Majorities of Americans across racial lines say white people are treated more fairly than black people by the police, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

But the poll finds a disconnect between white Americans who identify disparate treatment of people of color by the police, but who don’t see police violence as a serious problem — a contrast on display this week as many black Americans welcomed the guilty verdict against former Dallas officer Amber Guyger as a singular victory, rather than proof of changing attitudes.

About 7 in 10 black Americans, and about half of Hispanics, call police violence against the public very serious, compared with about a quarter of white Americans. Roughly another third of white Americans call it a moderately serious problem.

The dynamic has played out in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, which began in 2014 with the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by white, former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson.

Raising awareness

The work of activists around the issue of policing in communities of color has helped to raise awareness, said poll respondent Warren Miller, a 62-year-old Realtor living in Fairview, Michigan, who said his black friends helped him realize that white people are treated more fairly by police.

But Miller, who is white, also said he doesn’t believe police violence against the public is a serious problem. Asked why, he laughed nervously before responding: “In northern Michigan, we don’t have as many problems, the city issues. It’s small town America, where everybody knows everybody. That could’ve influenced part of my perception as well,” he said.

Myth of equal justice

“White folks are trying to grapple with the difference between what they want to and need to believe about their country, and what their eyes increasingly are telling them is true,” said anti-racist author and educator Tim Wise, adding that for many black and brown Americans, the notion that racism is systemic and not limited to individual instances is easier to accept “because it’s their lived experience.”

“For white folks, there’s a need to hold on to the myth that America is an equal justice kind of place,” said Wise, who is white. “People of color have never had to, nor have they ever been able to, buy into the fiction of liberty and justice for all.”

Overall, about a third of Americans think police violence against the public is a very serious problem in the U.S., though another third call it moderately serious. By comparison, close to half say violence against police is very serious.

Misconception about blacks

But the poll also finds 55% of Americans say they think police in most communities are more likely to use deadly force against a black person compared with a white person.

“I think there’s a misconception that black citizens are inherently more dangerous or more likely to react violently to a police encounter,” said Gabe Wood, 49, of Wilmington, North Carolina.

The Democrat, who is white, cited “a laundry list of issues that go back a long time” like stereotypes about different races and the threats they present.

“I do think in some areas of the country and some parts of towns, I think police officers are quicker to resort to deadly force because of a perceived and sometimes unreal threat,” Wood said.

Guyger’s trial was the latest in a string of high-profile cases in recent years in cities including Baltimore, Cleveland and Minneapolis, as well as Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and North Charleston, South Carolina, to highlight the issue of disparate policing in communities of color.

Reforms put on hold

Those cases and others prompted Justice Department efforts to reform local police departments under former President Barack Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder. Such efforts have stalled under President Donald Trump, who has embraced law enforcement. His administration in 2017 labeled Black Lives Matter as “black identity extremists.”

Guyger, a 31-year-old white former officer, was convicted Tuesday of murder in the killing of 26-year-old accountant Botham Jean after apparently entering his home by mistake and concluding that he was an intruder. She was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

Some observers cited the rare circumstances of the case as a factor in the rare outcome, as officer-involved shootings of unarmed black people are sometimes prosecuted, but often result in acquittals.

Others will point to the guilty verdict as evidence of progress, said Georgetown University law professor and former federal prosecutor Paul Butler.

“People’s understandings about the police are going to be based on their own experiences with the police,” Butler said. “The more typical case is when the officer is on-duty and the victim is not as sympathetic, and the officer is seen by many white folks as ‘just trying to do his job.’ We’re still a long way from equal justice under the law.”

The AP-NORC poll of 1,286 adults was conducted Sept. 20-23 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods and later were interviewed online or by phone.

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From: MeNeedIt

Melinda Gates has pledged $1 billion to promote gender equality in the United States.

In an article published in Time Wednesday, Gates wrote, “It’s frustrating — even heartbreaking — to confront evidence of the many ways our country continues to hold women back.”

