Democracy

Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device: Via Apple Podcasts | Via Google Podcasts | Via Stitcher Four hundred years ago, in August 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the 250 years of slavery that followed. “ 1619, ” a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, examines the long shadow of that fateful moment. This episode includes scenes of graphic violence. On today’s episode: Nikole Hannah-Jones , who writes for The New York Times Magazine. Background reading: “Without the idealistic, strenuous and patriotic efforts of black Americans, our democracy today would most likely look very different — it might not be a democracy at all,” Nikole Hannah-Jones writes . The “1619” audio series is part of The 1619 Project, a major initiative from The … [Read more...] about Episode 1: The Fight for a True Democracy

Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik reveals delight at receiving NATO tanks SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Recent tank pledges to Ukraine from NATO forces will cause an “escalation of tensions” with Russia , a former UK Army chief has said. After top Ukrainian officials hailed Wednesday’s weapons pledges as the beginning of the “real punching fist of democracy”, General Lord Richard Dannatt, speaking to the i, suggested that while this support would likely increase hostilities with Russia , it nonetheless provided “no justification” for Russia to target NATO territories. His comments reflect the geopolitical wordplay now being employed across the Western major powers, epitomised by US President Joe Biden in his White House … [Read more...] about Sending tanks will escalate tension with Russia, warns former UK Army chief

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. In 2019, to mark the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved people arriving in the United States, The New York Times Magazine published The 1619 Project . It was the beginning of an ongoing long-form journalism initiative, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones, that reframes the history of slavery in America and explores how it touches nearly every aspect of modern life. The 1619 Project has been used as a curriculum in some 4,500 classrooms ; it has also been adapted into a podcast and a best-selling book that features essays by contributors about slavery’s legacy. And on Thursday, it finally makes its way to the screen in the form of a six-part documentary series on Hulu. Each episode of the TV series adapts an essay from the book and touches on themes such as “music,” or “democracy.” As an executive producer and the show’s narrator, Ms. Hannah-Jones … [Read more...] about A New Series, ‘In Service of Our Ancestors’

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey summoned the Danish ambassador on Friday over reports that an anti-Islam activist would be allowed to burn the Quran during a series of protests in Copenhagen. Rasmus Paludan, a far-right activist who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship, infuriated Turkey by staging a Quran-burning protest in Sweden on Jan. 21. He told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that he would replicate the protest in front of the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen every Friday until Sweden is admitted into NATO. On Friday, he burned a copy of the Muslim holy book outside a mosque in Copenhagen. Loud music blared from the mosque as he spoke, in an apparent attempt to drown his words. “This mosque has no place in Denmark,” said Paludan in a live broadcast on his Facebook page, wearing a protective helmet and surrounded by riot police. The activist, who has police protection, was … [Read more...] about Turkey summons Danish envoy over Quran-burning protest

Click here to read the full article. In the final moments of Brandon Bernard’s life, before he was executed by lethal injection at a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Dec. 10, 2020, President Donald Trump picked up the phone to entertain a final plea for mercy on Bernard’s behalf. The call was not with Bernard’s family or his attorneys. Nor was it with representatives from the Justice Department’s Pardon Attorney office, who had recommended just days earlier that Trump spare Bernard’s life. Rather, the call was with Jamal Fincher Jones, better known as Polow da Don , a music producer responsible for hits like Ludacris ’ “Pimpin’ All Over the World” and Nicki Minaj ’s “Anaconda.” Jones didn’t know Bernard, but he had publicly endorsed Trump for reelection — and that, Bernard’s advocates had correctly suspected, gave him the best chance of getting the president’s ear. More from Rolling Stone Trump, Who Used Social Media to Incite Insurrection, to … [Read more...] about Trump’s Killing Spree: The Inside Story of His Race to Execute Every Prisoner He Could

The Supreme Court.  INQUIRER FILE / LYNN RILLON Members of the Makabayan bloc from the House of Representatives, together with the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to declare as unconstitutional Republic Act 10963, or the Tax Reform for Advancement and Inclusion (TRAIN Law). While the case is pending in court, petitioners urged the high court to issue a restraining order stopping its implementation. In their petition, they told the high court that the House of Representative leaders committed grave abuse of discretion for ratifying the bicameral conference committee report for TRAIN “despite the glaring lack of quorum.” Article VI Section 16(2) of the 1987 Constitution provides that “a majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business.” In this case, however, petitioners said the lower house violated the law when it ratified the TRAIN bicameral conference committee report with barely 10 to 15 House members present … [Read more...] about TRAIN’s legality questioned before Supreme Court

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for January 27 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Republican state lawmakers filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday hoping to preserve elements of their impeachment case against an elected progressive Philadelphia prosecutor. The appeal asks the state's highest court to review last month's decision regarding the legality of the Legislature's impeachment and trial of Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner. It seeks clarity on whether the trial can move forward with certain articles and takes issue with the court's decision that three of the impeachment articles allege ethics violations, which would put it under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to discipline Krasner. Republican lawmakers, rather, assert it is in their power to remove him. The two Republican members named to manage the impeachment case contend the court did not … [Read more...] about Republican lawmakers file appeal regarding the legality of the PA Legislature’s impeachment of Larry Krasner

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for January 27 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. A court in Thailand sentenced a 27-year-old political activist to 28 years in prison on Thursday for posting messages on Facebook that it said defamed the country’s monarchy, while two young women charged with the same offense continued a hunger strike after being hospitalized. The court in the northern province of Chiang Rai found that Mongkhon Thirakot violated the lese majeste law in 14 of 27 posts for which he was arrested last August. The law covers the current king, his queen and heirs, and any regent. The lese majeste law carries a prison term of three to 15 years per incident for insulting the monarchy, but critics say it is often wielded as a tool to quash political dissent. Student-led pro-democracy protests beginning in 2020 openly criticized the monarchy, previously a taboo subject, leading to … [Read more...] about Thai activist sentenced to 28 years after defaming country’s monarchy in Facebook posts

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Groups advocating for professional social workers and abortion rights said they have succeeded in forcing a small Ohio city to significantly narrow its ban on conducting or recommending abortions and so have ended their legal challenge. The lawsuit by the National Association of Social Workers and the Abortion Fund of Ohio argued that the law, passed in May 2021, represented an “extraordinarily broad” infringement on the constitutional rights of due process and free speech. The groups' lawyers at the ACLU of Ohio and Democracy Forward further alleged the ban violated Ohio’s home-rule provisions. The city of Lebanon, in southwest Ohio, opted to revise the law rather than defend it in court. Enforcement had been placed on hold while that work took place. Opponents said they dropped their lawsuit Jan. 12 after provisions were removed that made aiding and abetting an abortion a crime, and the law was further clarified to assure that providing transportation, … [Read more...] about Ohio city rewrites abortion ban, advocacy groups end lawsuit

Piaget Ventus had been working in the New York restaurant industry for several years when her manager informed the staff one day, circa 2015, that they all needed to take a ServSafe course. The employees met at a sister restaurant, where they watched safety videos, took practice tests and had to pass a final exam to get certified. The course cost Ventus $15, for which she was reimbursed, but it consumed about three hours of her day, which she was expected to surrender without pay. As a server, Ventus rarely had to handle food directly. There were runners for that. Nonetheless, she took the course at face value. She figured her managers just wanted to make sure everyone had a firm grasp of food safety basics. But after the New York Times reported this month that the ServSafe program also raises money for the National Restaurant Association, Ventus felt something akin to betrayal. The NRA - occasionally called "the other NRA" - is a multimillion-dollar trade association that lobbies … [Read more...] about Restaurant group uses workers’ cash to lobby against them, advocates say