Michael Flynn could face thousands of dollars in penalties as the Army reviews a Pentagon watchdog report

Sarah Al-Arshani
Sat, March 13, 2021, 

Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, leaves the federal court with his lawyer Sidney Powell, left, following a status conference with Judge Emmet Sullivan, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta


The Army is reviewing a watchdog report on money Michael Flynn earned from foreign governments.


The report is from a delayed Department of Defense investigation which was launched in 2017.

The investigation was paused because of the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The US Army is reviewing an internal watchdog report from the Department of Defense into former national security advisor Michael Flynn, The Washington Post reported.

In April 2017, the Pentagon launched an investigation into money Flynn received from Russian and Turkish interests after his retirement but before he joined former President Donald Trump's administration.

In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of lying to investigators as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Flynn admitted that he misled investigators in a January 2017 interview about his communications with Russia's then-ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak.

He was initially cooperative with the FBI, but in 2019, he reversed course, fired his entire defense team, and hired Sidney Powell as his lawyer. In January 2020, Flynn tried to retract his guilty plea.

Trump pardoned Flynn last November.

CNN reported that then-special counsel Robert Mueller's probe investigation into the 2016 election had put the DoD's investigation into Flynn on hold.

The DoD Inspector General's office did not reply to Insider's email request for comment at the time of publication.

DoD spokeswoman Dwrena Allen told CNN that following Flynn's pardon, they were granted permission from the Department of Justice to resume the investigation, which was completed on January 27, 2021.

The investigation looked into whether or not Flynn violated the Constitution's emoluments clause, which stipulates that officials such as retired military members can't accept money or gifts from foreign governments.

The Post reported that the payments from Russia were from 2015, when Flynn was paid $45,000 for appearing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a gala dinner for the state-controlled outlet RT. His company, Flynn Intel Group, was also paid $530,000 by a Netherlands-based company, Inovo BV, in 2016. The company was founded by a Turkish businessman and lobbies on behalf of Turkey.

In 2017, the DoD said that Flynn did not seek permission to work as a foreign agent on behalf of Turkey.

The results of the report could mean, Flynn, who retired from the Army as a three-star general in 2014, could face tens of thousands of dollars in penalties.

Korean battery firm offers Georgia plant as dispute lingers

Sat, March 13, 2021


ATLANTA (AP) — With a giant battery factory in northeast Georgia hanging in the balance of a trade dispute, South Korean company LG Energy Solution is now telling some Georgia officials that it could build its own factory in the state if rival SK Innovation can't proceed.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports LG Energy Solution CEO Jong Hyun Kim wrote a Wednesday letter to Democratic U.S. Sen Raphael Warnock on Wednesday saying LG “is prepared to do whatever we can to help the people and workers of Georgia."

Kim also wrote that if some other entity acquires the SK plant, LG could help run the $2.6 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Commerce, where SK plans to hire 2,600 workers.

“Multiple investors and manufacturers … will be interested in the Commerce plant due to increased demand for electric vehicle batteries,” Kim wrote.

Thursday, LG announced plans to build at least two new plants and spend more than $4.5 billion to make electric vehicle batteries in the United States, in addition to a plant it already operates in Holland, Michigan, one it's building in Lordstown, Ohio, and one it could build in Spring Hill, Tennessee. All those plants are in partnership with General Motors.

LG's overture comes as Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday renewed his call for President Joe Biden to override a federal trade decision that threatens SK's ability to move ahead.

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in February that SK stole 22 trade secrets from LG and that SK should be barred from importing, making or selling batteries in the United States for 10 years.

SK has contracts to supply batteries for an electric Ford F-150 truck and an electric Volkswagen SUV to be manufactured in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The commission said SK can supply batteries to Ford Motor Co. for four years and to Volkswagen for two years. SK can also repair and replace batteries in Kia vehicles that have already been sold.

An SK spokesperson said in an emailed statement that “it is simply impossible for someone to acquire an EV battery manufacturing facility and run it to produce batteries acceptable to a major auto company.”

“LG’s monopolization of the U.S. battery supply chain will only set the U.S. further back in its effort to catch up with China,” the spokesperson wrote.

Biden has until April to review or block the ruling and both side are lobbying him, part of a chess game that also involves talks between the companies. SK lost the ruling in part because it destroyed evidence. The commission called the move “extraordinary” and concluded that top SK executives ordered the destruction.

