ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

Executions worldwide jumped last year to the highest number since 2015, Amnesty report says

This photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the state's death chamber in Columbia, S.C. (AP file photo)

Sylvia Hui
The Associated Press
Staff
Contact
Updated May 28, 2024

The number of executions recorded worldwide last year jumped to the highest level since 2015, with a sharp rise in Iran and across the Middle East, Amnesty International said in a report released Wednesday.

The human rights group said it recorded a total of 1,153 executions in 2023, a 30 per cent increase from 2022. Amnesty said the figure does not include thousands of death sentences believed to have been carried out in China, where data is not available due to state secrecy.

The group said the spike in recorded executions was primarily driven by Iran, where authorities executed at least 853 people last year, compared to 576 in 2022.

Those executed included 24 women and five people who were children at the time the crimes were committed, Amnesty said, adding that the practice disproportionately affected Iran's Baluch minority.

"The Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and ramped up executions for drug-related offences, further highlighting the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran's most marginalized and impoverished communities," Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general, said in a statement.

The group said China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the United States were the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023. The total number cited in Amnesty's annual report was the highest it recorded since 2015, when 1,634 people were known to have been executed.

Amnesty International director general Agnes Callamard delivers her speech in Paris.

 (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Callamard said progress faltered in the U.S., where executions rose from 18 to 24 and a number of states "demonstrated a chilling commitment to the death penalty and a callous intent to invest resources in the taking of human life."

The report cited the introduction of bills to carry out executions by firing squad in Idaho and Tennessee, and Alabama's use of nitrogen gas as a new, untested execution method in January.

Amnesty said that despite the setbacks, there was progress because the number of countries that carried out executions dropped to 16, the lowest on record since the group began monitoring.

Authorities urge proper cooking of wild game after 6 relatives fall ill from parasite in bear meat

By The Associated Press

Posted May 28, 2024 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reaffirmed the importance of properly cooking wild game after six people became sick from a parasite traced to undercooked bear meat that was served at a family reunion in South Dakota.

The six — one in South Dakota, four in Minnesota and one in Arizona — became infected when bear meat that was served rare turned out to be contaminated with roundworms that cause trichinellosis, also known as trichinosis. Two of the people ate only the vegetables that were grilled with the meat. While the meat had been frozen for 45 days, the trichinella worms were from a freeze-resistant species.

“Persons who consume meat from wild game animals should be aware that that adequate cooking is the only reliable way to kill Trichinella parasites and that infected meat can cross-contaminate other food,” the CDC said in its report on the outbreak last week.

The first case turned up after the 2022 reunion in a 29-year-old Minnesota man who had been hospitalized twice with fever, muscle aches and pain and swelling around his eyes, among other abnormalities. A sample of the meat, from a black bear harvested in Saskatchewan, tested positive. Three of the victims were hospitalized in all. All six, ranging in age from 12 to 62, eventually recovered.

Trichinellosis has become rare in the U.S. While it was once commonly associated with undercooked pork, most U.S. cases nowadays are attributed to consumption of wild game. From 2016 to 2022, seven outbreaks, including 35 probable and confirmed cases, were reported to the CDC. Bear meat was the suspected or confirmed source in most of those outbreaks.

The larvae can settle into intestinal, muscle, heart and brain tissues, according to the National Institutes of Health. Most patients fully recover within two to six months.

The CDC recommends cooking wild game to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius), as verified with a meat thermometer. Meat color is not a good indicator. The family members ate some of the meat before realizing it was undercooked and recooking it, the report said. Raw and undercooked meat and their juices should be kept separate from other foods.

The Associated Press

Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
Many wildlife experts tell bear hunters to consider all bear meat infected. 

(CNN Newsource)

Jen Christensen
CNN
Digital
Updated May 28, 2024 


It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.

The celebration happened in summer 2022, according to the account in the latest edition of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. An extended family – unnamed in the report – came from across the country for a reunion in South Dakota.

One family member, a hunter, brought some black bear meat that he had harvested in northern Saskatchewan in May 2022. The hunter said that the hunting outfitter had recommended freezing the meat to kill any potential parasites.

The meat had been frozen for 45 days before it was thawed, and the family grilled it with some vegetables and served it as kebabs.

Freezing can kill some parasites commonly found in black bears, but according to the World Organisation for Animal Health, some species of parasites are freeze-tolerant.

Bears and other wildlife including wild boar, wolves and squirrels can often get sick with trichinellosis, a serious disease caused by parasitic roundworms of the genus Trichinella, but they will often appear perfectly healthy. When butchering the meat, it would be difficult to tell if it was contaminated because there are few signs of the parasite.

