BAUAW NEWSLETTER, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2016

North Dakota Deploys Armed Forces to Force Dakota Access Pipeline Onto Treaty Land

Article: Real Video from Today in North Dakota, for those who have strong stomachs and some sense of Justice

			Article: Real Video from Today in North Dakota, for thos... This is really sickening footage from North Dakota, but you need to watch it now and share it widely with your friends and groups, please. I don't know what the...
			View on www.opednews.com	Preview by Yahoo

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Hi everyone, We normally don't use our announcement list for things like this, but we wanted to express how concerned we are about the recent criminalization of journalists and activists covering the events at the Dakota Access Pipeline and elsewhere. If you haven't read about it yet, here is what has gone down so far: • On September 3rd, Amy Goodman from Democracy Now! was on location at the DAPL construction site when private security forces instigated a violent confrontation with peaceful water protectors. She was not involved in the confrontation and she was not arrested, but for simply being present and reporting on the incident she was charged with misdemeanor rioting, which would have landed her a year in prison. Yesterday the presiding judge dropped the charges. • Actress Shailene Woodley, who had been camping at Standing Rock and reporting what she saw over social media (her Twitter account alone has 1.2 million followers), was arrested on October 10th while walking back to her RV after attending a prayer action. She is being charged with criminal trespassing, which carries a $3,000 fine and 60 days in jail, if sentenced. • Award-winning documentary filmmaker Deia Schlosberg was documenting a direct action at a section of TransCanada's Keystone Pipeline in Walhalla, ND, where activists turned off the pipes using the emergency shut-off valves. This was part of a multi-state protest at other oil pipelines in Minnesota and Washington, in solidarity with the people at Standing Rock. Though she did not participate in the action, she was arrested and is being charged with 3 felony counts: "conspiracy to theft of property," "conspiracy to theft of services," and "conspiracy to tampering with or damaging a public service." If convicted, the cumulative prison time for these sentences would be 45 years (more than Edward Snowden faces for whistleblowing on the NSA!). There is a petition to drop all charges here: http://www.howtoletgomovie.com / • 4 journalists from the alternative media outlet Unicorn Riot have been arrested since last month while covering various direct actions. All four were strip-searched unnecessarily after their arrest, and they are being charged with criminal trespassing. There are more details about their arrests here: http://www.unicornriot.ninja/? p=10071 These are only the high-profile cases, and these are only pertaining to the DAPL. There are many more lesser-known activists, journalists, and filmmakers in other social movements being intimidated and arrested, their equipment and footage confiscated, and they sit in jail cells waiting for ridiculously trumped up charges to be fabricated and used against them. This extreme reaction from the authorities is highly unethical and dangerous. That's not really a surprising comment given the track record of governments everywhere, but we must continue to assert our right as journalists, documentarians, and media-makers to report on current events without retribution. One of our members traveled to Standing Rock just last month to document this incredibly brave movement and produced this short piece, which we screened at our most recent film night. We're glad he didn't have any trouble, and happy to support this kind of film work in any way we can. We hope it has been useful to you to have all this information synthesized in one place, and we hope everyone will continue to follow the situation closely and show their support. Thanks for reading! ~ Liberated Lens ~ Sources: 1. Ratner, Lizzy. "Amy Goodman Is Facing Jailtime For Reporting on the Dakota Access Pipeline. That Should Scare Us All." The Nation, Oct. 15th 2016. Accessed Oct. 17th 2016. 2. Funes, Yessenia. "Charges Dropped Against Amy Goodman For Covering DAPL." Colorlines, Oct. 17th 2016. Accessed Oct. 17th 2016. 3. Rickert, Levi. "Actress Shailene Woodley Among 27 Arrested for Trespassing Near DAPL" Native News Online, Oct. 12th 2016. Accessed Oct. 17th 2016. 4. Knight, Nika. "Filmmaker Faces 45 Years in Prison for Reporting on Dakota Access Protests" CommonDreams, Oct. 15th 2016. Accessed Oct. 17th 2016. 5. "Filmmaker Charged With 3 Felony Counts for Documenting Tar Sands Pipeline Protest" RT, Oct. 13th 2016. Accessed Oct. 17th 2016.

Copyright © 2016 Liberated Lens film collective, All rights reserved. If you're receiving this, it's probably because you signed up for our announcement list at a film night or other Liberated Lens event. Thanks for your interest and support! Our mailing address is: Liberated Lens film collective 4799 Shattuck Ave Oakland, Ca  94609 Add us to your address book

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Hey, 

I just signed this Color Of Change petition and hope you will too. 

For kneeling during the anthem to protest violence against Black youth, these kids from Beaumont, Texas have been severely punished. In retaliation for their brave protest, the local executive board canceled their entire football season, suspended the coaching staff, and threatened to arrest their parents if they attended any future games, practices or events. 

We need to support the fight of these children and show them that their protest is heard. 

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/black-children-punished-anthem-protests/?sp_ref=239333099.176.176140.e.558213.2&referring_akid=6495.1114646.XlU2ME&source=em_sp

Love,
Bonnie Weinstein


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Bay Area United Against War Newsletter

Table of Contents:

A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS

B. ARTICLES IN FULL


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A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS

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Come on out for the Leonard Peltier Art Show on Sunday, November 13 from 12 PM – 4:30 PM @ The Saxon Pub, 1320 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX.

Please make a donation online and/or pledge to donate monthly or mail your donation to ILPDC, PO Box 24, Hillsboro, OR 97123 Click on Image for Details

Shout Out to Austin, TX

Come on out for the Leonard Peltier Art Show on Sunday, November 13 from 12 PM – 4:30 PM @ The Saxon Pub, 1320 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX. Join us for art and music with all proceeds donated to the "Free Leonard Peltier Defense Fund!" Come see original artwork by Leonard Peltier and other art donated by local artists. Featuring Music From: Walt Wilkins Johnny Nicholas Scott H. Biram and other guests. SILENT AUCTION from 12:00 – 5:00 PM Items include a "Texas Guitar" signed by Willie Nelson and much more. Hosted By: Connie Nelson Karianne Boushee (Leonard's niece) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1958231191070275/ *..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........* *..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*..........*

Chelsea faces charges related to suicice attempt Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Chelsea Manning ends 5 day hunger strike after Army agrees to medical treatment

Chelsea Manning ended her hunger strike today (Sept 13) after the Army finally agreed to treatment for her gender dysphoria. "This is all that I wanted – for them to let me be me," said Chelsea Manning. "But it is hard not to wonder why it has taken so long and why such drastic measures were needed in order to get this help that was recommended." Chelsea was shown a memo today stating she will receive gender-reassignment surgery under the DoD's new policy affecting transgender service members. If this occurs, Manning will be the first trans prisoner in the US to receive this treatment, setting a precedent that could benefit thousands of transgender inmates. "This medical care is absolutely vital for Chelsea. It was the government's refusal to provide her with necessary care that led her to attempt suicide earlier this year," said Chase Strangio, Chelsea's attorney at the ACLU, "and it was all the more troubling when she became subject to an investigation and possible punishment in connection with the suicide attempt. We hope that the government recognizes that charging Chelsea with the crime of being denied essential health care is outrageous and drops those charges." Read more here

Daniel Ellsberg, Michael Stipe protest
inhumane charges against Chelsea

After years of inhumane treatment from the Army, Chelsea Manning attempted to take her life on July 5th, 2016.  Although happy to be alive, Chelsea is now facing disciplinary charges from the Army related to her own suicide attempt. Read more here If convicted of these absurd "administrative offenses", Chelsea could face indefinite solitary confinement for the rest of her prison term (30 years). Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and musician Michael Stipe released videos today in support of Chelsea. Daniel Ellsberg: "I stand with Chelsea Manning. I hope you will too." Michael Stipe: "I support human rights for all people. As an American patriot it is my duty to stand with Chelsea Manning... This is unjustifiable. It is unfair, and it needs to be stopped." Read more and watch the videos Chelsea will face a disciplinary board later this month, and could very likely be charged for her own suicide attempt.  Sign the petition and demand the government drop these unnecessarily cruel charges against Chelsea

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Chelsea can continue to be a powerful voice for reform, but we need your help to make that happen. Help us support Chelsea in prison, maximize her voice in the media, continue public education, fund her legal appeals team, and build a powerful movement for presidential pardon.

Please donate today!

https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=38591

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Letter from a prisoner involved in the current prison strike:

Texas Prison Officials retaliate against me

for protesting prison slavery

By Keith "Malik" Washington

        On October 5, 2016, I was transferred to the Telford Unit from the Coffield Unit. At Coffield, I had become the target of a coordinated effort by the State of Texas to retaliate against me for organizing a campaign that seeks to end prison slavery.
        There are elements and individuals within the Texas Criminal Justice System that don't want to acknowledge the humanity of prisoners. The Slave Plantation mentality is deeply embedded in the hearts and minds of the oppressor and the oppressed.
        Telford, where I am now housed, is the home of a horrible Solitary Confinement control unit. I was sent to this control unit in order to be neutralized.
        Prison officials are also using their new Social Media Ban to punish me when my friends or supporters post any kind of information about me. It is crucially important that you continue to share with the world what is happening to me and to so many other imprisoned Freedom Fighters who are trapped inside Amerikan prisons. This attempt to silence prisoner voices and the voices of our free-world supporters is a gross violation of the U.S. Constitution.
        Journalist Raven Rakia, who resides in New York City, actually traveled to Texas to interview me for an upcoming exposé she is working on. Texas prison officials denied her access to me!! I just cannot describe to you how dangerous this situation is becoming.
        I attempted to place Raven Rakia and other media correspondents and friends on my visiting list. Prison officials denied receiving any updated visitation forms from me!
        Sisters and brothers, I cannot fight these people without your help. I am asking you to call the Telford Unit in New Boston, Texas -- 903-628-3171 -- and demand that I be granted visits from media correspondents, friends, and lawyers. I am requesting that media correspondents and lawyers attempt to visit me and make contact with me so that I can relay to the public how Texas has framed me and isolated me.
        Our struggle begins with amending the 13th amendment: we must abolish Prison Slavery in Amerika!
        Furthermore, we must confront and question law enforcement agencies who attempt to demonize and criminalize #Black Lives Matter! The murdering of Black people by the police must be addressed.
        Prisoner Rights activist Laura Whitehorn said, "Rather than slaughtering black people outright, the prison system carries out genocide through political repression."
        Sisters and brothers, I am taking a risk by communicating these words to you. I am asking you to do something to help me shed light on the nature of the Texas Criminal Justice System.
        Dare to struggle, dare to win! All power to the people!

Keith H. Washington #1487958
Telford Unit
3899 State Hwy 98
New Boston, TX 75570-5669

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http://www.freeleonard.org/case/

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Defying the Tomb: Selected Prison Writings and Art of Kevin "Rashid" Johnson featuring exchanges with an Outlaw Kindle Edition

by Kevin Rashid Johnson (Author), Tom Big Warrior (Introduction), Russell Maroon Shoatz(Introduction)

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013RU5M4S



Join the Fight to Free Rev. Pinkney!

Click HERE to view in browser

http://www.iacenter.org/prisoners/freepinkney-1-28-15/

UPDATE:

Today is the 406th day that Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan
languishes in prison doing felony time for a misdemeanor crime he did not
commit. Today is also the day that Robert McKay, a spokesperson for the
Free Rev. Pinkney campaign, gave testimony before United Nations
representatives about the plight of Rev. Pinkney at a hearing held in
Chicago. The hearing was called in order to shed light upon the
mistreatment of African-Americans in the United States and put it on an
international stage. And yet as the UN representatives and audience heard
of the injustices in the Pinkney case many gasped in disbelief and asked
with frowns on their faces, "how is this possible?" But disbelief quickly
disappeared when everyone realized these were the same feelings they had
when they first heard of Flint and we all know what happened in Flint. FREE
REV. PINKNEY NOW.

Please send letters to:
Marquette Branch Prison
Rev. Edward Pinkney N-E-93 #294671
1960 US Hwy 41 South
Marquette, MI 49855

Please donate at http://bhbanco.org (Donate button) or send checks to BANCO:
c/o Dorothy Pinkney
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

BACKGROUND:

On December 15, 2014 the Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan was thrown into prison for 2.5 to 10 years. This 66-year-old leading African American activist was tried and convicted in front of an all-white jury and racist white judge and prosecutor for supposedly altering 5 dates on a recall petition against the mayor of Benton Harbor.

The prosecutor, with the judge's approval, repeatedly told the jury "you don't need evidence to convict Mr. Pinkney." And ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE WAS EVER PRESENTED THAT TIED REV. PINKNEY TO THE 'ALTERED' PETITIONS. Rev. Pinkney was immediately led away in handcuffs and thrown into Jackson Prison.

This is an outrageous charge. It is an outrageous conviction. It is an even more outrageous sentence! It must be appealed.

With your help supporters need to raise $20,000 for Rev. Pinkney's appeal.

Checks can be made out to BANCO (Black Autonomy Network Community Organization). This is the organization founded by Rev. Pinkney.  Mail them to: Mrs. Dorothy Pinkney, 1940 Union Street, Benton Harbor, MI 49022.

Donations can be accepted on-line at bhbanco.org – press the donate button.

For information on the decade long campaign to destroy Rev. Pinkney go to bhbanco.org and workers.org(search "Pinkney").

