therealnews--2020-05-09--HBO Docuseries Points To Many Suspects In Atlanta Child Murders, Including The Klan

“ It ’ s 10 o ’ clock .
Do you know where your children are ?
” This national television PSA was meant to protect children from the rising crime rate in cities around the nation in the 1980s .
But in Atlanta , Georgia , between 1979-1981 , this PSA spoke directly to the parents of Black children that were being kidnapped and murdered in broad daylight by what appeared to be a boogeyman .
As the rate of Black children kidnapped and murdered rose to nine , a task force was created , but police were clueless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and , as a recent five-part HBO docuseries suggests , content to wrap the story up as soon as possible due to fears of unrest and bad public relations .
The Atlanta Child Murders sets out to tell parts of this story that were never revealed and explores many of the city ’ s unanswered questions , raised once again by Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms and Police Chief Erika Shields , who reopened the case last year .
“ It destroyed my family and my community , ” said Anthony Terrell by phone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the brother of one of the victims , Earl Terrell , age 10 .
“ If you go to the same neighborhood today it looks nothing like it used to.
” By 1981 , nearly 30 Black children , all of them poor and working class , were found dead in rivers and in wooded areas , the majority strangled , sometimes just blocks from their homes .
This was happening as Atlanta ’ s newly elected mayor Maynard Jackson was in the process of moving the city towards something more equitable—diversifying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business owners had financial support .
Jackson ’ s commitment to growing the Black middle class in Atlanta would cause a reverse Black migration and eventually earn the city the nickname “ the Black Mecca.
” Part of that unfettered growth involved burying one of Atlanta ’ s most tragic and racially charged chapters .
In one scene in the HBO docuseries Jackson sits at a table with $ 100,000 in reward money strewn about in front of him .
Politicians on the local , national , and federal level had a stake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The FBI , then-president Ronald Reagan , and Vice President Bush all got involved after Jackson held a meeting with Reagan for federal resources to put towards the case .
The prevailing fear that went largely unspoken publicly was that if this killer were revealed to be white , Atlanta would explode in race riots .
As word spread , artists and activists donated their time and talents .
James Baldwin was summoned from his expatriation in Paris by the first black Playboy editor , Walter Lowe , to go to Atlanta with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s essay about the murders would be expanded to become his last book , “ The Evidence of Things Not Seen.
” Author Toni Cade Bambara ’ s posthumous novel , “ Those Bones Are Not My Child , ” focused on the world that allowed this to happen and the trauma inflicted on the families .
New York ’ s Guardian Angels rode down to Atlanta to help protect black communities .
As publicity for the murders heightened , police , the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ( GBI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Williams , a diminutive black man who worked as an ambulance chaser/freelance photographer .
At the time many of the parents of the victim , along with community members , felt that Williams , who would be sentenced to two life sentences , was just a scapegoat .
“ I am convinced and will always be convinced that Wayne killed many of them , ” said journalist Clem Richardson by phone , who covered the case in Atlanta and appears in the docuseries .
“ He did not kill all of them , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Williams was arrested on circumstantial evidence .
Police claimed he stopped by a bridge and dumped something over and they found a body nearby days later .
They had three failed polygraph tests and rug fibers and dog hair that were not specific to the victims , but specific to the environment where the victims may have been and , experts claimed , rugs in Williams ’ home and the Williams family dog .
There were a few family members of murder victims and community members that were sure in their conviction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Williams ’ family house were burned , photographs that police suspected were of victims .
Many more family members of victims thought Williams was used as a scapegoat so that Atlanta could continue its upward economic trajectory .
The two victims that Williams was convicted of killing , Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne , were both in their 20s .
Two days after Williams ’ conviction , the rest of the cases , including the cases of 24 black children , were closed without investigation .
At the time after Williams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 64 more unsolved Atlanta area killings fit the criteria the police department set as a pattern .
At least 25 of them occurred after Williams was arrested , 7 while he was in jail .
The docuseries explores Williams ’ hearing for a new trial which was led by a celebrity group of civil rights lawyers : William Kunstler , Bobby Lee Cook , Ron Kuby and Lynn Whatley .
The hearing lays bare compelling evidence linking the Ku Klux Klan to at least one of the child murders .
But what the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the 30 victims and their families .
Compelling advocates like Camille Bell , parent of 9-year-old Yusuf Bell , emerges as one of the stars of the series .
Bell was unyielding in her pursuit of justice creating a coalition of parents for the “ Committee to Stop Children ’ s Murders ” and appearing on national news outlets as a spokesperson for parents .
Bell referred to Williams after his arrest as one of the “ victims.
” A pedophile confessed to the murder of 13-year-old Timothy Hill , one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but was never arrested .
“ I never thought that Wayne Williams committed any of these murders , ” Terrell told me .
“ They needed to find someone , and Wayne Williams was the target.
” In the final episode , the documentary reveals that a secret GBI investigation into the possibility of the Ku Klux Klan being the source of the murders was never revealed at trial in what defense lawyers said was a violation of the Brady doctrine , which would have led to either Williams ’ exoneration , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tapes from that investigation were destroyed .
But GBI records that have been reopened point to evidence involving Klan members .
In the 1940s , ‘ 50s and ‘ 60s , Atlanta ’ s police force included members that were openly part of the Klan and would keep their robes in the trunks of their cars in case they had to make a Klan meeting at the end of the day .
The first Black police officers were hired in Atlanta ’ s Police Department at this time with the caveat that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mid-1970s the city was growing fast .
Hartsfield-Jackson airport was opening—one of the largest international hubs in the country—and would become one of the world ’ s busiest airports .
Civil rights icons like Benjamin Mays , Andrew Jackson , Julian Bond , Hosea Williams , Coretta Scott King , and Arthur Langford called Atlanta home .
The city was on the verge of becoming a major music and entertainment hub that would eventually boast Tyler Perry Studios , prominent music producers , and act as a refuge for black talent in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected in 1976 , he was the first Black mayor of a large Southern city and he was wrestling control of the city from the white folks who had controlled it up to that point , ” Richardson told me .
“ He realized how much money the city was spending and how little of that money people of color were benefiting from even though they were generating the revenue that was going out to the city coffers and going to white business.
” The murders of Black children in pockets of poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seriously until after police were embarrassed by a search party of nearly 600 activists , volunteers , and community members who took matters into their own hands and searched for children that had been missing .
After an hour and a half the search party found LaTonya Wilson , a 7-year-old that had gone missing from her bedroom .
Her mother had checked on her late at night and she was sound asleep .
In the morning she was gone .
Her body was found by the search party in a field the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before .
The series presents new questions about the killer or killers of these children and the complicity of agencies in a rush to restore normalcy .
It provides names , faces , and stories to the victims , and compelling moments of footage in Williams ’ trial and appeal hearing that lend evidence to a coverup .
Richardson recalled interviewing victims ’ parents at the time of the murders .
“ It was just this measure of grief .
That there was nothing left , ” Richardson told me .
“ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like for a lot of people then .
There was nothing left .
”