Many wildlife experts tell bear hunters to consider all bear meat infected, and the CDC recommends cooking the meat thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the parasites. Smoking, salting, drying and microwaving do not always kill them, experts say.

The meat at the family reunion was initially served rare, but that was not the chef’s intention, the CDC said. Rather, it was “difficult for the family members to visually ascertain the level of doneness” because the meat was dark in color. After some of the family noticed that it was undercooked, they put it back on the grill before it was served again.Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips

It wasn’t until after people had gone home that some started to get sick.

The first illness was in a 29-year-old man who had to be hospitalized twice over a three-week period. He reported symptoms of severe muscle pain and a fever, and his eyes became swollen. Blood tests showed that he had eosinophilia, a condition involving too many eosinophils in the body, a signal to doctors that someone could have allergies, cancer or parasites.

It wasn’t until his second trip to the hospital that doctors learned the man had eaten bear meat and suspected that he may have trichinellosis. Tests soon confirmed that that was the case, and tests were recommended for the other family members.

Trichinellosis can be a light or severe infection, and the symptoms can depend on where the larvae migrate to in the body. Light infections may not have noticeable symptoms, according to the CDC. If the parasite moves into the gastrointestinal tract, it can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting. In muscle, it can cause a fever, rashes, conjunctivitis and facial puffiness. Occasionally, there may be life-threatening symptoms including heart problems, trouble with the central nervous symptom and breathing issues.

Among the eight family members whom investigators interviewed, six had symptoms that were consistent with trichinellosis. Four had eaten bear meat and vegetables, but the other two had eaten only vegetables cooked with the meat. Three family members had to be hospitalized.

The hospitalized people got trichinellosis-directed treatment with albendazole, an antiparasitic drug. Those who were not hospitalized received only supportive care since their symptoms had resolved before it was determined they had the infection. Everyone has since recovered.

In the course of the investigation, CDC labs received samples of the frozen bear meat and found Trichinella larvae, and the hunter was advised to discard any remaining meat. The CDC also informed the Public Health Agency of Canada about the outbreak since the bear had comefrom that country.

The CDC says it’s important that game meat – particularly wild game harvested in northern latitudes – be cooked thoroughly.

Since meat that is contaminated with Trichinella can cross-contaminate other foods, raw meat should be stored and prepared separately from other foods. The CDC also recommends that government agencies and private groups that organize or oversee hunting should educate hunters about these risks and how to protect themselves.

Facing deportation from Canada, Indian students to go on full hunger strike

The hunger strike by Indian students, protesting the immigration cuts in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, has entered the fourth day. The protestors will now go on a complete hunger strike for 24 hours on May 28.

Protesting Indian students in Canada's PEI are now going on a full hunger strike. 

(Image: X/SamJensen541638)

India Today World Desk
New Delhi,UPDATED: May 28, 2024 
Written By: Priyanjali Narayan

In ShortIndians will go on a full hunger strike from May 28 to protest against immigration cuts
Protesters demanding that those who came to Canada before July 2023 be exempted
Cuts by Prince Edward Island come amid strain on province's healthcare and a housing

Indian students, facing deportation from the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, have been on a hunger strike for four days. Now, they have threatened to go on a full hunger strike by avoiding even fluid intake on May 28. The hunger strike comes as hundreds of Indian students are facing deportation after a change in the provincial laws related to immigration.

One of the Indian protesters said around 50 students had already left Canada.

After the hunger strike for four days, the protestors will start a dry hunger strike on May 28, Canadian media outlet, CBC, reported on Tuesday.

A dry hunger strike means these protestors would be without any liquids as well and this puts their lives at more risk than if they were at least having liquids.

This comes against the backdrop of the Prince Edward Island (PEI) government's decision to reduce the number of workers for permanent residency in 2024 from around 2,100 to 1,600. It would decrease the people from other countries who are nominated for permanent residency in Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

The nominees will be cut by 25% in 2024, as there is stress on PEI's healthcare and housing system. 

GOVERNMENT HAS GONE DEAF, SAYS INDIAN STUDENTS

The Indian immigrants say their opportunities are being taken away.

Jaspreet Singh Sivia, one of the protestors, blames the government for disrupting the life of people who were already in the process of getting permanent residency in Canada.

The Indian students plan to step up the protests if the government refuses to listen.

"There have been no actions taken. It looks like the government has become deaf," Sivia said. "We will be doing a 24-hour dry hunger strike effective Tuesday if we still don't hear from the government officials. We will be there 24/7, every day."

