ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEMAKING |
|
Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of Apartheid, Persecution
In a new report, Human Rights Watch said the Israeli government is guilty of the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution for its treatment of Palestinians within Israel and in the Palestinian territories. Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the report as “preposterous and false” and accused the group of having anti-Israel bias. MORE
|
|
|
|
Building Community Safety Rooted in Nonviolence
Safety is a priority. It’s on everyone’s minds. Violence is an epidemic in the United States. From police brutality to mass shootings to hate crimes, citizens are seeking solutions for how to handle conflict in ways that don’t cause further harm. Pace e Bene outlines examples of nonviolent methods being utilized across the country. MORE
|
|
|
|
US Intelligence Says Iran Not Engaged in Weaponization Activities
Iran has not conducted “key nuclear weapons-development activities that … would be necessary to produce a nuclear device,” according to the 2021 Worldwide Threat Assessment from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The DNI assessed that unless Iran receives sanctions relief, it will consider significant actions like 60 percent uranium enrichment and/or construction of a new 40-Megawatt heavy water reactor. MORE
|
|
|
|
Nuclear Weapons Community Cost Calculator
Each April, Dr. Bob Dodge, of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles (PSR-LA), and co-founder of Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions, calculates the cost of nuclear weapons programs to our communities. For Fiscal Year 2021, he has calculated the total nuclear weapons drain on our economy at $75 billion. PSR-LA provides a table with costs broken down for major cities throughout the United States. MORE
|
|
|
|
TAKE ACTION: Congress Must Act to Raise the Refugee Admissions Level
The Guaranteed Refugee Admissions Ceiling Enhancement Act, or GRACE Act, would protect and restore the U.S. resettlement program by setting a minimum refugee admissions goal of 125,000 and increasing congressional oversight over the administration's operations of the resettlement program. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service asks us to tell Congress to raise the refugee admissions level by passing the GRACE Act. TAKE ACTION
|
|
|
|
Climate Change Creates Migrants. Biden Considers Protections
The Biden administration is looking into offering asylum to migrants displaced by climate change. No other nation currently offers asylum or other legal protections to people displaced specifically because of climate change. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) also intends to reintroduce legislation that offers protections for people displaced by climate change who otherwise don’t fit the current legal definition of a refugee. MORE
|
|
|
|
Fewer Migrant Children Held in Border Detention Facilities, But Challenges Remain
The number of minors in Customs and Border Protection custody dropped by about 50% since late March to about 2,800 last week. About 400 minors continue to arrive at the border daily, but they are being transferred into Health & Human Services custody more quickly after the agency added more bed space in convention centers and military bases. The agency now houses about 19,000 minors and more than half are in these temporary shelters. MORE
|
|
|
|
Carbon Offsets Aren’t Enough. We Need to Remove Carbon from the Atmosphere.
The terms “carbon offset” and “carbon removal” are often confused. But carbon offsets don’t actually remove CO2 from the air. Purchasing offsets means that if someone, for example, one metric ton of carbon, then one ton is avoided somewhere else by building a wind farm or evading deforestation. But that original ton is still out there, wreaking havoc on our climate. What we need to do is literally remove carbon dioxide from the air. MORE
|
|
|
|
Biden Announces Goal of Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Half
President Biden has pledged that the U.S. will cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2030. He made the announcement last week at the Leaders Climate Summit, a meeting of more than 40 world leaders hosted by the White House. In his opening remarks, Mr. Biden said the U.S. can reach the emissions target through his jobs plan — a $3 trillion infrastructure package meant to revitalize the nation's energy grid and create a net-zero economy. MORE
|
|
|
|
Manhattan to Stop Prosecuting Prostitution, Part of Nationwide Shift
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. has announced that his office will no longer prosecute individuals facing prostitution and unlicensed massage charges, focusing instead on sex buyers and traffickers. That means, in effect, that the office will continue to prosecute pimps and sex traffickers, as well as people who pay for sex -- those who exploit or otherwise profit from prostitution. MORE
|
|
|
|
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT |
|
Woman's Murder by Alleged Harasser in Kuwait Sparks Protest, Outrage
Women in Kuwait demanded better protections from male violence at a protest last week in response to the murder of a woman by a man her family said they had previously reported to authorities for harassing her. The killing comes two months after a movement began in Kuwait online calling for better protection for women from harassment and violence, dubbed Kuwait's #metoo moment. MORE
|
|
|
|
After Failures to Curb Sexual Assault, a Move Toward a Major Shift in Military Law
After decades of failing to curb sexual assault in the armed forces, lawmakers and Pentagon leaders are poised to make major changes in military laws that many experts have long argued stand in the way of justice. A bill championed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), would remove military commanders from a role in prosecuting service members for sexual assault and has gained support from scores of key members of Congress. MORE
|
|
|
|
HUMAN RIGHTS AND INCOME INEQUALITY |
|
TAKE ACTION: Tell Senate: Statehood for Washington, D.C.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would make Washington, D.C., a state. Now the fate of the more than 700,000 Americans who live in D.C. — which has more residents than either Vermont or Wyoming, and where a majority of those residents are people of color — is in the hands of the Senate. Public Citizen invites us to tell the Senate to join the House in passing statehood for Washington, D.C TAKE ACTION
|
|
|
|
Biden Seeks $80 Billion to Beef Up I.R.S. Audits of High-Earners
President Biden, looking to ensure that the wealthy shoulder their share of the nation’s tax burden, will propose giving the Internal Revenue Service an extra $80 billion over the next 10 years to help crackdown on tax evasion by high-earners and large corporations. If the president is successful, individuals who earn more than $400,000 a year would face a higher likelihood of a tax audit. Administration officials believe it will raise $700 billion over a decade. MORE
|
|
|
|
Judge Orders L.A. City and County to Offer Shelter to Everyone on Skid Row by Fall
A federal judge overseeing a sprawling lawsuit about homelessness in Los Angeles ordered the city and county to offer some form of shelter or housing to the entire homeless population of skid row by October. Judge David O. Carter told the city and county that they must offer single women and unaccompanied children on skid row a place to stay within 90 days, help families within 120 days, and finally, by Oct. 18, offer every homeless person housing or shelter. MORE
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