Gender equality has long been an issue of interest for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Pivotal Ventures, the investment and incubation company she founded in 2015.

“For most of our history, women’s absence from positions of power and influence wasn’t newsworthy; it was normal,” she wrote. “The fact we’re now talking about these inequities is itself a sign of progress.”

She said Pivotal Ventures will use the money to work with organizations and policymakers to achieve three targets: breaking down barriers women face on the job, helping women move up faster in leadership positions and holding companies accountable for fostering gender equality. The goal is to make a significant impact within 10 years.

Gates wrote that in 2018, “there were more men named James running Fortune 500 companies than there were women. This year, only one CEO on that list of 500 is a woman of color.”

She said her reaction to facts like that “is a complicated mix of outrage and optimism.”

Gates hopes her commitment will push others into action. 

“$1 billion is a lot of money, but I also recognize that it’s only a small fraction of what’s necessary,” she wrote. “That’s why I hope the financial commitment I’m making today is seen as both a vote of confidence in the experts and advocates who are already working on these issues — and an invitation for others to join the cause and make commitments of their own. Equality can’t wait, and no one in a position to act should either.”

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From: MeNeedIt

As political tensions flare back home, Hong Kong students on U.S. college campuses say they have been ostracized and in some cases threatened by fellow students from mainland China, and they suspect they are being watched from afar by Beijing.

Some say they see the hand of the Chinese government working in ways that threaten academic freedom.

“Even though many Chinese students are studying right here, sometimes they are all being monitored. They’re not really free of their minds and expression in this country,” said Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, a 26-year-old graduate student in Asian studies at Yale University.

Law said he was told by a fellow student that other Chinese at the Ivy League school are avoiding contact with him for fear it will be reported back to the Chinese Embassy and they or their families back home will face consequences.

“There will be staring, spotting me and discussing among themselves, and pointing at me in an unfriendly manner,” said Law, whose continuing political work has included visits to Washington to meet with members of Congress.

Chinese students in US

Hong Kong has been beset with huge pro-democracy demonstrations since June that have triggered clashes with riot police in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory and stirred fears of a violent crackdown from Beijing.

More than 360,000 students from mainland China attended U.S. colleges and universities in the 2017-18 school year, compared with about 7,000 from Hong Kong, according to the Institute of International Education.

At Emerson College in Boston, student Frances Hui, of Hong Kong, faced threatening language from classmates from mainland China after she published a column in the student newspaper headlined “I am from Hong Kong, not China.”

She said she was unnerved by comments online by people who said they had seen her on campus and described her as short, which made her feel as if she were under surveillance. And she panicked when an Emerson student posted her column on Facebook along with a comment that any opponents of China “must be executed.”

Hui, 20, said she alerted the Emerson administration.

Emerson spokeswoman Sofiya Cabalquinto said the college supports “the rights of our students’ voicing their opinions and doing so free from threats.” She said the college put a plan in place to address Hui’s concerns, but she would not say whether disciplinary action was taken against the student who made the online post.

Death threats 

Law gained prominence as a student protest leader before winning election to Hong Kong’s legislature in 2016 but was later expelled as a member and jailed for several months for his activism.

He said he started getting death threats of unknown origin online soon after he arrived in August, including warnings that people with guns would go looking for him at Yale and suggestions that Chinese students in the U.S. assault him. He said he was also subjected to insults echoing a Chinese Communist Party campaign labeling him a criminal.

He reported the threats to police and the Yale administration. He said the harassment has subsided since Yale police began monitoring the online threats.

He said he hasn’t faced anything so overt from Yale students, although he said people have circulated his information in a group for Chinese students at Yale on WeChat, a Chinese messaging app, and urged people to say “hi” to him — a gesture he saw as vaguely threatening.

A Yale spokeswoman, Karen Peart, said only that the university police department takes appropriate action whenever a campus community member faces an unsafe situation.

Beijing watching

A report this year by Human Rights Watch said Chinese students at times remain silent in their classrooms out of fear their comments will be reported to Chinese authorities by other students. The organization described the monitoring as one of several ways the Chinese government undermines academic freedom on foreign campuses.