Silvia said the protestors realise the health risk they are taking, but they also want to fight for fair opportunity.

These protests began on May 9 and involved 60 protestors with their posters in front of the Colest Building at the PEI legislature.

Now, from May 28, the protestors will move to the site permanently, reports CBC.
WHAT PROTESTING INDIAN STUDENTS IN PEI ARE DEMANDING

The protestors are demanding that people who came before July 2023 should be exempted from the immigration cuts.

Rupinder Pal Singh, one of the protestors even told CBC how around 50 people have left Canada due to the change of regulations.

"There are some people who have been harassing us ... throwing glasses, cans at us, throwing water while people were asleep," Singh said. "We even saw the harassment from people shouting, making noise all night long because we have been protesting outside, people have been sleeping."

POLICE KEEPING TABS ON PROTESTING INDIANS IN CANADA

Charlottetown police's Deputy Chief Sean Coombs told CBC how the protests are being watched by patrol officers.

"We have not received any medical distress calls through our dispatch to this location. We have a designated officer who remains in contact with this group and has open dialogue. The group remains peaceful and respectful of rules and law," Coombs told CBC.

The protestors have the opposition's support. "It's very unfair," said Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly. "They're already here."

He supported the immigrants and said, "those little things that the government is making this excuse about. And they should be treated with more respect and listened to."

Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker said, "I'm ashamed that the province who welcomed these folks here had a set of rules — legitimate, perfectly reasonable rules — laid out to which all of these people complied fully."

"Then, without any warning, [the government] changed those rules to the point now where those whose work permits are expiring, their choices are very limited."

 

Haiti transition council taps former PM Conille to again lead country

Reuters | Posted: M
MAY 28,2024

Garry Conille, UNICEF's Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, speaks during an interview with Reuters, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti January 27, 2023

By Harold Isaac

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Haiti's transition council on Tuesday tapped former Prime Minister Garry Conille, who briefly led the country over a decade ago, to return to the role as the Caribbean nation works to restore stability and take back control from violent gangs.

The transition council voted 6-1 to install Conille as interim prime minister, a member told Reuters.

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Conille's extensive resume in development, working largely with the United Nations, is considered key to shoring up international support as Haiti prepares to launch a U.N.-backed security mission led by Kenya, though its deployment has faced hurdles.

The transition council, which holds some presidential powers, and its head, Edgard Leblanc, acting as a de-facto president, are now tasked with holding elections before Feb. 7, 2026, as laid out in Haiti's constitution.

"Following discussions within the transition council after hearings with the candidates for prime minister, Dr. Garry Conille was chosen by consensus to lead the government during this transition period," Leblanc said on X.

Conille's naming underscores progress in Haiti's political process and follows Prime Minister Ariel Henry's resignation in March after he left Haiti to seek support for the Kenyan security mission and was unable to re-enter the country.

President Jovenel Moise, who named Henry, was assassinated in 2021. Haiti has not had a president since.

"My sincerest congratulations," business leader Alix Didier Fils-Aime, who had also put his hat in the ring for the role, said on X. "I'm still a patriot who believes in this country. Long live Haiti!"

Conille was prime minister for just seven months, resigning in February 2012 after losing the support of his cabinet and clashing with then-President Michel Martelly.

Conille and Martelly butted heads over reconstruction contracts following a deadly 2010 earthquake and a parliamentary investigation into politicians holding dual citizenship, which is illegal in Haiti.

Conille most recently held the post of regional director at U.N. children's agency UNICEF.

He will now be tasked with fighting off rampant insecurity as gangs have expanded their reach. More than 360,000 people are already internally displaced within Haiti, according to U.N. estimates, mostly from capital Port-au-Prince, due to the gang conflict.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Valentine Hilaire and Anthony Esposito)

Colombia’s Congress Votes to Ban Bullfighting in Blow to Tradition

A demonstrator holds an anti-bullfighting banner in Bogota on May 7, 2024.Antonio Cascio—SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

BY MANUEL RUEDA / AP
MAY 28, 2024 

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s congress voted Tuesday to ban bullfights in the South American nation, delivering a serious blow to a centuries-old tradition that has inspired famous songs and novels but has become increasingly controversial in the countries where it is still practiced.

The bill calls for the banning of bullfights in a three-year span, making the tradition illegal by the start of 2028. The new law now needs to be signed by President Gustavo Petro, who has been a longtime opponent of these events.


Bullfighting originated in the Iberian Peninsula and is still legal in a handful of countries, including Spain, France, Portugal, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico.

It was once a popular event, broadcast live by multiple television networks. But the tradition has come under increased scrutiny as views change about animal rights, and many find it unacceptable to see an animal suffer for entertainment’s sake.

