government has reopened its investigation into the slaying
of Emmett Till, a Black teenager whose brutal killing helped inspire the
civil rights movement more than 60 years ago. The Justice Department
told Congress in a report that it's re-investigating the 1955 killing
after receiving new information. Anne-Marie Green and Vladimir Duthiers
have more.
Source: CBS News
Who are the Trinitarios?
This report was published on YouTube on June 26, 2018.
The Trinitarios, many of them street-level drug dealers and enforcers,
have made headlines in New York City since 2010, when then-U.S.
Attorney, Preet Bharara, indicted 50 alleged members in a racketeering,
murder and narcotics conspiracy. Bharara noted the gang "brutally
punished even its own members."
Source: PIX11 News
Coal Miners Are Dying of Black Lung. A Kentucky Law Could Make It Harder to Claim Benefits
COAL RUN, Kentucky — Kentucky is at the center of what experts are
calling the worst black lung epidemic on record. But instead of making
it easier for miners to get access to health care, Kentucky’s lawmakers
passed a law that may soon hinder miners’ ability to obtain workers’
compensation benefits.
John Legend on Honoring Mandela in South Africa's Global Citizen Festival
Global Citizen announced it will bring its festival to South Africa for
the first time. John Legend, who has performed at the festival and is a
longtime supporter, joins "CBS This Morning" from Los Angeles to discuss
honoring Nelson Mandela's 100th birthday through the festival.
This report was published on YouTube on July 11.
Source: CBS News
NYPD Update: Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner O'Neill Discuss Latest Crime Stats
This video was published on YouTube on July 10.
Source: NYC Mayor's Office
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
‘Anger and Disgust’ as Trump Blows Up NATO Summit
With the U.S. president set to meet Vladimir Putin next, current and former alliance officials wonder how the transatlantic military pact can be salvaged.
By Christopher Dickey and Spencer Ackerman
PARIS — The explosion was almost instantaneous—over breakfast, no less—at the beginning of this year’s NATO summit in Brussels.
With cameras switched on, and no question they were recording, Donald
Trump told his Atlantic Alliance counterparts that Germany is “totally controlled by Russia.”
Berlin buys from Moscow more and more of the natural gas it uses. So,
in one of his trademark versions of common sense, which commonly ignores
basic history and fundamental facts, he asked why the U.S. should spend
a lot of money to defend Germany from Russia if Germany was dependent
on Russia for energy. Trump incorrectly inflated Germany’s reliance on
Russian energy to convey, yet again, a picture of NATO as a protection
racket and the U.S. demanding its envelope of cash be heavier.
What
was surprising here to many Europeans was not the issue of Germany’s
energy supplies or defense budget, which ought to be discussed, but the
way it was raised, quite consciously, to be as rude and offensive as
possible to America’s richest and most powerful ally on the continent.
This after Trump turned the meeting last month in Canada of the G7 most
economically advanced democracies into an acrimonious debacle. (He not
only insulted German Chancellor Angela Merkel there, he threw a
Starburst candy at her.)
If the trend continues, NATO officials present and past worried whether they will ever be able to pick up the pieces.
“The
mood here is mix of concern, disappointment, anger and disgust,” said
retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who until October led the U.S. Army’s
European contingent and who attended the NATO summit.
"I expected bad, and I kept telling people to expect bad, but it is still surreal to see,” one current NATO official told The Daily Beast.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Daily Beast
November 2018 Midterm Elections: Federal and State Officials Testify on Election Systems Security Preparedness
Homeland Security Under Secretary for the National Protection and
Programs Directorate (NPPD) Christopher Krebs testified before the House
Homeland Security Committee about the nation’s election infrastructure.
He provided an update on federal efforts to increase resilience of
voting systems, and explained coordination between his agency, the FBI,
and state and local election officials. Joining Under Secretary Krebs as
a witness was Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea (D) who
provided her perspective from the state level and spoke about where
Rhode Island stands in being ready for the November 2018 midterm
elections.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Canada to Lead NATO Training Mission in Iraq
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces that he will send 250
troops to Iraq as part of a NATO training mission in Iraq and will
command the mission for the first year. The troops will be deployed to
the Baghdad area in the fall and is expected to last several years.