We urge your support to the efforts to Free Rev. Pinkney!Ramsey Clark – Former U.S. attorney general,
Cynthia McKinney – Former member of U.S. Congress,
Lynne Stewart – Former political prisoner and human rights attorney
Ralph Poynter – New Abolitionist Movement,
Abayomi Azikiwe – Editor, Pan-African News Wire<
Larry Holmes – Peoples Power Assembly,
David Sole – Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice
Sara Flounders – International Action Center

MESSAGE FROM REV. PINKNEY

I am now in Marquette prison over 15 hours from wife and family, sitting in prison for a crime that was never committed. Judge Schrock and Mike Sepic both admitted there was no evidence against me but now I sit in prison facing 30 months. Schrock actually stated that he wanted to make an example out of me. (to scare Benton Harbor residents even more...) ONLY IN AMERICA. I now have an army to help fight Berrien County. When I arrived at Jackson state prison on Dec. 15, I met several hundred people from Detroit, Flint, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids. Some people recognized me. There was an outstanding amount of support given by the prison inmates. When I was transported to Marquette Prison it took 2 days. The prisoners knew who I was. One of the guards looked me up on the internet and said, "who would believe Berrien County is this racist."

Background to Campaign to free Rev. Pinkney

Michigan political prisoner the Rev. Edward Pinkney is a victim of racist injustice. He was sentenced to 30 months to 10 years for supposedly changing the dates on 5 signatures on a petition to recall Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower.

No material or circumstantial evidence was presented at the trial that would implicate Pinkney in the purported5 felonies. Many believe that Pinkney, a Berrien County activist and leader of the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO), is being punished by local authorities for opposing the corporate plans of Whirlpool Corp, headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

In 2012, Pinkney and BANCO led an "Occupy the PGA [Professional Golfers' Association of America]" demonstration against a world-renowned golf tournament held at the newly created Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The course was carved out of Jean Klock Park, which had been donated to the city of Benton Harbor decades ago.

Berrien County officials were determined to defeat the recall campaign against Mayor Hightower, who opposed a program that would have taxed local corporations in order to create jobs and improve conditions in Benton Harbor, a majority African-American municipality. Like other Michigan cities, it has been devastated by widespread poverty and unemployment.

The Benton Harbor corporate power structure has used similar fraudulent charges to stop past efforts to recall or vote out of office the racist white officials, from mayor, judges, prosecutors in a majority Black city. Rev Pinkney who always quotes scripture, as many Christian ministers do, was even convicted for quoting scripture in a newspaper column. This outrageous conviction was overturned on appeal. We must do this again!

To sign the petition in support of the Rev. Edward Pinkney, log on to: tinyurl.com/ps4lwyn.

Contributions for Rev. Pinkney's defense can be sent to BANCO at Mrs Dorothy Pinkney, 1940 Union St., Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Or you can donate on-line at bhbanco.org.

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State Seeks to Remove Innocent PA Lifer's Attorney! Free Corey Walker!


The PA Office of the Attorney General (OAG) filed legal action to remove Corey Walker's attorney, Rachel Wolkenstein, in November 2014. On Tuesday, February 9, 2016 the evidentiary hearing to terminate Wolkenstein as Corey Walker's pro hac vice lawyer continues before Judge Lawrence Clark of the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas in Harrisburg, PA.

Walker, assisted by Wolkenstein, filed three sets of legal papers over five months in 2014 with new evidence of Walker's innocence and that the prosecution and police deliberately used false evidence to convict him of murder. Two weeks after Wolkenstein was granted pro hac vice status, the OAG moved against her and Walker.

The OAG claims that Wolkenstein's political views and prior legal representation of Mumia Abu-Jamal and courtroom arrest by the notorious Judge Albert Sabo makes it "intolerable" for her to represent Corey Walker in the courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Over the past fifteen months the OAG has effectively stopped any judicial action on the legal challenges of Corey Walker and his former co-defendant, Lorenzo Johnson against their convictions and sentences to life imprisonment without parole while it proceeds in its attempts to remove Wolkenstein.

This is retaliation against Corey Walker who is innocent and framed. Walker and his attorney won't stop until they thoroughly expose the police corruption and deliberate presentation of false evidence to convict Corey Walker and win his freedom.

This outrageous attack on Corey Walker's fundamental right to his lawyer of choice and challenge his conviction must cease. The evidence of his innocence and deliberate prosecutorial frame up was suppressed for almost twenty years. Corey Walker must be freed!

Read: Jim Crow Justice – The Frame-up Of Corey Walker by Charles Brover

Go to FreeCoreyWalker.org to provide help and get more information.

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TAKE ACTION: Mumia is sick

Contact: Prison Radio  (info@prisonradio.org)

Website: 

http://bit.ly/hepcfaq

Judge Robert Mariani of the U.S. District Court has issued an order in Mumia's case, granting Mumia's lawyers Bret Grote and Robert Boyle's motion to supplement the record.  New medical records documenting Mumia's deteriorated condition from February and March, will be presented June 6th. Judge Mariani has also instructed the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to provide any updates and changes in DOC hep C treatment and policies which affect the plaintiff's treatment. Calling into Prison Radio, Mumia noted:  "My friends, my brothers, it ain't over 'til it's over, but there is some motion. It means that we're moving closer to hopefully some real treatment not of my symptoms, but of my disease. I thank you all for being there. And freedom is a constant struggle. I love you all. From what used to be death row, this is Mumia, your brother."   Mumia remains quite ill. While stable, his curable hepatitis C is still active and progressive. The only treatment Mumia has received over the last 14 months to this day is skin ointment and photo therapy. He has not received the medically indicated treatment for hep C, the very condition that put him in the Intensive Care Unit in March 2015.  Hepatitis C is a progressive disease that attacks Mumia's organs, skin and liver. Unless the court orders the new hepatitis C treatment - one pill a day for 12 weeks, with a 95% cure rate - Mumia's health will remain at serious risk. Before the court is the preliminary injunction motion, which demands immediate medical care. The exhaustion of administrative remedy and the procedural hurdles make it extremely difficult for people in prison to actually get their grievances heard through the review process. The Prison Litigation Reform Act was passed specifically to create these very almost insurmountable barriers to access to the courts. Please read the New Yorker article, Why it is Nearly Impossible for Prisoners to Sue Prisons. In Abu-Jamal vs. Kerestes, one very telling point was when the DOC's Director of Medical Care, Dr. Paul Noel, took the stand. He said that he had never testified before in court! He has worked for the DOC for over a decade.    That meant that no prisoner had access to adversarial cross examination. Before Mumia's day in court in late December 2015, no prisoner ever had the opportunity to expose the PA DOC's blatant lies. Lies so bold that Dr. Noel disavowed his own signed affidavit, and in court he stated that he "did not sign it and it was false and misleading". The knowingly false and fabricated document was put in the record by Laura Neal, Senior DOC attorney. Take Action for Mumia Call prison officials to demand immediate treatment! Dr. Paul Noel-Director of Medical Care, DOC 717-728-5309 x 5312 John Wetzel- Secretary of DOC 717+728-2573 x 4109 Dr. Carl Keldie-Chief Medical Officer, Correct Care Solutions 800-592-2974 x 5783 Theresa DelBalso-Superintendent, SCI Mahanoy 570-773-2158 x 8101

Tom Wolf, PA Governor  Phone  717-787-2500 Fax 717-772-8284                                      Email governor@pa.gov

Sign the Petition now to demand Mumia's right to life-saving hepatitis C care.

Help Mumia's lawyers prepare to demand access to Mumia's medical records from court!

Thank you for keeping Mumia in your heart and mind, Noelle Hanrahan Director, Prison Radio

SUPPORTERS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, AND FREE QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR ALL:

The Oasis Clinic in Oakland, CA, which treats patients with Hepatitis-C (HCV), demands an end to the outrageous price-gouging of Big Pharma corporations, like Gilead Sciences, which hike-up the cost for essential, life-saving medications such as the cure for the deadly Hepatitis-C virus, in order to reap huge profits. The Oasis Clinic's demand is:

PUBLIC HEALTH, NOT CORPORATE WEALTH!


WE DEMAND:

PUBLIC HEALTH, NOT CORPORATE WEALTH!

IMMEDIATE AND FREE TREATMENT FOR ALL HCV-INFECTED PRISONERS!

NO EXECUTION BY MEDICAL NEGLECT!

JAIL DRUG PROFITEERS, FREE MUMIA!

This message from:
Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
PO Box 16222 • Oakland CA 94610 • www.laboractionmumia.org
06 January 2016

Mumia Is Innocent!  Free Mumia!
 

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Imam Jamil (H.Rap Brown) moved

Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown) was moved by bus from USP Canaan in Waymart, PA. to USP Tucson, Arizona.  His mailing address is:  USP Tucson United States Penitentiary P.O. Box Tucson, AZ. 85734  (BOP number 99974555)

Sign the Petition:

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, THE Bureau of Prisons, The Governor of Georgia

We are aware of a review being launched of criminal cases to determine whether any defendants were wrongly convicted and or deserve a new trail because of flawed forensic evidence and or wrongly reported evidence. It was stated in the Washington Post in April of 2012 that Justice Department Officials had known for years that flawed forensic work led to convictions of innocent people. We seek to have included in the review of such cases that of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. We understand that all cases reviewed will include the Innocence Project. We look forward to your immediate attention to these overdue wrongs.
ASAP: The Forgotten Imam Project
P.O. Box 373
Four Oaks, NC 27524

Signed,
Luqman Abdullah-ibn Al-Sidiq

https://www.causes.com/actions/1671495-the-forgotten-imam-jamil-abdullah-al-amin-h-rap-brown?utm_campaign=post_mailer%2Fcampaign_update.cb_71432&utm_medium=email&utm_source=causes

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Major Battles On For over 31 years, Major Tillery has been a prisoner of the State. Despite that extraordinary fact, he continues his battles, both in the prison for his health, and in the courts for his freedom. Several weeks ago, Tillery filed a direct challenge to his criminal conviction, by arguing that a so-called "secret witness" was, in fact, a paid police informant who was given a get-out-of-jail-free card if he testified against Tillery. Remember I mentioned, "paid?" Well, yes--the witness was 'paid'--but not in dollars. He was paid in sex! In the spring of 1984, Robert Mickens was facing decades in prison on rape and robbery charges. After he testified against Tillery, however, his 25-year sentence became 5 years: probation! And before he testified he was given an hour and a ½ private visit with his girlfriend--at the Homicide Squad room at the Police Roundhouse. (Another such witness was given another sweetheart deal--lie on Major, and get off!) To a prisoner, some things are more important than money. Like sex! In a verified document written in April, 2016, Mickens declares that he lied at trial, after being coached by the DAs and detectives on the case. He lied to get out of jail--and because he could get with his girl. Other men have done more for less. Major's 58-page Petition is a time machine back into a practice that was once common in Philadelphia. In the 1980s and '90s, the Police Roundhouse had become a whorehouse. Major, now facing serious health challenges from his hepatitis C infection, stubborn skin rashes, and dangerous intestinal disorders, is still battling. And the fight ain't over. [©'16 MAJ  6/29/16] Major Tillery Needs Your Help and Support Major Tillery is an innocent man. There was no evidence against Major Tillery for the 1976 poolroom shootings that left one man dead and another wounded. The surviving victim gave a statement to homicide detectives naming others—not Tillery or his co-defendant—as the shooters. Major wasn't charged until 1980, he was tried in 1985. The only evidence at trial came from these jailhouse informants who were given sexual favors and plea deals for dozens of pending felonies for lying against Major Tillery. Both witnesses now declare their testimony was manufactured by the police and prosecution. Neither witness had personal knowledge of the shooting. This is a case of prosecutorial misconduct and police corruption that goes to the deepest levels of rot in the Philadelphia criminal injustice system. Major Tillery deserves not just a new trial, but dismissal of the charges against him and his freedom from prison. It cost a lot of money for Major Tillery to be able to file his new pro se PCRA petition and continue investigation to get more evidence of the state misconduct. He needs help to get lawyers to make sure this case is not ignored. Please contribute, now. HOW YOU CAN HELP Financial Support: Tillery's investigation is ongoing, to get this case filed has been costly and he needs funds for a legal team to fight this to his freedom! Go to JPay.com; code: Major Tillery AM9786 PADOC Tell Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams: Free Major Tillery! He is an innocent man, framed by police and and prosecution. Call: 215-686-8711 or Email: DA_Central@phila.gov Write to: Major Tillery AM9786 SCI Frackville 1111 Altamont Blvd. Frackville, PA 17931 For More Information, Go To: Justice4MajorTillery/blogspot Call/Write: Kamilah Iddeen (717) 379-9009, Kamilah29@yahoo.com Nancy Lockhart (843) 412-2035, thewrongfulconviction@gmail.com Rachel Wolkenstein, Esq. (917) 689-4009, RachelWolkenstein@gmail.com Justice4MajorTillery/blogspot

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Commute Kevin Cooper's Death Sentence

Sign the Petition:
http://www.savekevincooper.org/pages/petition.php

Urge Gov. Jerry Brown to commute Kevin Cooper's death sentence. Cooper has always maintained his innocence of the 1983 quadruple murder of which he was convicted. In 2009, five federal judges signed a dissenting opinion warning that the State of California "may be about to execute an innocent man." Having exhausted his appeals in the US courts, Kevin Cooper's lawyers have turned to the Inter American Commission on Human Rights to seek remedy for what they maintain is his wrongful conviction, and the inadequate trial representation, prosecutorial misconduct and racial discrimination which have marked the case. Amnesty International opposes all executions, unconditionally.