A protester places a poster of a bull with a message that reads in Spanish: “No more culture of violence” near a glimmering of candles, during a protest against bullfighting, which has been temporarily suspended as Congress debates its legality, in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

“This ban is a huge victory for organizations that have worked to transform society and reject violence against animals,” said Terry Hurtado, an animal rights activist and city council member in Cali, who has been leading protests against bullfights since the 1990s. “I feel relieved that bulls and horses (which also participate in some bullfights) in Colombia will no longer be tortured, and that children will no longer be exposed to this spectacle.”

In bullfights, a matador faces bulls that are bred to be aggressive. The matador taunts the bull with a red cape and kills the animal with the blow of a sword after it has been injured with lances and daggers, and is tired of charging at the matador in a circular arena.


In Colombia, where bullfights have been held since colonial times, less than two dozen municipalities continue to hold these events, although the annual bullfights in the city of Manizales still draw tens of thousands of spectators.

Bullfighting aficionados described the ban as an assault on the freedoms of minorities as well as a problem for cities where these events draw thousands of visitors

 

[Graphic News] Cristiano Ronaldo named world’s highest-paid athlete

By Nam Kyung-don

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the highest-paid athlete over the past year, according to the Forbes article, “The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2024.” The Portuguese soccer superstar earned $260 million between May 1, 2023 and May 1, 2024.

Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, who made headlines with his move from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf in December 2023, ranked second with $218 million in earnings.

In third place was Argentina’s Lionel Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, with $135 million. NBA stars LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks followed in fourth and fifth places, earning $128 million and $111 million, respectively.

Palestine’s Quest for UN Recognition: What’s Next and What’s at Stake?

For Palestinians, the recognition holds both symbolic and practical significance, offering avenues for representation and diplomacy. However, the tangible benefits and freedoms of statehood remain elusive until Israel acknowledges Palestine as an equal partner.

BYRAMEEN SIDDIQUI
MAY 29, 2024

 UN Photo/Manuel Elías

The United Nations General Assembly has decisively voted in support of an enhanced Palestinian membership within the organization.

The recent decision by the UN General Assembly to support increased Palestinian membership in the United Nations could have significant implications. The resolution, backed by countries including Ireland, acknowledges Palestine’s eligibility for full UN membership and urges the Security Council to revisit the issue, following a previous veto by the US. This development highlights the growing international support for Palestinian recognition and could lead to important changes in the region.

The current vote holds significant implications, with divergent perspectives on its potential outcomes. Some view it as a crucial initial move towards enduring peace in the Middle East, while others fear it may inadvertently reward terrorism, potentially prompting the United States, the largest contributor to the United Nations, to withdraw its financial support. The decision made today could shape the future trajectory of international relations and global peace efforts in the region.

Recognizing a country as a sovereign state involves complex considerations that go beyond just geographic boundaries and government structures. The Montevideo Convention, signed in 1933, outlines four key criteria for statehood: a permanent population, a government, defined borders, and the ability to engage in foreign relations. However, not all recognized states strictly adhere to these guidelines. For instance, countries like Libya, which may have multiple governing bodies, challenge the conventional notions of statehood.

As of the end of 1988, approximately half of the United Nations member states had acknowledged Palestine. Fast forward to the present day, and that number has risen to 140 nations. On May 28th, Ireland, Norway, and Spain are set to formally join this group, a significant development given that most other Western countries do not officially recognize Palestine. Countries like the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany advocate for a two-state solution in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, asserting that they would only acknowledge a Palestinian state if endorsed by both parties. However, Israel opposes any independent actions taken by Palestinians without mutual agreement and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, has consistently rejected the idea of a two-state solution.

In diplomatic circles, there is a discussion about whether the current situation could establish a precedent for other similar cases, like Kosovo and Taiwan. Meanwhile, the United States is facing a significant issue due to a law from the 1990s that prohibits the allocation of funds to the United Nations if Palestine is granted equal status as member states. Amendments have been made to clarify that Palestinians will not be able to participate in General Assembly voting or propose candidacies for UN organizations, including the Security Council.

The admission of a new member state into the United Nations is subject to the approval of both the Security Council and the General Assembly. Should the Palestinian Authority’s application successfully navigate the Security Council, it will proceed to the General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority is required for approval.

The likelihood of the application’s success appears more favorable in the General Assembly than in the Security Council. This is evident from the fact that 139 nations, representing a substantial majority of the General Assembly, already formally recognize Palestine as a sovereign state. This widespread recognition could potentially play a pivotal role in securing approval from the General Assembly when the time comes for a vote on the matter.

