Newsletter 1.22.19

Hi all! 

Hope you're having a good 2019. Here's this week's newsletter. Please enjoy. 

- Florence, Sophia, Adam, and Nima 

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Here’s Why LA Teachers Are Walking Out in a Historic Strike - Julianne Tveten, In These Times (1/14/19)

The United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), which represents over 35,000 teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians across LA County, has been in negotiations with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) since April 2017, which has finally escalated to a district-wide strike. The UTLA is responding to the rapid increase of charter schools, which have increasingly siphoned funding away from the public school system: a 2016 report estimated the losses at around $591 million for public schools.

Time to Break the Silence on Palestine - Michelle Alexander, The New York Times (1/19/19)

This past Sunday The Times published this op-ed by Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, in which she argues that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have spoken out about the Israeli government, both in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and within Israel’s 1967 borders. Given Alexander’s reputation as one of the pre-eminent voices on the criminal legal system in the United States, the essay signals a possible shift in acceptable conversation on the topic of Palestine, especially among Black leaders.

Related:

• Black Leaders Must Pass White-Approved Purity Tests That White Leaders Don’t. Ask Angela Davis. - Isaac J. Bailey, The Root (1/11/19)
• Public Figures are Punished for Being Pro-Palestine - Kristian Davis Bailey, Afropunk (1/18/19)
• The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Insult to Angela Davis Has Boomeranged - Mairav Zonszein, The Nation (1/15/19)

Triumph of Conventional Wisdom: AP Expunges Iran/Contra Pardons from Barr’s Record - Sam Husseini, FAIR (1/15/19)

Trump has nominated William Barr for attorney general. Barr formerly held the position under H.W. Bush, and during that time pardoned six senior officials responsible for the Iran/Contra scandal in 1992. Now as the possibility of Barr’s reinstatement looms, the mainstream press has been silent on his role in Iran/Contra.

Years After Protests, NYPD Retains Photos of Black Lives Matter Activists - George Joseph, The Appeal (1/17/19)

Activists have obtained NYPD emails from the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in NYC (2014-2015), which show the NYPD using a variety of surveillance tactics - filming, photos, screenshots of social media, and possibly undercover officers - and have held onto these materials for two years, possibly violating their own surveillance regulations, the Handschu Guidelines.

Corporate Press Stoops to Absurdity to Balance Trump’s Border Wall Lies - Reed Richardson, FAIR (1/10/19)

In an attempt to fact check “both sides” of the government shutdown, the corporate media suggests that the Democrats are exaggerating the negative impact it has had on millions of Americans.

As Trial Starts for Border Humanitarian Volunteers, New Documents Reveal Federal Bureaucrats’ Obsession with Stopping Activists - Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept (1/17/19)

Trump administration prosecutors argued that members of the group No Mas Muertes (No More Deaths) broke the law in 2017 when they left humanitarian aid supplies in the Sonoran Desert. Documents obtained by The Intercept reveal the insidious way in which environmental conservation has been weaponized to criminalize humanitarian aid in the region.

Related:

• Legality of leaving Water in ‘veritable cemetery’ questioned at Tucson Border-Aid Trial - Curt Prendergast, Arizona Daily Star (1/16/19)

The Artistic Picket Line Surrounding the Super Bowl Halftime Show - Dave Zirin, The Nation (1/18/19)

While artists such as Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Andre 3000, P!nk, Rihanna, and Lauryn Hill have refused to play the Super Bowl halftime show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and Big Boi will all be performing at this years event. Scott has come under the most scrutiny, and even met with Kaepernick about this issue. Scott announced that he would be donating his $500,000 check to DreamCorps, an organization lead by Van Jones, which has consequently has come under harsh scrutiny for its relationship with the NFL.

The Return of Reefer Madness - Ari Paul, FAIR (1/14/19)

In conjunction with the publication of his book on the negative effects of marijuana, journalist Alex Berenson has recently written op-eds in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in which he uses coincidental data to argue against the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. 

Related:

• Cannabis Alarmism Hinders Smart Regulations - Alex Gertner and Kelsey Priest, The Appeal (1/14/19)

Stories the Fashion Media Won’t Tell - Minh-Ha T. Pham, The Nation (1/18/19)

In the past few weeks 50,000 garment workers have been demonstrating in Bangladesh to demand higher wages. These women workers have confronted a multibillion dollar industry in a historic mobilization targeting an industry which largely exploits workers in the Global South while bringing profit to the West.

Women Now Run the Military-Industrial Complex. That’s Nothing to Celebrate - Dean Spade and Sarah Lazare, In These Times (1/12/19)

Friends of the show, Dean Spade and Sarah Lazare, point out the fatal flaws in the feminism of the largely corporate media, which champions the fact that women have risen to lead weapons manufacturing companies Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing, in addition to several major military divisions of the US government.

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