"The State of California may be about to execute an innocent man." - Judge William A. Fletcher, 2009 dissenting opinion on Kevin Cooper's case

Kevin Cooper has been on death row in California for more than thirty years.

In 1985, Cooper was convicted of the murder of a family and their house guest in Chino Hills. Sentenced to death, Cooper's trial took place in an atmosphere of racial hatred — for example, an effigy of a monkey in a noose with a sign reading "Hang the N*****!" was hung outside the venue of his preliminary hearing.

Take action to see that Kevin Cooper's death sentence is commuted immediately.

Cooper has consistently maintained his innocence.

Following his trial, five federal judges said: "There is no way to say this politely. The district court failed to provide Cooper a fair hearing."

Since 2004, a dozen federal appellate judges have indicated their doubts about his guilt.

Tell California authorities: The death penalty carries the risk of irrevocable error. Kevin Cooper's sentence must be commuted.

In 2009, Cooper came just eight hours shy of being executed for a crime that he may not have committed. Stand with me today in reminding the state of California that the death penalty is irreversible — Kevin Cooper's sentence must be commuted immediately.

In solidarity,

James Clark
Senior Death Penalty Campaigner
Amnesty International USA

Kevin Cooper: An Innocent Victim of Racist Frame-Up - from the Fact Sheet at: www.freekevincooper.org

Kevin Cooper is an African-American man who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in 1985 for the gruesome murders of a white family in Chino Hills, California: Doug and Peggy Ryen and their daughter Jessica and their house- guest Christopher Hughes. The Ryens' 8 year old son Josh, also attacked, was left for dead but survived.

Convicted in an atmosphere of racial hatred in San Bernardino County CA, Kevin Cooper remains under a threat of imminent execution in San Quentin.  He has never received a fair hearing on his claim of innocence.  In a dissenting opinion in 2009, five federal judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals signed a 82 page dissenting opinion that begins: "The State of California may be about to execute an innocent man." 565 F.3d 581.

There is significant evidence that exonerates Mr. Cooper and points toward other suspects:

  The coroner who investigated the Ryen murders concluded that the murders took four minutes at most and that the murder weapons were a hatchet, a long knife, an ice pick and perhaps a second knife. How could a single person, in four or fewer minutes, wield three or four weapons, and inflict over 140 wounds on five people, two of whom were adults (including a 200 pound ex-marine) who had loaded weapons near their bedsides?

  The sole surviving victim of the murders, Josh Ryen, told police and hospital staff within hours of the murders that the culprits were "three white men." Josh Ryen repeated this statement in the days following the crimes. When he twice saw Mr. Cooper's picture on TV as the suspected attacker, Josh Ryen said "that's not the man who did it."

  Josh Ryen's description of the killers was corroborated by two witnesses who were driving near the Ryens' home the night of the murders. They reported seeing three white men in a station wagon matching the description of the Ryens' car speeding away from the direction of the Ryens' home.

  These descriptions were corroborated by testimony of several employees and patrons of a bar close to the Ryens' home, who saw three white men enter the bar around midnight the night of the murders, two of whom were covered in blood, and one of whom was wearing coveralls.

  The identity of the real killers was further corroborated by a woman who, shortly after the murders were discovered, alerted the sheriff's department that her boyfriend, a convicted murderer, left blood-spattered coveralls at her home the night of the murders. She also reported that her boyfriend had been wearing a tan t-shirt matching a tan t-shirt with Doug Ryen's blood on it recovered near the bar. She also reported that her boyfriend owned a hatchet matching the one recovered near the scene of the crime, which she noted was missing in the days following the murders; it never reappeared; further, her sister saw that boyfriend and two other white men in a vehicle that could have been the Ryens' car on the night of the murders.

Lacking a motive to ascribe to Mr. Cooper for the crimes, the prosecution claimed that Mr. Cooper, who had earlier walked away from custody at a minimum security prison, stole the Ryens' car to escape to Mexico. But the Ryens had left the keys in both their cars (which were parked in the driveway), so there was no need to kill them to steal their car. The prosecution also claimed that Mr. Cooper needed money, but money and credit cards were found untouched and in plain sight at the murder scene.

The jury in 1985 deliberated for seven days before finding Mr. Cooper guilty. One juror later said that if there had been one less piece of evidence, the jury would not have voted to convict.

The evidence the prosecution presented at trial tying Mr. Cooper to the crime scene has all been discredited…         (Continue reading this document at: http://www.savekevincooper.org/_new_freekevincooperdotorg/TEST/Scripts/DataLibraries/upload/KC_FactSheet_2014.pdf)

     This message from the Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal. July 2015

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CANCEL ALL STUDENT DEBT!

Sign the Petition:

http://cancelallstudentdebt.com/?code=kos


Dear President Obama, Senators, and Members of Congress:


Americans now owe $1.3 trillion in student debt. Eighty-six percent of that money is owed to the United States government. This is a crushing burden for more than 40 million Americans and their families.

I urge you to take immediate action to forgive all student debt, public and private.

American Federation of Teachers
Campaign for America's Future
Courage Campaign
Daily Kos
Democracy for America
LeftAction
Project Springboard
RH Reality Check
RootsAction
Student Debt Crisis
The Nation
Working Families


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Campaign to Free Lorenzo Johnson

Updates from Team Lorenzo Johnson Dear Supporters and Friends, Show your support for Lorenzo by wearing one of our beautiful new campaign t-shirts! If you donate $20 (or more!) to the Campaign to Free Lorenzo Johnson, we will send you a t-shirt, while supplies last. Make sure to note your size and shipping address in the comment section on PayPal, or to include this information with a check. Here is a message from Lorenzo's wife, Tazza Salvatto: My husband is innocent, FREE HIM NOW! Lorenzo Johnson is a son, husband, father and brother. His injustice has been a continued nightmare for our family. Words cant explain our constant pain, I wish it on no one. Not even the people responsible for his injustice.  This is about an innocent man who has spent 20 years and counting in prison. The sad thing is Lorenzo's prosecution knew he was innocent from day one. These are the same people society relies on to protect us. Not only have these prosecutors withheld evidence of my husbands innocence by NEVER turning over crucial evidence to his defense prior to trial. Now that Lorenzo's innocence has been revealed, the prosecution refuses to do the right thing. Instead they are "slow walking" his appeal and continuing their malicious prosecution. When my husband or our family speak out about his injustice, he's labeled by his prosecutor as defaming a career cop and prosecutor. If they are responsible for Lorenzo's wrongful conviction, why keep it a secret??? This type of corruption and bullying of families of innocent prisoners to remain silent will not be tolerated. Our family is not looking for any form of leniency. Lorenzo is innocent, we want what is owed to him. JUSTICE AND HIS IMMEDIATE FREEDOM!!!                            Lorenzo's wife,                            Tazza Salvatto Lorenzo is continuing to fight for his freedom with the support of his lead counsel, Michael Wiseman, The Pennsylvania Innocence Project, the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice, and the Campaign to Free Lorenzo Johnson. Thank you all for reading this message and please take the time to visit our website and contribute to Lorenzo's campaign for freedom! Write: Lorenzo Johnson             DF 1036             SCI Mahanoy             301 Morea Rd.             Frackville, PA 17932  Email: Through JPay using the code:               Lorenzo Johnson DF 1036 PA DOC                                       or               Directly at LorenzoJohnson17932@gmail.com                                      or               Directly on ConnectNetwork -- instructions here Have a wonderful day! - The Team to Free Lorenzo Johnson

freelorenzojohnson.org

Write: Lorenzo Johnson
            DF 1036
            SCI Mahanoy
            301 Morea Rd.
            Frackville, PA 17932

 Email: Through JPay using the code:
              Lorenzo Johnson DF 1036 PA DOC
                                     or
              Directly at LorenzoJohnson17932@gmail.com

freelorenzojohnson.org

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B. ARTICLES IN FULL


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1)  Minneapolis Police Officers Will Not Be Disciplined for Fatal Shooting

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OCT. 21, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/us/minneapolis-police-jamar-clark.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&
region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront

2)  Justice Dept. Shakes Up Inquiry Into Eric Garner Chokehold Case

By MATT APUZZO, ADAM GOLDMAN and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM OCT. 24, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/nyregion/justice-dept-replaces-investigators-on-eric-garner-case.html?_r=0

3)  Nearly as Many Migrants Died in the Mediterranean This Year as in All of 2015

By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE OCT. 25, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/world/europe/migrants-mediterranean-deaths-united-nations.html?ref=world

4) They Always Break!' Latest Pipeline Leak Underscores Dangers of DAPL

A major crude oil pipeline in Oklahoma sprung a leak late Sunday night; the company has yet to provide an estimate of volume spilled

byDeirdre Fulton, staff writer

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/10/25/they-always-break-latest-pipeline-leak-underscores-dangers-dapl

5)  Movement in the Eric Garner Case

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD OCT. 26, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/opinion/movement

-in-the-eric-garner-case.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2

Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion&region=stream&

module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

6)  Bundy Brothers Acquitted in Takeover of Oregon Wildlife Refuge

By COURTNEY SHERWOOD and KIRK JOHNSON OCT. 27, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/us/bundy-brothers-acquitted-in-takeover-of-oregon-

wildlife-refuge.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module

=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

7)  Philippine Mayor Accused of Drug Links by Duterte Is Killed by Police

By FELIPE VILLAMOR and RICHARD C. PADDOCK OCT. 28, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/world/asia/philippines-duterte-mayor-police.html?ref=world

8)  Over 100 Held in Crackdown on Pipeline Protesters in North Dakota

By SUE SKALICKY and MONICA DAVEY OCT. 28, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/dakota-access-pipeline-protest.html?rref=collection%2

Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream

_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

9)  After Oregon Verdict, Arguments About the Role of Race

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA OCT. 28, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/oregon-bundy-verdict-wildlife-refuge.html?

rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region

=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront

10)  Flint, and Michigan, Brace for More Charges in Water Inquiry

"As the investigation advances, the situation in Flint remains grim. The tap water is still unsafe to drink without a filter, many residents are afraid to bathe or wash their hands with it, and new outbreaks of Legionnaires’ and shigellosis have worn on already-frayed nerves. Some in Flint say they believe higher-ranking officials should be charged, and soon."

By MITCH SMITHOCT. 28, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/flint-michigan-water-investigation.html?rref=collection

%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream

_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront

11)  Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops

"The industry is winning on both ends — because the same companies make and sell both the genetically modified plants and the poisons. "

By DANNY HAKIMOCT. 29, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/business/gmo-promise-falls-short.html?ref=business&_r=0

12)   Why Dakota Is the New Keystone

By BILL McKIBBENOCT. 28, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/opinion/why-dakota-

is-the-new-keystone.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&click

Source=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=

opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region

13)  Populist Wave Likely to Lift Iceland’s Pirate Party

By KIMIKO DE FREYTAS-TAMURAOCT. 29, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/world/europe/pirate-party-iceland-election.html?ref=world

14)  Greek Homeowners Scramble as Repossession Looms: ‘It’s Like a Horror Movie’

By NIKI KITSANTONISOCT. 29, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/world/europe/greece-economic-crisis-homeowners.html?ref=world

15)  Richer but Not Better Off

"It has been a long, painful slog out of the Great Recession. More than seven years into a halting recovery, fewer than 60 percent of working-age Americans hold a job — not much more than at the trough of the recession in the spring of 2009. ...Despite last year’s gains, the bottom 60 percent of households took a smaller share of the income pie than four decades ago. ...The richest 5 percent of Americans, by contrast, have done much better for themselves — taking in about 22 percent of the nation’s income, 6 percentage points more than they did in 1975."

By EDUARDO PORTEROCT. 29, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/opinion/sunday/richer-

but-not-better-off.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2

Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=

stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront

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1)  Minneapolis Police Officers Will Not Be Disciplined for Fatal Shooting
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OCT. 21, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/us/minneapolis-police-jamar-clark.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront

MINNEAPOLIS — Two Minneapolis police officers followed proper procedure in a confrontation that led to the fatal shooting of a black man nearly a year ago and will not be disciplined, the police chief announced Friday.

Chief Janée Harteau said an internal investigation found that the officers were warranted in using deadly force against the man, Jamar Clark, 24.

Mr. Clark was shot in the head on Nov. 15 in a confrontation with the officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, on the city's north side. The death set off protests that lasted several weeks, including an 18-day encampment around the area's police precinct.

A local prosecutor and the United States attorney have declined to charge the officers, who are both white, in Mr. Clark's death, citing conflicting testimony from witnesses.

"These officers did not dictate the outcome of this incident," Chief Harteau said. "I can say with absolute certainty that I support the actions of Officers Ringgenberg and Schwarze the night of Nov. 15."

Some witnesses told the police that Mr. Clark was handcuffed at the time of the shooting. But an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found that the officers had tried and failed to cuff Mr. Clark, and he was shot in the ensuing confrontation after one of the officers shouted that Mr. Clark had his hand on the officer's gun.

Investigators said Officer Ringgenberg wrestled Mr. Clark to the ground but wound up on his back on top of him and felt Mr. Clark's hand on his weapon. Officer Schwarze then shot Mr. Clark in an encounter that lasted barely a minute.