Ireland has emerged as a prominent advocate for Palestinian membership, particularly within the European Union. The recent vote showcased overwhelming support for this stance, with 143 countries voting in favor, nine against, and 25 abstentions.

Such resounding numbers not only signal a clear message but also have the potential to mobilize international pressure for a constructive political resolution. Ireland’s proactive engagement in drumming up backing for Palestinian aspirations reflects its commitment to promoting peace and justice on the global stage.

Even if this proposal falls short of full membership, it offers Palestinian representatives the opportunity to occupy seats in alphabetical order on the General Assembly floor, a significant shift from their current placement at the rear of the hall. This adjustment grants them the ability to co-sponsor proposals, engage in international conferences, and partake in meetings. As highlighted by Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, this development will empower Palestinians to voice their concerns and influence discussions on a variety of topics.

The necessity of establishing a Palestinian state according to the borders set in 1967. It also urges the UN Security Council to review their decision regarding Palestine’s membership. If this proposal were to be approved, it would highlight the United States’ isolation on this issue. Any potential decision by President Biden to cut funding to the UN in response would only serve to diminish the country’s international standing even further.

The Palestinian quest for complete U.N. membership emerges in the aftermath of Israel’s prolonged offensive in Gaza and its unlawful expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The U.N. has consistently supported the concept of two states coexisting peacefully with secure boundaries. Palestinians aspire to establish their state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, a move that is opposed by Israel. This ongoing conflict underscores the complexities and challenges hindering a peaceful resolution in the region.

For Palestinians, the recognition holds both symbolic and practical significance, offering avenues for representation and diplomacy. Symbolically, recognition acknowledges the existence and legitimacy of Palestine as a state, paving the way for the establishment of embassies in supportive nations. However, the tangible benefits and freedoms of statehood remain elusive until Israel acknowledges Palestine as an equal partner.

The hurdles to achieving full statehood are evident in the stalled peace talks, with the last direct negotiations collapsing in 2014. The current political climate casts doubts on the feasibility of reinitiating these crucial dialogues. Nevertheless, the necessity of such discussions cannot be overstated, as they represent a vital step towards lasting peace and recognition for the people of Palestine.

Rameen Siddiqui

A thought leader and youth activist with main focus areas being Sustainable Development, Political Economy, Development Justice and Advocacy. A member of the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY). Also a Youth Member of United Nations Association of Pakistan (UNAP).

 

Sánchez Says Spain Won’t Recognise Changes To 1967 Israeli-Palestinian Border Lines

 May 29, 2024 

By Fernando Heller

(EurActiv) — Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday (28 May) that Madrid will not admit changes to the 1967 border lines that were not previously agreed between Israel and the Palestinian state, which Madrid officially recognised on the same day in a coordinated move with Ireland and Norway.

“The State of Palestine must be viable, with the West Bank and Gaza connected by a corridor and with East Jerusalem as its capital and unified under the legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority (…),” Sánchez said in a statement.

“We will not recognise changes to the 1967 border lines other than those agreed by the parties,” he said.

According to him, this would be in line with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 as well as with the position of the EU.

While describing the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood as “historic”, the Spanish prime minister expressed his desire to have “the best possible relationship” with Israel and reiterated his “categorical” rejection of the Hamas militants, who do not believe in Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace.

Israel is “a friendly people whom we respect, whom we appreciate and with whom we want to have the best possible relationship”, Sánchez stressed.

Recognising Palestinian statehood for Madrid would have the sole objective of helping Israelis and Palestinians to achieve peace, he added.

“It is not only a question of historical justice with the legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine; it is also a peremptory necessity if we all want to achieve peace and it is the only way to advance towards the solution that we all recognize as the only possible way to achieve a peaceful future, that of a Palestinian state living side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security,” Sánchez said.

Díaz qualifies offensive words towards Israel

Despite Sánchez’s conciliatory tone, Tel Aviv issued a harsh démarche against Spain on the same day. Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Sánchez of being “complicit in inciting Jewish genocide” with the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Katz also condemned Madrid for failing to remove Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz from office, after she stated last week that “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea”.

The political phrase, which has become a battle cry used by either side, is generally viewed as dismissing the right of the other to the land between the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

For Hamas, this de facto means the elimination of the state of Israel, which lies between the two.

Díaz, who is also minister of labour and leader of the left-wing platform Sumar, the PSOE’s junior partner in government, maintains a tough stance on Israel, which she has accused of committing “genocide” in Gaza, following Hamas terror attacks in October 2023.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s military operation has so far killed more than 35,000 people, many of them civilians.