“It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?”
This national television PSA was meant to protect children from the rising crime rate in cities around the nation in the 1980s.
But in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1979-1981, this PSA spoke directly to the parents of Black children that were being kidnapped and murdered in broad daylight by what appeared to be a boogeyman. As the rate of Black children kidnapped and murdered rose to nine, a task force was created, but police were clueless about who was perpetrating the crimes, and, as a recent five-part HBO docuseries suggests, content to wrap the story up as soon as possible due to fears of unrest and bad public relations.
The Atlanta Child Murders sets out to tell parts of this story that were never revealed and explores many of the city’s unanswered questions, raised once again by Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms and Police Chief Erika Shields, who reopened the case last year.
“It destroyed my family and my community,” said Anthony Terrell by phone, who appears in the docuseries and is the brother of one of the victims, Earl Terrell, age 10. “If you go to the same neighborhood today it looks nothing like it used to.”
By 1981, nearly 30 Black children, all of them poor and working class, were found dead in rivers and in wooded areas, the majority strangled, sometimes just blocks from their homes. This was happening as Atlanta’s newly elected mayor Maynard Jackson was in the process of moving the city towards something more equitable—diversifying the all-white police force and ensuring Black business owners had financial support. Jackson’s commitment to growing the Black middle class in Atlanta would cause a reverse Black migration and eventually earn the city the nickname “the Black Mecca.”
Part of that unfettered growth involved burying one of Atlanta’s most tragic and racially charged chapters.
In one scene in the HBO docuseries Jackson sits at a table with $100,000 in reward money strewn about in front of him. Politicians on the local, national, and federal level had a stake in making this case go away. The FBI, then-president Ronald Reagan, and Vice President Bush all got involved after Jackson held a meeting with Reagan for federal resources to put towards the case. The prevailing fear that went largely unspoken publicly was that if this killer were revealed to be white, Atlanta would explode in race riots.
As word spread, artists and activists donated their time and talents. James Baldwin was summoned from his expatriation in Paris by the first black Playboy editor, Walter Lowe, to go to Atlanta with him to investigate the murders. Baldwin’s essay about the murders would be expanded to become his last book, “The Evidence of Things Not Seen.” Author Toni Cade Bambara’s posthumous novel, “Those Bones Are Not My Child,” focused on the world that allowed this to happen and the trauma inflicted on the families. New York’s Guardian Angels rode down to Atlanta to help protect black communities.
As publicity for the murders heightened, police, the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) settled on one suspect, Wayne Williams, a diminutive black man who worked as an ambulance chaser/freelance photographer. At the time many of the parents of the victim, along with community members, felt that Williams, who would be sentenced to two life sentences, was just a scapegoat.
“I am convinced and will always be convinced that Wayne killed many of them,” said journalist Clem Richardson by phone, who covered the case in Atlanta and appears in the docuseries. “He did not kill all of them, but he killed a lot of them.”
Williams was arrested on circumstantial evidence. Police claimed he stopped by a bridge and dumped something over and they found a body nearby days later. They had three failed polygraph tests and rug fibers and dog hair that were not specific to the victims, but specific to the environment where the victims may have been and, experts claimed, rugs in Williams’ home and the Williams family dog.
There were a few family members of murder victims and community members that were sure in their conviction that Williams was the killer. Photographs in Williams’ family house were burned, photographs that police suspected were of victims.
Many more family members of victims thought Williams was used as a scapegoat so that Atlanta could continue its upward economic trajectory.
The two victims that Williams was convicted of killing, Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne, were both in their 20s. Two days after Williams’ conviction, the rest of the cases, including the cases of 24 black children, were closed without investigation.
At the time after Williams’ conviction reporters found that at least 64 more unsolved Atlanta area killings fit the criteria the police department set as a pattern. At least 25 of them occurred after Williams was arrested, 7 while he was in jail.
The docuseries explores Williams’ hearing for a new trial which was led by a celebrity group of civil rights lawyers: William Kunstler, Bobby Lee Cook, Ron Kuby and Lynn Whatley. The hearing lays bare compelling evidence linking the Ku Klux Klan to at least one of the child murders.
But what the docuseries does best is give a face to the 30 victims and their families. Compelling advocates like Camille Bell, parent of 9-year-old Yusuf Bell, emerges as one of the stars of the series. Bell was unyielding in her pursuit of justice creating a coalition of parents for the “Committee to Stop Children’s Murders” and appearing on national news outlets as a spokesperson for parents. Bell referred to Williams after his arrest as one of the “victims.”
A pedophile confessed to the murder of 13-year-old Timothy Hill, one of the victims on the task force list, but was never arrested.
“I never thought that Wayne Williams committed any of these murders,” Terrell told me. “They needed to find someone, and Wayne Williams was the target.”
In the final episode, the documentary reveals that a secret GBI investigation into the possibility of the Ku Klux Klan being the source of the murders was never revealed at trial in what defense lawyers said was a violation of the Brady doctrine, which would have led to either Williams’ exoneration, or at least a new trial. Tapes from that investigation were destroyed. But GBI records that have been reopened point to evidence involving Klan members.
In the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, Atlanta’s police force included members that were openly part of the Klan and would keep their robes in the trunks of their cars in case they had to make a Klan meeting at the end of the day. The first Black police officers were hired in Atlanta’s Police Department at this time with the caveat that they could not arrest white offenders.
By the mid-1970s the city was growing fast. Hartsfield-Jackson airport was opening—one of the largest international hubs in the country—and would become one of the world’s busiest airports. Civil rights icons like Benjamin Mays, Andrew Jackson, Julian Bond, Hosea Williams, Coretta Scott King, and Arthur Langford called Atlanta home. The city was on the verge of becoming a major music and entertainment hub that would eventually boast Tyler Perry Studios, prominent music producers, and act as a refuge for black talent in the South.
“When Maynard was elected in 1976, he was the first Black mayor of a large Southern city and he was wrestling control of the city from the white folks who had controlled it up to that point,” Richardson told me. “He realized how much money the city was spending and how little of that money people of color were benefiting from even though they were generating the revenue that was going out to the city coffers and going to white business.”
The murders of Black children in pockets of poverty in the city weren’t taken seriously until after police were embarrassed by a search party of nearly 600 activists, volunteers, and community members who took matters into their own hands and searched for children that had been missing. After an hour and a half the search party found LaTonya Wilson, a 7-year-old that had gone missing from her bedroom. Her mother had checked on her late at night and she was sound asleep. In the morning she was gone. Her body was found by the search party in a field the police said they had searched a day before.
The series presents new questions about the killer or killers of these children and the complicity of agencies in a rush to restore normalcy. It provides names, faces, and stories to the victims, and compelling moments of footage in Williams’ trial and appeal hearing that lend evidence to a coverup.
Richardson recalled interviewing victims’ parents at the time of the murders.
“It was just this measure of grief. That there was nothing left,” Richardson told me. “And that’s what the city was like for a lot of people then. There was nothing left.”
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therealnews--2020-05-09--Wall Street Is Profiting From Police Brutality

Taxpayers are paying double for police brutality settlements thanks to cities and towns buying bonds from Wall Street to finance @ @ @ @ @ San Diego cop watcher Kat from Irate Productions discusses recent police harassment of unarmed residents @

Host & Producer
Stephen Janis is an award winning investigative reporter turned documentary filmmaker. His first feature film, The Friendliest Town was distributed by Gravitas Ventures and won an award of distinction from The Impact Doc Film Festival, and a humanitarian award from The Indie Film Fest. He is the co-host and creator of The Police Accountability Report on The Real News Network, which has received more than 10,000,000 views on YouTube. His work as a reporter has been featured on a variety of national shows including the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries, Dead of Night on Investigation Discovery Channel, Relentless on NBC, and Sins of the City on TV One.
He has co-authored several books on policing, corruption, and the root causes of violence including Why Do We Kill: The Pathology of Murder in Baltimore and You Can’t Stop Murder: Truths about Policing in Baltimore and Beyond. He is also the co-host of the true crime podcast Land of the Unsolved. Prior to joining The Real News, Janis won three Capital Emmys for investigative series working as an investigative producer for WBFF. Follow him on Twitter.


therealnews--2020-05-12--Stir Crazy! Episode #32: Don’t Make Us Regret This!