Click here for video.
In Memoriam: Beverly Alston, Harlem Icon and Lifelong NAN Member
NEW YORK — Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights leader and President of National Action Network (NAN) released the following statement on the passing of Beverly Alston:
“National
Action Network (NAN) and I are deeply saddened by the passing of
Beverly Alston. Ms. Alston joined NAN the first year we formed and her
unwavering dedication to NAN’s mission and overarching goals remains
unparalleled. We are heartbroken by her passing and she will forever be
missed. Therefore, this Saturday, we will dedicate our Saturday rally in
her honor.”
Source: Mercury
Note: The video of Ms. Alston's retirement party was published on YouTube on December 6, 2016.
Source: mrreggiej4210
Note: The video of Ms. Alston's retirement party was published on YouTube on December 6, 2016.
Source: mrreggiej4210
Racial Intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan, 1960s Film Clip
This video was published on YouTube on January 15, 2018.
Dimbleby interviews a Black couple outside their house in Alabama. Whilst holding a burnt cross left on their property, they
detail their experiences of racial intimidation.
Source: HuntleyFilmArchives
Trailblazers in Black History: Gladys Knight and the Pips
In 1966, Gladys Knight And The Pips signed to Motown Records’ Soul
subsidiary, where they were teamed up with producer/songwriter Norman
Whitfield. Knight’s tough vocals left them slightly out of the Motown
mainstream, and throughout their stay with the label the group was
regarded as a second-string act.
Between 1967 and 1968, they had major
R&B and minor pop hits in America with ‘Everybody Needs Love’, ‘The
End Of The Road’, ‘It Should Have Been Me’ and ‘I Wish It Would Rain’,
but enjoyed most success with the original release of ‘I Heard It
Through The Grapevine’, an uncompromisingly tough performance of a song
that became a Motown standard in the hands of its author Marvin Gaye in
1969. Gladys Knight And The Pips’ version topped the R&B chart for
six weeks at the end of 1967 and also reached number 2 on the US pop
charts.
Click here for additional information.
Source: ALLMUSIC
President Trump Slams Germany, Russia During Bilateral Breakfast with NATO Sec. Stoltenberg
Source: Latest World News Updates
New York Has World-Class Hospitals. Why Is It So Bad for People in Need of Transplants?
By Ted Alcorn
Kehinde
Majekodumi does not look desperately ill. A vibrant 24-year-old, she
bears little outward sign except a scar beneath her collarbone where a
catheter was once inserted.
But three
times a week she deviates from her regular commute between the
apartment she shares with her twin sister and her job in a university
admissions office to a dialysis center in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
There
she spends four hours hooked up to a machine that substitutes for her
failing kidneys. As it removes waste products from her bloodstream, it
can induce terrible cramps, and each session leaves her weary and
nauseated. But it is all that is keeping her alive.
“Unless
I tell people, they don’t know,” Ms. Majekodumi said. “I don’t mind
telling people, but I don’t want that to be the thing they know me for.”
She
is one of around 8,500 New Yorkers with organ failure who are currently
awaiting the only treatment that can meaningfully change their lives —
an organ transplant.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The New York Times
Daily News Exclusive: New York Lawmaker Earns Extra Money Working for a Political Party in Bermuda
By Glenn Blain
Bermuda is more than just a vacation spot for Bronx Assemblyman Michael Blake – it’s a source of income.
Blake, who’s considered a rising star in Democratic Party circles, has a side job working as a “consultant” for the One Bermuda Alliance, an opposition political party in the island territory, according to a financial disclosure statement made public Tuesday.
The One Bermuda Alliance paid Blake between $20,000 and $50,000 in 2017 for work dealing in “communications strategy,” the lawmaker revealed in his annual financial disclosure statement.