The Sumar leader last week released a controversial video in which she celebrated Madrid’s announcement of recognition of Palestinian statehood.´

After the protest from Tel Aviv and the Israeli embassy in Madrid, Díaz was forced to qualify her words.

“We have always had (in Sumar) the same position, the recognition of two states that share from the river to the sea; that share the economy, that share the rights and above all the future of peace,” she stated.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Photo Credit: La Moncloa

UAW 4811 SOLIDARITY WITH CEASEFIRE PROTESTERS 

UC student workers expand strike to two more campuses

The union escalated its standoff by walking off the job at UCLA and UC Davis


Shmuel Thaler/Santa Cruz Sentinel University of California, Santa Cruz graduate students and other academic workers in the UAW 4811 union begin a strike and are joined by UCSC students for Justice in Palestine as they picket the main entrance to campus on Monday, May 20, 2024, in Santa Cruz, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP)


By CALMATTERS | CALmatters.org
PUBLISHED: May 28, 2024 
By Mikhail Zinshteyn | CalMatters

Nearly a third of the academic and graduate student workers of the University of California are on strike, after the union of 48,000 employees escalated its labor standoff by walking off the job at UCLA and UC Davis this morning.

With as many as 2,000 UC Santa Cruz graduate students and academic workers picketing since last Monday, today’s job action brings 12,000 more out of classrooms and laboratories, potentially crippling the university’s mission of educating the roughly 80,000 undergraduates at the three campuses just two weeks before students begin to take their end-of-quarter finals.

Workers, including teaching assistants, academic researchers and graders, are striking not over pay and benefits but instead over the UC’s response to pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested by police or suspended from their campuses. Some union members were arrested or suspended for their role in the protests. Core to the union’s demands is that the UC offer “amnesty for those who experienced arrest or are facing University discipline,” the union’s public writings state.

Some 60 academic workers began picketing at Royce Quad at UCLA by 9 a.m., where just weeks ago students at a large pro-Palestinian encampment were attacked by counter-protesters.

“UC, UC you’re no good, treat your workers like you should,” the picketing academic workers chanted, their ranks gradually growing as more striking workers arrived under a gray sky. “When free speech is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” went another chant, the rhythmic pulses of a snare drum accompanying the picketers, who grew to more than 200 by 10:30 a.m.

UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, Mary Osako, is critical of the strike. “Our talented students are getting ready for finals, and UCLA’s focus is doing whatever we can to support them. They’re paying tuition and fees to learn, and we’re dismayed by deliberate outside disruptions that get in the way of that.

Origins of strike


UC’s Office of the President calls the strike illegal, saying that its contract with the union — itself the result of a six-week long strike in late 2022 — includes a no-strike provision. The union, UAW 4811, vehemently disagrees with that analysis, citing legal precedent that a union can strike over unfair labor practices that fall outside the scope of a union contract. It’s a view shared by at least one UCLA law professor.

Both sides have leaned heavily on the state’s Public Employment Relations Board to adjudicate their disputes.

Two days after police swept the encampments at UCLA and arrested scores of protesters, the union filed an unfair labor practice violation with the labor relations board. The union then filed similar violations after police cleared encampments at UC San Diego and UC Irvine that also led to arrests of protesters — and another alleging that the UC changed its disciplinary rules unilaterally to punish academic workers.

“By summoning the police to forcibly arrest and/or issuing interim suspensions to these employees, the University has violated their employee rights,“ the union wrote in one of its submissions to the labor relations board. The union says its workers were not only rallying against the war in Gaza but also seeking ways to remove academic research funding sources tied to the U.S. military. Workers also oppose “the discrimination and hostile work environment directed towards Palestinian, Muslim, and pro-Palestine Jewish employees and students.”

Unlike a systemwide strike, this “stand up” strike will pursue labor stoppages at certain campuses, a strategy employed by Detroit autoworkers in their successful campaign for higher compensation last year. The approach is meant to apply gradual pressure to management. Union leaders have maintained that if UC management wants to stop the spread of the strike, it should come to the table with the union to remedy the unfair labor practice charges.

While the strike is technically distinct from the larger protest movement against the war, the two movements are related. Last Thursday, several hundred UCLA members of the UAW 4811 held a rally in support of their impending strike. Moments later, they joined a student-led protest demanding that the UC call for a ceasefire and divest from weapons manufacturers and the Israeli economy. That same day, protesters erected a short-lived encampment and temporarily took over a campus building before being pushed out by police.