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therealnews--2020-05-12--Trump Is Using COVID-19 As An Excuse To Let Polluters Destroy The Earth

Host, The Marc Steiner Show
Marc Steiner is the host of "The Marc Steiner Show" on TRNN. He is a Peabody Award-winning journalist who has spent his life working on social justice issues. He walked his first picket line at age 13, and at age 16 became the youngest person in Maryland arrested at a civil rights protest during the Freedom Rides through Cambridge. As part of the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, Marc helped organize poor white communities with the Young Patriots, the white Appalachian counterpart to the Black Panthers. Early in his career he counseled at-risk youth in therapeutic settings and founded a theater program in the Maryland State prison system. He also taught theater for 10 years at the Baltimore School for the Arts. From 1993-2018 Marc's signature “Marc Steiner Show” aired on Baltimore’s public radio airwaves, both WYPR—which Marc co-founded—and Morgan State University’s WEAA.
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therealnews--2020-05-13--Stir Crazy! Episode #33: Not Safe For Work From Home


therealnews--2020-05-14--Stir Crazy! Episode #34: Can Anyone Police the Police

Host & Producer
Taya Graham is an award-winning investigative reporter who has covered U.S. politics, local government, and the criminal justice system. She is the host of TRNN's "Police Accountability Report," and producer and co-creator of the award-winning podcast "Truth and Reconciliation" on Baltimore's NPR affiliate WYPR. She has written extensively for a variety of publications including the Afro American Newspaper, the oldest black-owned publication in the country, and was a frequent contributor to Morgan State Radio at a historic HBCU. She has also produced two documentaries, including the feature-length film "The Friendliest Town." Although her reporting focuses on the criminal justice system and government accountability, she has provided on the ground coverage of presidential primaries and elections as well as local and state campaigns. Follow her on Twitter.


therealnews--2020-05-14--Israel Strips Financial Aid From Palestinian Prisoners, Leaving Them To Face COVID-19 Alone

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Translater 1 : Several days ago , we issued a warrant that said that any bank which transfers money to terrorists , or to their families , will be marked as such and invite sanctions .
This is something I have been promoting for several months already .
I am happy it has come to fruition and I stand behind it .
Why should we permit such actions by banks ?
We should chase with every means , every shekel , and every dollar that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Translator 2 : We refuse the occupation ’ s decision that prevents the Palestinian banks from opening accounts for the Palestinian prisoners .
We say that this is a criminalization for the legitimate Palestinian national struggle as long as there is occupation .
This occupational step is considered a violation against the authority and sovereignty of the Palestinian authority , the ruling authority on this land and over the Palestinian people .
Marc Steiner : Welcome to Real News .
I ’ m Marc Steiner .
Great to have you all with us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the Israeli minister of defense Naftali Bennett , and a Palestinian protester , Hisham Al-Sharabi .
The coronavirus has brought the hard condition of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails into a harsh light , and to a boiling point in Palestine .
According to the Oslo agreements , Israel has the authority to collect taxes on behalf of the Palestinian authority , and is obliged to transfer that money to the Palestinian authority .
But in February , 2019 , the Israeli Knesset , their parliament , decided to confiscate the money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it was earmarked to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails , as well as money for their families when they were imprisoned .
The response , the Palestinian government said they will refuse to take any of the tax money until it receives all the money .
And this has plunged that organization of Palestine into a financial crisis .
During the COVID-19 pandemic , Palestinians need money more than ever .
It helps slow the infection rate .
The Palestinian authority has , once again , asked Israel to release their money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theirs .
Instead , Israel decided to impose sanctions against any banks that would transfer money to the accounts of Palestinian prisoners or their families .
When some of the banks announced that they would acquiesce and freeze those accounts , protests erupted throughout the occupied West bank .
The why is all of them important ?
We must bear in mind that Palestinian prisoners do not receive adequate supplies during their prison stay , regardless of whether they ’ re in the midst of a pandemic or not .
Palestinians imprisoned in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food , clothes , hygienic products from prison canteens to supplement the most basic meager needs .
So now we ’ re joined once again by Sahar Francis , the general director of the Ramallah-based Daydreamer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association started in 2006 .
And the organization is a Palestinian NGO providing legal and advocacy of support for Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons .
Shara Francis has been an attorney in human rights for over 20 years , as well as being on the Board of Defense for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Board of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees , and joins us once again here on the Real News .
And welcome back to the Real News Shara , good to have you with us .
Marc Steiner : So , let me begin here .
The coronavirus crisis started and all of the businesses of prisoners were suspended .
In our previous conversations together , you told us that even phone calls were not allowed .
So last week , prisoners were finally allowed to make one short phone call .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit about the situation now , what ’ s going on inside the prisons ?
What has happened since COVID , and kind of lay it out for our viewers ?
Sahar Francis : So basically , since the start of all the circumstances of the Corona , COVID-19 virus situation , the prisoners , and it ’ s around 4,700 more of less , they are totally disconnected from the outside world because there were not granted even this phone call yet to contact their families , and to tell them how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news from their families .
They canceled , actually , all the lawyers visits as well to the prisons .
And as you said , the conditions inside the Israeli prisons before the COVID situation were harsh and difficult , especially on the health level .
The lack of health treatment is very a known policy , and it ’ s something that the prisoners suffer for long , long years .
In 2019 , actually , three detainees died out of health neglect in the Israeli prison system .
So the situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , taking in consideration that we know that the prisoners didn ’ t get any hygiene stuff or any facilities that can protect their safety .
And the only thing they get is a chloride in order to clean their rooms .
And they were given lately , in the last two weeks as well , cloth masks and gloves .
That ’ s all .
And still the prison guards are entering their rooms to count them three times a day .
And they canceled all the treatment outside the prison , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were in need of healthcare outside of the prison for the last two months , they were not able to go out to get the healthcare they need .
There ’ s the children , around 140 or 180 actually , children that they are also under the threat of imagine that a child would be isolated for 14 days because of the corona , COVID situation .
Marc Steiner : So , when you… I ’ m curious .
So , when you were talking about children , we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ age of 18 ?
Marc Steiner : Who are in prison .
Sahar Francis : It could be between 12 and 18 , actually .
Most of them , they would be between 14 and 18 .
And these children , some of them , they are sentenced for more than one year .
Marc Steiner : So , and I ’ ve interviewed a few of those people , but I ’ m curious , what do we know about the COVID pandemic inside the Israeli prisons ?
Do we know how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or infected ?
Do we know anything ?
Sahar Francis : We don ’ t know much information about whether people were infected or not .
The prison service didn ’ t inform or disclose such information about whether some of the detainees were infected or not , but some of the detainees who were arrested lately and they were released after one month or one month and the half of interrogation , at least one of them he was found positive after he was released .
He was getting the checks by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And after that , for at least two days , the prison authority of [ inaudible 00:07:27 ] prison refused to do tests for the other detainees who were with him in the same room and in the same section .
Just after the threat of the prisoners to enter into a hunger strike , actually , the prison authority decided to do the checks for some of the detainees , and they isolated the rest to where direct contact with this detainee .
Some of the detainees under interrogation were also sent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first check was positive .
The second and the third negative , but they were kept in difficult conditions in quarantine , totally isolated without any human conditions inside the cells where they were kept .
Marc Steiner : So now , when we watched this video earlier on , we heard the protestor getting really angry , not just at Israel occupation , but also at the Palestinian government .
So , the question is why is the Palestinian government insist on this kind of strange convoluted system of support for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really pushing the issue around the treatment of Israeli… Of prisoners in every prisons , as human beings providing them with enough food and clothing with Israeli money .
I mean , the whole idea of confiscating money , not letting it go to the prisoners , and then putting them in prison and not taking care of the prisoners inside , I ’ m just curious why the Palestinian authority hasn ’ t pushed a bit harder on this ?
It seems like the people are just left floundering to rot in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think it ’ s now clear for the Palestinian authority after all these years , that they did a mistake , actually , back in 1994 or a bit after when they started paying the prisoners this monthly canteen in order to purchase their needs inside the prison , and actually replacing the responsibility of the Israeli prison system in feeding and taking… Supporting the prisoners with all their needs inside the prison that the prison… The Palestinian authority actually ended up in paying huge amount of money every month for the prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order to maintain the wellbeing of the Palestinian prisoners inside the Israeli prisons .
This is supposed to be the responsibility of the state of Israel , not just for the prisoners themselves inside the prison .
The main problem I think is with the families that they are kept alone in the occupied territories , especially when the father or the husband is arrested for such a long period , 20 years , or life-sentenced , or 25 years , and they are left without anyone that can feed them .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Palestinian authorities started paying the salaries for the families .
And this is again , according to the international law , supposed to be the responsibility of the occupiers , and Israel never- Marc Steiner : So , it begs a lot of questions here .
You said something earlier , I ’ m just curious about how many children have been released and why are they not being released ?
Sahar Francis : You mean children that they were released now in this period ?
Sahar Francis : Not for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to release not just the children , any of the Palestinian prisoners because of the circumstances , the opposite .
They keep arresting on a daily basis .
Just in April , they arrested more than 100 detainees .
Every day they raid the Palestinian villages and the Palestinian cities , and they arrest more and more people .
So instead of respecting what the international community , or let ’ s say specifically the High Commissioner for Human Rights in her message requesting states to release prisoners in order to ease the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Israeli authority acted in a different way .
Like , actually , they increased their arrests .
Marc Steiner : So I mean… So “ A ” , we don ’ t know , as we said a moment ago… We don ’ t know how many of the Palestinian prisoners are infected with COVID .
We don ’ t know if , or if any , have died because of the COVID .
We don ’ t know the conditions of the children .
And on top of that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When we talked in the beginning about the Israeli government seizing funds , not allowing those funds to go into the Palestinian authority to take care of prisoners and their families , the whole question of the paternalistic policy of controlling Palestinian money .
You know , this is what the British did to both Jewish and Palestinians before 1948 .
This is what they did in Kenya and India as colonists .
I mean , to even have a conversation and not say , “ How could this go on , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sahar Francis : I think it ’ s even beyond controlling the financial resources of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian authority .
It ’ s actually maintaining the control over all the aspects of our life .
Because when you think about the 5,000 Palestinian prisoners , not all of these people were involved in really serious activities .
Most of these detainees are arrested because of their political affiliation , freedom of movement , freedom of expression , because of their opinions , students , administrative detainees .
Even throwing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that according to the new amendment to the Military Order , actually , the Israeli authority can confiscate this money that the Palestinian authority are paying for children that they are convicted with throwing stones .
So actually , I think it goes to criminalize and make our struggle against occupation as a terrorist act , actually .
To undermine our struggle for self-determination as a people .
Marc Steiner : So , just to close , I ’ m curious… I mean , you ’ ve been doing this work for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know the struggle and the fight has not gotten easier , it ’ s gotten harder .
So talk a bit about where you are now , and what your next steps are , and what the people of the world who are watching this should know ?
Sahar Francis : I think , as you said , it ’ s even getting more difficult because as a human rights organization , we are also under attack by the Israeli authorities , blamed to be associated with terrorism as well because we try @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the day in the legal work and the advocacy on the international level that we do .
So I think , taking in consideration all the political circumstances , especially in the United States foreign policy positions , and the rest of the world .
And with a plan for the annexation very soon by the Israeli government , I think it ’ s becoming very urgent that third-party states , that they have responsibilities according to the international law to stop this occupation , and to help the Palestinians , and support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they should act .
It ’ s not enough with condemnation and state and political statements .
It ’ s real time for actions in order to stop the Israelis from implementing their annexation plan and really granting the Palestinians their self… Like their own state , full independent state with full self-determination .
Marc Steiner : Well , Sahar Francis , it ’ s always a pleasure to talk with you , you , and we all appreciate your perseverance and strength in what you try to do in fighting for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Palestinian prisons .
And we wish you luck and look forward to talking to you soon .
And we want to stay on top of this and what happens , especially what happens to the Palestinian prisoners and the children who are inside of Israeli prisons .
Thank you so much for being with us today .
Marc Steiner : And I ’ m Marc Steiner here for the Real News Network .
Thank you all for joining us .
Please let us know what you think .
I want to hear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay home , take care .