SK said this week that its directors had rejected LG's demands for compensation. LG said it was “regrettable” that SK wasn't willing to negotiate and said LG would accept cash, royalties on future battery sales, or an ownership share in SK's business.

Georgia gave $300 million in free land, cash and other incentives for the SK factory, which is now partially built and is supposed to open in 2022.

The Little-Known History Behind the People of Color Who Joined the Royal Family Long Before Meghan

Suyin Haynes
Fri, March 12, 2021

The submission of the Maharajah Duleep Singh to Sir Henry Hardinge as the battle of Sobraon ends the 1st Sikh War in India in 1846
Credit - Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

In the televised interview given by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, to Oprah earlier this week, the couple spoke of the way they had been treated by the Royal Family, and the racist media headlines that increasingly targeted Meghan after the couple’s wedding in 2018.

“When I joined that family, that was the last time, until we came here, that I saw my passport, my driver’s licence, my keys. All that gets turned over. I didn’t see any of that anymore,” Meghan said, speaking candidly about experiencing suicidal thoughts and wanting to seek help for her mental health, yet being told by “The Firm” that she couldn’t.


These details, of how the Firm operates, as well as the racist coverage of Meghan, struck a chord with historian Priya Atwal, author of Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire, whose research specializes in empire, monarchy and cultural politics across Britain and South Asia. On March 7, the day before the interview aired in the U.S., Atwal posted a Twitter thread detailing the experiences of other people of color from across the British Empire who became Queen Victoria’s “godchildren” over the 1850s and 1860s, noting some of the parallels between the way they were treated by the institution and the press, and the current situation with Meghan. The thread quickly went viral, and Atwal was “blown away” by its popularity.

She says that despite the different circumstances, comparisons between the situations show how little has changed within the machinery of the monarchy. “The problem remains that the culture of royalty and the way the institution operates to protect its own image is actually very problematic. It tries to assimilate these people, because ultimately, it doesn’t care about those people to the same degree as it does about the crown,” says Atwal. “And if the interests of the crown are being messed with, then it doesn’t really matter what collateral damage happens to the lives of those people that are being assimilated. They are expendable.'

Queen Victoria’s imperial godchildren

The mid-19th century was a period of rapid change for Britain, the British Empire and the British monarchy. The Empire was dramatically expanding around the world, with control of India transferring to the direct rule of the British Crown starting in 1858, and trading networks in Asia and Africa plundering nations for their natural resources. Starting with Sarah Forbes Bonetta, who was born in West Africa and held captive for two years before being presented as a “gift” in 1850 to a British naval captain representing Queen Victoria, the monarch informally adopted several wards as her godchildren from different corners of her vast empire. And while Atwal says that Victoria did take a personal interest in all of these young children from across the Empire and took them under her wing, “they essentially were put up as poster children in many respects.”

Sara Forbes Bonetta, god-daughter of Queen Victoria, with her husband James Davies on Sept. 15, 1862Camille Silvy—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Among them were Princess Gouramma of Coorg, who came with her father to England in 1852 at the age of 11, after they were exiled and deposed from rule by the British in southwest India. Gouramma became the first Indian Royal to convert to Christianity and took on the name Victoria in her baptism, in a ceremony where the Queen became her godmother. And while Gouramma was often seen with the Royal Family and was given fine clothing and jewelry along with the title of honorary princess, her life and upbringing was closely controlled by Queen Victoria. “Victoria doesn’t allow Gouramma to see her father again, and Gouramma eventually loses the ability to speak Hindi, her mother tongue. It’s really cruel,” says Atwal. “The lens through which Gouramma is seen is through this colonial mindset. It’s all about making sure that what she does and how she behaves fits with a way that will protect the royal family.” Gouramma tried to run away several times as a teenager, and Atwal says that the young princess felt very misunderstood—another parallel with the modern-day Meghan.

Queen Victoria also tried, unsuccessfully, to matchmake Gouramma with another ward of the Empire she had a close relationship with—Maharaja Duleep Singh, who converted to Christianity and settled in the U.K. in 1854 at the age of 16, after he was removed from his title in the Punjab, northern India. The Queen became godmother to Duleep Singh’s children, including Sophia Duleep Singh, who would later become a suffragette.