“It’s
highly unusual, if not unprecedented,” said Blair Horner of the New
York Public Interest Research Group about a state lawmaker working for a
foreign political organization.
Click here for the full article.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Blackwater Founder's Plan to Privatise America’s $76 Billion, 17-Year War in Afghanistan
In a rare interview, Erik Prince speaks in depth about his pitch to Trump and Pompeo to slash costs by shifting military operations to an international team of 'contractors'.
By Kim Sengupta
Donald Trump is expected to ask European countries at this week’s Nato summit,
one of the most crucial and contentious in the history of the alliance,
to step up and contribute more troops for the war in Afghanistan.
Other member states, already facing an onslaught from the US
president over their shortfalls in defence spending, and facing the
threat of funding cuts, are likely to acquiesce. Britain, for example, is expected to double the size of its force to just over 1,200.
But Erik Prince,
founder of Blackwater, probably the most well-known private security
company in the world, which is now known as Academi, is adamant that
increasing troops in Afghanistan is the worst thing the United
State’s allies can do.
“It will be reinforcing a strategy which is a failure – something
which has not worked, will not work and needlessly cost lives,” he
wanted to stress.
The billionaire, who currently heads a private equity
firm, has his own plans for turning around the Afghan war – one which he
described to The Independent.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Independent
The Power of Poetry: Smokey Robinson, 'A Black American'
This video was published on YouTube on October 5, 2017.
Mr. Robinson performed this spoken word piece during the third season of "Def Poets", May 16, 2003.
Source: Upfront
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Writes to President Trump Before the Helsinki Summit with Putin
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent, sent an urgent letter to President Donald Trump as he departed for summits in Europe this week. The letter stated that as the President prepares to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, “the Ukrainian American community will look to our Commander-in-Chief to not only live up to the United States’ public and binding security guarantees to Ukraine, but clearly state that the people of Ukraine will make up their own minds with regards to national policy.”
In 2014, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders with the passage of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, which declared as official state policy that the United States will “assist the government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to deter the government of the Russian Federation from further destabilizing and invading Ukraine and other independent countries.”
UCCA’s open letter states in plain terms that “Vladimir Putin is not an ally of the United States.” At the Helsinki Summit, UCCA urges the President to demand the release of Oleh Sentsov and the over sixty other Ukrainian political prisoners currently being held in Russian custody. Furthermore, UCCA’s letter reminds the President that a United States citizen was among the 298 innocent men, women and children killed by Russian forces when they downed a civilian airliner, MH17, over Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America has maintained that the United States’ sanctions regime against the Russian Federation must be maintained or strengthened until they fully comply with their international obligations regarding Ukraine – including the Helsinki and Minsk Accords and the Budapest Memorandum. This act of compliance must include Russia openly renouncing any territorial claim over the Crimean peninsula, as well as meeting the standards of United States law as currently defined in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, among others.
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the representative organization of the over 1.5 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, is united in our support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. As Americans, we believe that a democratic and independent Ukraine is in the national security interests of the United States. Thus, we would like to raise a few concerns regarding your upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin.
The stakes for the United States, and the larger democratic world, could not be higher. Russia’s continuing efforts to destabilize Ukraine, and its illegal occupation of Crimea - sovereign Ukrainian territory - threatens the peace, predictability and security that the West created together through our victory in the Cold War. The UCCA is deeply concerned that any agreement with Russia that undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will endanger this historic achievement. The Ukrainian American community will look to our Commander-in-Chief to not only live up to the United States’ public and binding security guarantees to Ukraine, but clearly state that the people of Ukraine will make up their own minds with regards to national policy, including their open and democratic decision to demand basic human rights, economic freedoms and closer integration with Europe and NATO.
Vladimir Putin is not an ally of the United States. He neither is a trustworthy international partner, nor is he committed to peace. Over the course of the past four years, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has claimed over 10,000 lives, displaced over 2 million civilians (the largest wartime displacement in Europe since WWII), and bears the responsibility for downing a commercial airliner over Ukraine, killing 298 innocent men, women and children, including one confirmed American citizen.
