Category: Pontiac Tribune

US (TD) – Viral posts on social media are spreading false and stigmatizing stories about people who use drugs, further marginalizing vulnerable groups. In March 2019, a Facebook user in the US recently posted an image of a toilet paper roll in a public bathroom with a few red dots on it, warning people that someone had stuck a used needle into the roll in an attempt to clean off blood. The post implied that the blood could contain infectious diseases, which could then be picked up by someone who ended up using…

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This interview was conducted and submitted to Pontiac Tribune by Jae Carico of The Fifth Column. This is an interview series with folks living in every country around the world. This second report from Brazil is with an activist named Marcos. Jae: What are the major organizations doing positive liberation work in your area? Marcos: Hard to say… In my specific area, I know none. I live in the countryside, and I know there are antifascists around, but I don’t know who they are. In Brazil, in general, there are some…

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This interview was conducted and submitted to Pontiac Tribune by Jae Carico of The Fifth Column. This is an interview series with folks living in every country around the world. This first comrade is from Japan. Jae: What are the major organizations doing positive liberation work in your area? Warren: There’s several organizations and movements over here doing positive work. Labor unions such as Tozen, the National Union of General Workers (NUGW) and especially the NAMBU branch of the NUGW, which is probably the closest equivalent of like the IWW…

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San Diego, CA (VOSD) – Educators regularly stay in the classroom for two and a half years or more while the slow adjudication process of determining whether to revoke their credential goes forward. This years-long process plays out after teachers have already been investigated and forced to leave one district. In the meantime, they find work in others, often as substitute teachers. James Himmelsbach had a reputation for making unwanted advances toward his female co-workers at Carmel Creek Elementary School and intimidating those who challenged them. He would place his hands…

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Elkhart, IN (ProPublica) – When Ed Windbigler was suspended last month as the police chief in Elkhart, Indiana, his No. 2, Todd Thayer, became the Police Department’s public face, appearing at a town hall meeting, before a civilian oversight commission and on the radio. In each setting, Thayer defended the department — the “thin blue line” protecting law-abiding citizens from “predators” and “all the other garbage” — and attacked the media, with references to “tabloid” journalism and “ambush reporting.” On Monday, Windbigler resigned under pressure from Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese, who said he wants “new…

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Washington, DC (Sputnik) – Six US Senators have introduced a bipartisan resolution seeking to hold Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Senator Christopher Coons said in a press release on Thursday. “Senate Resolution… holds … Mohammed bin Salman accountable for contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the blockade of Qatar, the jailing of political dissidents within Saudi Arabia, the use of force to intimidate rivals, and the abhorrent and unjustified killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the release said. The resolution was introduced by Senators Coons, Lindsey Graham, Dianne Feinstein, Marco…

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US (Sputnik) – The Recording Industry Of America (RIAA) and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) sent recommendations to US law enforcement claiming that unauthorized streaming should be prosecuted as a felony crime, alongside murder and tax fraud. Both music industry groups sent a letter US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) Vishal Amin, asserting that legislative changes should be made to “help legal authorities and third parties better protect intellectual property rights,” cited by Motherboard. “These include fixing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), making it a felony to knowingly engage in unauthorized…

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Texas (TT) – After a recent slew of damning headlines regarding conditions within Texas prisons, reform advocates and lawmakers are hopeful that the timing is right to get legislation passed creating independent oversight of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, and state Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, filed identical bills in their respective chambers last week calling for a governor-appointed, independent ombudsman’s office to oversee and investigate complaints against the prison agency. The criminal justice department currently has an ombudsman within the agency, but Johnson and Miles…

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Pheonix, AZ (Cronkite) – In a year where the number of refugees and displaced people worldwide has reached record highs, those who wish to help have a new way of doing so through Airbnb. The peer-to-peer house-sharing company is offering temporary housing through a program called Open Homes, which now is available in Phoenix. Hospitality Service Center in Glendale is a faith based volunteer group that helps in various efforts throughout the community. Jeannette Slater is the guesthouse manager at HSC; she also hosted a family from the Democratic Republic of Congo this…

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Wisconsin (OW) – A few weeks before the election, a roomful of Wisconsinites gathered to share some of the stories that are often left out of political campaigns. At a Racine gathering of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, visitors shared real-life stories about poverty in the state. Solo Little John of Kenosha, Wisconsin was one of those who testified. He’s a fast food worker at Wendy’s and a leader of the Fight for $15 living wage campaign. “My voice represents the voices of the voiceless,” he said,…

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