In the 1860s, Victoria became the godmother of two more children: Prince Alamayu, son of the Emperor of Abyssinia, and Albert Victor Pōmare, who was born in England in 1863 when a group of Maori people visited as part of a trip organized by a Wesleyan preacher. The children lived with other families or “caretakers”—including members of the upper middle class in the case of Gouramma, the family of the naval captain the case of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, and an army officer in the case of Alamayu. Victoria also played a role in directing their education and comportment, or behavior, training. “There was an element of sympathy—[Victoria] saw them as kin really, in many respects, they were royal, and they were Christians,” says Atwal.

The Ex-Rajah Of Coorg, And His Daughter Princess Gouramma, And Suite, 1852Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images) Control of the Royal Family’s image

Part of the reason why these children were taken under Victoria’s wing was because the British Royal Family was projecting a new image for themselves, not only within British society, but across the Empire, says Atwal. Much of the way we understand the Royal Family today, as a public-facing family and in its relationship with the media, was consolidated during the Victorian era, alongside the development of photographic practice and mass printed media.

As has been well documented, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert started the concept of the royal family photo album as photography became more technologically advanced; Victoria was particularly fond of the medium. Within these albums were photographs of their wards, including Gouramma and Sarah Forbes Bonetta. “So in a way, they see each other as family, even if they were adopted members of the family,” says Atwal. These photographs contributed to the public image of the monarchy, and ultimately projected one that was a “squeaky clean model royal family,” she says, adding that the monarchy’s status has become more dependent on public opinion over time, and so the need to protect that image has become more important. “Everything has to work in the benefit of the monarchy, the crown and the British royal family. That has been a consistent theme throughout history, especially recent history.”

Duleep Singh, Maharajah of Lahore, 1837-1893. Engraved by D.J. Pound from a photograph by Mayall. From the book "The Drawing-Room Portrait Gallery of Eminent Personages" Published in London 1859.Universal History Archive/Getty Images

And when the godchildren fell out of favor or did anything to tarnish that model image, they would incur the wrath of the printed press of the era too. By the 1870s, Duleep Singh’s finances were dwindling from years of living a lavish lifestyle, and his increasing anger at the annexation of the Punjab led to his plotting a rebellion against the British Raj. “When it’s reported in the press, it’s explosive, and he is vilified in the British media,” says Atwal, who is currently researching Duleep Singh’s life. Cartoons ridiculing him appeared in the press, leaning into colonial tropes and propaganda to portray him in a negative light.

“In terms of the racism and the history and the tropes thrown at [Meghan], it originates in that earlier period,” says Atwal. She says that these issues have been intensified by the way mass media has developed today, and how the same tropes and racist comments are then amplified on social media. “In many respects, we’re dealing with old problems that have massively expanded, because of the way that the media landscape has developed.” The tabloid press grew to become a staple of British society over the 20th century, and has been involved in several scandals and tragedies in recent decades, including the involvement of the paparazzi in the car chase that ultimately killed Princess Diana in 1997, and in the phone-hacking scandal, where several high-profile journalists were found to have hacked people’s phones for information, including members of the Royal Family.

For Atwal, the fact that there has been much surprise, and interest in general, in response to her Twitter thread proves how much of this history has fallen out of public consciousness. “It just goes to show that within the wider knowledge of the history of race and Empire, we’ve got a long way to go.”

Deaths of police in failed Port-au-Prince slum operation sparks #FreeHaiti hashtag, outrage



Jacqueline Charles
Sat, March 13, 2021

The United Nations is calling on Haitian authorities to clarify the circumstances surrounding the deaths and injuries of several members of the Haiti National Police in a police operation turned deadly in a Port-au-Prince slum known for harboring kidnapped victims and a notorious gang.

In a statement issued Saturday, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti said it is shocked by the deaths of members of the security forces in Village de Dieu, Village of God, on Friday. It did not specify how many officers were killed but expressed condolences to the families of the victims, the HNP and to the Haitian people.

Acting Haiti National Police General Director Léon Charles confirmed during a brief press conference Saturday that four officers had been killed and eight wounded. Five officers have been discharged from the hospital, while three are in stable condition, he said. Haiti police also have been unable to locate another officer.

“In a deleterious security context, it is imperative that the circumstances surrounding the tragic events of March 12 be clarified, and that the perpetrators of this killing be arrested, prosecuted and brought to justice. The same is true for all serious crimes committed in the country,” the U.N., which has trained the force, said.