Therefore, it would be UCCA’s earnest hope that during your summit with Vladimir Putin you will consider our concerns and:
Stand firm and openly denounce Russia's attacks on American democracy and our NATO partners, as well as Russia’s invasion and occupation of America’s strategic ally, Ukraine;
Forcefully and publically reaffirm the United States’ recognition of and support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, including rejecting any form of recognition of Russian rule over Crimea;
Strongly condemn the Russian Federation’s continuing war against Ukraine – a country that is currently on the frontlines of defense for the Western world - and demand the immediate withdrawal of all covert and overt Russian forces and military equipment from Ukraine;
Underscore that the United States’ sanctions regime against the Russian Federation will be maintained or strengthened until they fully comply with their international obligations regarding Ukraine – including the Helsinki and Minsk Accords and the Budapest Memorandum. This act of compliance must include Russia openly renouncing any territorial claim over the Crimean peninsula, as well as meeting the standards of United States law as currently defined in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, among others.
Publically condemn Russia’s illegal imprisonment of Oleh Sentsov and the over sixty other Ukrainian political prisoners currently being held in Russian custody, and demand their immediate release.
As the bastion of democracy in the free world, the United States bears a moral obligation to take the lead in promoting international norms, defending basic human rights and freedoms and charting a course of geopolitical stability. The Ukrainian American community believes that the national security interests of the United States lie in the fulfillment of that obligation.
Sincerely,
Andrew Futey Michael Sawkiw, Jr.
President Vice-President
CC:
Michael R. Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State
Ambassador Kurt Volker, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations
Source: UCCA
In 2014, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders with the passage of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, which declared as official state policy that the United States will “assist the government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to deter the government of the Russian Federation from further destabilizing and invading Ukraine and other independent countries.”
UCCA’s open letter states in plain terms that “Vladimir Putin is not an ally of the United States.” At the Helsinki Summit, UCCA urges the President to demand the release of Oleh Sentsov and the over sixty other Ukrainian political prisoners currently being held in Russian custody. Furthermore, UCCA’s letter reminds the President that a United States citizen was among the 298 innocent men, women and children killed by Russian forces when they downed a civilian airliner, MH17, over Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America has maintained that the United States’ sanctions regime against the Russian Federation must be maintained or strengthened until they fully comply with their international obligations regarding Ukraine – including the Helsinki and Minsk Accords and the Budapest Memorandum. This act of compliance must include Russia openly renouncing any territorial claim over the Crimean peninsula, as well as meeting the standards of United States law as currently defined in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, among others.
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the representative organization of the over 1.5 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, is united in our support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. As Americans, we believe that a democratic and independent Ukraine is in the national security interests of the United States. Thus, we would like to raise a few concerns regarding your upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin.
The stakes for the United States, and the larger democratic world, could not be higher. Russia’s continuing efforts to destabilize Ukraine, and its illegal occupation of Crimea - sovereign Ukrainian territory - threatens the peace, predictability and security that the West created together through our victory in the Cold War. The UCCA is deeply concerned that any agreement with Russia that undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will endanger this historic achievement. The Ukrainian American community will look to our Commander-in-Chief to not only live up to the United States’ public and binding security guarantees to Ukraine, but clearly state that the people of Ukraine will make up their own minds with regards to national policy, including their open and democratic decision to demand basic human rights, economic freedoms and closer integration with Europe and NATO.
Vladimir Putin is not an ally of the United States. He neither is a trustworthy international partner, nor is he committed to peace. Over the course of the past four years, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has claimed over 10,000 lives, displaced over 2 million civilians (the largest wartime displacement in Europe since WWII), and bears the responsibility for downing a commercial airliner over Ukraine, killing 298 innocent men, women and children, including one confirmed American citizen.
