Daily News Digest Archives
Daily News Digest November 2, 2016
Images of the Day:
Bendib: The Winner, by KO
Bendib: Pipeline
Quote of the Day:
. . .In 1968, having won landmark civil rights legislation, King strenuously urged racial justice advocates to shift from a civil rights to a human rights paradigm. A human rights approach, he believed, would offer far greater hope than the civil rights model had provided for those determined to create a thriving, multiracial democracy free from racial hierarchy. It would offer a positive vision of what we can strive for-a society in which people of all races are treated with dignity and have the right to food, shelter, health care, education, and security.“We must see the great distinction between a reform movement and a revolutionary movement,” he said. “We are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society. The Poor People’s Movement seemed poised to unite poor people of all colors in a bold challenge to the prevailing economic and political system. . . . — Michelle Alexander, Think Outside the Bars Why real justice means fewer prisons.
Videos of the Day:
All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of IF Stone
General Wesley Clark: The US will attack 7 countries in 5 years
UN Peace Council: The US media is lying to the American people. The war in Syria is not a civil war, it’s a proxy invasion by the United States
U.S.
The Drones are Coming Home to Roost: North Dakota becomes first US state to legalise use of armed drones by police – Natives News
Dakota Access pipeline protests: UN group investigates human rights abuses Native American protesters have reported excessive force, unlawful arrests and mistreatment in jail where activists describe being held in cages A United Nations group is investigating allegations of human rights abuses by North Dakota law enforcement against Native American protesters, with indigenous leaders testifying about “acts of war” they observed during mass arrests at an oil pipeline protest. By Sam Levin in Cannon Ball, North Dakota
Iraqi Army Discovers US-Made Missiles in ISIS’s Military Base in Mosul
Environment:
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
1 Dead, Several Injured in Colonial Pipeline Explosion Less than two months after the Colonial Pipeline in Shelby County, Alabama, spilled 336,000 gallons of gasoline, the same pipeline exploded, killing one and injuring at least five. The pipeline is shut once again, threatening gasoline supplies in the East and sending prices soaring. By Dan Zukowski
North Dakota Had 292 Oil Spills in 2 Years – Officials Only Disclosed 1 to The Public Almost 300 oil pipeline spills occurred in North Dakota in less than two years, and the public were not alerted about any of them.
Anonymous donor pays $2.5 million to release everyone arrested at the Dakota Access Pipeline Family members of Caddo Nation chairwoman Tamara Francis-Fourkiller said an anonymous donor paid $2.5 million late Saturday afternoon to release everyone arrested on Thursday at the Dakota Access Pipeline site.
Exposed: Husband of FERC Official Responsible for Reviewing New Spectra Energy Pipelines Consults For Spectra on Related Project Phil Suter, the spouse of Maggie Suter, a high-ranking official at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) who led the review for two gas pipeline projects by Spectra Energy, is a paid consultant for Spectra on a related pipeline project. Experts on ethics in government regulatory bodies told DeSmog this case raises serious red flags, amounting to what appears to be a conflict of interest. By Itai Vardi
The Best Election That Money Can Buy: How Much Are Fossil Fuel Interests Spending to Sway Your Vote for Congress? By Mike Gaworecki
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Black Agenda Report for Week of Oct 31, 2016
The Missing Black Movement Ingredient: Self-Determination:
The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations will hold a National Black Political Convention on Self-Determination, November 5 and 6, in Washington, DC. “If you go through history, the fundamental thing that we’ve confronted is the loss of our self-determination as a people,” said Black Is Back chairman Omali Yeshitela. The Coalition has put forward a 19-point position on the need to put self-determination at the center of Black struggles. The 19 points “give us the beginning of some kind of a plan,” said Yeshitela. “It says, specifically, here is our view on self-determination and the subject of reparations, Black women, the question of police invasion and brutality in our community,” and many other issues.
The “Moment of Truth” for the Empire:
“We are entering a new moment in American history,” said Dr. Anthony Monteiro, the Duboisian scholar and Black Radical Organizing Committee activist. “It is a moment of truth for the ruling class, for the ruling elite. What do they do when they are trumped at home — forgive the pun — and trumped internationally?” he asked. “Do they back off of empire, do they readjust, do they become peaceful, or do they up the stakes and attempt to resolve all problems with war abroad and oppression at home?” Dr. Monteiro is one of the planners of a Revolutionary Science for Radical Times conference, in Philadelphia, December 9 and 10.
Hard Times in Venezuela:
Despite what the corporate media are telling you, Venezuelans are not starving and the Socialist Party government will not be toppled any time soon. However, the rightwing opposition “is smelling blood” due to an economic crisis that “has made it very difficult for people to get access to imported goods, and many goods are very expensive,” said political science professor George Caccariello-Maher, of Drexel University, author of We Created Chavez: A People’s History of the Venezuelan Revolution. Corruption, smuggling and money speculation are serious problems, said Caccariello-Maher. However, the strength of the Left lies in the nation’s grassroots organizations and communes. “It would be very difficult for an opposition government to come in and attempt to throw them off their land” or return property to the private sector, he said.
Happy Birthday, Rev. Pinkney!
Benton Harbor, Michigan, human rights leader Rev. Edward Pinkney, currently serving a 2 ½ to 10 year sentence on election tampering charges, turned 68 years old this month. Marcina Cole, a courtroom observer at Pinkney’s trial, teamed up with David Sole, of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice, to throw a birthday party for Pinkney, in absentia, in Detroit. “He’s definitely in support of other inmates, doing ministry work, and looking forward to being out very soon,” said Cole. She reported that Green Party vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka visited the political prisoner on October 19. “This was historical,” said Cole. “They know how powerful Rev. Pinkney is” — and that he has allies on the outside.
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