A separate Justice Department inquiry is underway into the city's response to the protests. Demonstrations were largely peaceful, but one on Nov. 18 included skirmishes between officers and protesters that have resulted in at least one federal lawsuit.

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2)  Justice Dept. Shakes Up Inquiry Into Eric Garner Chokehold Case
By MATT APUZZO, ADAM GOLDMAN and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM OCT. 24, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/nyregion/justice-dept-replaces-investigators-on-eric-garner-case.html?_r=0

The Justice Department has replaced the New York team of agents and lawyers investigating the death of Eric Garner, officials said, a highly unusual shake-up that could jump-start the long-stalled case and put the government back on track to seek criminal charges.

Mr. Garner, 43, died in 2014 on a Staten Island street corner, where two police officers confronted him and accused him of selling untaxed cigarettes. One of the officers, Daniel Pantaleo, was seen on a video using a chokehold, prohibited by the New York Police Department, to subdue him. Mr. Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry for protesters around the country.

Federal authorities have been investigating whether officers violated Mr. Garner's civil rights in his fatal encounter with the police. But the case had been slowed by a dispute because federal prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials in New York opposed bringing charges, while prosecutors with the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department in Washington argued there was clear evidence to do so.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York oversaw the beginning of the federal inquiry before her appointment to Washington, has been considering for months how to proceed.

In recent weeks, the F.B.I. agents who have been investigating the case were replaced with agents from outside New York, according to five federal officials in New York and Washington. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are no longer assigned to the case. It is not clear whether civil rights prosecutors from Washington will work alone in presenting evidence to a grand jury in Brooklyn and in trying the case if charges are eventually brought.

The officials who described the reorganization did so on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Mr. Garner's death, followed by the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and several other high-profile deadly police encounters across the country, prompted nationwide protests over how and when officers use force, particularly against black men. Though the Justice Department has required police departments to stop unconstitutional practices and retrain officers, it has rarely brought charges against individual officers in deadly encounters.

To do so in the Garner case, prosecutors must persuade a grand jury that a crime occurred. Normally, that is all but guaranteed and an indictment follows. But Officer Pantaleo's testimony helped persuade a state grand jury on Staten Island not to bring charges in December 2014. Any decision on charges in the federal case is probably months away, officials said.

The Justice Department and the F.B.I. did not comment.

Stuart London, a lawyer for Officer Pantaleo, said that he had maintained he never violated anyone's civil rights. "This was always a simple street encounter where Officer Pantaleo utilized his N.Y.P.D. training to subdue an individual," Mr. London said.

He added: "If it is true that the Justice Department is rejecting the recommendations of seasoned F.B.I. agents and assistant United States attorneys, this is a gross miscarriage of justice. In our system of justice, politics should never take the place of the rule of law."

Officer Pantaleo was stripped of his badge and gun two days after Mr. Garner's death, and he has remained on desk duty. But as is typical in such cases, departmental hearings that could lead to his dismissal have been delayed during the criminal investigations.

For Mayor Bill de Blasio, the slow pace of the investigation has allowed the Garner case to linger, a reminder of a flash point during his tenure and a sign of his struggle to balance his pledge to champion criminal justice reform with the practical realities of overseeing the country's largest local police force.

The changes by federal officials, while reigniting the investigation, also signal a difficult road ahead. Prosecuting police officers is difficult even when investigators agree about the strength of the case. In the Garner case, the Justice Department is moving forward knowing that a team of agents and prosecutors believes the case should not be brought. If it goes to trial, defense lawyers would probably try to exploit that division and use it to sow doubt. They could even try to call F.B.I. agents who were taken off the case as defense witnesses, officials said.

Another complicating factor, according to three federal officials, is that the disagreement between Washington and New York is reflected in the F.B.I. reports, which often become evidence at trial.

These disputes have significantly slowed the investigation. Since Mr. Garner's death, the Justice Department has opened and completed investigations into fatal police encounters in Ferguson; north Minneapolis; North Charleston, S.C.; and Cleveland. Each was closed except the North Charleston case, which led to federal charges against the officer for shooting an unarmed man in the back as he fled.

The Garner case, though, has dragged on. Two years ago, when Eric H. Holder Jr. was attorney general, he told colleagues that the evidence made clear that the Justice Department should bring charges, according to a former department official. Prosecutors might lose, he said, but the government had to bring the case. Career civil rights prosecutors agreed.

Prosecutors in New York, though, strongly disagreed with that analysis. The dispute hinged on whether Officer Pantaleo intended to violate Mr. Garner's civil rights. Officer Pantaleo has said he did not mean to put Mr. Garner in a chokehold. The officer said he tried to use a maneuver that involved hooking an arm underneath one of Mr. Garner's arms while wrapping the other around his torso. During the struggle, Officer Pantaleo said he feared he would be pushed through a storefront window behind him.

Prosecutors and F.B.I. agents in New York argued that video captured by a bystander supported Officer Pantaleo's account. Civil rights prosecutors in Washington disagreed, saying it showed evidence of willful wrongdoing.

Attorney General Lynch came into office last year in the middle of that dispute. She has a reputation for being deferential to prosecutors in the field rather than dictating from Washington. But she has also heavily relied on the advice of her civil rights prosecutors, who are more removed from the local police departments that they investigate.

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3)  Nearly as Many Migrants Died in the Mediterranean This Year as in All of 2015
By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE OCT. 25, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/world/europe/migrants-mediterranean-deaths-united-nations.html?ref=world

GENEVA — Deaths among migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe are poised to overtake the fatalities last year despite a sharp fall in the number making the journey, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.

At least 3,740 people had died by the start of this week trying the perilous crossing, compared with 3,771 in the whole of 2015, William Spindler, a spokesman for the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, told journalists in Geneva. An overwhelming majority, nearly nine in 10, died on the trip from Libya to Italy.

"This is by far the worst we have ever seen," Mr. Spindler said.

So far this year, 327,800 people have crossed the Mediterranean, about one-half the number who crossed last year. On that basis, the death rate could be said to have doubled, he added.

The sharp rise in fatalities resulted at least in part from changing tactics used by smugglers, who have increasingly resorted to mass embarkations loading thousands of people at a time and using less seaworthy boats, including inflatable rubber rafts that do not last the crossing.

"Smuggling has become big business: It's being done on an almost industrial scale," Mr. Spindler told reporters. The mass embarkation tactic appeared intended to raise profits and reduce the risk of detection, he said.

Around 153,450 migrants have arrived in Italy this year from North Africa, and at least 3,195 people have died on this route, according to the International Organization for Migration, accounting for close to 90 percent of all the migrant deaths in Mediterranean recorded this year.

Among the latest casualties were four migrants who reportedly drowned after a speedboat identified as belonging to the Libyan Coast Guard attacked a rubber dinghy packed with around 150 people on Friday, collapsing one of the dinghy's inflated tubes and causing most of the passengers to fall into the sea.

Sea-Watch, a rescue organization based in Germany, said that the speedboat was labeled Libyan Coast Guard and that it retrieved four bodies and rescued around 120 people. The Libyan Coast Guard has denied any involvement in the incident.

Mass embarkations are straining the capacity of rescue services to cope. The Italian Navy and Coast Guard rescued more than 6,000 migrants in a single day early this month and on Monday pulled 2,200 more to safety in the course of 21 rescue operations.

Most migrants arriving in Italy are fleeing conflict or hardship in Nigeria, Eritrea and other African countries, and they are so desperate to get away that they expect to be turned back and to have to make several tries to get across the Mediterranean, said Joel Millman, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration.

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4) They Always Break!' Latest Pipeline Leak Underscores Dangers of DAPL

A major crude oil pipeline in Oklahoma sprung a leak late Sunday night; the company has yet to provide an estimate of volume spilled

byDeirdre Fulton, staff writer

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/10/25/they-always-break-latest-pipeline-leak-underscores-dangers-dapl

Underscoring once again the dangers of America's unreliable fossil fuel infrastructure, a significant U.S. oil pipeline has been shut down after a leak was reported Monday morning.

Enterprise Products Partners said Monday it had shut its Seaway Crude Pipeline, a 400,000-barrel per day conduit that transports crude oil from Cushing, Oklahoma to Gulf coast refineries. The leak occurred Sunday night in an industrial area of Cushing. The company did not provide an estimate of the volume spilled, but said there was no danger to the public.

"Seaway personnel continue to make progress in cleaning up the spill, substantially all of which has been contained in a retention pond at Enbridge's facility," the company said in a news release (pdf), explaining that the pipeline is a "50/50 joint venture" between Enterprise and Enbridge Inc. "Vacuum trucks are being used to recover the crude oil and return it to storage tanks on-site."

"The impacted segment of the legacy pipeline has a capacity of 50,000 barrels," the release added, "however the actual amount of crude oil released will be significantly less and won't be determined until recovery efforts are complete."

The incident comes after another pipeline rupture in Pennsylvania early on Friday, where 55,000 gallons of gasoline poured into the Susquehanna River, and about one month after a major gasoline pipeline run by Colonial Pipeline Co. had to halt pumping for a couple of weeks due to a spill in Alabama.

Meanwhile, UPI reports that "[t]he release from the Seaway pipeline is the secondassociated with the Cushing storage hub in less than a month. Plains All American Pipeline reported problems with infrastructure from Colorado City [Texas] to Cushing earlier this month."

Environmentalists, Indigenous people, and energy companies are in the midst of a heated debate over pipeline safety. Water protectors and their allies along the proposed route of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) have been saying for months that the project threatens their right to safe drinking water.

"Oil pipelines break, spill, and leak—it's not a question of if, it's a question of where and when," 13-year-old Anna Lee Rain YellowHammer, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, wrote in a recent appeal.

"With such a high chance that this pipeline will leak," she wrote of the Enbridge-backed DAPL, "I can only guess that the oil industry keeps pushing for it because it doesn't care about our health and safety. The industry seems to think our lives are more expendable than others'."

Indeed, referring to the Cushing leak, one observer tweeted on Monday: "That's why we're screaming #NoDAPL! They always break!"

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5)  Movement in the Eric Garner Case
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD OCT. 26, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/opinion/movement
-in-the-eric-garner-case.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2
Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion&region=stream&
module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

More than two years after police officers fatally attacked Eric Garner on a Staten Island sidewalk, the federal criminal investigation is finally moving forward again.

At least it looks that way. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has taken her New York-based lawyers and investigators off the case and replaced them with a team from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, based in Washington. According to The Times, the investigation had been stalled by an internal disagreement over whether to charge the officers — including Daniel Pantaleo, who used a banned chokehold to take down Mr. Garner, an unarmed black man — with violating Mr. Garner's civil rights. Federal prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials in New York, the article said, opposed bringing charges, while prosecutors in the Civil Rights Division thought there was enough evidence to proceed.

Ms. Lynch's decision was immediately attacked from opposite directions, showing what a muddle the case has become. The head of the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, accused her of trying to take a "third bite at the apple" after two investigations had failed to reach what he called a "predetermined outcome" implicating Officer Pantaleo. Other critics accused the Justice Department of continuing to drag its feet by not holding officers accountable.

A simpler, less cynical conclusion is that there is an honest disagreement among the lawyers and investigators and that Ms. Lynch chose the best way forward. It's messy, but it was unavoidable, given the impasse.

Now it's the Civil Rights Division's job to settle, as swiftly as reasonably possible, a case that appalled the country two years ago and has had a perplexing and frustrating aftermath. A grand jury on Staten Island did not return an indictment, which was widely seen as a failing of the borough's district attorney, Daniel Donovan, who is now a congressman. Officer Pantaleo remains on the force.

It all seemed so horrifyingly obvious on the bystander video: Mr. Garner, with no weapon, throwing up his arms. The police officers tackling him, with Officer Pantaleo grabbing Mr. Garner by the neck and shoving his face into the concrete. The dying man saying, over and over, "I can't breathe."

Did Officer Pantaleo willfully violate Mr. Garner's civil rights, or was this an unfortunate mistake by a decent cop who did not want to crash through a store window? Are the officers implicated by their fatally misguided actions in piling their weight on Mr. Garner, pressing his chest into the sidewalk, with hands behind his back — which any trained officer should have known could kill him? Or by ignoring Mr. Garner's dying gasps?

Nothing is likely to be settled for months, and justice is running behind.

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6)  Bundy Brothers Acquitted in Takeover of Oregon Wildlife Refuge
By COURTNEY SHERWOOD and KIRK JOHNSON OCT. 27, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/us/bundy-brothers-acquitted-in-takeover-of-oregon-
wildlife-refuge.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module
=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

PORTLAND, Ore. — Armed antigovernment protesters led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy were acquitted Thursday of federal conspiracy and weapons charges stemming from the takeover of a federally owned wildlife sanctuary in Oregon last winter.

The surprise acquittals of all seven defendants in Federal District Court were a blow to government prosecutors, who had argued that the Bundys and five of their followers used force and threats of violence to occupy the reserve. But the jury appeared swayed by the defendants' contention that they were protesting government overreach and posed no threat to the public.

In a sign of the tension that ran through the trial, Ammon Bundy's lawyer, Marcus R. Mumford, frustrated that the Bundys were not being released, was restrained by four United States marshals after an outburst.

"I knew that what my husband was doing was right, but I was nervous because the judge was controlling the narrative," said Ryan Bundy's wife, Angela Bundy, 39, in a telephone interview from the family ranch in Bunkerville, Nev. "But they saw the truth. I am just so grateful they saw it."