“Schools need to get very clear about these problems and they need to get policies to respond to them,” said Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch’s China director.

At universities in Australia and New Zealand, students on either side of the political divide have built up and torn down displays advocating autonomy for Hong Kong.

And there have been signs of tensions at other U.S. campuses, including Georgetown University in Washington, which has seen dueling chalk messages on the Hong Kong protests, and Columbia University in New York, where Hong Kong democracy advocates were greeted last month by protesters holding China’s flag at a lecture hall where they were giving a talk.

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From: MeNeedIt

North Korea has tested what appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile — an important advancement in Pyongyang’s weapons program and a major provocation just days ahead of working-level nuclear talks with the United States.

South Korea’s military says it is “highly likely” North Korea tested a Bukkeukseong-type submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM, early Wednesday from the sea near the coastal city of Wonsan in Gangwon province. Seoul says the missile flew about 450 kilometers but reached an altitude of about 910 kilometers, meaning it was launched at a lofted trajectory that would make its maximum distance much longer.

It is not yet clear whether the North launched the SLBM from a submarine or an underwater platform.

If confirmed, it could be the first time since 2017 that North Korea has tested a missile that is capable of flying distances that exceed what is considered to be “short range.” Its exact maximum range is not yet known.

The provocation comes at a particularly fragile moment. Late Tuesday, North Korea’s vice foreign minister said Pyongyang and Washington have agreed to hold long-delayed, working-level talks on October 5. The two sides will have “preliminary contact” the day before, she said.

It’s not clear how the latest launch will impact the talks. North Korea has conducted 11 rounds of ballistic missile launches since May. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he has “no problem” with Pyongyang’s previous launches, since they were short-range.

A new threat

A submarine-based missile launch would be a major escalation and a reminder of the threat posed by North Korean weapons.

Following several failed tests, North Korea in 2016 successfully tested a ballistic missile launched from a submarine. Reports have suggested that North Korea is working on new types of SLBMs, but those models had not yet been tested.

“We knew they were working on it but the question is why test it now?” asked Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Get one in before the bell, betting we won’t walk away? Test the SLBM before talks start knowing you can’t once they do? Build leverage? All of the above?”

The development of satellite-launched ballistic missiles adds an unpredictable new component to North Korea’s arsenal. SLBMs are mobile, potentially increasing the range of North Korea’s ballistic missile arsenal. They are also easier to hide.

The latest test demonstrates North Korea is successfully diversifying its nuclear delivery options in ways that make it harder to combat using regional missile defenses, said Eric Gomez, a policy analyst for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.

“This improves DPRK ability to survive attacks and have forces left to retaliate,” said Gomez.

Talking while launching

The North Korean launch risks embarrassing Trump and upsetting working-level talks that have been delayed for months. Though the United States has given no signs it will back out of the negotiations, Pyongyang seems to be sending the message it will continue its provocations even while engaging in negotiations.

“The North Koreans have a long history of juggling carrots and sticks,” said Mintaro Oba, a former U.S. diplomat who focused on the Koreas. “They combine these launches that raise tensions with what we call ‘charm offensives’ and that’s exactly what we saw today.”

“Their motivation is both to accelerate their technology, to create a sense of urgency behind negotiations to get some sort of nuclear deal with the United States, and to send some signals domestically as well that Kim Jong Un is strong and that the military remains an important constituency,” Oba said.

Regional threat

The missile launches also threaten North Korea’s neighbors.

Japanese officials said Wednesday North Korea fired two missiles, and that one landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Shimane Prefecture. The other landed just outside Japan’s EEZ, Tokyo said.

If confirmed, it would be the first time in nearly two years that a North Korean rocket has landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo condemned the launch.  

“North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles this morning,” he said. “This type of short range ballistic missile is a violation of United Nations resolutions and we seriously and heavily protest and reprimand against such act.”