Calls and visits are denied to many of Israel’s Palestinian prisoners, leaving their fate in the pandemic unknown.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Translater 1: Several days ago, we issued a warrant that said that any bank which transfers money to terrorists, or to their families, will be marked as such and invite sanctions. This is something I have been promoting for several months already. I am happy it has come to fruition and I stand behind it. Why should we permit such actions by banks? We should chase with every means, every shekel, and every dollar that goes to the families of murderers.
Speaker 2: [foreign language 00:00:30]
Translator 2: We refuse the occupation’s decision that prevents the Palestinian banks from opening accounts for the Palestinian prisoners. We say that this is a criminalization for the legitimate Palestinian national struggle as long as there is occupation. This occupational step is considered a violation against the authority and sovereignty of the Palestinian authority, the ruling authority on this land and over the Palestinian people.
Marc Steiner: Welcome to Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. Great to have you all with us today. Now what you just saw was the Israeli minister of defense Naftali Bennett, and a Palestinian protester, Hisham Al-Sharabi. The coronavirus has brought the hard condition of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails into a harsh light, and to a boiling point in Palestine. According to the Oslo agreements, Israel has the authority to collect taxes on behalf of the Palestinian authority, and is obliged to transfer that money to the Palestinian authority. But in February, 2019, the Israeli Knesset, their parliament, decided to confiscate the money from the Palestinian authorities taxes because some of it was earmarked to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as well as money for their families when they were imprisoned. The response, the Palestinian government said they will refuse to take any of the tax money until it receives all the money. And this has plunged that organization of Palestine into a financial crisis.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Palestinians need money more than ever. It helps slow the infection rate. The Palestinian authority has, once again, asked Israel to release their money. The money that’s rightfully theirs. Instead, Israel decided to impose sanctions against any banks that would transfer money to the accounts of Palestinian prisoners or their families. When some of the banks announced that they would acquiesce and freeze those accounts, protests erupted throughout the occupied West bank. The why is all of them important? We must bear in mind that Palestinian prisoners do not receive adequate supplies during their prison stay, regardless of whether they’re in the midst of a pandemic or not. Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails use their accounts to buy food, clothes, hygienic products from prison canteens to supplement the most basic meager needs.
So now we’re joined once again by Sahar Francis, the general director of the Ramallah-based Daydreamer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association started in 2006. And the organization is a Palestinian NGO providing legal and advocacy of support for Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons. Shara Francis has been an attorney in human rights for over 20 years, as well as being on the Board of Defense for Children International, and sits on the the Board of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and joins us once again here on the Real News. And welcome back to the Real News Shara, good to have you with us.
Sahar Francis: Good evening.
Marc Steiner: So, let me begin here. The coronavirus crisis started and all of the businesses of prisoners were suspended. In our previous conversations together, you told us that even phone calls were not allowed. So last week, prisoners were finally allowed to make one short phone call. So, can you tell us a bit about the situation now, what’s going on inside the prisons? What has happened since COVID, and kind of lay it out for our viewers?
Sahar Francis: So basically, since the start of all the circumstances of the Corona, COVID-19 virus situation, the prisoners, and it’s around 4,700 more of less, they are totally disconnected from the outside world because there were not granted even this phone call yet to contact their families, and to tell them how they feel, and to get the news from their families. They canceled, actually, all the lawyers visits as well to the prisons. And as you said, the conditions inside the Israeli prisons before the COVID situation were harsh and difficult, especially on the health level. The lack of health treatment is very a known policy, and it’s something that the prisoners suffer for long, long years. In 2019, actually, three detainees died out of health neglect in the Israeli prison system.
So the situation of the COVID is really very worrying, taking in consideration that we know that the prisoners didn’t get any hygiene stuff or any facilities that can protect their safety. And the only thing they get is a chloride in order to clean their rooms. And they were given lately, in the last two weeks as well, cloth masks and gloves. That’s all. And still the prison guards are entering their rooms to count them three times a day. And they canceled all the treatment outside the prison, so sick people or old people that they were in need of healthcare outside of the prison for the last two months, they were not able to go out to get the healthcare they need. There’s the children, around 140 or 180 actually, children that they are also under the threat of imagine that a child would be isolated for 14 days because of the corona, COVID situation.
Marc Steiner: So, when you… I’m curious. So, when you were talking about children, we’re talking about people who are under the age of 18?
Sahar Francis: Yes.
Marc Steiner: Who are in prison.
Sahar Francis: It could be between 12 and 18, actually. Most of them, they would be between 14 and 18. And these children, some of them, they are sentenced for more than one year.
Marc Steiner: So, and I’ve interviewed a few of those people, but I’m curious, what do we know about the COVID pandemic inside the Israeli prisons? Do we know how many prisoners have died or gotten sick or infected? Do we know anything?
Sahar Francis: We don’t know much information about whether people were infected or not. The prison service didn’t inform or disclose such information about whether some of the detainees were infected or not, but some of the detainees who were arrested lately and they were released after one month or one month and the half of interrogation, at least one of them he was found positive after he was released. He was getting the checks by the Palestinian hospital in Ramallah city.
And after that, for at least two days, the prison authority of [inaudible 00:07:27] prison refused to do tests for the other detainees who were with him in the same room and in the same section. Just after the threat of the prisoners to enter into a hunger strike, actually, the prison authority decided to do the checks for some of the detainees, and they isolated the rest to where direct contact with this detainee. Some of the detainees under interrogation were also sent for quarantine for 14 days, and the first check was positive. The second and the third negative, but they were kept in difficult conditions in quarantine, totally isolated without any human conditions inside the cells where they were kept.
Marc Steiner: So now, when we watched this video earlier on, we heard the protestor getting really angry, not just at Israel occupation, but also at the Palestinian government. So, the question is why is the Palestinian government insist on this kind of strange convoluted system of support for Palestinian prisoners, instead of kind of really pushing the issue around the treatment of Israeli… Of prisoners in every prisons, as human beings providing them with enough food and clothing with Israeli money. I mean, the whole idea of confiscating money, not letting it go to the prisoners, and then putting them in prison and not taking care of the prisoners inside, I’m just curious why the Palestinian authority hasn’t pushed a bit harder on this? It seems like the people are just left floundering to rot in these prisons.
Sahar Francis: I think it’s now clear for the Palestinian authority after all these years, that they did a mistake, actually, back in 1994 or a bit after when they started paying the prisoners this monthly canteen in order to purchase their needs inside the prison, and actually replacing the responsibility of the Israeli prison system in feeding and taking… Supporting the prisoners with all their needs inside the prison that the prison… The Palestinian authority actually ended up in paying huge amount of money every month for the prison, the Israeli prison system, in order to maintain the wellbeing of the Palestinian prisoners inside the Israeli prisons.
This is supposed to be the responsibility of the state of Israel, not just for the prisoners themselves inside the prison. The main problem I think is with the families that they are kept alone in the occupied territories, especially when the father or the husband is arrested for such a long period, 20 years, or life-sentenced, or 25 years, and they are left without anyone that can feed them. So this is why the, actually, the Palestinian authorities started paying the salaries for the families. And this is again, according to the international law, supposed to be the responsibility of the occupiers, and Israel never-
Marc Steiner: So, it begs a lot of questions here. You said something earlier, I’m just curious about how many children have been released and why are they not being released?
Sahar Francis: You mean children that they were released now in this period?
Marc Steiner: Yes.
Sahar Francis: Not for the COVID circumstances, actually, Israel refused to release not just the children, any of the Palestinian prisoners because of the circumstances, the opposite. They keep arresting on a daily basis. Just in April, they arrested more than 100 detainees. Every day they raid the Palestinian villages and the Palestinian cities, and they arrest more and more people. So instead of respecting what the international community, or let’s say specifically the High Commissioner for Human Rights in her message requesting states to release prisoners in order to ease the situation and the crowdedness inside the prisons, the Israeli authority acted in a different way. Like, actually, they increased their arrests.
Marc Steiner: So I mean… So “A”, we don’t know, as we said a moment ago… We don’t know how many of the Palestinian prisoners are infected with COVID. We don’t know if, or if any, have died because of the COVID. We don’t know the conditions of the children. And on top of that, there’s a larger question here. When we talked in the beginning about the Israeli government seizing funds, not allowing those funds to go into the Palestinian authority to take care of prisoners and their families, the whole question of the paternalistic policy of controlling Palestinian money. You know, this is what the British did to both Jewish and Palestinians before 1948. This is what they did in Kenya and India as colonists. I mean, to even have a conversation and not say, “How could this go on,” is, to me, madness.
Sahar Francis: I think it’s even beyond controlling the financial resources of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian authority. It’s actually maintaining the control over all the aspects of our life. Because when you think about the 5,000 Palestinian prisoners, not all of these people were involved in really serious activities. Most of these detainees are arrested because of their political affiliation, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, because of their opinions, students, administrative detainees.
Even throwing stones would be considered a terror act, that according to the new amendment to the Military Order, actually, the Israeli authority can confiscate this money that the Palestinian authority are paying for children that they are convicted with throwing stones. So actually, I think it goes to criminalize and make our struggle against occupation as a terrorist act, actually. To undermine our struggle for self-determination as a people.
Marc Steiner: So, just to close, I’m curious… I mean, you’ve been doing this work for a long time now, and I know the struggle and the fight has not gotten easier, it’s gotten harder. So talk a bit about where you are now, and what your next steps are, and what the people of the world who are watching this should know?
Sahar Francis: I think, as you said, it’s even getting more difficult because as a human rights organization, we are also under attack by the Israeli authorities, blamed to be associated with terrorism as well because we try to seek accountability at the end of the day in the legal work and the advocacy on the international level that we do. So I think, taking in consideration all the political circumstances, especially in the United States foreign policy positions, and the rest of the world. And with a plan for the annexation very soon by the Israeli government, I think it’s becoming very urgent that third-party states, that they have responsibilities according to the international law to stop this occupation, and to help the Palestinians, and support the Palestinians to guarantee their self-determination, they should act. It’s not enough with condemnation and state and political statements. It’s real time for actions in order to stop the Israelis from implementing their annexation plan and really granting the Palestinians their self… Like their own state, full independent state with full self-determination.
Marc Steiner: Well, Sahar Francis, it’s always a pleasure to talk with you, you, and we all appreciate your perseverance and strength in what you try to do in fighting for the human rights of people both in Israeli and Palestinian prisons. And we wish you luck and look forward to talking to you soon. And we want to stay on top of this and what happens, especially what happens to the Palestinian prisoners and the children who are inside of Israeli prisons. Thank you so much for being with us today.
Sahar Francis: Thank you.
Marc Steiner: And I’m Marc Steiner here for the Real News Network. Thank you all for joining us. Please let us know what you think. I want to hear from you. And stay safe, stay home, take care.
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therealnews--2020-05-14--Who’s Fighting The War Against Cash?