The failed anti-gang operation by specialized units of the Haitian police have shaken Haitians and triggered the trending #FreeHaiti hastag on social media. Many have been seeking answers as to how officers were ambushed by an armed gang under the command of a leader in a slum run by a guy who goes by the name “Izo” and “5 Seconds.”

Significant amounts of ammunition were stolen and two armored police vehicles were commandeered, one of which was set ablaze. Video shared on social media show armed gang leaders desecrating the bodies of slain SWAT officers. One photo also showed heavily armed men sitting on the hood of one of the armored vehicles, riddled with bullets.

The bursts of gunfire from the operation could be heard all morning Friday in Port-au-Prince. That same day, a House Foreign Affairs Committee met in a virtual hearing to discus the ongoing political crisis and deteriorating human rights in Haiti. Several members of Congress, concerned about reports about the force being weakened and politicized, asked questions of the all-female panel of witnesses about the Haiti National Police and its ability to confront armed gangs, which have multiplied in recent years.

The police force, which currently stands at an estimated 14,997 officers, has benefited from millions of dollars in funding and training from the U.S., as well as Canada and the U.N. But it has not been enough to counter poor working conditions, a lack of proper equipment and funding from the government, which recently increased its police budget.

Most were unaware of what was taking place in Port-au-Prince, where police were being outgunned in a stark reminder of the country’s revolting security environment. But soon, on Twitter, the #FreeHaiti hashtag started trending as word spread about the slain officers and the failed operation.

On Saturday, #FreeHaiti had been retweeted more than 250,000 times by Haitians including influencers and well-known celebrities like rapper Cardi B and actor Jimmy Jean-Louis.


Officers have struggled to rein in criminality in Haiti, where several kidnapped victims have reported being taken by individuals in police uniforms and in vehicles with official license plates.

Haiti civic leaders and former US diplomat to House Foreign Affairs: ‘Haiti is a mess’

Charles, in a press conference, offered little detail about what went wrong in Friday’s operation, and how his units were ambushed. He said that police have been engaged in a battle against organized crime, especially kidnappings.

“The operation yesterday was a decisive phase in the actions we had already carried out against this phenomenon,” Charles said, describing Village of God as “one of the places where they hold most of the people who are kidnapped.”

He offered sympathy to the families of the slain officers, while stressing that the police will not back down. “The police cannot retreat,” he said. “We have a mission to finish and we are going to keep the engagement we took, which is to protect and serve the population.”

The violence is a new low for Haiti, which has been wrestling with widening insecurity, armed gangs and for-ransom kidnappings. During a live broadcast Saturday of the popular political talk radio show Ranmase on Radio Caraibes, the sister of one of the slain SWAT officers, Wislet Desilus, pleaded for her brother’s body. She said that the gang had requested $2 million in order for her mother to receive his corpse.

“My brother died since yesterday, he was ripped apart. Whatever you can give me, I will take it,” she said, adding that her mother is poor and the family has no money. “Even if it’s just a piece of him that I can bury to console me, so I can tell his child something.”

She said when she heard the news, she went to the SWAT base. “I didn’t find anyone there to receive me; I didn’t find anyone who could give me any information,” she said. “Everyone I found said they couldn’t do anything for me.”

On Monday, a high-ranking gang leader of the Village de Dieu gang, Peterson Benjamin, appeared in federal court in Fort Lauderdale on charges related to the kidnapping of five U.S. citizens, including three minors, in Haiti last year. He faces a nine-count indictment by a Washington, D.C., grand jury, which includes charges of hostage taking and possessing a firearm during a violent crime.

Benjamin was arrested by Haitian police and turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which flew him to South Florida on March 5, along with convicted drug trafficker Lissner Mathieu. Benjamin was taken into custody by the Drug and Enforcement Administration for probation violation.

Why Fred Hampton's fiancée, Akua Njeri, fought for accuracy in 'Judas and the Black Messiah

Kamilah Newton
Wed, March 10, 2021

New film Judas and the Black Messiah, now in theaters and on HBO streaming platforms, dramatizes a specific moment in the history of the Black Panther Party, the political organization founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale: the betrayal of Illinois chapter head Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya) at the hands of thief turned FBI informant William O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield).

It also tells, more incidentally, the story of Hampton's then fiancée Akua Njeri (née Deborah Johnson, played by Dominique Fishback), who was just 19 — and nearly nine months pregnant — when Hampton was killed during a police raid as he slept in bed next to her. Now, at the age of 70, Njeri is on the advisory board of the Black Panther Party Cubs, created by children of Black Panthers, while her son, Fred Hampton Jr., 51, is chairman of that same organization — both of them living out the late Hampton's legacy.