Therefore, it would be UCCA’s earnest hope that during your summit with Vladimir Putin you will consider our concerns and:
Stand firm and openly denounce Russia's attacks on American democracy and our NATO partners, as well as Russia’s invasion and occupation of America’s strategic ally, Ukraine;
Forcefully and publically reaffirm the United States’ recognition of and support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, including rejecting any form of recognition of Russian rule over Crimea;
Strongly condemn the Russian Federation’s continuing war against Ukraine – a country that is currently on the frontlines of defense for the Western world - and demand the immediate withdrawal of all covert and overt Russian forces and military equipment from Ukraine;
Underscore that the United States’ sanctions regime against the Russian Federation will be maintained or strengthened until they fully comply with their international obligations regarding Ukraine – including the Helsinki and Minsk Accords and the Budapest Memorandum. This act of compliance must include Russia openly renouncing any territorial claim over the Crimean peninsula, as well as meeting the standards of United States law as currently defined in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, among others.
Publically condemn Russia’s illegal imprisonment of Oleh Sentsov and the over sixty other Ukrainian political prisoners currently being held in Russian custody, and demand their immediate release.
As the bastion of democracy in the free world, the United States bears a moral obligation to take the lead in promoting international norms, defending basic human rights and freedoms and charting a course of geopolitical stability. The Ukrainian American community believes that the national security interests of the United States lie in the fulfillment of that obligation.
Sincerely,
Andrew Futey Michael Sawkiw, Jr.
President Vice-President
CC:
Michael R. Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State
Ambassador Kurt Volker, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations
Source: UCCA
Funeral Service for New York State Trooper Nicholas Clark
The service was conducted on July 8 and begins at the 30-minute mark.
Source: News 8 WROC
Kavanaugh Meets with Pence and GOP Leaders
Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-KY) meet with President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett
Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill.
Ethiopia Touts Good Conditions in Factories for Brands Like H&M, Workers Scrape By On $1 a Day
This report was published on YouTube on July 8.
Source: The Intercept
Rick Santorum Turns On Trump: He ‘Just Bowed To The Washington Elite’
By Ed Mazza
Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum called out President Donald Trump for nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
“I think that Donald Trump said he was going to energize the base with this pick. I don’t think he did that,” Santorum told CNN’s Chris Cuomo.
Click here for video.
Source: The Huffington Post
How the Mueller Probe Could Complicate Kavanaugh's Confirmation
Special Counsel Robert Mueller
by Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
WASHINGTON — By making federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh
his Supreme Court pick, President Donald Trump selected someone who
already once secured votes from GOP swing Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine,
and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska (back in 2006).
What’s more, key Democratic red-state senators like Joe Donnelly,
D-Ind., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., released
statements Monday saying they’d keep an open mind about Kavanaugh.
Add it all up and it’s very possible that, in the current 51-49 Senate, Kavanaugh could match the 54-45 confirmation vote that Neil Gorsuch got in 2017.
But there’s one significant wild card to Trump picking Kavanaugh: the Mueller probe.
And
if there’s a big development in the investigation — we haven’t really
had one since April, when the FBI raided Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s
offices — then Kavanaugh’s 2009 law review article could be an impediment to confirmation.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
Analyzing Trump's Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court
President Trump on Monday nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme
Court at the White House. CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan
Crawford joins CBSN to discuss what distinguished Kavanaugh from some of
the other front-runners as well as some of the obstacles he will face
in getting confirmed.
Source: CBS News
SPLC President: Take Action Now on SCOTUS — Everything Is At Stake
The following statement was submitted by Richard Cohen, President of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
President Trump has just nominated another right-wing ideologue to the Supreme Court – and it's hard to overstate the implications.
If Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed, we'll no longer be able to rely on the federal judiciary to protect the rights of the most vulnerable people in our country.
Even worse, much of our progress toward economic, social and racial justice could be rolled back in the coming years.
Everything is at stake – marriage equality ... voting rights ... access to health care ... reproductive and privacy rights ... racial equality ... religious freedom ... more.
We can't take our basic rights for granted.
Trump announced his choice on the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment. Enacted just after the Civil War, it guaranteed citizenship to all people born in the United States in addition to equal protection of the law and due process.