Who’s Fighting The War Against Cash?

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Kim Brown : Welcome to The Real News , I ’ m Kim Brown .
Do we have a right to use cash money instead of digital money ?
This is a question that is being debated in courts around the world .
Our guest today is an economist whose appeal made it all the way to the European Supreme Court to determine whether he can pay some of his taxes in cash .
Dr. Norbert Haring is studying the formation of the Better Than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ digital money , and eventually eliminate cash altogether .
It ’ s an alliance of MasterCard , Visa , Citibank , and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .
And it has already had some success in convincing governments to restrict the use of cash .
And joining us today from Frankfurt , Germany is Dr. Norbert Haring .
He ’ s an economist , also co-founder and co-director of the World Economics Association , the second largest association of economists worldwide .
Dr. Haring is a finance journalist , a blogger , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economics .
His latest book translated into English is titled Brave New Money , it was published in 2018 .
Dr. Haring , thank you so much for joining us .
Dr. Norbert Har… : Thank you for having me .
Kim Brown : In your writing , you refer to the biggest success of the Better Than Cash movement , getting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to abolish large denominations in India in 2016 .
Can you tell us a bit about that , and what impact did it have on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Dr. Norbert Har… : Yeah , I mean , the Better Than Cash Alliance is not really bragging about having done that .
In India , they made it seem like it was an idea of the government , but I ’ ve just found very many clues that there was tight cooperation and Bill Gates , who is a member of the Better Than Cash Alliance with his foundation together with the government , he really talked about having an alliance with the central bank in India , the Reserve Bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away with cash .
And there ’ s various personal relationships like the head of the Bill Gates Foundation in India , he used to be at the central bank , and then got that position at the Gates Foundation .
The US government , which is also part of the Better Than Cash Alliance has , basically , gotten Modi to become a member of the Better Than Cash Alliance , and there is a whole number of other links to the US , which make it quite clear that that was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an assault on the Indian population because Modi just gave them four hours of warning before most of the money would cease to be usable .
It was demonetized , they called it .
So , you were not allowed to pay with it anymore , all you could do is taking it to the bank .
And so , in a country where 90 % of all payments are done in cash there was suddenly no cash anymore .
And everybody had to line up at the bank for days instead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for people who live from hand to mouth .
And , for weeks and even months , it was very hard to sell anything , or to make any money because nobody had cash to pay you , if you were in the informal sector of the economy .
So for the informal sector , which is most of the economy in India , it was very bad , and very many people suffered very badly .
Kim Brown : So , doctor , can you talk to us about how the recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the use of cash ?
And some argue that , perhaps , we should be going more digital in the age of this pandemic because it will reduce hand-to-hand transmissions of handing over physical currency to a person , but also currency is crawling with germs , and all kinds of things that could possibly get us sick .
So , is this not a good idea to transition away from cash at this particular moment ?
Dr. Norbert Har… : I have to say that I can understand with some people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uneasy about it , but everybody who ’ s been looking into it is saying , health experts are saying that it ’ s not really dangerous .
And there ’ s absolutely no indication that this disease is transmitted via cash , but it ’ s true that the banks and the financial sector , in general , are really using that argument , and they ’ re putting it on their web pages , they send out mailings where they suggest that cash is dirty , and that you should go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no basis for that claim .
It ’ s just something they wanted all along .
We ’ re basically part of that drive to get rid of cash because they don ’ t like cash , it ’ s a competitor and it costs them money .
They don ’ t make any money if you pay cash .
And so , they don ’ t like it , so they just use that .
Kim Brown : So , one of the main arguments against abolition of cash is that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a digital trail , an electronic trail , and allow governments and other organizations to surveil us , to keep track on our every movement and every purchase .
Now , some people might say that , “ I don ’ t have to hide .
Or the government may not find me that interesting , so perhaps they won ’ t be tracking all of my purchases and all my financial transactions.
” What is your response to people who say , or who make those arguments ?
Dr. Norbert Har… : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be said .
I mean , first of all , they ’ re right .
Most people are not interesting enough for anybody in power to just look into them , they ’ ll just tailor their advertisements to them .
And that ’ s not really hurting you , but people don ’ t understand , generally , is how extensive that tracking is .
That everything that you do , everything involves little payments , it involves where you are , often with whom you are , what you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hour by hour , day by day .
And all of that information goes into your bank account , and is storage there for decades the banks have to store it for a very long time .
So , basically , your bank account becomes a [ inaudible 00:07:01 ] of your whole life .
And anytime somebody becomes interested in you , that can be 10 years from now , they can look in and see what you did on any day at any hour that they want to know about , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And they might not do that for me , but if I ’ m one of these people who say , “ I don ’ t care , ” I have to be aware that if that happens I ’ m living in a society where everybody have any power , or any significance is , basically , totally transparent and can be blackmailed by anybody who has the power to look into that .
And that ’ s a lot of people , so everybody can be destroyed , or blackmailed with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there .
And that ’ s just not compatible with democracy and free society .
Kim Brown : And lastly , Dr. Haring , I know that you are involved in a case right now , currently , where you wanted to pay your taxes in cash and , apparently , have been denied from doing so .
I understand that the case is ongoing and you ’ re expecting a hearing in the coming weeks , but could you just summarize why you decided to [ inaudible 00:08:18 ] , and why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Dr. Norbert Har… : Well , I care about cash for the reasons that I mentioned , because it ’ s a guarantor of freedom , and actually it ’ s in the law .
Cash is the legal means of payment , and that means that , especially , the government has to accept it .
It ’ s the government ’ s money , the bank notes and coins , and they can ’ t refuse to accept their own money .
And that ’ s in the European Treaty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laws also .
And I just want to draw attention to that , that it ’ s happening .
And I also want to use the fact that it ’ s in the law to defend my right to use it .
And the highest German administrative court , basically , agreed with our line , is that we are right , and it just referred it to the European highest court in order to find out how the German law relates to the European law , and whether anything might change there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruling in Germany was very favorable .
Kim Brown : All right , well , please keep us updated on the status of your case as , hopefully , you will be victorious in the coming weeks .
We ’ ve been speaking with Dr. Norbert Haring .
He ’ s an economist , a co-founder and co-director of the World Economics Association .
He ’ s also a financial journalist , blogger , and author of popular books .
His latest book titled Brave New Money , published 2018 , go check @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you so much for joining us .
And , again , we hope to hear from you again soon to get updated on what ’ s going on with your cases .
