cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/31523

According to a peer-reviewed study in Lancet Global Health Research journal, the death toll in Gaza for the first 16 months of war was far higher than reported, totalling over 75,000 killed during that period, or 25,000 more than announced at the time. Protest in Washington, D.C., Nov. 4, 2023, . . .

Continue reading Gaza death toll higher than previously reported at Workers.org

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cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/188687

Federal agents detained a Columbia University student early Thursday after Department of Homeland Security officers allegedly gained access to a university-owned residence by presenting a fake missing person poster of a 5-year-old. As news broke of the student, Ellie Aghayeva, and her detention, students and community members rallied en masse demanding her release and an end to immigration enforcement on campus. Due to restrictions implemented by the university in response to pro-Palestine protests, the students were unable to protest on campus proper, but instead took to nearby streets.

Aghayeva was released Thursday afternoon, shortly after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani brought up her case during a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss housing. “For that decision to be quickly flipped is remarkable because it shows the power of opposition, but also how loose and flippant these arrests are, and how maybe unnecessary they are,” says Zeteo’s Prem Thakker, who has been reporting on the case.

Columbia’s active response, including its legal support of Aghayeva, marked a departure from previous high-profile immigration arrests of its students. Mohsen Mahdawi, a former Columbia University student who last year was also detained by DHS, says Aghayeva’s arrest in campus housing is a direct result of the university administration’s abdication of its responsibility to protect its students. “Columbia University administration did not have the backbone, in fact, to file any lawsuits against the Trump administration for violating basic rights,” says Mahdawi. “This is actually what the Trump administration intended to do, which is to fracture liberal institutions and turn the administrations against their students.”

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cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/188696

The funeral for 56-year-old Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a disabled Rohingya refugee from Burma who was found dead after he was abandoned by Border Patrol agents miles away from his home, was held yesterday in Buffalo, New York. Local reporter J. Dale Shoemaker, who first reported on Shah Alam’s disappearance for the Buffalo news organization Investigative Post, explains what we know about the case.

From Democracy Now! via this RSS feed

cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/188696

The funeral for 56-year-old Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a disabled Rohingya refugee from Burma who was found dead after he was abandoned by Border Patrol agents miles away from his home, was held yesterday in Buffalo, New York. Local reporter J. Dale Shoemaker, who first reported on Shah Alam’s disappearance for the Buffalo news organization Investigative Post, explains what we know about the case.

From Democracy Now! via this RSS feed

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/42694823

Trump has no power to “decree” that voters must present ID or to end mail-in balloting. But that doesn’t mean he can’t at least try both. Under the Insurrection Act or some other dusty statute, he can declare a state of emergency. Then he can decide that said state permits, nay requires, him to take extraordinary measures. On October 5, say, that might mean outlawing early voting. By October 13, it might mean no mail-in voting. By October 29, a reminder that all voters must present ID to vote. And by Sunday, November 1, two days before the election—an announcement that all these “reasonable” measures have alas failed, and he is now forced, against his will, to postpone the election.

cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/187695

From Common Dreams via this RSS feed

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/earthscience/p/1823671/antarctica-just-saw-the-fastest-glacier-collapse-ever-recorded

Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier stunned scientists by retreating eight kilometers in just two months, with nearly half of it collapsing in record time. The rapid breakup was driven by a flat, underwater bedrock surface that allowed the glacier to suddenly float and fracture from below. Satellite and seismic data captured the dramatic chain reaction in near real time. The findings raise concerns that much larger glaciers could one day collapse just as quickly.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/31198

The latest chapter in what one historian called "the ongoing horror story of American immigration enforcement" unfolded in Buffalo, New York this week after Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was released from a county jail where he'd been held for a year.

As Buffalo-based outlet the Investigative Post reported Wednesday, the nearly blind man was found dead on Tuesday evening, five days after US Border Patrol agents who had picked him up from the jail dropped him off at a coffee shop. They neglected to inform his lawyer or family where he was, making it impossible for Shah Alam to find his way home in sub-freezing temperatures.

Shah Alam, who was blind in one eye and had partial, blurry vision in the other, had gotten lost one day in February 2025 and ended up on a woman's porch with a curtain rod he used as a walking stick.

The woman called the police, who ordered Shah Alam to drop his "weapon"—the walking stick—and then Tasered, beat, and arrested him.

Shah Alam, who could not speak English and did not understand the police officers' orders, was charged with assault, trespassing, and possession of a weapon and taken to Erie County Holding Center.

His family, which includes a wife and two sons, chose not to bail him out of the county jail. His arrest had come a month into President Donald Trump's second term, and they feared US Immigration and Customs Enforcement would detain him if he was released and send him to a detention center out of state.

