Race is polarizing. That has always been its purpose, to divide humanity and exploit those divisions for the benefit of elites, at limitless human cost. In the words of Ruth Gilmore, “Racism, specifically, is the state-sanctioned or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death.” That is the brutal project in which Liang was implicated, the one that led him to take Gurley’s life, knowingly or not. Unless we work together to end the particular violence that institutions from public housing projects to police departments inflict on Black communities, that violence will affect our lives as well – even the lives of those seeking validation in a badge and a gun. For Asian American racial justice activists, this is a time to build our ranks, not close them. We should challenge those in our communities who have bought into individualism and dominant racial thinking, but in ways that allow them to move, by acknowledging where they have legitimate concerns. There will always be those who disagree with us and who are determined to attack our position. We can’t move them and we shouldn’t concede to them. But we can split their base of support by showing that this is not a matter of Black or Asian interests; it’s a matter of both. Working for police accountability, combatting anti-Asian discrimination, and supporting Black liberation are not mutually exclusive. They are, and always have been, in our collective self-interest.
Category Archives: human rights
FAO – News Article: Pollinators vital to our food supply under threat
A growing number of pollinator species worldwide are being driven toward extinction by diverse pressures, many of them human-made, threatening millions of livelihoods and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of food supplies, according to the first global assessment of pollinators. However, the assessment, a two-year study conducted and released today by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), also highlights a number of ways to effectively safeguard pollinator populations. The assessment, titled Thematic Assessment of Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production and the first ever issued by IPBES, is a groundbreaking effort to better understand and manage a critical element of the global ecosystem. It is also the first assessment of its kind that is based on the available knowledge from science and indigenous and local knowledge systems.
Source: FAO – News Article: Pollinators vital to our food supply under threat
Did You Know that Uterus Transplants are for Realz? – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger
in Sweden 9 transplants have already been undertaken successfully. According to the New York Times, the lead surgeon in the American team, Dr. Andreas G. Tzakis travelled to Sweden to learn more about the procedure. In Sweden, 4 of the 9 recipients have since given birth to healthy babies since. Uterus transplants are possible options for women born without uteruses or with uterine damage and who would like to experience childbirth. It could potentially be an option for transwomen. In fact, one of the world’s first attempts at uterus transplants happened in 1931 with a Danish transwoman, Lili Elbe. That particular surgery ended tragically when Elbe died of organ rejection. Organ rejection remains a major danger even today which leads to a rather mind-boggling aspect of the current technology. These current transplants are meant to be temporary. Again according to the New York Times, “any children will be born by cesarean section and the mother will have the transplanted uterus removed after having one or two babies.” Other medical factoids which might interest you. One, the age of the donor doesn’t matter. Two, in the recent Swedish transplants the uteruses came from live donors (usually relatives) through a surgery that takes as many as 11 hours. Three, pregnancy will take place through IVF in advance of the transplant.
Source: Did You Know that Uterus Transplants are for Realz? – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger
Donald Trump to Foreign Workers for Florida Club: You’re Hired – The New York Times
Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach describes itself as “one of the most highly regarded private clubs in the world,” and it is not just the very-well-to-do who want to get in. Since 2010, nearly 300 United States residents have applied or been referred for jobs as waiters, waitresses, cooks and housekeepers there. But according to federal records, only 17 have been hired. In all but a handful of cases, Mar-a-Lago sought to fill the jobs with hundreds of foreign guest workers from Romania and other countries. In his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Trump has stoked his crowds by promising to bring back jobs that have been snatched by illegal immigrants or outsourced by corporations, and voters worried about immigration have been his strongest backers. But he has also pursued more than 500 visas for foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago since 2010, according to the United States Department of Labor, while hundreds of domestic applicants failed to get the same jobs.
Source: Donald Trump to Foreign Workers for Florida Club: You’re Hired – The New York Times
LGBT Safety Should be Placed Under the Constitution: Activists | Jakarta Globe
Human rights activists called on public officials to end discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, community and include it in the country’s constitution on citizen rights. Wahyudi Djafar, a researcher at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), said the discussions around the LGBT community has transformed into discrimination rather than a constructive discussion on protecting the country’s diversity. “The majority of comments on LGBT are based on the matters of morality and religions. This issue should be addressed under constitution matters, where the country has responsibility to protect the citizens without any exception,” Wahyudi said in Jakarta, on Wednesday (24/04). Local government and education officials have touted discriminatory anti-LGBT measures recently, including suggesting bans on LGBT student groups on university campuses and ordering police to halt an HIV outreach event for gay and bisexual men. Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu was the latest public official to comment on the LGBT community. He considered the emergence of LGBT movement in the country as a new form of a “proxy” war to weaken the sovereignty of the state without deploying a military force. “This is a kind of a modern warfare,” said Ryacudu on Tuesday, as reported by Antara news agency, adding that the state needs to be more cautious in reacting to the demands of LGBT communities for equality before the law. “There should be a separate between religious matters and constitution,” explained Wahyudi, adding that the country should protect the LGBT community for whatever it takes.
Source: LGBT Safety Should be Placed Under the Constitution: Activists | Jakarta Globe
Is TTIP in crisis?
The free trade negotiations between the EU and the US in Brussels this week are not going well. This time the Americans are dragging their feet, and there’s talk of a trimmed-down version of TTIP. Bernd Riegert reports.
Source: Is TTIP in crisis?
Spain′s Podemos suspends talks with Socialists to form government | News | DW.COM | 24.02.2016
High-ranking Podemos member Inigo Errejon said on Wednesday his party would suspend talks with the Socialists about forming a coalition government, the same day the announcement of the deal was originally made. The source of contention was the Socialists’ announcement that they had secured backing for the government pact from centrist party Ciudadanos, which Errejon said would prevent “the possibility of forming a pluralistic government of change.” Specifically, Podemos has taken issue with some of the new policy proposals put forth by the coalition, such as tax reforms.
Source: Spain′s Podemos suspends talks with Socialists to form government | News | DW.COM | 24.02.2016
Hopes and `Honour` Killings | Inter Press Service
The first covers the period spanning Feb 1, 2004, to Feb 1, 2006. During this time, there were 988 incidents of honour killings in Pakistan. Nearly, but not exactly half, did not even have FIRs registered for the crime. Firearms were the weapon of choice for doing away with the victims, followed by blunt force injury with a heavy weapon.
‘The idea that Brexit threatens Brits in France is ludicrous’
While many British expats in France are concerned by the thought of Britain voting to leave the EU, many, for various reasons, believe “la belle vie” will hardly change and that it may indeed be better for our hosts.Original enclosures:
Source: ‘The idea that Brexit threatens Brits in France is ludicrous’
Justice Department Wants Apple to Unlock Nine More iPhones – The New York Times
Still, “no one should be surprised that we’re investigating other cases and looking for assistance in those other cases,” a law enforcement official said on Tuesday. Since challenging a judge’s demand in the San Bernardino case, which called for Apple to create a special tool to help investigators more easily crack the phone’s passcode, the company has repeatedly asserted that such a move could not be done in isolation. “Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices,” Apple’s chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, said in a letter to customers. And in a note on its website on Monday, Apple said law enforcement agencies nationwide “have hundreds of iPhones they want Apple to unlock if the F.B.I. wins this case.” Apple has long maintained that it would hand over data to comply with a court order when it was technically able to do so. In a report covering the first six months of 2015, Apple said it had received nearly 11,000 requests from government agencies worldwide for information on roughly 60,000 devices, and it provided some data in roughly 7,100 instances.
Source: Justice Department Wants Apple to Unlock Nine More iPhones – The New York Times








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