North Korea has given varying justifications for its previous launches this year. Some of the launches, it says, were aimed at sending a warning to South Korea. Others were simply a test of its military capabilities and should not be seen as a provocation, it insisted.

Kim Dong-yub, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, said the latest launch likely has a dual message: to increase leverage ahead of working-level talks with the United States, and to respond to South Korea’s unveiling Tuesday of advanced weaponry, including the F-35A stealth fighter acquired from the U.S.

Delayed talks

The North’s announcement of talks came almost exactly three months after Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas and agreed to resume working-level talks.

The talks have been stalled since February, when a Kim-Trump meeting in Vietnam broke down over how to pace sanctions relief with steps to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program.

It’s not clear if either side has softened their negotiating stance, though recent developments suggest an increased willingness to work toward a deal.

Late last month, Trump said a “new method” to the nuclear talks would be “very good.” That is especially relevant since North Korean officials have for months said the only way for the talks to survive is if the United States adopts a “new method” or a “new way of calculation” or similar language.

Trump also recently dismissed his hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton, who had disagreed with Trump’s outreach to North Korea.

North Korea praised both developments, even while criticizing the U.S. for what it sees as provocative actions, including the continuation of joint military exercises with South Korea and weapons sales to Seoul.

Approach

North Korea has repeatedly said it is not willing to unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons. Pyongyang instead prefers a phased approach, in which the United States takes simultaneous steps to relieve sanctions and provide security guarantees.

Kim and Trump have met three times since June 2018. At their first meeting in Singapore, the two men agreed to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. But they never agreed on what that means or how to begin working toward it.

Trump has said he is open to holding another summit with Kim. But it has long been unclear how the talks can advance without more substantive discussions — including technical experts — about what each side is prepared to offer and how to get there.

“I hope this will at minimum reacquaint the substantive negotiators with their counterparts and perhaps lead to some actionable leads,” said Melissa Hanham, a weapons expert and deputy director at the Open Nuclear Network. “Any substantive working-level talks are good. Diplomacy is like a muscle and it needs exercise.”

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From: MeNeedIt

Brazil’s top court is expected to make a ruling this week that could lead to the annulment of dozens of cases brought by the sprawling Operation Car Wash that has snared top politicians and businesspeople across Latin America. The probe, once heralded as a model of anti-corruption efforts, has been heavily criticized in Brazil following allegations that some prosecutions were politically tainted. Here’s a look at the challenges the operation faces:

What is Operation Car Wash?

“Operation Car Wash” began in March 2014 as an investigation into money laundering involving a gas station owner in the southwestern state of Parana. The suspects reached plea bargains that opened windows onto an immense graft scheme. Prosecutors say executives of major construction companies effectively formed a cartel that decided which firms would be awarded huge contracts with the state oil company Petrobras and how much to inflate prices to cover payoffs for politicians and Petrobras executives.

What Has It Achieved?

The inquiry has led to the sentencing of 159 individuals, including former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former congressional Speaker Eduardo Cunha, former Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral and Eike Batista, once Brazil’s richest man. Prosecutors say Brazil can expect to retrieve over $3.4 billion in stolen money, with a fourth of that amount already returned. The probe has also led to the arrest or resignation of presidents in Peru and has rattled nations across the hemisphere.

So Why is It Losing Steam?

Some legal analysts, business leaders and politicians have accused Car Wash prosecutors of judicial overreach to further a political agenda, notably in the conviction of Da Silva, which forced him out of the last presidential race. The Intercept Brasil news website said hacked cellphone conversations showed that the judge guiding the Car Wash probe, Sergio Moro, had improperly coordinated with prosecutors, allegations he denies. Moro was later chosen justice minister by newly elected conservative President Jair Bolsonaro, whose campaign was boosted by the removal of the front-running Da Silva. The controversy has led some to urge limits on the investigation.

What is the Supreme Court Discussing?