I think this is a very important issue .
Kim Brown : And thank you for watching The Real News network .

Mastercard, Visa, and Bill Gates are all pushing for polices to make it harder to use cash, hoping to keep closer tabs on the population through the trail of electronic transactions.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Kim Brown: Welcome to The Real News, I’m Kim Brown. Do we have a right to use cash money instead of digital money? This is a question that is being debated in courts around the world. Our guest today is an economist whose appeal made it all the way to the European Supreme Court to determine whether he can pay some of his taxes in cash. Dr. Norbert Haring is studying the formation of the Better Than Cash Alliance to promote the use of digital money, and eventually eliminate cash altogether. It’s an alliance of MasterCard, Visa, Citibank, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. And it has already had some success in convincing governments to restrict the use of cash.
And joining us today from Frankfurt, Germany is Dr. Norbert Haring. He’s an economist, also co-founder and co-director of the World Economics Association, the second largest association of economists worldwide. Dr. Haring is a finance journalist, a blogger, and also author of popular books on economics. His latest book translated into English is titled Brave New Money, it was published in 2018. Dr. Haring, thank you so much for joining us.
Dr. Norbert Har…: Thank you for having me.
Kim Brown: In your writing, you refer to the biggest success of the Better Than Cash movement, getting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to abolish large denominations in India in 2016. Can you tell us a bit about that, and what impact did it have on the Indian economy and the inequality within it?
Dr. Norbert Har…: Yeah, I mean, the Better Than Cash Alliance is not really bragging about having done that. In India, they made it seem like it was an idea of the government, but I’ve just found very many clues that there was tight cooperation and Bill Gates, who is a member of the Better Than Cash Alliance with his foundation together with the government, he really talked about having an alliance with the central bank in India, the Reserve Bank of India which is trying to do away with cash. And there’s various personal relationships like the head of the Bill Gates Foundation in India, he used to be at the central bank, and then got that position at the Gates Foundation. The US government, which is also part of the Better Than Cash Alliance has, basically, gotten Modi to become a member of the Better Than Cash Alliance, and there is a whole number of other links to the US, which make it quite clear that that was done together.
And it was quite an assault on the Indian population because Modi just gave them four hours of warning before most of the money would cease to be usable. It was demonetized, they called it. So, you were not allowed to pay with it anymore, all you could do is taking it to the bank. And so, in a country where 90% of all payments are done in cash there was suddenly no cash anymore. And everybody had to line up at the bank for days instead of working, which is a big hardship for people who live from hand to mouth. And, for weeks and even months, it was very hard to sell anything, or to make any money because nobody had cash to pay you, if you were in the informal sector of the economy. So for the informal sector, which is most of the economy in India, it was very bad, and very many people suffered very badly.
Kim Brown: So, doctor, can you talk to us about how the recent coronavirus pandemic is being used to restrict the use of cash? And some argue that, perhaps, we should be going more digital in the age of this pandemic because it will reduce hand-to-hand transmissions of handing over physical currency to a person, but also currency is crawling with germs, and all kinds of things that could possibly get us sick. So, is this not a good idea to transition away from cash at this particular moment?
Dr. Norbert Har…: I have to say that I can understand with some people who have to work out there they feel uneasy about it, but everybody who’s been looking into it is saying, health experts are saying that it’s not really dangerous. And there’s absolutely no indication that this disease is transmitted via cash, but it’s true that the banks and the financial sector, in general, are really using that argument, and they’re putting it on their web pages, they send out mailings where they suggest that cash is dirty, and that you should go digital. But there’s really no basis for that claim. It’s just something they wanted all along. We’re basically part of that drive to get rid of cash because they don’t like cash, it’s a competitor and it costs them money. They don’t make any money if you pay cash. And so, they don’t like it, so they just use that.
Kim Brown: So, one of the main arguments against abolition of cash is that the digital transactions would leave a trail, a digital trail, an electronic trail, and allow governments and other organizations to surveil us, to keep track on our every movement and every purchase. Now, some people might say that, “I don’t have to hide. Or the government may not find me that interesting, so perhaps they won’t be tracking all of my purchases and all my financial transactions.” What is your response to people who say, or who make those arguments?
Dr. Norbert Har…: There’s two things that need to be said. I mean, first of all, they’re right. Most people are not interesting enough for anybody in power to just look into them, they’ll just tailor their advertisements to them. And that’s not really hurting you, but people don’t understand, generally, is how extensive that tracking is. That everything that you do, everything involves little payments, it involves where you are, often with whom you are, what you’re doing, and that’s hour by hour, day by day. And all of that information goes into your bank account, and is storage there for decades the banks have to store it for a very long time. So, basically, your bank account becomes a [inaudible 00:07:01] of your whole life.
And anytime somebody becomes interested in you, that can be 10 years from now, they can look in and see what you did on any day at any hour that they want to know about, or they have a complete profile. And they might not do that for me, but if I’m one of these people who say, “I don’t care,” I have to be aware that if that happens I’m living in a society where everybody have any power, or any significance is, basically, totally transparent and can be blackmailed by anybody who has the power to look into that. And that’s a lot of people, so everybody can be destroyed, or blackmailed with all that data that’s out there. And that’s just not compatible with democracy and free society.
Kim Brown: And lastly, Dr. Haring, I know that you are involved in a case right now, currently, where you wanted to pay your taxes in cash and, apparently, have been denied from doing so. I understand that the case is ongoing and you’re expecting a hearing in the coming weeks, but could you just summarize why you decided to [inaudible 00:08:18], and why this issue is so important to you?
Dr. Norbert Har…: Well, I care about cash for the reasons that I mentioned, because it’s a guarantor of freedom, and actually it’s in the law. Cash is the legal means of payment, and that means that, especially, the government has to accept it. It’s the government’s money, the bank notes and coins, and they can’t refuse to accept their own money. And that’s in the European Treaty, basically. And in the German laws also. And I just want to draw attention to that, that it’s happening. And I also want to use the fact that it’s in the law to defend my right to use it. And the highest German administrative court, basically, agreed with our line, is that we are right, and it just referred it to the European highest court in order to find out how the German law relates to the European law, and whether anything might change there on the European side. But the ruling in Germany was very favorable.
Kim Brown: All right, well, please keep us updated on the status of your case as, hopefully, you will be victorious in the coming weeks. We’ve been speaking with Dr. Norbert Haring. He’s an economist, a co-founder and co-director of the World Economics Association. He’s also a financial journalist, blogger, and author of popular books. His latest book titled Brave New Money, published 2018, go check it out.
Dr. Haring, thank you so much for joining us. And, again, we hope to hear from you again soon to get updated on what’s going on with your cases. I think this is a very important issue.
Dr. Norbert Har…: Thank you.
Kim Brown: And thank you for watching The Real News network.
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therealnews--2020-05-15--Climate Crisis: KXL Ruling, Unity Task Force, California Pollution, and TRNN’s New Climate Reporter

