Archives for 5 月 2016

US Navy Authorized To Train Despite Massive Injury Or Death Of Over 12 Million Sea Mammals

These numbers are but conservative estimates, and don’t include dozens of other nearby military projects.

US Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

Washington DC — We live in a time where the fragile, finite nature of surrounding ecosystems has never been more apparent. That’s why environmentalists find the US Navy’s reputed disregard for marine life, in it’s endless rhyme of testing and training, beyond disturbing. Recently, a group found the Navy’s been given impunity to harm up to 12

What Algorithmic Injustice Looks Like In Real Life

A computer program rated defendants’ risk of committing a future crime. These are the results.

Bernard Parker, who was rated high by the COMPAS program. (Josh Ritchie/Propublica)

Courtrooms across the nation are using computer programs to predict who will be a future criminal. The programs help inform decisions on everything from bail to sentencing. They are meant to make the criminal justice system fairer — and to weed out human biases. ProPublica tested one such program and found that it’s often wrong — and biased

Activists Successfully End Militarization Of LA School Police Department

The LA School Police will return to the feds weapons including a tank, a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle (MRAP), three grenade launchers and 61 M-16 rifles.

A Los Angeles police officer watches children arriving at the Main Street Elementary School. (AP Photo)

Dedicated activists in Los Angeles forced the end to federal militarization of law enforcement on a hyper-local level, demonstrating the power of a bottom-up approach when confronting federal power. After 18 months of pressure and activism, the Labor/Community Strategy Center reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Unified School District and

Thousands Call On DNC To Oust ‘Corporatist Tool’ Wasserman Schultz

As DNC insiders wonder if Debbie Wasserman Schultz has become “too toxic” to lead the party, more than 40,000 petitioners already know the answer

"The head of one of the two big political parties in the United States is trying to choose its nominee by reducing input from voters." (Photo: PoolSafely/flickr/cc)

More than 40,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to remove embattled chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has faced increasing criticism over her leadership of the party in the 2016 election cycle. The petition, organized by the grassroots group RootsAction.org, castigates Wasserman Schultz for

Aquatic ‘First Responders’ Form Mosquito Fleet To Halt Climate Change & Shell Oil

As Shell Oil prepares to put delicate ecosystems and human communities at risk as it increases its exports to Asia, activists are also escalating their efforts to put the brakes on their business.

The Mosquito Fleet taunts Shell's on-water security crew with a snarky banner on May 15, 2016.

ANACORTES, Washington --- After years of marches and land-based blockades, environmental activists are now taking to the seas to stop the growth of the fossil fuel industry and protest the environmental threats facing them. Inspired by actions last year against Shell Oil Co.’s plans to drill in the Arctic Circle, which included a kayak-based

Jewish Agency Exploits Martin Luther King III To Whitewash Plight Of Ethiopian-Israelis

The son of the American civil rights icon celebrated the birthday of an Israeli who hates ‘Arabs,’ then honored ‘Arabs’ in a speech to an NGO which promotes equality for Israel’s Arab minority.

SEATTLE --- The Jewish Agency for Israel’s chairman, Natan Sharansky, tapped Martin Luther King III to present the Unsung Hero award to three culture and media activists known for their support for Ethiopian-Israelis earlier this month. The awardees were journalist Anat Saragusti, former Knesset member Pnina Tamano-Shata, and popular world music