It was a clear sign that, despite hundreds of arrests in May, thousands of students, union members and some faculty remain passionate about their pro-Palestinian advocacy.

Legality of strike debated

Almost 20,000 of the union’s 48,000 represented workers voted on whether to strike two weeks ago, and nearly 80% of those who did vote approved the strike authorization. Only union members can vote.

The UC sought an injunction to legally halt the strike, but the labor relations board wrote last week that UC hadn’t established that an injunction is “just and proper.” The union hailed the ruling. However, the board wrote that it’s leaving UC’s request open in the event the university provides better evidence.

In a partial victory for the university, the board issued a complaint that the union “failed to provide adequate advance notice of its work stoppage, and failed and refused to meet and confer in good faith.” The UC press office, in announcing the board’s response, wrote that the labor board “found enough evidence to suggest that a violation may have occurred, and further examination is warranted.”

The union argues in its latest unfair labor practice violation that the UC unilaterally implemented a disciplinary policy that affects UAW 4811 workers. The union seeks an order telling the UC to “cease and desist from unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of employment related to discipline.”

A spokesperson for the UC Office of the President disputes that characterization, writing that these policies aren’t new and reaffirm existing rules. The spokesperson, Heather Hansen, sought to invalidate the central thrust of the union’s demands, writing to CalMatters last week: “By requesting amnesty, UAW is asking the University not to follow its processes but rather to make an exception for its members so that they are not subject to the same accountability measures applicable to all other members of the UC community.”

Effect on student learning

Not all unionized workers have jobs with labor to withhold. Some are paid with fellowships to advance their own research. But most perform a job duty that’s integral to the academic mission of the university. Systemwide, about 20,000 workers are graduate student teaching assistants, tutors or other instructional assistants.

Graduate students teach classes, especially introductory courses, run discussion sections and grade student work.

Last week, about 60% to 70% of UC Santa Cruz workers who could withhold their labor did, estimated Rebecca Gross, the unit chair of the union at the campus.

On the social media platform Reddit, individuals identifying themselves as UCLA students wrote that some of their discussion sessions are being canceled and that some of their courses are moving online. It “is tragic for me bc (sic) I learn 80% of the material from discussion and problem solving sessions,” wrote one poster.

Who’ll pick up the work that the striking workers won’t do is an open question. The governing body of UCLA faculty sent a message to professors that “faculty members cannot be required to take on additional responsibilities for teaching related to a work stoppage.”

Brandon Cruz, a fourth-year undergraduate student who’s changing his major to sociology, said that a teacher’s assistant who was supposed to lead a political communications class today didn’t, but still told students she’d help them with their projects that are due today.

“She’s supporting the strike,” he said, “but she’s also supporting her students because she feels like it’s unfair for her to drop us at the last two weeks of the quarter.”

Another undergraduate, Nico Diamond, said that one of her teaching assistants plans to continue teaching an environmental economics class. He told the class that’s because he’s an international student and worries he’d risk losing his visa for withholding labor during a strike that university officials view as unlawful.

“I’m never annoyed by the strikes,” Diamond said, who sat writing an essay at a campus picnic bench in earshot of the picketers. “The strikers are not getting in people’s faces. Noise is noise, it’s L.A., it’s nothing new.”

But the security build-up since protesters first established the campus encampment, that’s been a source of fatigue, she said. “I put the blame on the administration for calling for more security.”

Graduate worker anger

Most protesters, including UAW 4811 members, who were arrested were cited for failing to follow police orders to disperse. At UCLA, administrators sent a notice to students and protesters on April 30, a day before police cleared the encampment, that “the established encampment is unlawful and violates university policy” and asked the participants to leave the area or face sanctions. The notice also said that “law enforcement is prepared to arrest individuals, in accordance with applicable law.”

The notice added that “for students, those sanctions could include disciplinary measures such as interim suspension that, after proper due process through the student conduct process, could lead to dismissal.”

Members of the encampment replied the same day, writing in part “We will continue to remain here steadfast in our demands.”

That night, counter-protesters attacked those in the encampment with pepper spray, wooden sticks and at least one firework as police stood by for hours and made no arrests. Local and national news outlets brought around-the-clock coverage to the violence.

The next afternoon, police ordered members of the encampment to disperse. Hours after those orders, police arrested more than 200 people.

“In contrast to the lack of police response to the violent attack by anti-Palestine counterprotesters on April 30, 2024, the University summoned a massive number of police officers on the evening of May 1, 2024 for the purpose of ejecting and arresting the employees engaged in peaceful protest in the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment,” union lawyers wrote in one of the unfair labor practice violations submitted to the state labor relations board.