Welcome back to TRNN ’ s Climate Crisis News Roundup .
In recent weeks , this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis , and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world .
But climate change and the politics of surrounding this monumental issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19 , and we will use this space to tell those stories too .
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general , get in touch with me at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at @ SteveAHorn .
You can read the previous edition here .
The Keystone XL pipeline battle , now a decade old , may still continue for months or years .
That ’ s because on May 11 , U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris ruled that the Nationwide Permit 12 program , a federal permitting program overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must undergo further review .
The ruling in the case filed by environmental groups applies not only to Keystone XL , but to all water-crossing pipeline permits doled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Administration first used Nationwide Permit 12 on the southern leg of Keystone XL in 2012—rebranded at that time as the Gulf Coast Pipeline—to fast-track the buildout of that Nebraska to Texas pipeline and then many times thereafter by Obama ’ s team and the Trump Administration .
The extent of the legality of the permitting program has been challenged multiple times since in federal courtas an alleged violation of bedrock environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) , Clean Water Act , and the Endangered Species Act .
Plaintiffs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Army Corps of using “ segmentation ” to split pipelines into hundreds or thousands of “ single and complete ” pieces of half an acre or smaller in size in order to comply with Nationwide Permit 12 .
In effect , that “ segmentation ” regulatory technique was used to dodge robust environmental reviews of and public hearings on pipeline proposals mandated by NEPA .
But Morris has ruled it ’ s back to the drawing board for the program , which could spell major trouble for myriad oil and gas pipeline proposals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denounced the ruling in a press statement .
“ API is disappointed that Judge Morris singled out the construction of new oil and gas pipelines using Nationwide Permit 12 , ” the group said .
“ Natural gas and oil infrastructure provides the energy Americans use each and every day and well-paying jobs for workers throughout the country , and the companies who produce and transport that energy should not be arbitrarily disallowed from this regulatory process.
” Keystone XL is slated to carry 830,000 barrels per day of tar sands extracted from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nebraska to market .
Tar sands oil is among the most carbon-intensive crude on the planet .
“ Our courts have shown time and time again that the law matters , ” Cecilia Segal , an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council ( NRDC ) , said in a press release .
“ Today ’ s ruling makes clear that climate-busting pipelines like Keystone XL can not be built until the federal government does its job and properly analyzes these projects ’ devastating effects on their surrounding communities and wildlife.
” For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already sent official legal notice that it will appeal the ruling in the U.S. Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit .
And TC Energy filed a motion to stay Morris ’ ruling with the appeals court , or request halt it , by June 12 .
The company said if the ruling is not legally halted , it “ will be unable to complete all or significant portions of the construction work it had planned for Keystone XL for the second half of 2020.
” The opening brief is due on August 21 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September 21 .
Polluting industries in California are pointing to the economic crisis that has manifested as the COVID-19 pandemic plays out in lobbying to delay implementation of both proposed regulations and those already on the books , the Los Angeles Times reported on May 13 .
“ The trucking industry wants to stall new emissions-reduction rules .
Oil companies want looser enforcement of existing regulations , ” reported the newspaper .
“ Port and shipping interests are pushing to delay rules on ocean vessels as they become Southern California ’ s largest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears that the lead agencies which regulate those industries , the California Air Resources Board ( CARB ) and the Department of Conservation , may play ball .
CARB has already suspended in-field inspections for industrial regulatory compliance due to COVID-19 public health concerns for its inspectors .
And the Department of Conservation has said it will grant regulatory relief to oil companies who “ can demonstrate hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic or the state ’ s response to the crisis , ” KQED radio reported .
The Department of Conservation ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter requesting such relief by the industry ’ s top lobbying groups , Western States Petroleum Association and California Independent Petroleum Association .
Kate Gordon , top climate aide to Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom , added that the administration is considering further regulatory relaxation , albeit with sturdy guardrails .
Gordon told the Times that the industry requests “ are very understandable and really have to do with the fact of the current crisis , and in some cases they ’ re regulations that had already been a kind of a thorn in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just are using…the moment to try to dispute them.
” But some Democratic members of the state legislature have requested that Newsom proceed with caution in offering regulatory enforcement holidays , pointing to the link between airborne pollutants and susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 .
“ Scientists warned of a pandemic and the climate crisis–it is critical that we move towards combating and protecting people from both , ” wrote the group of 37 legislators .
“ Our agencies must resist attempts by polluting industries to exploit our current crisis to loosen , rollback @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regulations that protect the health and safety of Californians.
” The climate publication Grist reported in a related story that the unprecedented number of oil tankers anchored off the coast in Long Beach , a Los Angeles County port city , has become a hot spot for emissions of carbon emissions .
With nowhere to deliver oil because consumption has plummeted in the United States during the COVID-19 era , the waters of Long Beach and the Gulf of Mexico are now saturated with tankers acting as storage vessels because actual storage sites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crude .
The dozens of tankers , idling along the Port of Long Beach , use diesel gasoline equivalent to “ driving roughly 16,000 passenger cars , ” Grist ’ s Maria Gallucci reported .
And each individual ship consumes the equivalent of 800 cars hitting the road in carbon emissions equivalent .
CARB told Grist that it is “ closely monitoring the situation and tracking these ships.
” On May 13 , Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-VT ) and presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden announced the names of members of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party ’ s next platform .
For the climate change committee participating as co-chairs are U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-NY ) and former Secretary of State John Kerry .
Sunrise Movement Executive Director Varshani Prakash , a leading proponent of the Green New Deal , is also on the task force , as is former Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency , Gina McCarthy .
Rep. Kathy Castor ( D-FL ) , chairwoman of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis that was formed to fend off a proposed House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , also sits on the task force .
While some have praised the task force as a cast of “ progressive all-stars , ” others have expressed skepticism about what the task force can achieve and what impact it will have if Biden defeats President Donald Trump in November .
One of those skeptics is Mitch Jones , policy director at Food and Water Action .
He spoke with former Real News climate correspondent , and current Earther reporter , Dharna Noor on May 13 .
“ It remains unclear exactly what these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they will influence what a Biden presidency would pursue , ” Jones told Noor .
“ So , while we appreciate that a few Green New Deal advocates have been brought into the Biden camp , the climate movement must continue to push not only Joe Biden , but Democratic Congressional leadership , and elected officials at all levels of government to fight the fossil fuel industry and take the actions we need to save our habitable planet.
” Prakash also expressed skepticism about what the task force could yield , writing “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t know how much this task force will be able to accomplish , or what this process will yield ” in a blog post .
But she added that she finds what will take place outside of the halls of power ( or likely in this case , via Zoom meetings ) for activists even more crucial .
“ The stronger and louder you are in continuing to call out for a Green New Deal , the more power I will have when I enter these negotiations , and the more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fight for us , ” she wrote .
“ I have always believed that real change happens not with a panel or task force , but in everyday people organizing mass movements to demand change , ” she tweeted .
“ Yet we should also commit to showing up everywhere- every space where there are decisions & formative conversations – w/ mvmt voices.
” Though he began working at TRNN over three weeks ago as my climate beat colleague , I have to date failed to introduce Aman Azhar to readers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes to TRNN by way of Voice of America and the BBC , places he worked as a producer , host and journalist for the better part of the past eight years .
He has also worked within the halls of political power , both for the U.S. Department of State and for the Asian Development Bank .
As a way to get to know a bit about Aman , him and I spoke in an audio recorded session about his background in journalism and why he went into the profession .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis beat matters during this time of a global pandemic , the types of multimedia stories he will aim to tell for TRNN and a discussion about a formal journalism school education versus a learning by doing approach .
You can listen to that here : Aman is currently working on his first batch of reporting for us , a story on the group ClimateMusic and how they ’ re using their craft to raise awareness of the gravity of the climate crisis for new audiences .
Please welcome Aman to the team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ please do stay tuned for his work in the weeks and months ahead here at The Real News !