It was not immediately clear how the not-guilty verdicts would affect the government's strategy in another case stemming from the Oregon occupation, or a trial in Nevada that the Bundy brothers and their father, Cliven Bundy, face for an armed standoff there.

The Oregon occupation, at a remote and frigid reserve in the southeastern part of the state, was rooted in antigovernment fervor and captured the nation's attention. It had a Wild West quality, with armed men in cowboy hats taking on federal agents in a tussle over public lands and putting out a call for aid, only to see their insurrection fizzle.

In a monthlong trial here, the defendants never denied that they had occupied and held the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters for nearly six weeks, demanding that the federal government surrender the 188,000-acre property to local control. But their lawyers argued that prosecutors did not prove that the group had engaged in an illegal conspiracy that kept federal workers — employees of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management — from doing their jobs.

Eleven people had already pleaded guilty. One participant, LaVoy Finicum, was killed by the authorities during the standoff.

Ethan D. Knight, an assistant United States attorney, argued that the case was simple: Ammon Bundy had been selective in deciding which laws applied to him and had led an armed seizure of property that did not belong to him.

Mr. Mumford said acquitting Mr. Bundy would be a victory for all Americans. "They're deceiving you," Mr. Mumford said, gesturing to the prosecutors. "It's the government that picks and chooses the rules it's going to comply with."

Ammon Bundy, 41, a business owner, testified for three days in his defense. He argued that the takeover was spontaneous and informed by religious belief. But prosecutors, through witnesses and their final arguments, said the group had used the threat of force and violence, crystallized by Mr. Bundy's call for followers across the nation to come to the refuge with guns.

All seven defendants in the case were charged with conspiracy to impede federal employees from discharging their duties, and they also faced federal weapons charges and could have been given long prison sentences. The unanimous acquittals covered all the charges but one, a theft of government property charge against Ryan Bundy for removing cameras mounted at the refuge, with no verdict rendered on it.

In a statement, Oregon's governor, Kate Brown, said she was disappointed.

"The occupation of the Malheur Reserve did not reflect the Oregon way of respectfully working together to resolve differences," the governor said.

After asking each of the defendants to rise, Judge Anna J. Brown read off the string of not-guilty verdicts. "It has been a long road," she told the jury afterward.

Ammon Bundy's lawyer, Mr. Mumford, then requested that the Bundy brothers be immediately released. Judge Brown denied the request and said that because of pending charges in Nevada, the brothers would remain in federal custody.

Mr. Mumford became agitated. "He is going to be released," he said in a raised voice.

Judge Brown rebuked him. "Mr. Mumford, you really need to not yell at me, now or ever again," she said.

As Mr. Mumford continued his protest, four court officers surrounded him, and in the ensuing scuffle, documents and other items on the defense table were knocked to the floor and Judge Brown ordered the courtroom cleared.

Shawna Cox, the only woman among the defendants, expressed fury at the treatment of Mr. Mumford. "I am happy to be free," she added.

Outside the courthouse, 75 to 100 people gathered after the verdict. One woman handed out American flags. Supporters of the protesters chanted: "Praise God. Praise God."

One of the defendants, Neil Wampler, was congratulated by supporters. "On to the next one," he said, alluding to the charges still pending against his fellow defendants.

Ammon Bundy, of Emmett, Idaho, and his brother Ryan, 43, of Cedar City, Utah, and their father were the poster images of the anger over federal control of vast stretches of Western lands. And the armed protesters — later co-defendants — who joined the brothers in their occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge all had similar longstanding distrust of the government.

Mr. Wampler, of Los Osos, Calif., described himself as a 68-year-old hippie, and Kenneth Mendehbach, of Crescent, Ore., a woodworker by profession, boasted of spending at least two decades protesting federal power. Jeff Banta of Yerington, Nev., was one of the last holdouts at the refuge. At 27, David Lee Fry left a job at his parents' dental practice in Blanchester, Ohio, to join the protest. Ms. Cox has a history of protesting federal involvement on Western lands and is a friend of the Bundys.

In closing arguments last week, the defense lawyers in the case and Ryan Bundy, who represented himself, passionately argued that the government had not made its case. They argued that the presence of paid government informants at the refuge during the occupation muddied the waters and created reasonable doubt about how the decisions of the defendants were made.

"The government was not here to find the truth," Robert L. Salisbury, Mr. Banta's lawyer, told the jury before deliberations began. "This case is about people wanting to be heard, and they're just frustrated with our government."

Courtney Sherwood reported from Portland; Kirk Johnson from Seattle. Julie Turkewitz contributed reporting.

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7)  Philippine Mayor Accused of Drug Links by Duterte Is Killed by Police
By FELIPE VILLAMOR and RICHARD C. PADDOCK OCT. 28, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/world/asia/philippines-duterte-mayor-police.html?ref=world

MANILA — After President Rodrigo Duterte publicly named him as a drug suspect last summer, the mayor of a small Philippine town said he was not worried.

"If you are not guilty, why should you be afraid?" the mayor, Samsudin Dimaukom, told The New York Times in August.

On Friday, he and nine other men were shot dead at a highway police checkpoint, in what the police described as an antidrug operation.

Mr. Dimaukom and his companions are among about 2,000 people who have been killed in Mr. Duterte's campaign against drugs since he took office on June 30.

The bloody campaign has been criticized by foreign governments, including the United States, as well as by the United Nations and international human rights groups. But it has proved very popular in the Philippines, where residents say the killing of crime suspects has made the streets safer.

According to the police, Mr. Dimaukom, the mayor of Datu Saudi-Ampatuan, a town of about 20,000 on the restive southern island of Mindanao, was killed after his guards opened fire on officers.

Chief Inspector Elias Colonia, a spokesman for the local police, said the authorities had information that Mr. Dimaukom and his group were transporting a shipment of shabu, a cheap form of methamphetamine widely sold in the Philippines.

According to the police, a checkpoint was set up along his expected route in the town of Makilala, about 70 miles east of Datu Saudi-Ampatuan by road. The mayor and his party approached around 4 a.m., Mr. Colonia said.

"The suspects were heavily armed and fired upon the law enforcers, which prompted them to fire back," according to a police report. "As a result, 10 malefactors were wounded and brought to a hospital for treatment but were declared dead upon arrival."

Photographs taken at the scene showed various weapons and what appeared to be sachets of shabu near an S.U.V. with bullet holes in the front windshield.

No police officers were harmed, the police said.

Most of those killed in the antidrug campaign to date have been poor and on the margins of society. Suspected of using or selling methamphetamine, they were shot by the police, ostensibly after they resisted arrest.

But in August, Mr. Duterte identified a number of officials he said were involved in the illegal drug trade, including judges, police officers, military officials, mayors and members of Congress, and threatened to go after them. That group included Mr. Dimaukom.

On Thursday Mr. Duterte said his campaign had entered a new phase and would now target such officials.

Contending that "narcopolitics" had taken hold in the country, he said that he had compiled the names of 5,000 village leaders and 6,000 police officers involved in the narcotics business.

"This list of names, this is it," he said, waving a thick sheaf of papers."This is the drug industry in the Philippines."

In what appeared to be a threat to kill everyone on his list, he added, "The human rights people will commit suicide, if I finish these all."

Mr. Duterte has not made the full list public, and critics have assailed his approach as McCarthyism, raising questions about how the names were compiled and why charges were not filed instead.

It was not clear whether the police checkpoint that ensnared Mr. Dimaukom was part of the campaign's new phase.

In August, when Mr. Dimaukom heard his name announced on national television as a drug suspect, he said he was shocked.

"We were really surprised when the president came out to announce it," he told The Times by email. "Not once were we involved in drugs. In fact, we were fighting drugs. I support the president's drug war."

He said he had been wrongly placed on the list of drug suspects because of false accusations spread by his political rivals. He said he was not afraid of an investigation.

"First, our defense is the truth," he said. "If you are not guilty, why should you be afraid?"

Mr. Duterte had ordered those he named to turn themselves in within 24 hours or be hunted down.

Taking no chances, Mr. Dimaukom reported to the local police hours later. In an abundance of caution, he flew to Manila to meet with top police officials the next morning and said he would cooperate with any investigation.

He said that people in his town knew that he was not involved in the drug trade and that they welcomed him back on his return from Manila. As a backer of the antidrug campaign, he said, he had called for mandatory drug testing of all town employees.

"I am prepared for a lifestyle check, or a drug test or any other investigation that we will be subjected to," he said then.

But he objected to the name-and-shame approach.

"The first thing affected here is my immediate family," he said. "It is very painful to be unfairly judged."

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8)  Over 100 Held in Crackdown on Pipeline Protesters in North Dakota
By SUE SKALICKY and MONICA DAVEY OCT. 28, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/dakota-access-pipeline-protest.html?rref=collection%2
Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream
_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

CANNON BALL, N.D. — In a conflict that has been building for months over the fate of a pipeline through this region, tensions boiled over into skirmishes late Thursday night between law enforcement officials and protesters near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation after officers moved to sweep protesters off private land here.

Scores of officers dressed in riot gear walked in a wide line, forcing protesters out of an area they had been camping in, as face-to-face yelling matches broke out. Several vehicles, including what appeared to be a private security guard's truck, were set ablaze. A standoff unfolded beside a bridge, where protesters set fire to wooden boards and signs, and held off the line of officers.

By Friday morning, officers said they had arrested at least 141 protesters on charges including engaging in a riot and conspiracy to endanger by fire and explosion. Both sides complained about violent tactics by the other one: Protesters said officials had used pepper spray on them, and officers said that protesters had attacked them with fire bombs, logs and other debris. One woman who was being arrested, the authorities said, had pulled a gun out and fired at a police line.

The confrontation has been brewing for months, as Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Dakota Access pipeline, rushes to finish its construction by January. Native Americans and environmental activists, many of whom have gathered here, say the $3.7 billion pipeline threatens the region's water supply and would harm sacred cultural lands.

Kyle Kirchmeier, the Morton County sheriff, said that protesters had been asked to move away from a campsite they had created on private land and into several roadways, but had refused. "It forced our hand," the sheriff said. By Thursday morning, he said, the authorities had given up on negotiations with the protesters and moved in to clear the area, where, he said, more than 200 people were gathered. The authorities, some of whom arrived in military-style vehicles, demanded over loudspeakers that people move on, before moving in, going tent to tent.

Protesters were not being asked to leave a second, larger camp that they have set up on federal land, a few miles away. The authorities said that those who were swept off the private land would be permitted to stay in the second camp, where many more protesters have gathered.

But tribal leaders said the land in question is rightly tribal land, and called federal authorities to step in and oversee the actions of local law enforcement authorities — particularly given Thursday's sweep. "We need our state and federal governments to bring justice and peace to our lands, not the force of armored vehicles," said Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. "We have repeatedly seen a disproportionate response from law enforcement to water protectors' nonviolent exercise of their constitutional rights."

Sue Skalicky reported from Cannon Ball, and Monica Davey from Chicago.

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9)  After Oregon Verdict, Arguments About the Role of Race
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA OCT. 28, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/oregon-bundy-verdict-wildlife-refuge.html?
rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region
=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront

Reaction to a jury's acquittal Thursday night of armed antigovernment protesters who took over an Oregon wildlife sanctuary last winter was swift, loud and divided.

People outraged by the verdict took to social media to argue that nonwhite defendants would not have been given such benefit of the doubt, contrasting the acquittal to the way law enforcement and the legal system have treated black people, and to Thursday's arrests of 141 people in North Dakota, many of them from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who had been blocking a pipeline project.

"Apparently it's legal in America for heavily armed white terrorists to invade Oregon," Montel Williams, the former talk show host, wrote on Twitter. "Imagine if some black folk did this."

David Yarnold, president of the National Audubon Society, released a statement saying, "Wild lands belong to all of us, not the people who hold them at gunpoint."

Photo

Readers on the Facebook page of The Oregonianresponded to the verdict. Creditvia Facebook 

Equally vehement, if less widespread, comments came from the occupiers' defenders, who described them as patriots battling a government that improperly controls vast stretches of the West.

Ammon Bundy, the leader of the occupiers, wrote on Twitter: "The people have to insist that the government is not our master. They are our servants."

The surprise acquittals of all seven defendants in Federal District Court was a blow to government prosecutors, who had argued that Mr. Bundy, his brother Ryan, and five of their followers had used force and threats of violence to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. But the jury appeared swayed by the defendants' contention that they were protesting government overreach and posed no threat to the public.

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10)  Flint, and Michigan, Brace for More Charges in Water Inquiry
"As the investigation advances, the situation in Flint remains grim. The tap water is still unsafe to drink without a filter, many residents are afraid to bathe or wash their hands with it, and new outbreaks of Legionnaires’ and shigellosis have worn on already-frayed nerves. Some in Flint say they believe higher-ranking officials should be charged, and soon."
By MITCH SMITHOCT. 28, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/flint-michigan-water-investigation.html?rref=collection
%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream
_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront

LANSING, Mich. — As Flint continues to suffer from a water crisis, one question percolates here in Michigan’s capital: Who will be charged next?

So far, nine low-level or midlevel government officials have been criminally charged as part of the state investigation into the water’s contamination, which has been tied to lead poisoning in children and the deaths of 12 people from Legionnaires’ disease.