Benjamin Macaluso, an attorney with Legal Aid Bureau who was representing Shah Alam, told the Investigative Post that he had been released on bail last week after reaching a deal with the Erie County District Attorney’s office, agreeing to plead guilty to trespassing and possession of a weapon. The agreement allowed him to avoid detention by federal immigration agents even though authorities had previously placed an immigration detainer on Shah Alam.

Despite that, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office contacted US Border Patrol to pick Shah Alam up from the Holding Center. When the agents determined Shah Alam was not eligible for immigration detention, Border Patrol told the Investigative Post, they "offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop.”

An agency spokesperson claimed the nearly blind man "showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance."

Mohamad Faisal, one of Shah Alam's two sons, told Al Jazeera that his father was not able to read, write, or use electronic devices.

Macaluso told the Investigative Post that Shah Alam's family spent days searching for him in the cold before his body was found. The lawyer also said he had expected Shah Alam to be taken to an ICE detention center in Batavia, New York to be released.

A spokesperson for City Hall in Buffalo told the Investigative Post that homicide detectives were "investigating the circumstances and timeframe of events leading up to his death, following his release from custody," but said homicide and exposure to the elements had been ruled out as the cause of death by a medical examiner.

US Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) was among those who called for a "full investigation" into Border Patrol's decision to leave Shah Alam miles from his home despite his disability.

Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, a Democrat, accused US Customs and Border Protection, which oversees Border Patrol, of a "dereliction of duty" and said the agency's treatment of Shah Alam was "inhumane."

"US Customs and Border Protection must answer for how and why this happened," said Ryan. "Buffalo is a city that welcomes refugees and believes government should protect human dignity, not endanger it. US Customs and Border Protection failed that basic standard."

Chuck Park, a Democrat who is running for Congress in New York's 6th District, said the New York for All Act, which would prohibit state and local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration agencies, would have prevented the sheriff's office from calling Border Patrol upon Shah Alam's release.

Alexandre Burgos of the New York State Hate and Bias Prevention Unit invited community members to a gathering to demand accountability to Shah Alam's death.

"We are coming together to demand accountability and transparency in the case of Nurul Amin Shah Alam," reads a flyer for the event, scheduled for Thursday evening at 5:30 pm Eastern at Lafayette High School in Buffalo.

From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/31158

Documents in the latest Epstein files released show the serial child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein boasting of hunting Black people. One email, published with a corrupted or disguised date, like many of Epstein’s emails, is titled “snipe hunt is over, moon crickets in field bag”. Epstein then clarifies that “Guess what? They’re n*****s”.

Reportedly, only 2% of the FBI’s files on Epstein have been released so far. The millions released can be presumed to contain the least horrific revelations.

Warning: the following graphics and paragraphs examine unredacted racist slurs.

According to dictionary.com, the term “moon crickets” is a deeply offensive US racial slur against Black people, dating back to the days of slavery.

Epstein’s racist clarification clearly indicates he wanted to be sure his reader didn’t miss his meaning.

The term “snipe” in the email title may be a reference to children, i.e a contraction of “guttersnipe” – a derogatory term for poor children. It may also be a reference to a hunt using sniper rifles to “snipe” at the victims. The header’s “in field bag” is a likely reference to the hunting or “field” bag used to carry small game killed in a shoot.

Either way, there appears to be no doubt that Epstein is referring to killing Black people and potentially Black children.

Epstein’s liking for hunting is also shown in a 2016 email, though it’s unclear what kind of ‘old male’ he was boasting of killing:

Ingrained racism

Epstein’s anti-Black racism ran deep, like that of many Zionists. In one email he ‘jokes’ that “more n*****s = more murder”:

In her testimony, one of Epstein’s victims detailed the ways in which he would hurt her during sexual assaults. She then told law enforcement officers that he tried to make her bring friends for him to rape and ordered her not to bring “n*****s”:

Believing she would continue to be raped and sexually assaulted by JEFF, II gave in at some point and told him, “yes, I’ll find some friends.” JEFF wanted, “young fresh meat girls. Virgins.” He told [redacted], “Don’t bring me any removeds.” [Redacted] “never, ever brought any friends.”

As a point of discussion, race has taken a backseat in main stream media’s coverage of the convicted serial rapist. However, the documentation to support this is readily accessible.

The emails examined above, to add to Epstein’s litany of depravities and abuse of children, expose him to be a raging racist.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/61038991

The Green Party won 40.7% of the vote on Friday in an election triggered when a member of parliament resigned for health reasons. Nigel Farage's Reform Party came second with 28.7% of the vote and Labour finished third with 25.4%.

The Green Party won 40.7% of the vote on Friday in an election triggered when a member of parliament resigned for health reasons. Nigel Farage's Reform Party came second with 28.7% of the vote and Labour finished third with 25.4%.