Plea bargain testimonies are at the core of the Car Wash investigation. A majority of justices in Brazil’s top court voted last week in favor of allowing defendants mentioned in plea deals to testify after hearing the accusation. They argue that the accused had not been adequately allowed to defend themselves. The case applied to Marcio de Almeida Ferreira, the Petrobras executive who raised the issue. Justices have yet to decide whether the decision will apply only to his and future cases, or be retroactive — a measure that potentially could undermine earlier convictions.

What Could the Ruling Mean?

The Car Wash task force, part of the federal public prosecutors’ office, says 143 criminal defendants might benefit from a retroactive ruling. The decision could open the door for the annulment of some cases Da Silva is involved in, but not the one that put him behind bars. The 73-year-old former president was found guilty in July 2017 of accepting an apartment in the city of Guaruja as a kickback from construction company OAS in return for his influence. His lawyer says the prosecution was “corrupted” and that the former president should be freed anyway.

What About Congress?

Lawmakers — some of them under investigation themselves — recently passed a law against possible “abuse of authority” from prosecutors, judges and police. Fabio Kerche, a political scientist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, says prosecutors in Brazil have a lot of autonomy and little accountability. The new law seeks to limit some of that power by expanding the list of what is considered an “abuse of authority.” While it does not target Car Wash prosecutors or judges specifically, it applies to them too. A magistrates’ association says it will fight some of the new measures in the Supreme Federal Court. Bribery experts from the Paris-based Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation also expressed concerns before the bill was approved, saying they fear it will let corrupt people “unfairly attack justice-seeking prosecutors and judges for appropriately doing their jobs.”

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From: MeNeedIt

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno announced an end to government subsidies for holding down fuel prices and said Tuesday night that he will send congress a proposal to overhaul taxes and labor rules as a way to revitalize the economy.

In an address broadcast on television and radio, Moreno said he was eliminating the $1.3 billion subsidy for gasoline and diesel. The move will raise the price of gasoline to $2.30 a gallon from $1.85 and the cost of diesel to $2.27 from $1.03.

He said a tax overhaul bill that he would send to the National Assembly within hours would include a provision for a three-year special tax on companies with annual revenue above $10 million. The extra money would go to education, health and safety, he said.

Moreno said the proposal also would provide for reducing taxes on technological and cellular equipment, machinery and industrial equipment for simplifying refunds for exporters that pay foreign trade taxes. To stimulate the creation of jobs, he said he is proposing a new law to make hiring easier, encourage facilities for telework and help those who start businesses.

“The goal is more work, more entrepreneurship and better opportunities … boosting economic growth and employment,” the president said.

Moreno also announced that government employees will be required to contribute a day’s pay each month to state coffers on the grounds that they receive higher pay than workers in the private sector.

Ecuador is experiencing economic problems arising from the high public indebtedness inherited from the 2007-2017 administration of President Rafael Correa. Moreno has sought credit with international agencies, especially the International Monetary Fund.

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From: MeNeedIt

The speaker of Nepal’s parliament, one of the country’s leading Communist Party leaders, resigned Tuesday following allegations that he raped a government worker at her home while he was intoxicated.

In the letter of resignation, Krishna Bahadur Mahara said he wants to make it easier for an independent and unbiased investigation of the allegation.

Police refused to comment. News reports said the woman accused Mahara of entering her house Sunday night while her husband was away and assaulting her.

An earlier statement issued by Mahara’s office said the allegation was baseless and that he had stepped out of his official residence for only two hours in the afternoon and was home on Sunday evening.

It said the woman had been refused a position in Mahara’s office and was likely angry as a result.

Mahara was elected speaker of the House of Representative last year after the Communist Party of Nepal won a majority of the seats in elections in November 2017.

Mahara was a leading figure of the Maoist rebels who fought a violent campaign against the government between 1996 and 2006. The Maoists entered United Nations-monitored peace talks in 2006, ending their armed revolt, and joined mainstream politics. Mahara played a key role in the peace talks with the government.

He has served as deputy prime minister, information minister and home minister.