Njeri tells Yahoo Life that both she and Hampton Jr. inserted themselves into the making of the film — one that “could not be made” without their participation, she says.

“Our struggle was to fight for as much accuracy [as possible] in defending the legacy of the Black Panther Party,” says Njeri, explaining that her son has always said, “Legacy is far more important than our lives because it’s here after we’re gone.”

Njeri says she’s glad that their story made it to the big screen, as she hopes that it may, for viewers, “spark some kind of flame” to create change and teach more about what the party has done — although, as she notes, “a two-hour movie cannot give you a whole history lesson.”

The Black Panther Party was originally founded in Oakland, Calif., with hopes of diminishing police brutality, especially in Black neighborhoods. At the height of public support for the organization, Panther membership exceeded 2,000, with branches operating in major cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and Philadelphia.

Njeri says that she began teaching her son about the liberation work of Hampton Sr. “before he could walk or talk,” as she knew that the media would paint a “distorted image” of who he was, following his assassination.

The party believed that economic exploitation was “at the root of all oppression in the United States and abroad” and sought to support oppressed communities by implementing several successful programs targeting education, healthcare, legal assistance — and even the production and distribution of free shoes to those in need. It also created the blueprint for the many free breakfast programs currently found across the country, though their anti-capitalist efforts were met with opposition from the federal government. In 1969, J. Edgar Hoover recognized the Black Panther Party as the “greatest threat to national security” and promised to disband the organization however possible.

“How do we say we want our children to have the best situation when we continue to put them in ... oppressive religions [and] oppressive schools? Everything is dictated to us by an oppressive system that does not act in our interest,” Njeri explains today, adding that even the national police departments’ pledges to protect and serve actually have “nothing to do with serving and protecting the interests of Black and colonized communities.”

Although much of the party was dissolved by 1982, Hampton’s family is in the process of having his childhood home named as a landmark and transformed into a new Black Panthers community resource center that will continue the work that he started so long ago. A GoFundMe effort has already surpassed its $350,000 goal to help make the necessary repairs, but until those are underway, the mother-son duo continues to pour their efforts into the next generation of up-and-coming Panthers.

“We [are still] oppressed,” says Njeri, “but [we’re] ‘fighting back’ oppressed people.”

Video produced by Jennifer Miller

Former Black panther member seeking parole after almost 5 decades

DeMicia Inman
Sat, March 13, 2021

Sundiata Acoli has been denied parole eight times and is serving a life sentence

Lawyers for Sundiata Acoli, born Clark Edward Squire, have moved to have the former Black Panther party member released from prison after he has served decades behind bars.

Acoli’s legal team said that last year, Acoli contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized, which resulted in dramatic weight loss. They also said he suffers from hearing loss and early-stage dementia. In total, since his 1974 conviction, Acoli has been denied parole eight times, according to the Washington Post.


Read More: A history of radical Black self-care and the impact of the Black Panther Party

“You can have someone elderly who may still be dangerous in some rare cases, but that is not this man. I mean, he has not had a single problem of any kind in prison for 25 years,” said Acoli’s attorney, Bruce Afran, according to the news outlet. “Frankly, the reason they’re denying him parole is because a state trooper was killed. I can think of no other reason for this treatment.”

Image via SundiataAcoli.org

In 1973, Trooper Werner Foerster was killed during a shootout during a traffic stop. Acoli was in the car, along with two passengers, Assata Shakur and Zayd Malik Shakur. Trooper James Harper, who stopped the vehicle for a damaged taillight, called for backup and was joined by Foerster, who found an ammunition magazine for an automatic pistol on Acoli, according to the report.

A gun fight between the three people in the car and the officers resulted in two deaths and multiple injuries. The Post reported Foerster was shot four times — twice in the head by his own service weapon and Harper was wounded. Assata Shakur and Acoli were later arrested and Zayd Shakur was found dead.

Acoli and the surviving Shakur were both convicted of the murder of Foerster in separate trials. According to the news outlet, Shakur claimed she was shot and wounded with her hands up and was unable to fire the fatal shots. Acoli said he too was shot and blacked-out with zero memory of the night’s events.