Soon after, however, the Supreme Court gutted the amendment, ignoring its principles of equality for nearly a century as it upheld racial segregation. All of that changed in a fundamental way when the Court in 1954 resurrected the 14th Amendment's promise of racial equality in Brown v. Board and subsequently dismantled Jim Crow.
Since then, the Court has cited the 14th Amendment to extend the rights of citizens in landmark decisions, including Roe v. Wade and the more recent ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
All of this could change once again.
Trump has chosen his nominee from a list compiled by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. Without question, these groups are committed to a hard-right agenda.
Our country deserves better.
Make your voice heard today! Contact the following six key senators – whose votes could make the difference – and tell them not to be a rubber stamp for the Federalist Society. Tell them to vote "no" on this Supreme Court nomination.
Joe Manchin (WV)
Phone: (202) 224-3954
Twitter: @Sen_JoeManchin
Joe Donnelly (IN)
Phone: (202) 224-4814
Twitter: @SenDonnelly
Heidi Heitkamp (ND)
Phone: (202) 224-2043
Twitter: @SenatorHeitkamp
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Phone: (202) 224-6665
Twitter: @lisamurkowski
Susan Collins (ME)
Phone: (202) 224-2523
Twitter: @SenatorCollins
Doug Jones (AL)
Phone: (202) 224-4124
Twitter: @SenDougJones
Phone: (202) 224-2523
Twitter: @SenatorCollins
Doug Jones (AL)
Phone: (202) 224-4124
Twitter: @SenDougJones
NDP MPs Not Running in 2019 Federal Election
This report was published on YouTube on July 9.
Source: CBC News
Trudeau Extending Latvia Mission to Deter Russian Aggression
This report was published on YouTube on July 9.
Source: CBC News
Greyhound Cancels Bus Service in Most of Western Canada
This report was published on YouTube on July 9.
Source: CBC News
Gov. Cuomo Discusses Effort to Protect Women's Reproductive Rights
This video was published on YouTube on July 9.
Source: NYGovCuomo
The Christians Should Be Upset With Cuomo, Not the Gay Community
What You Should Know
By Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz
District 18 County Bronx, New York
You
should know that Governor Cuomo is facing a democratic primary from a
member of the LGBTQ community by the name of Cynthia Nixon, an actress
and a well-known community activist.
It
is important for you to know that Cynthia Nixon and many other members
of the LGBTQ community in New York State are married to another member
of the same sex thanks to Governor Cuomo and Senator Thomas “Tom”
Duane.
If
there is same sex marriage in New York State, it’s owed to the direct
intervention of that duo – Governor Cuomo and Senator Tom Duane. Believe
me, I know, I was there and I was the only Democrat in NY Senate that
for four years, because of my religious belief, I voted against same sex
marriage.
The
Senate needed 32 votes to pass the legislation and we were only 32
Democrats. Governor Cuomo and Senator Tom Duane worked day and night
to convince every single Democrat in the NYS Senate to vote for same
sex marriage. They did convince everyone else, but me.
You
should know that Governor Cuomo went out of his way to sway 4
Republican Senators – Senators Stephen M. Saland, Jim Alesi, Mark
Grisanti
and Roy J. McDonald - to vote in favor of same sex marriage. How did he
do it? What did he promise them? What were the negotiations? Who knows?
But, the fact of the matter is Governor Cuomo and Senator Duane
achieved the task of having same sex marriage approved
in New York State.
Now,
a member of the LGBTQ community and other leaders of the community are
going all the way out to kick Governor Cuomo out of the Governorship.
After what he did, this is what he is getting in return? It is
mind-boggling.
I
could understand them getting angry at me, spending their money trying
to get me out and shooting all kind of political diatribes against
me. Because as a pastor and minister, I was the one opposing gay
marriage. But attacking Governor Cuomo and going after him? I don’t
understand that.
It
is us, the religious community that should be angry at Governor Cuomo,
but we are not! Gay marriage is already a law; we have learned to
live with it and to respect it, even though we disagree with it.
I am Councilman Rev Ruben Diaz, Sr. and this is what you should know.
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