ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEMAKING |
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TAKE ACTION: Repeal the U.S. Military Selective Service Act
The U.S. government is going to either expand draft registration to young women or it is going to end this outdated barbarism of forcing people into wars. A federal district court has ruled that male-only draft registration is unconstitutional. Contrary to popular myth a draft does not decrease the chances or duration or extent of wars. World Beyond War urges us to tell Congress to repeal the U.S. Military Selective Service Act. TAKE ACTION
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Debating Exit from Afghanistan, Biden Rejected Generals’ Views
Over two decades of war, the Pentagon had fended off the political instincts of elected leaders frustrated with the grind of Afghanistan. But President Biden refused to be persuaded. While the number of American forces in Afghanistan steadily decreased to 2,500, Defense Department leaders still cobbled together a military effort even as it failed, spectacularly, to defeat the Taliban in a place that has crushed foreign occupiers for 2,000 years. MORE
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The Death of George Floyd Reignited a Movement. What Happens Now?
George Floyd had been dead only hours before the movement began. Driven by a terrifying video and word of mouth, people flooded the South Minneapolis intersection where he was killed shortly after Memorial Day, demanding an end to police violence against Black Americans. The moment of collective grief and anger swiftly gave way to a yearlong, nationwide deliberation on what it means to be Black in America. MORE
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Progress Made at Iran Nuclear Talks, But More 'Hard Work' Needed, EU Envoy Says
Iran and world powers have made progress in talks to save their 2015 nuclear accord, but “much more hard work" is necessary to rescue the deal, a senior European Union official said this week. Discussions in Vienna between Iran, China, Russia, France, Britain, Germany, along with the indirect participation of the United States, are being chaired by the European Union. MORE
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China Is Not the New Soviet Union
China has become the new Soviet Union strawman for advocates of bigger military budgets. But there’s one big difference between China and the former Soviet Union: while the Soviet military and nuclear arsenal were a fair match for the United States, China’s simply aren’t. By many measures, it's not even close. When comparing the size of defense budgets, the number of nuclear weapons, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, the United States has a staggering lead. MORE
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TAKE ACTION: Protect Immigrant Children and Support the PROKID Act
The Protection of Kids in Detention Act, or PROKID Act, would provide a critical layer of oversight and ensure transparency, protection, and accountability for all immigrant children in government custody. The PROKID Act is an important step towards guaranteeing what any parent would want – the safety and well-being of their children. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service invites us to tell Congress to support the PROKID Act today. TAKE ACTION
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Immigrant Parents Struggle to Find Unaccompanied Children in Federal Custody
A Guatemalan man living in Kansas calls a hotline every night to locate his two daughters, 9 and 13, who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and are now in federal custody. Every time, he is told to wait for a call from a case manager to begin the reunification process. The girls, like nearly 20,000 other children in HHS care, recently immigrated to the U.S. as part of a wave of unaccompanied children that has stretched the limits of the U.S. immigration system. MORE
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After Criticism, Biden Says He Will Raise U.S. Cap on Refugee Admissions
President Joe Biden said last weekend he will raise the cap on the number of refugees admitted this year to the United States, a day after he drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers for agreeing to keep the historically low figure in place. Biden had signed an order on Friday extending a 15,000 refugee admissions cap issued by his predecessor Donald Trump through the end of September. MORE
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US and China Commit to Cooperating on Climate Crisis
The US and China have “committed to cooperating” on the pressing issue of climate change, the two sides said in a joint statement, following a visit to Shanghai by US climate envoy John Kerry. President Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese president Xi Jinping, to take part in the two-day virtual summit on the climate crisis starting on Thursday April 22, Earth Day. MORE
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Power Companies Back Regulations That Cut Electric Emissions 80 Percent
Thirteen power companies, including Exelon and PSEG, want the Biden administration to pass an electricity standard that would reduce the power sector’s emissions by 80 percent in less than a decade. In a letter this week to President Biden, the businesses called for a “broad suite” of decarbonization policies that they say fall in line with the administration’s climate goals. MORE
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Interior Head Haaland Revokes Trump-Era Orders on Energy
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has revoked a series of Trump administration orders that promoted fossil fuel development on public lands and waters and issued a separate directive that prioritizes climate change in agency decisions. The orders revoke Trump-era directives that boosted coal, oil, and gas leasing on federal lands and promoted what Trump called “energy dominance” in the United States. MORE
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Suburban Chicago Woman Gets 6.5 Years for Labor Trafficking
A suburban Chicago woman has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of labor trafficking. Concepcion Malinek, 50, of Cicero helped at least 10 Guatemalan immigrants enter the U.S. illegally, forbid them from leaving her home, and forced them to work in a factory to pay off their debts to her. Malinek threatened the victims with deportation and separation from their children to force the victims to continue to work. MORE
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Unseen: The Boy Victims of the Sex Trade
Boys and young men lured into the sex trade and victimized in ways the public generally assumes applies mostly to women and girls. But there is growing evidence that across the United States there are likely thousands of male victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, far more than previously understood. MORE
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT |
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UN Chief: 52 Armies and Groups Suspected of Sexual Violence
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a spike in gender-based violence last year and combatants continued to use sexual violence “as a cruel tactic of war” and political repression in a number of countries, according to a U.N. report. The report lists 52 parties “credibly suspected” of responsibility “for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence” in conflicts on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council. MORE
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‘Marry Your Rapist’ Laws In 20 Countries Still Allow Perpetrators to Escape Justice
Twenty countries still allow rapists to marry their victims to escape criminal prosecution, according to a new report. Russia, Thailand, and Venezuela are among the countries that allow men to have rape convictions overturned if they marry the women or girls they have assaulted. Advocates say the laws reflect a culture “that does not think women should have bodily autonomy and that they are the property of the family”. MORE
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HUMAN RIGHTS AND INCOME INEQUALITY |
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TAKE ACTION: Tell President Biden to Support a Strengthened Estate Tax
Strengthening the federal estate tax would curb the creation of dangerous family dynasties while raising hundreds of billions of dollars for jobs and public services. Under such a plan, the estate tax would only be paid on fortunes above $3.5 million. Americans for Tax Fairness, urge us to sign a petition to President Biden calling on him to include a strengthened estate tax in his expected tax and investment plan. TAKE ACTION
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One in Four Faced Food Insecurity in America’s Year of Hunger, Investigation Shows
Black families in the US have gone hungry at two to three times the rate of white families over the course of the pandemic, according to new analysis which suggests political squabbling over COVID aid exacerbated a crisis that left millions of children without enough to eat. Families with children have suffered most: the rate of hunger has been 41% to 83% higher for households with children than adult-only ones. MORE
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Quinton Jones is scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas on May 19 for the murder of Berthena Bryant. Please hold Quintin, Berthena, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION
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