Read More: Oakland, Calif. mural honors women of the Black Panther Party

In 1974, Acoli was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He entered prison at 36 and is now 84-years-old as he pleas for his freedom to the New Jersey Supreme Court. According to Afran, each time he is denied, the reasoning is the same: “he hasn’t done enough psychological counseling; he doesn’t fully admit to his crime, or he hasn’t adequately apologized for it,” according to the Post.

Tony Ciavolella, a board spokesman, said, “Denials of his parole were decided upon impartially, fairly, and . . . in accordance with statutory and administrative regulations,” according to the outlet.

In 2014, a state appellate panel ruled he should be released, however, the state Attorney General’s office contested. The case was sent back to the board, and again, denied. He is now appealing that decision.

“Sundiata’s case is a glaring example of the need for parole reform in New Jersey and throughout the United States,” said Joseph J. Russo, Deputy Public Defender in the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender’s Appellate Section.

Al Della Fave, spokesman for the New Jersey Association of Former Troopers, said that in its December 2019 decision, the New Jersey Appellate Court backed-up the parole board’s conclusion that Acoli, “lacked insight into his criminal behavior, denied key aspects of his crimes and minimized his criminal conduct and anti-social behavior,” according to the news outlet.

“The Former Troopers Association of New Jersey finds it is extremely difficult to believe that in less than one-years’ time, Inmate Acoli has miraculously found remorse, accepted rehabilitation, or even offered a sincere admission of his actions in the inhumane murder of Trooper Foerster.”

According to the Sundiata Acoli Speaks website, he was declared a political prisoner in September 1979 by the International Jurist.

Words for Acoli from Assata Shakur are presented on the site:

“I want so much for Sundiata to know how much he is loved and respected. I want him to know how much he is appreciated by revolutionaries all over the world. I want Sundiata to know how much he is cherished by African people, not only in the Americas, but all over the Diaspora. I want him to know how much we admire his strength, his courage, his kindness, and compassion. Sundiata loves freedom and we must struggle for the life and freedom of Sundiata,” she said.

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 29: Noname performs onstage at the Pavilion during the 2017 Panorama Music Festival – Day 2 at Randall’s Island on July 29, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Panorama)

In 1979, Assata Shakur escaped prison and fled to Cuba where she was granted political asylum. Rapper Noname recently shared petitions on social media for Sundiata Acoli and others after the film Judas and the Black Messiah sparked new-interest in the Black Panther party.

“I hope we use this renewed interest in prominent black radicals as momentum to get all political prisoners FREE! Hollywood won’t advocate for them. that’s up to us! sign petition below,” she wrote on Twitter, sharing a thread of resources. She continued, “Sundiata is a former Black Panther Party member, who at every stage in his life has worked to help people. Sundiata, like so many others, is a victim of the FBI’s COINTELPRO effor

U.K. police criticized for response to vigil for slain Sarah Everard



Oriana Gonzalez
Sat, March 13, 2021

The suspected abduction and murder of a 33-year-old London woman has spurred a cascade of concern over women's safety and an outpouring of grief from the British public.

The latest: Thousands of people gathered at south London's Clapham Common Saturday for a vigil for Sarah Everard, which police called unlawful. Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted that she's asked for a "full report" from police after seeing "upsetting" images taken as officers made arrests.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he's "urgently seeking an explanation" from the Metropolitan Police commissioner, amid accusations that male officers were "grabbing and manhandling" women during arrests, per the Evening Standard.

"The police have a responsibility to enforce Covid laws but from images I've seen it's clear the response was at times neither appropriate nor proportionate," added Khan, who along with Patel oversees London's police force.

Of note: Wayne Couzens, a London police officer, made his first appearance in court on Saturday morning following his Tuesday arrest for the suspected abduction and murder of Everard, who disappeared on March 3, according to the Metropolitan Police. He was charged Friday.

Police confirmed that a body found hidden southeast of the capital was Everand's, and have said the investigation remains ongoing.

What they're saying: Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said in a statement that police arrested four people during Saturday evening's vigil for public order offenses and for "breaches of the Health Protection Regulations."

She said police "absolutely did not want to be in a position where enforcement action was necessary" and that they acted out of safety concerns.

The big picture: Everard's death has "dismayed Britain and revived a painful question: Why are women too often not safe on the streets?" AP notes. Her fate is "all the more shocking" because the suspect charged Friday over her death is an officer "whose job was protecting politicians and diplomats," AP added.

Her killing has sparked outcry across the U.K. and beyond, with women and girls sharing their experiences and fears about personal safety on social media and other mediums.