In recent weeks, however, there have been growing indications that investigators are focusing on bigger targets, and they seem to be looking more intently at the state’s failure to respond to the Legionnaires’ cases.

“Twelve people died,” said Bill Schuette, Michigan’s attorney general, who is leading the investigation. “That is certainly a high priority for us.”

Some in the state hierarchy appear to be bracing for another round of arrests. Mr. Schuette, in an interview Monday in his Lansing office, declined to speak about potential suspects or additional charges.

But Nick Lyon, the director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, was told in a letter that he is a target of the investigation, his lawyer said. Gov. Rick Snyder, who has apologized for not acting sooner to help Flint but denied committing a crime, has hired lawyers, paid for by taxpayers, and provided the attorney general with documents. Mr. Schuette said “a number” of people had received target letters.

The criminal charges Mr. Schuette has already filed have focused mostly on lead contamination and accusations that front-line workers for the city and state shirked their duties and even fudged data to avoid taking action.

But since opening his investigation in January, Mr. Schuette has said that he will also examine deaths in the Flint area tied to Legionnaires’ disease. His special counsel for the Flint investigation, Todd Flood, said this year that charges could be as severe as involuntary manslaughter.

The water crisis was set off when a state-appointed emergency manager led efforts that resulted in the financially struggling city changing its water supply to the Flint River from Lake Huron in 2014 to save money. Emails, public records and public testimony have documented a pattern of neglect and indifference, particularly on the state level, even as evidence mounted that the water was contaminated.

Emails show that Michigan officials were aware of a possible link between the water supply and Legionnaires’ at least 10 months before Mr. Snyder informed residents, and that internal deliberations about the outbreak focused more on protocol and public relations than the health risks. State officials have defended their response, and a spokeswoman for Mr. Snyder said the governor told the public as soon as he learned of the possible link.

A subpoena naming Mr. Lyon, which was provided to The New York Times and other news outlets by his lawyer, Larry Willey, lists a charge of misconduct in office and a case number, and asks for information related to Mr. Lyon’s job duties. Mr. Willey said Mr. Lyon, who denies wrongdoing, also received a target letter from Mr. Schuette’s team. Mr. Lyon has not been formally charged and remains in his post.

As the investigation advances, the situation in Flint remains grim. The tap water is still unsafe to drink without a filter, many residents are afraid to bathe or wash their hands with it, and new outbreaks of Legionnaires’ and shigellosis have worn on already-frayed nerves. Some in Flint say they believe higher-ranking officials should be charged, and soon.

“People are frustrated because they’re starting at the very bottom,” said Melissa Mays, a city resident who has protested the water conditions and called for the arrest of Mr. Snyder. “We hope they’re working their way up, but it’s going very slowly.”

Distrust of state government remains so pervasive in Flint that a court order blocks the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services from coordinating with county officials on the latest Legionnaires’ outbreak, a restriction that the state has appealed.

“We were concerned that the D.H.H.S. was looking for information to help it defend itself against potential criminal and civil acts” related to past Legionnaires’ outbreaks, said David Leyton, the prosecutor of Genesee County, which includes Flint.

Some have doubted whether Mr. Schuette, a Republican, would be willing to aggressively investigate the state’s Republican administration, while others have questioned whether his political aspirations might motivate him to overreach. Many suspect Mr. Schuette will run for governor in 2018, as Mr. Snyder, a Republican in his second term, cannot run for re-election because of term limits.

But Mr. Leyton, a Democrat who lost the attorney general’s race in 2010 to Mr. Schuette, said he believed the inquiry was “being handled very professionally.”

“If evidence is presented to him that indicates there’s probable cause that ‘fill in the blank’ committed a crime, he will charge that individual,” Mr. Leyton said of Mr. Schuette.

So far, the investigation has cost more than $2.2 million. A federal investigation into the water crisis is also underway, though no one has been charged.

“It’s a lot of work,” Mr. Schuette said. But, he added, “I think people in Flint — the families and, frankly, people in Michigan — they want the reassurance that there’s one system of justice and there’s not an exit strategy if you’re ‘important.’ Everyone’s important. The family in Flint that’s been drinking bottled water for two years is important to me.”

Brian Morley, a lawyer for Liane Shekter Smith, who led the state’s Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance unit and was charged with felony misconduct in office, criticized the investigation, saying it was “the first time I’ve seen prosecuting authorities work hard to try to find a crime where one doesn’t exist.” Ms. Shekter Smith, who was fired, has pleaded not guilty.

The nine-month investigation has also created uncertainty for some of the state agencies helping Flint to recover. Mr. Lyon, the Health and Human Services director targeted by investigators, is leading a department that has helped provide water filters to Flint residents and nutrition assistance to children affected by the lead. The state Department of Environmental Quality, or D.E.Q., where five current or former employees have been charged, is helping city officials manage the water treatment plant even as the possibility of more charges loom.

“There’s no doubt that the filing of charges and investigation causes pause for employees, and not just at D.E.Q. or D.H.H.S., but across the government because people are asked to make decisions every day,” said Keith Creagh, who is overseeing the Environmental Quality Department’s response in Flint. “It’s very difficult.”

In Flint, less than an hour’s drive from the capital, residents are eager for answers.

“What most Flint people worry about is that the people who are held liable, personally liable, they’re worried that it will just be people who are following directions,” said Representative Dan Kildee, a Democrat who represents the city. “In other words, that there will be some sort of sacrificial lambs and that the people who were behind these decisions might not be held accountable.”

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11)  Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops
"The industry is winning on both ends — because the same companies make and sell both the genetically modified plants and the poisons. "
By DANNY HAKIMOCT. 29, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/business/gmo-promise-falls-short.html?ref=business&_r=0

LONDON — The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat.

But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yieldsrou or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.

The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, they would grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world’s growing population, while also requiring fewer applications of sprayed pesticides.

Twenty years ago, Europe largely rejected genetic modification at the same time the United States and Canada were embracing it. Comparing results on the two continents, using independent data as well as academic and industry research, shows how the technology has fallen short of the promise.

An analysis by The Times using United Nations data showed that the United States and Canada have gained no discernible advantage in yields — food per acre — when measured against Western Europe, a region with comparably modernized agricultural producers like France and Germany. Also, a recent National Academy of Sciences reportfound that “there was little evidence” that the introduction of genetically modified crops in the United States had led to yield gains beyond those seen in conventional crops.

At the same time, herbicide use has increased in the United States, even as major crops like corn, soybeans and cotton have been converted to modified varieties. And the United States has fallen behind Europe’s biggest producer, France, in reducing the overall use of pesticides, which includes both herbicides and insecticides.

One measure, contained in data from the United States Geological Survey, shows the stark difference in the use of pesticides. Since genetically modified crops were introduced in the United States two decades ago for crops like corn, cotton and soybeans, the use of toxins that kill insects and fungi has fallen by a third, but the spraying of herbicides, which are used in much higher volumes, has risen by 21 percent.

By contrast, in France, use of insecticides and fungicides has fallen by a far greater percentage — 65 percent — and herbicide use has decreased as well, by 36 percent.

Profound differences over genetic engineering have split Americans and Europeans for decades. Although American protesters as far back as 1987 pulled up prototype potato plants, European anger at the idea of fooling with nature has been far more sustained. In the last few years, the March Against Monsanto has drawn thousands of protesters in cities like Paris and Basel, Switzerland, and opposition to G.M. foods is a foundation of the Green political movement. Still, Europeans eat those foods when they buy imports from the United States and elsewhere.

Fears about the harmful effects of eating G.M. foods have proved to be largely without scientific basis. The potential harm from pesticides, however, has drawn researchers’ attention. Pesticides are toxic by design — weaponized versions, like sarin, were developed in Nazi Germany — and have been linked to developmental delays and cancer.

“These chemicals are largely unknown,” said David Bellinger, a professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health, whose research has attributed the loss of nearly 17 million I.Q. points among American children 5 years old and under to one class of insecticides. “We do natural experiments on a population,” he said, referring to exposure to chemicals in agriculture, “and wait until it shows up as bad.”

The industry is winning on both ends — because the same companies make and sell both the genetically modified plants and the poisons. Driven by these sales, the combined market capitalizations of Monsanto, the largest seed company, and Syngenta, the Swiss pesticide giant, have grown more than sixfold in the last decade and a half. The two companies are separately involved in merger agreements that would lift their new combined values to more than $100 billion each.

When presented with the findings, Robert T. Fraley, the chief technology officer at Monsanto, said The Times had cherry-picked its data to reflect poorly on the industry. “Every farmer is a smart businessperson, and a farmer is not going to pay for a technology if they don’t think it provides a major benefit,” he said. “Biotech tools have clearly driven yield increases enormously.”

Regarding the use of herbicides, in a statement, Monsanto said, “While overall herbicide use may be increasing in some areas where farmers are following best practices to manage emerging weed issues, farmers in other areas with different circumstances may have decreased or maintained their herbicide usage.”

Genetically modified crops can sometimes be effective. Monsanto and others often cite the work of Matin Qaim, a researcher at Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany, including a meta-analysis of studies that he helped write finding significant yield gains from genetically modified crops. But in an interview and emails, Dr. Qaim said he saw significant effects mostly from insect-resistant varieties in the developing world, particularly in India.

“Currently available G.M. crops would not lead to major yield gains in Europe,” he said. And regarding herbicide-resistant crops in general: “I don’t consider this to be the miracle type of technology that we couldn’t live without.”

A Vow to Curb Chemicals

First came the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994, which was supposed to stay fresh longer. The next year it was a small number of bug-resistant russet potatoes. And by 1996, major genetically modified crops were being planted in the United States.

Monsanto, the most prominent champion of these new genetic traits, pitched them as a way to curb the use of its pesticides. “We’re certainly not encouraging farmers to use more chemicals,” a company executive told The Los Angeles Times in 1994. The next year, in a news release, the company said that its new gene for seeds, named Roundup Ready, “can reduce overall herbicide use.”

Originally, the two main types of genetically modified crops were either resistant to herbicides, allowing crops to be sprayed with weedkillers, or resistant to some insects.

Figures from the United States Department of Agriculture show herbicide use skyrocketing in soybeans, a leading G.M. crop, growing by two and a half times in the last two decades, at a time when planted acreage of the crop grew by less than a third. Use in corn was trending downward even before the introduction of G.M. crops, but then nearly doubled from 2002 to 2010, before leveling off. Weed resistance problems in such crops have pushed overall usage up.

To some, this outcome was predictable. The whole point of engineering bug-resistant plants “was to reduce insecticide use, and it did,” said Joseph Kovach, a retired Ohio State University researcher who studied the environmental risks of pesticides. But the goal of herbicide-resistant seeds was to “sell more product,” he said — more herbicide.

Farmers with crops overcome by weeds, or a particular pest or disease, can understandably be G.M. evangelists. “It’s silly bordering on ridiculous to turn our backs on a technology that has so much to offer,” said Duane Grant, the chairman of the Amalgamated Sugar Company, a cooperative of more than 750 sugar beet farmers in the Northwest.

He says crops resistant to Roundup, Monsanto’s most popular weedkiller, saved his cooperative.

But weeds are becoming resistant to Roundup around the world — creating an opening for the industry to sell more seeds and more pesticides. The latest seeds have been engineered for resistance to two weedkillers, with resistance to as many as five planned. That will also make it easier for farmers battling resistant weeds to spray a widening array of poisons sold by the same companies.

Growing resistance to Roundup is also reviving old, and contentious, chemicals. One is 2,4-D, an ingredient in Agent Orange, the infamous Vietnam War defoliant. Its potential risks have long divided scientists and have alarmed advocacy groups.

Another is dicamba. In Louisiana, Monsanto is spending nearly $1 billion to begin production of the chemical there. And even though Monsanto’s version is not yet approved for use, the company is already selling seeds that are resistant to it — leading to reports that some farmers are damaging neighbors’ crops by illegally spraying older versions of the toxin.

High-Tech Kernels

Two farmers, 4,000 miles apart, recently showed a visitor their corn seeds. The farmers, Bo Stone and Arnaud Rousseau, are sixth-generation tillers of the land. Both use seeds made by DuPont, the giant chemical company that is merging with Dow Chemical.

To the naked eye, the seeds looked identical. Inside, the differences are profound.

In Rowland, N.C., near the South Carolina border, Mr. Stone’s seeds brim with genetically modified traits. They contain Roundup Ready, a Monsanto-made trait resistant to Roundup, as well as a gene made by Bayer that makes crops impervious to a second herbicide. A trait called Herculex I was developed by Dow and Pioneer, now part of DuPont, and attacks the guts of insect larvae. So does YieldGard, made by Monsanto.

Another big difference: the price tag. Mr. Rousseau’s seeds cost about $85 for a 50,000-seed bag. Mr. Stone spends roughly $153 for the same amount of biotech seeds.

For farmers, doing without genetically modified crops is not a simple choice. Genetic traits are not sold à la carte.

Mr. Stone, 45, has a master’s degree in agriculture and listens to Prime Country radio in his Ford pickup. He has a test field where he tries out new seeds, looking for characteristics that he particularly values — like plants that stand well, without support.

“I’m choosing on yield capabilities and plant characteristics more than I am on G.M.O. traits” like bug and poison resistance, he said, underscoring a crucial point: Yield is still driven by breeding plants to bring out desirable traits, as it has been for thousands of years.