Kai Shi, a mathematics doctoral student at UCLA, pushed back on the reason to call the police in the first place. “Just because the police say it’s unlawful doesn’t mean that they’re right,” he said.

“The unlawful assembly is an excuse by the university to shut us down,” Shi argued.

UC San Diego issued at least 40 suspensions in the middle of May related to the pro-Palestinian protests, the union wrote in one of its unfair labor practice violations. “Such extreme disciplinary measures in response to peaceful protest activity suppress free expression of ideas and violate the First Amendment,” it read.

“We are standing up for justice in the workplace, in a way that directly affects not just us, but our students,” said Anny Viloria Winnett, the unit chair of the local UCLA union chapter.

She said the union is taking on a “fight for our ability to be safe on campus, our ability to have free speech and protest on our campus, but it’s also a fight that our students led … and we’re just a continuation of that.”

 Another senior State official resigns over Gaza, taking aim at aid

The official, Stacy Gilbert, resigned Tuesday. She told colleagues that the State Department was wrong to conclude Israel had not obstructed aid to Gaza.


By John Hudson and Michael Birnbaum

Updated May 28, 2024

A career State Department official involved in the Biden administration’s contentious debates over Israel’s conduct in Gaza resigned this week, citing disagreements with a recently published U.S. government report that claimed that Israel was not impeding humanitarian assistance to Gaza, two officials told The Washington Post.

The outgoing official, Stacy Gilbert, served in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Gilbert sent an email to staff Tuesday explaining her view that the State Department was wrong to conclude that Israel had not obstructed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, officials who read the letter said.

The cause for resignation is unusual in that it speaks to internal dissent over a hotly disputed report that the Biden administration relied on to justify continuing to send billions of dollars of weapons to Israel.

Gilbert, through an associate, did not respond to a request for comment.

When asked about her resignation, a State Department spokesman said that “we have made clear we welcome diverse points of view and believe it makes us stronger.”

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel issue, said the department would continue to seek out a wide range of view points for the benefit of the policymaking process.

“On the day when the White House announced that the latest atrocity in Rafah did not cross its red line, this resignation demonstrates that the Biden Administration will do anything to avoid the truth,” Josh Paul, the first State Department official to resign over Gaza policy, wrote on LinkedIn after this article was published online.

“This is not just a story of bureaucratic complicity or ineptitude — there are people signing off on arms transfers, people drafting arms transfer approval memos, people turning a blind eye,” Paul wrote. People “who could be speaking up, people who have an awesome responsibility to do good, and a lifelong commitment to human rights — whose choice is to let the bureaucracy function as though it were business as usual.”

The report Gilbert objected to was published this month in response to a presidential memo known as NSM-20.

President Biden issued the memo in February after coming under pressure from congressional Democrats concerned about the rising death toll in Gaza. It required the State Department to assess whether Israel’s use of U.S. weapons in Gaza violated U.S. or international humanitarian law and included an examination of whether humanitarian aid had been deliberately obstructed.

The report — the product of weeks of discussion within the State and Defense departments — found that while “aid remains insufficient,” the United States does not “currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance.”

Gilbert, whose views were echoed by the vast majority of aid and humanitarian organizations, said Israel was impeding the aid from reaching civilians in Gaza. Aid flows have continued to be constricted in the weeks since the report was issued. But the report found insufficient grounds to halt aid to Israel.

Heavy machinery is used to dispose of rotten eggs, which had spoiled this month as part of aid packages for Gaza while the Rafah border crossing remains closed. (Reuters)

The State Department spokesperson said that “we continue to press the government of Israel to avoid harming civilians and urgently expand humanitarian access to and inside Gaza. This includes facilitating provision of lifesaving assistance, allowing fuel entry, and ensuring safe freedom of movement for humanitarian workers.”

Along with Paul, a handful of Biden administration officials have resigned since the conflict began in October, including Annelle Sheline, who worked on human rights issues, and Hala Rharrit, one of the department’s Arabic-language spokespeople. Still more have expressed unhappiness with administration policy by sending cables via the internal dissent channel, a process intended to allow diplomats to articulate disagreement without fear of retribution.

After Rharrit resigned, she said that as the months of the conflict progressed, it became more clear that internal discussion about U.S.-Israel policy was unwelcome, unlike almost every other subject during her 18-year career at the State Department.

The Biden administration paused the transfer of some bombs and precision guidance kits to register its concerns over a potential large-scale invasion of Rafah. But it has left most weapons flows untouched and has said Israel’s actions in the crowded border city do not yet cross the president’s “red line” despite the rising death toll and increasing military operations.