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From: MeNeedIt

Ukraine’s leader isn’t just trying to charm U.S. President Donald Trump — he’s set his sights now on Tom Cruise, too.

Mission impossible? Maybe not — Cruise is studying possible Ukrainian locations for an upcoming film, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office.

Zelenskiy tapped his roots as a TV and film comedian when hosting Cruise in the Ukrainian presidential headquarters Monday night.

As Cruise walked in, he said “You’re good-looking!” according to video excerpts released Tuesday by his office. The Hollywood star laughed and said “it pays the bills.”

Zelenskiy joked about how exhausting it is to be president, and mentioned the stalled peace process for conflict-ravaged eastern Ukraine.

The video excerpts included no mention of Trump or the U.S. impeachment inquiry in which Ukraine plays a starring role.

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From: MeNeedIt

Egypt is displaying a gilded ancient coffin returned to the country last week from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art after U.S. investigators determined to be a looted antiquity.
 
The coffin once held the mummy of Nedjemankh, a priest in the Ptolemaic Period some 2,000 years ago. It was put on display on Tuesday at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo.
 

US-Egyptian Venture Reveals Splendors of Luxor Tombs

Teaser Description

Archeologists and antiquities specialists in Egypt have finished restoring the tombs of two ancient nobles at the Draa Abul Naga necropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Luxor’s West Bank

U.S. Charge d’Affaires Thomas Goldberger attended the ceremony.
 
Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Ananni said the repatriation of this “unique, wonderful” artifact shows a “very strong solidarity” beteen Egypt and the U.S.
 
The Met bought it from a Paris art dealer in 2017 for about $4 million and made it the centerpiece of an exhibition. It was removed in February. The Met has apologized to Egypt.

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From: MeNeedIt

A man with a knife-like weapon killed one person and wounded at least nine others Tuesday at a shopping center in central Finland, police said. The attacker has also been wounded and is in custody.  
 
Police said they were forced to use a gun to stop the violence at the Hermanni shopping center, which has been evacuated in the town of Kuopio. But police didn’t confirm that they shot the suspect, and they didn’t immediately provide further details.
 
The conditions of the wounded, including the attacker, weren’t immediately available and police haven’t provided a possible motive.
 
Prime Minister Antti Rinne tweeted that the violence was “shocking and totally condemnable.”
 
Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported that the shopping center houses a vocational school which the attacker allegedly tried to enter. Finnish media also reported that the man used a type of sword.

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From: MeNeedIt

China showed off its military might in an elaborate parade marking the country’s 70th anniversary under Communist Party rule Tuesday.

Decked out in a gray suit in the style made famous by Party leader Mao Zedong, President Xi Jinping was joined by Premier Li Keqiang and other party officials as hundreds of troops marched throughout Tiananmen Square, where Mao declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.  

In a speech carried live on national television, President Xi declared that “no force” can shake the foundation of China, nor stop the progress of the Chinese people.

Xi later climbed into a limousine and stood in the vehicle’s sunroof as it drove past rows of soldiers and military equipment, including truck-mounted missiles and armored personnel carriers.

A symbolic 70-gun salute then kicked off a parade showcasing China’s newest military capabilities, including a new intercontinental ballistic missile analysts say can carry multiple nuclear warheads over several thousand kilometers. 

Organizers planned to release 70,000 doves at the end as a symbol of peace.

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From: MeNeedIt

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has announced an “income inequality” plan calling for tax increases on companies that pay CEOs far more than their workers’ median salaries.
 
The Vermont senator’s proposal, unveiled Monday, would raise taxes 0.5 percentage points on companies paying top executives more than 50 times the median salaries of workers. Tax penalties would rise up to 5 percentage points for firms whose highest-paid official earns 500-plus times median worker pay.
 
The plan would apply to all private and publicly held corporations with annual revenues of $100 million. Sanders’ campaign says it would raise $150 billion over the next decade, which he would use to eliminate medical debt nationwide.
 
Sanders says the public demands that profitable corporations “pay their fair share of taxes.” 

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From: MeNeedIt