That said, Mr. Stone values genetic modifications to reduce his insecticide use (though he would welcome help with stink bugs, a troublesome pest for many farmers). And Roundup resistance in pigweed has emerged as a problem.

“No G.M. trait for us is a silver bullet,” he said.

By contrast, at Mr. Rousseau’s farm in Trocy-en-Multien, a village outside Paris, his corn has none of this engineering because the European Union bans most crops like these.

“The door is closed,” says Mr. Rousseau, 42, who is vice president of one of France’s many agricultural unions. His 840-acre farm was a site of World War I carnage in the Battle of the Marne.

As with Mr. Stone, Mr. Rousseau’s yields have been increasing, though they go up and down depending on the year. Farm technology has also been transformative. “My grandfather had horses and cattle for cropping,” Mr. Rousseau said. “I’ve got tractors with motors.”

He wants access to the same technologies as his competitors across the Atlantic, and thinks G.M. crops could save time and money.

“Seen from Europe, when you speak with American farmers or Canadian farmers, we’ve got the feeling that it’s easier,” Mr. Rousseau said. “Maybe it’s not right. I don’t know, but it’s our feeling.”

Feeding the World

With the world’s population expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, Monsanto has long held out its products as a way “to help meet the food demands of these added billions,” as it said in a 1995 statement. That remains an industry mantra.

“It’s absolutely key that we keep innovating,” said Kurt Boudonck, who manages Bayer’s sprawling North Carolina greenhouses. “With the current production practices, we are not going to be able to feed that amount of people.”

But a broad yield advantage has not emerged. The Times looked at regional data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, comparing main genetically modified crops in the United States and Canada with varieties grown in Western Europe, a grouping used by the agency that comprises seven nations, including the two largest agricultural producers, France and Germany.

For rapeseed, a variant of which is used to produce canola oil, The Times compared Western Europe with Canada, the largest producer, over three decades, including a period well before the introduction of genetically modified crops.

Despite rejecting genetically modified crops, Western Europe maintained a lead over Canada in yields. While that is partly because different varieties are grown in the two regions, the trend lines in the relative yields have not shifted in Canada’s favor since the introduction of G.M. crops, the data shows.

For corn, The Times compared the United States with Western Europe. Over three decades, the trend lines between the two barely deviate. And sugar beets, a major source of sugar, have shown stronger yield growth recently in Western Europe than the United States, despite the dominance of genetically modified varieties over the last decade.

Jack Heinemann, a professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, did a pioneering 2013 study comparing trans-Atlantic yield trends, using United Nations data. Western Europe, he said, “hasn’t been penalized in any way for not making genetic engineering one of its biotechnology choices.”

Biotech executives suggested making narrower comparisons. Dr. Fraley of Monsanto highlighted data comparing yield growth in Nebraska and France, while an official at Bayer suggested Ohio and France. These comparisons can be favorable to the industry, while comparing other individual American states can be unfavorable.

Michael Owen, a weed scientist at Iowa State University, said that while the industry had long said G.M.O.s would “save the world,” they still “haven’t found the mythical yield gene.”

Few New Markets

Battered by falling crop prices and consumer resistance that has made it hard to win over new markets, the agrochemical industry has been swept by buyouts. Bayer recently announced a deal to acquire Monsanto. And the state-owned China National Chemical Corporation has received American regulatory approval to acquire Syngenta, though Syngenta later warned the takeover could be delayed by scrutiny from European authorities.

The deals are aimed at creating giants even more adept at selling both seeds and chemicals. Already, a new generation of seeds is coming to market or in development. And they have grand titles. There is the Bayer Balance GT Soybean Performance System. Monsanto’s Genuity SmartStax RIB Complete corn. Dow’s PhytoGen with Enlist and WideStrike 3 Insect Protection.

In industry jargon, they are “stacked” with many different genetically modified traits. And there are more to come. Monsanto has said that the corn seed of 2025 will have 14 traits and allow farmers to spray five different kinds of herbicide.

Newer genetically modified crops claim to do many things, such as protecting against crop diseases and making food more nutritious. Some may be effective, some not. To the industry, shifting crucial crops like corn, soybeans, cotton and rapeseed almost entirely to genetically modified varieties in many parts of the world fulfills a genuine need. To critics, it is a marketing opportunity.

“G.M.O. acceptance is exceptionally low in Europe,” said Liam Condon, the head of Bayer’s crop science division, in an interview the day the Monsanto deal was announced. He added: “But there are many geographies around the world where the need is much higher and where G.M.O. is accepted. We will go where the market and the customers demand our technology.”

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12)   Why Dakota Is the New Keystone
By BILL McKIBBENOCT. 28, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/opinion/why-dakota-
is-the-new-keystone.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&click
Source=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=
opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — The Native Americans who have spent the last months in peaceful protest against an oil pipeline along the banks of the Missouri are standing up for tribal rights. They’re also standing up for clean water, environmental justice and a working climate. And it’s time that everyone else joined in.

The shocking images of the National Guard destroying tepees and sweat lodges and arresting elders this week remind us that the battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline is part of the longest-running drama in American history — the United States Army versus Native Americans. In the past, it’s almost always ended horribly, and nothing we can do now will erase a history of massacres, stolen land and broken treaties. But this time, it can end differently.

Those heroes on the Standing Rock reservation, sometimes on horseback, have peacefully stood up to police dogs, pepper spray and the bizarre-looking militarized tanks and SWAT teams that are the stuff of modern policing. (Modern and old-fashioned both: The pictures of German shepherds attacking are all too reminiscent of photos from, say, Birmingham, Ala., in 1963.)

The courage of those protesters managed to move the White House enough that the government called a temporary halt to construction. But the forces that want it finished — Big Oil, and its allies in parts of the labor movement — are strong enough that the respite may be temporary.

In coming weeks, activists will respond to calls from the leaders at Standing Rock by gathering at the offices of banks funding the pipeline, and at the offices of the Army Corps of Engineers, for protest and civil disobedience. Two dozen big banks have lent money to the pipeline project, even though many of them have also adopted elaborate environmental codes. As for the Corps, that’s the agency that helped “expedite” the approval of the pipeline — and must still grant the final few permits.

The vast movement of people across the country who mobilized to block fossil-fuel projects like the Keystone pipeline and Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic need to gather once more. This time, their message must be broader still.

There are at least two grounds for demanding a full environmental review of this pipeline, instead of the fast-track approvals it has received so far. The first is the obvious environmental racism of the whole project.

Originally, the pipeline was supposed to cross the Missouri just north of Bismarck, until people pointed out that a leak there would threaten the drinking water supply for North Dakota’s second biggest city. The solution, in keeping with American history, was obvious: make the crossing instead just above the Standing Rock reservation, where the poverty rate is nearly three times the national average. This has been like watching the start of another Flint, Mich., except with a chance to stop it.

The second is that this is precisely the kind of project that climate science tells us can no longer be tolerated. In midsummer, the Obama administration promised that henceforth there would be a climate test for new projects before they could be approved. That promise was codified in the Democratic platform approved by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which says there will be no federal approval for any project that “significantly exacerbates” global warming.

The review of the Dakota pipeline must take both cases into account.

So far, the signs are not good. There has been no word from the White House about how long the current pause will last. Now, the company building the pipeline has pushed the local authorities to remove protesters from land where construction has already desecrated indigenous burial sites, with law enforcement agents using Tasers, batons, mace and “sound cannons.”

From the Clinton campaign, there’s been simply an ugly silence, perhaps rooted in an unwillingness to cross major contributors like the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which has lashed outagainst the many other, larger unions that opposethe project. But that silence won’t make the issue go away: Sioux protesters erected a tepee in her Brooklyn campaign office on Thursday. If Mrs. Clinton is elected on Nov. 8, this will be the new president’s first test on environmental and human rights.

What’s happening along the Missouri is of historic consequence. That message should reverberate not just on the lonely high plains, but in our biggest cities, too. Native Americans have carried the fight, but they deserve backup from everyone with a conscience; other activists should join the protest at bank headquarters, Army Corps offices and other sites of entrenched power.

The Native Americans are the only people who have inhabited this continent in harmony with nature for centuries. Their traditional wisdom now chimes perfectly with the latest climate science. The only thing missing are the bodies of the rest of us joining in their protest. If we use them wisely, a fresh start is possible.

Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) is a founder of 350.org and teaches environmental studies at Middlebury College.

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13)  Populist Wave Likely to Lift Iceland’s Pirate Party
By KIMIKO DE FREYTAS-TAMURAOCT. 29, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/world/europe/pirate-party-iceland-election.html?ref=world

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Spain has Podemos. Italy has its Five Star Movement, and Greece its Syriza. Now, the populist insurgency sweeping through Europe is finding a foothold in Iceland, where the Pirate Party, with its pirate flag logo and anarchist leanings, is poised to make big gains in a general election on Saturday.

Iceland is one of the most prosperous, equitable and accountable democracies in the world, and has recovered strongly from the 2008 financial crisis. Even so, the nation’s political elite has been far from immune to public anger. Many voters are willing to risk it all by choosing the Pirate Party, which has spectacularly captured a chunk of the Icelandic electorate despite its niche origins as a hacktivist group.

“When I think about politics in Iceland, it makes me want to vomit,” Sigmundur Knutsson, 62, said in a deli as he ate fermented shark, an Icelandic delicacy. “It’s all about corruption among a very small elite,” he said. “There is something that is not right. Something smells bad.”

The Pirate Party, best known for its activism over copyright law and the protection of civil liberties, is expected to gain significantly in Saturday’s election. It is riding on a wave of anti-establishment fervor spreading across Europe and the United States, upending traditional politics and fracturing mainstream parties.

For the first time in Iceland’s long political history — its Parliament was founded in 930 — a dozen parties were jostling for power over this frozen volcanic landmass. Iceland, which is the size of Kentucky, has an electorate of about 260,000, barely enough people to fill three football stadiums.

Since its formation four years ago, the Pirate Party had gained three seats in the 63-seat Parliament. At its peak of popularity in April, when public outrage had erupted over millions of financial documents leaked from a boutique Panamanian law firm, the party commanded the support of 40 percent of the electorate, according to opinion polls. The documents, known as the Panama Papers, revealed the vast hidden wealth of politicians, including Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, who stepped down over accusations of a conflict of interest.

Although support for the Pirates had since fallen by half, opinion polls conducted by Gallup in the run-up to the election showed that they remained the second most popular group after the mainstream, center-right Independence Party, which was in power when Iceland’s economy collapsed in 2008.

The Pirate Party is unlikely to win an outright majority, but could still gain enough seats to form part of a coalition in the horse-trading that is likely to follow the election.

About 40 percent of Pirate supporters are under 30, and they were pinning their hopes on a party that has promised to install a more inclusive, transparent government.

The Pirates have pledged to enhance direct democracy by passing the world’s first “crowd-sourced constitution,” drafted by Icelandic civilians rather than politicians. Parliament blocked the document in 2013.

The party also wants to redistribute wealth and increase the government’s anticorruption powers. (The country is already the 13thleast corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International, a watchdog group, ahead of the United States.)

“We want to see trickle-down ethics rather than make-believe trickle-down economics,” Birgitta Jonsdottir, 49, the leader of the Pirate Party and a former WikiLeaks activist, said in an interview the day before the election.

Sporting sharp black bangs that sliced across her pale brow,Ms. Jonsdottir wore a black dress and black Doc Martens embroidered with red roses, fitting her self-description as an anarchist “poetician.” (At age 14, she published her first poem, “Black Roses,” about a nuclear holocaust.)

“We need to reboot politics,” she said in her parliamentary office, next to a strip club on a narrow street. She worked on a laptop covered with a sticker that read: “National Security Agency Monitored Device.”

Her party has granted citizenship to Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor who stole a trove of highly classified documents after he became disillusioned with the agency’s reach into the lives of millions of Americans.

In Iceland, a nation where internet penetration is among the highest in the world but social media is still a relatively new political tool, a strategist who once worked to help elect Senator Bernie Sanders president of the United States was helping push the Pirate Party’s message through Facebook and Twitter.

Winnie Wong, who created the viral political hashtag #FeelTheBern, spent a few months training the Pirates’ tiny media team on how to create viral content, and working with party leaders to improve their media presence. (She said her Icelandic was not good enough to create a Nordic equivalent of the Sanders campaign’s famous hashtag.)

“They needed a bit of structure, and we gave them an intensive training on the mechanisms of what it takes to stage a successful insurgent campaign,” Ms. Wong said in a coffee shop near Hallgrimskirkja, a silvery Lutheran church shaped like a gigantic rocket ship.

Soon, videos the party posted on Facebook gathered on average 26,000 views each, she said, equivalent to about 10 percent of Iceland’s voting population.

“We really want them to win,” she said, partly so that the next generation of American lawmakers can draw inspiration from Iceland for a better type of government.

Opponents had criticized the Pirate Party as political lightweights with little experience governing. The party focuses on more abstract, esoteric issues like the crowd-sourced constitution, critics say, when most voters are interested in more pressing topics like rising housing prices, student debt, pensions and the effects of climate change.

Still, those critics, like Birgir Armannsson, a member of the Independence Party, recognize that the political class shares part of the blame for such strong anti-establishment feeling. His party has been in power since 2013, and it was in the governing coalition in the run-up to the 2008 crisis.

“People lost confidence in traditional politics, institutions, society,” he said in an interview. “People are still shocked. It’s kind of like post-traumatic stress.”