Everard's disappearance has shone a light on "a double standard that exists: Women are expected to adapt their behavior to reduce personal risk, which in turn fuels a 'victim-blaming culture' and detracts attention from male actions," NBC News writes.

For the record: Member of Parliament Jess Phillips this week read the names of 118 women aloud who were murdered last year.

By the numbers: The United Nations in 2019 reported that 71% of women in the U.K. said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in public, with the number rising to 86% for women between the ages of 18 and 24.

Centre of London, a U.K. think-tank, noted in 2019 that "women were nearly twice as likely as men to mention personal safety as a barrier to walking and using public transport."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Patel, Khan and police.ee.

London police face backlash after dragging mourners from vigil for murdered woman








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London police face backlash after dragging mourners from vigil for murdered woman

FILE PHOTO: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick leaves after a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street in London

Ben Makori and William James
Sun, March 14, 2021

LONDON (Reuters) - London police faced a backlash from the public on Sunday and an official inquiry into their actions after using heavy-handed tactics to break up an outdoor vigil for a woman whose suspected killer is a police officer.

The disappearance of Sarah Everard, 33, as she walked home on the evening of March 3, has provoked a huge outpouring of grief and dismay in Britain at the failure of police and wider society to tackle violence against women.


Police had denied permission for a vigil on Saturday evening at London's Clapham Common, near where Everard was last seen alive, citing regulations aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

But hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered peacefully at the park in defiance of the ban to pay their respects to Everard throughout Saturday, including Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Later on Saturday dozens of police officers marched into the crowd to shouts of "shame on you". Scuffles broke out and officers dragged women away from the scene.

"Last night people were very, very upset, there was a great deal of emotion, completely understandably, and the police, being as they are operationally independent, will be having to explain that to the Home Secretary," safeguarding minister Victoria Atkins told Sky News.

London police chief Cressida Dick backed her officers and said that they needed to make a very difficult judgement.

"We're still in a pandemic, unlawful gatherings are unlawful gatherings, officers have to take action if people are putting themselves massively at risk," Dick told reporters.

Asked if she was considering resigning, she said: "No, I'm not."

Home Secretary Priti Patel, the minister in charge of policing, described footage of the incident as "upsetting". Her office said she had ordered an independent inquiry after an initial police report left some questions unanswered.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also said he was not satisfied with police chiefs' explanation of the events and said officers' conduct must be examined.

"WOMEN DON'T FEEL SAFE"

An image of officers handcuffing a woman on Saturday night as she lay on the floor was widely shared and condemned on social media.

The woman, Patsy Stevenson, told LBC radio: "The main point that everyone was trying to get across when everything happened is that women don't feel safe, they don't feel safe walking down a street and that's the bare minimum we should feel the freedom to do."

She said she was fined 200 pounds ($278) for breaching COVID regulations

Everard's murder has resonated with woman across the country, prompting thousands to share on social media their experiences of violence and sexual assaults perpetrated by men, and vividly describe the daily fear they feel.

On Sunday, hundreds gathered outside police headquarters and marched to a grassy square outside parliament where they lay down en masse in calm protest. Some carried anti-police placards, while others protested against violence against women.

Separately, a steady flow of quiet mourners continued to visit the site of the vigil, placing flowers around a bandstand.

"I feel very angry that they think that they have the right to dictate how we mourn and how we react," 24-year old student Lilith Blackwell told Reuters at the bandstand.

A police officer charged with Everard's murder appeared in court on Saturday. Police discovered her body on Wednesday in woodland about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of London. The court heard that her body was found in a builder's refuse bag, and identified using dental records..

($1 = 0.7183 pounds)

(Reporting by William James, Ben Makori, Will Russell and Natalie Thomas; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Angus MacSwan and Edmund Blair)

Smartphones can do you physical harm, Israeli study finds


James Rothwell
Fri, March 12, 2021

THE TELEGRAPH UK


The Ultra-Orthodox community uses so-called kosher phones that are not connected to social media, suffering fewer physical downsides as a result -Oded Balilty /AP

Browsing social media apps on smartphones makes you more likely to grind your teeth, sleep poorly and suffer from jaw pain, an Israeli study has found.

The Tel Aviv University study of 600 Israelis compared the behaviour of regular smartphone users to those with so-called kosher phones, which are stripped of social media and other forbidden apps.