In 2008, Iceland’s economy collapsed after its banking sector, fresh from deregulation, grew exponentially. In the years before that, Icelanders binged on credit, some becoming billionaires overnight. By 2006, the average Icelander was 300 percent wealthier than three years earlier. Cronyism became rampant.

When the crisis hit, Icelanders were plunged into debt and banks racked up losses of $100 billion, which amounted to roughly $330,000 for every Icelandic man, woman and child, according to Michael Lewis, the author of “The Big Short.”

Since then, Iceland has rebuilt its economy, thanks in part to booming tourism, becoming something of a model of recovery for crisis-hit countries.

The investment units of banks have all but disappeared. Former financiers have moved on to new careers in the information technology or gaming sectors, or have gone back to fishing, the country’s traditional source of wealth. Iceland has so far sentenced at least 29 senior bankers to prison for their involvement in the crisis. (By contrast, only one executive in the United States has gone to prison. Though major banks associated with the meltdown have paid billions of dollars for their role in the crisis, none of their top executives was held personally accountable.)

“The economy has been recovering,” Mr. Armannsson said, adding that Iceland has low unemployment, low inflation, low inequality and healthy growth.

“You could say we are well off and our outlook is quite good,” he said. “But part of the population is still not satisfied.”

Despite efforts to remedy past mistakes and improve governance, “we are still in a political storm in the aftermath of the financial crisis,” Mr. Armannsson said, sounding genuinely puzzled.

“This is a little bit extraordinary.”

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14)  Greek Homeowners Scramble as Repossession Looms: ‘It’s Like a Horror Movie’
By NIKI KITSANTONISOCT. 29, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/world/europe/greece-economic-crisis-homeowners.html?ref=world

ATHENS — Even after retiring as an accountant, Michalis Hanis dutifully kept up with the mortgage payments on the small house in a suburb of Athens where he has lived for 23 years. That was until several years ago, when Greece’s economic crisis hit.

As part of belt-tightening measures demanded by Greece’s creditors, the government cut his pension by 35 percent. Like his country’s debts, his debts grew.

Now he has joined the tens of thousands of Greeks fighting to save their homes as a sudden wave of repossessions has struck this year, prompting mounting protests across Greece.

“It’s like a horror movie,” said Mr. Hanis, 63, who takes antidepressants and sleeping pills to cope. “You can never relax. I just want to protect my home.”

The country’s creditors have pressed the government to allow the auction of delinquent debtors’ properties, collecting billions of euros that could be used to prop up tottering Greek banks.

Greek banks hold 108 billion euros, or about $119 billion, in bad loans, just under half of all loans given out. Of these, 41 percent are delinquent mortgages.

The real challenge is to address the problem of bad loans in a way that offers some hope to debtors like Mr. Hanis but does not undermine the banking system.

That circle may be impossible to square.

The country has been given three international bailouts worth more than €300 billion over the past six years, but it cannot recover if its banks are foundering.

Since signing the third bailout package in the summer of 2015, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has less leverage to push back against his creditors. Critics say he has made concession after concession despite pledges to protect homes.

Government officials have insisted that homes are safe. Giorgos Stathakis, the economy minister, said in a statement that “first homes are already protected as regards debts to banks.”

The authorities, he added, are also “examining further intervention for debts exclusively to the state,” meaning debts like unpaid taxes.

Yet in the spring, the government lifted a ban on the sale of delinquent mortgages and loans to small businesses. In the summer, new laws were passed that allowed banks to initiate foreclosures if debtors are regarded as uncooperative.

Greeks are furious and feel betrayed. In a campaign reminiscent of citizens’ initiatives in Spain a few years ago, Greek homeowners and their supporters have been staging demonstrations against auctions across the country.

Every Wednesday, when foreclosure auctions are held, protesters gather outside Greek courts, blocking access to legal staff, barging into courtrooms and, on occasion, clashing with the riot police.

Among those protesting are groups like the left-leaning Repossessions Stop and Den Plirono (I Won’t Pay), as well as right-wing groups.

Stefanos Grigorakis of the United Pan-Popular Front, a nationalist group, joined one recent Wednesday protest outside the Athens county court. He said the government’s reassurances were disingenuous.

“It’s deception, so people sit back on their couches,” he said. “Greeks have to wake up. They handed over the public wealth,” he added, referring to the government’s plans for state privatizations. “Now they’re coming to take our houses.”

Such protests have blocked dozens of repossessions in recent weeks. Auctions began in September, when Greek lawyers returned to work after a nine-month strike over cuts to their pensions.

In a speech in Parliament this month, Mr. Tsipras defended his government’s efforts to protect homeowners. He said there had been only 500 repossessions this year and none in 2015, when his leftist Syriza party came to power, compared with thousands under previous governments.

Greek notaries and the association of Greek borrowers said the numbers were higher, though they did not have exact figures.

The head of the borrowers’ association, Vangelis Kritikos, said about 50,000 properties would be up for repossession next year. “People are panicking,” he said. “Every day we get about 500 calls.”

After violent clashes in Thessaloniki at a planned foreclosure auction in the first week of October, Greek notaries said they would no longer attend auctions for primary residences and urged the government to pass a law categorically protecting them.

The deputy finance minister, Tryfon Alexiadis, declared a ban on foreclosures of primary residences with a taxable value of €300,000 or more. Strong words aside, the authorities stopped short of legislation. According to the political opposition and other critics, that was because creditor representatives were in Athens and would have objected.

Negotiations between Greece and its creditors have several times touched on the huge burden that nonperforming loans have placed on Greek banks, but the issue remains unresolved.

Unless it can be solved, Greek banks will be unable to pump money back into the economy. They have already been recapitalized three times in three years.

As is customary, officials of the eurozone countries, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund would not comment publicly while bailout negotiations were underway. Privately though, officials said it was not the first time that the Greek government had ventured a “unilateral action” that it had then revoked.

All three institutions have pointed to bad loans as a major problem, calling for a crackdown on delinquent debtors, particularly strategic defaulters (who have money but do not pay) and the development of a market where bad loans could be traded.

Yannis Stournaras, the head of Greece’s central bank, also highlighted the issue last month, saying that “tackling the high stock of nonperforming loans is the greatest challenge facing the Greek banking system and the Greek economy.”

Greek bank officials, in talks with foreign envoys, have proposed that auctions be conducted electronically to overcome the problem posed by angry protesters at courthouses.

In the meantime, Greek homeowners like Mr. Hanis, the retired accountant, remain in limbo. He took out two mortgages, in 2001 and 2012, worth €71,000. Once his pension was cut, he asked for help from banks, which advised him to take out new loans to pay off the old ones.

“It’s like Greece getting more loans from the lenders,” he said. “Just more debt to pay the old debt, but what else could I do?”

Mr. Hanis applied to a government program introduced in 2010, at the peak of the crisis, that aims to reduce monthly payments for people with serious financial problems. The program has since been qualified by so many conditions that inclusion is difficult.

About 150,000 applications are pending. His hopes now hang on a court case in November.

Mr. Hanis’s lawyer, Dimitris Anastasopoulos, said he had represented “about 1,000 people” during the crisis years, “not including the hundreds of people who walked in here to seek advice.”

A key problem, he said, is that the Greek authorities have focused more on giving homeowners a false sense of security than providing them with information about their options.

“Successive governments convinced people that they won’t lose their homes while they tried to figure out what to do,” Mr. Anastasopoulos said. “They issue a law saying, ‘We can take your house.’ Then, they reassure you that it’s protected.”

Many homeowners are desperate, he said, citing a client who recently told him that he had contemplated suicide.

Mr. Hanis fears a rejection, but said he would continue to fight.

“I’m going to appeal for a reprieve,” he said, “because I just can’t make the payments.”

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15)  Richer but Not Better Off
"It has been a long, painful slog out of the Great Recession. More than seven years into a halting recovery, fewer than 60 percent of working-age Americans hold a job — not much more than at the trough of the recession in the spring of 2009. ...Despite last year’s gains, the bottom 60 percent of households took a smaller share of the income pie than four decades ago. ...The richest 5 percent of Americans, by contrast, have done much better for themselves — taking in about 22 percent of the nation’s income, 6 percentage points more than they did in 1975."
By EDUARDO PORTEROCT. 29, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/opinion/sunday/richer-
but-not-better-off.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2
Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=
stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront

It has been a long, painful slog out of the Great Recession. More than seven years into a halting recovery, fewer than 60 percent of working-age Americans hold a job — not much more than at the trough of the recession in the spring of 2009.

So it was hardly surprising that the Census Bureau’s report last month of rising family incomes and declining poverty was received as solid proof that the United States has finally pulled through.

The White House was quick to trumpet that the income of a typical middle-class household had increased at the fastest pace on record last year, while the poverty rate experienced its steepest decline since the 1960s, when Lyndon B. Johnson began his war on poverty.

On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton mischievously tweeted a comment made by Donald J. Trump in 2004: “It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.”

Mark Perry of the conservative American Enterprise Institute argued that the report undercut the woeful conventional wisdom about a shrinking middle class, because the middle class is actually moving up the income ladder, not down. Matthew Yglesias of Vox resorted to Dickens’s sunnier side: “We are currently living through the best of times.”

But the question remains: best for whom? Poorer households did get a bigger raise, proportionally, than the rich did last year. But that looks like a bug, not an enduring feature of the American economy. The data does little to suggest that the American economy has managed to overcome its perhaps most debilitating weakness: inequality.

Despite last year’s gains, the bottom 60 percent of households took a smaller share of the income pie than four decades ago. The bottom 20 percent took in only 3.4 percent of all income — compared with 5.6 percent in the mid-1970s. The richest 5 percent of Americans, by contrast, have done much better for themselves — taking in about 22 percent of the nation’s income, 6 percentage points more than they did in 1975.

America’s inequities can be sliced in different ways. For instance, champions of the nuclear family will underscore the report’s finding that married couples in which both spouses work saw incomes rise by nearly $4,000 last year — to almost $104,000 at the median, the highest ever.

The problem is that the two-earner family is not as iconic as it once was, falling as a share of all families over the past two decades. The families that have been growing are those headed by a single woman. Last year their incomes rose sharply — to $34,126. Sure, that was a big jump on 2014. But they were still making less than they were 15 years before.

How does this count as shared prosperity?

Fans of the American flavor of capitalism will surely argue that such inequities are irrelevant now that the floor seems to be rising for everybody. But income isn’t the only way to measure prosperity; by many other metrics, Americans’ well-being remains pretty low. Whether it is life expectancy or infant mortality, incarceration or educational attainment, countless statistics offer a fairly dark picture of the American experience. It is a picture of prosperity that consistently leaves large numbers of Americans behind.

The United States suffers the highest obesity rate among the 35 industrialized countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In terms of life expectancy at birth, it ranks 10th from the bottom. America’s infant mortality rate has dropped by half since 1980. Still, today Turkey and Mexico are the only countries in the O.E.C.D. to report a higher share of dead babies. Infant mortality fell faster in almost every other industrialized country.

It is worth noting that, if you look only at how much money they make, the citizens of virtually all of these industrialized nations are poorer than Americans.

Canadians are 19 percent poorer, but Canadian teenagers easily outscore their American peers in tests of math, reading and science. The French take home 33 percent less. But a French baby born today will be expected to live three and a half years more, on average, than an American one. Income per person in Japan is only two-thirds of what it is in the United States. But Japan’s infant mortality rate is only one-third of America’s.

Peter Klenow and Charles Jones of Stanford University have tried to account for some of these other dimensions, incorporating consumption, leisure, life expectancy and inequality into one bundle of well-being.

They found that the United States looks substantially less prosperous than when it is ranked by money alone. Americans may be 50 percent richer than the French. But by the new metric they are only 9 percent better off. Income per person in Britain is only 75 percent what it is in the United States. But using the composite indicator, the British are in fact almost as prosperous as Americans.

I would argue that even this metric overstates American prosperity. It misses many dimensions of health and the quality of the environment. And, to my mind, it falls way short of accounting for how much damage rampant inequality can inflict on society. Ranked by inequality, the United States surpasses every other advanced nation. The Klenow-Jones approach incorporates it by thinking about how much people would pay to avoid the risk of living in an unequal society, if they might end up on the wrong side of the divide. But inequality could deeply affect well-being in other ways.

The United States has perhaps the smallest middle class in the industrialized world: In 2013, just 70 percent of non-elderly American households had disposable incomes between one-half and twice the income of the typical household. In Norway it was 87 percent.

The income of the richest 5 percent of nonelderly American households grew at nearly the fastest pace in the O.E.C.D. between 1985 and 2010. By contrast, the income gains of American households in the middle of the distribution were outpaced by pretty much every other advanced nation.

This kind of polarization is behind the obesity, the shortened life spans and the dead babies. These are the ills of the Americans left behind.

It is the losers in America’s distribution of prosperity who have the shortest life expectancies. They are also more likely to be obese. The babies of white, college-educated American women survive as well as the babies of women in Europe. It is those born to nonwhite, less educated mothers who die at disproportionately high rates. 

This is not to knock a good year’s worth of income growth. But the prosperity of the United States can hardly be called such when it leaves so many behind. America’s rich are richer than the rich almost anywhere else. Its poor are still poorer than the poor of its peers in the developed world. Can we claim prosperity without closing these gaps?

Eduardo Porter writes the Economic Scene column for The New York Times.

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