Kosher phones are widely used by Israel’s ultra-orthodox community, allowing them to make phone calls and in some cases basic internet access without falling foul of strict religious practices.

According to Tel Aviv University, 24 per cent of regular smartphone users experienced teeth grinding during the day, compared to just six per cent of kosher phone users.

The study also reported that 29 per cent of regular smartphone users reported jaw pain, compared to 14 per cent of kosher phone users.

Kosher phone users also appeared to get much better sleep than regular smartphone users, with only 20 per cent complaining that they keep waking up during the night.

“We believe these symptoms are related to FOMO, fear of missing out,” Dr Pessia Friedman-Rubin, a scientist at Tel Aviv University’s dental school, told the Times of Israel.

“People are constantly using their phones because they are worried they will miss something, and check WhatsApp, Facebook and other apps,” she added.

“We didn’t just find differences between the groups, but also clear patterns showing that the more you use your smartphone the more likely you are to hurt from jaw pain, grind your teeth, and wake in the night,” Dr Friedman-Rubin said.

She said she hoped that the study would make people more aware of the fact that technology can be damaging to a person’s physical health, as well as their mental health.

“We are of course in favour of technological progress, but as with everything in life, the excessive use of smartphones can lead to negative symptoms,” she said.

Smartphones can be bad for your mental health - but a new study says they can also damage physical health - Jonathan Brady /PA

“It is important that the public is aware of the consequences it has on the body and mind.”

The study is due to be published in the peer-reviewed journal Quintessence International. All of the participants in the study were aged 18-35.

It is by no means the first time that researchers have found that social media can be bad for your health.

In 2019, a study of 6,000 children aged 12-15 found that those who heavily use social media were far more likely to suffer from depression, loneliness and increased aggression.

In 2017, Facebook, one of the world’s largest social media networks, admitted that it can harm people’s mental health.

The social media network said “passively consuming information” could leave people “feeling worse”in a blog post.

However, not all the research says that extended smartphone and social media use is harmful.

One study last year by Lancaster University measures the amount of time Android and iPhone users spent on their phones and examined their mental well-being.

But “surprisingly,” the researchers said, the amount of time spent using smartphones was unrelated to a person’s mental health.

“A person’s daily smartphone pickups or screen time did not predict anxiety, depression, or stress symptoms,” said Heather Shaw, the leader author of the study at Lancaster University’s Department of Psychology said:

“Additionally, those who exceeded clinical ‘cut off points’ for both general anxiety and major depressive disorder did not use their phone more than those who scored below this threshold,” she added.

Emily Maitlis says lockdown was probably 'quite a lovely experience' for the middle classes

Jessica Carpani
Sat, March 13, 2021


People on their way to work in SE London passing a mural on the first day of an official lockdown - Heathcliff O'Malley

Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis has said the lockdown was probably “quite a lovely experience” for the middle classes.

The journalist was discussing the disproportionate way that Covid-19 has affected communities in the UK.

Speaking at Women of the World Festival 2021, she told Vanessa Kingori, publishing director of British Vogue, that Boris Johnson’s narrative that we’re all in it together at the beginning of the outbreak was “a slightly naive one”.

On March 22 2020, the PM had said: “We will get through this together, and we will beat the virus.

“To win this fight, we need everyone to follow our advice: as far as possible, we want you to stay at home. The more effectively everyone does this, the faster this country will recover.”

But Maitlis criticised the message, arguing that it had been harder for certain groups of people, including frontline workers, people with lower incomes and members of the BAME community.

“Yes, technically, we were in it together. And yet, it quickly became clear that some parts of our communities were suffering much, much more intensively than others.

“Lockdown if you're a celebrity on a yacht is not the same as if you're in a tower block, which is still covered in dangerous cladding.

“I think that ‘aren't we all going through the same thing?’ was a sort of comforting narrative at the beginning, until we realised it really wasn't the same,” she said.

Maitlis said it was important to her that Newsnight make the distinction between people’s lived experience of lockdown and how it had differed depending on circumstance, adding that “it was probably quite a lovely experience for some people”.

She continued: “It was a wonderful fairy tale that we told ourselves but bluntly, if you were richer, and you had a nice big, warm house, and plenty of room for your kids to run around, it was a totally different experience, and probably quite a lovely experience for some people.

“And if you had no room and you weren't working from home, and you couldn't afford to self-isolate, because you couldn't afford to lose the money then it was a totally different Covid.”