Welcome back to TRNN’s Climate Crisis News Roundup. In recent weeks, this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis, and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world. But climate change and the politics of surrounding this monumental issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19, and we will use this space to tell those stories too.
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general, get in touch with me at steve@therealnews.com or on Twitter at @SteveAHorn. You can read the previous edition here.
Keystone XL Ruling
The Keystone XL pipeline battle, now a decade old, may still continue for months or years.
That’s because on May 11, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris ruled that the Nationwide Permit 12 program, a federal permitting program overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must undergo further review. The ruling in the case filed by environmental groups applies not only to Keystone XL, but to all water-crossing pipeline permits doled out under the program.
The Obama Administration first used Nationwide Permit 12 on the southern leg of Keystone XL in 2012—rebranded at that time as the Gulf Coast Pipeline—to fast-track the buildout of that Nebraska to Texas pipeline and then many times thereafter by Obama’s team and the Trump Administration. The extent of the legality of the permitting program has been challenged multiple times since in federal courtas an alleged violation of bedrock environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
Plaintiffs in some of those cases accused the Army Corps of using “segmentation” to split pipelines into hundreds or thousands of “single and complete” pieces of half an acre or smaller in size in order to comply with Nationwide Permit 12. In effect, that “segmentation” regulatory technique was used to dodge robust environmental reviews of and public hearings on pipeline proposals mandated by NEPA.
But Morris has ruled it’s back to the drawing board for the program, which could spell major trouble for myriad oil and gas pipeline proposals going forward. The American Petroleum Institute denounced the ruling in a press statement.
“API is disappointed that Judge Morris singled out the construction of new oil and gas pipelines using Nationwide Permit 12,” the group said. “Natural gas and oil infrastructure provides the energy Americans use each and every day and well-paying jobs for workers throughout the country, and the companies who produce and transport that energy should not be arbitrarily disallowed from this regulatory process.”
Keystone XL is slated to carry 830,000 barrels per day of tar sands extracted from Alberta, Canada through Steele City, Nebraska to market. Tar sands oil is among the most carbon-intensive crude on the planet.
Environmental groups, unsurprisingly, celebrated Morris’ ruling.
“Our courts have shown time and time again that the law matters,” Cecilia Segal, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a press release. “Today’s ruling makes clear that climate-busting pipelines like Keystone XL cannot be built until the federal government does its job and properly analyzes these projects’ devastating effects on their surrounding communities and wildlife.”
For its part, the Army Corps has already sent official legal notice that it will appeal the ruling in the U.S. Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit. And TC Energy filed a motion to stay Morris’ ruling with the appeals court, or request halt it, by June 12. The company said if the ruling is not legally halted, it “will be unable to complete all or significant portions of the construction work it had planned for Keystone XL for the second half of 2020.”
The opening brief is due on August 21, while the response is due on September 21.
California Pollution By Air And Sea
Polluting industries in California are pointing to the economic crisis that has manifested as the COVID-19 pandemic plays out in lobbying to delay implementation of both proposed regulations and those already on the books, the Los Angeles Times reported on May 13.
“The trucking industry wants to stall new emissions-reduction rules. Oil companies want looser enforcement of existing regulations,” reported the newspaper. “Port and shipping interests are pushing to delay rules on ocean vessels as they become Southern California’s largest source of smog-forming pollution.”
And it appears that the lead agencies which regulate those industries, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Department of Conservation, may play ball. CARB has already suspended in-field inspections for industrial regulatory compliance due to COVID-19 public health concerns for its inspectors. And the Department of Conservation has said it will grant regulatory relief to oil companies who “can demonstrate hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic or the state’s response to the crisis,” KQED radio reported. The Department of Conservation’s move came in response to a letter requesting such relief by the industry’s top lobbying groups, Western States Petroleum Association and California Independent Petroleum Association.
Kate Gordon, top climate aide to Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, added that the administration is considering further regulatory relaxation, albeit with sturdy guardrails. Gordon told the Times that the industry requests “are very understandable and really have to do with the fact of the current crisis, and in some cases they’re regulations that had already been a kind of a thorn in the side to certain industries and they just are using…the moment to try to dispute them.”
But some Democratic members of the state legislature have requested that Newsom proceed with caution in offering regulatory enforcement holidays, pointing to the link between airborne pollutants and susceptibility to contracting COVID-19.
“Scientists warned of a pandemic and the climate crisis–it is critical that we move towards combating and protecting people from both,” wrote the group of 37 legislators. “Our agencies must resist attempts by polluting industries to exploit our current crisis to loosen, rollback or delay the adoption of vital environmental regulations that protect the health and safety of Californians.”
The climate publication Grist reported in a related story that the unprecedented number of oil tankers anchored off the coast in Long Beach, a Los Angeles County port city, has become a hot spot for emissions of carbon emissions. With nowhere to deliver oil because consumption has plummeted in the United States during the COVID-19 era, the waters of Long Beach and the Gulf of Mexico are now saturated with tankers acting as storage vessels because actual storage sites are now full to the brim with crude.
The dozens of tankers, idling along the Port of Long Beach, use diesel gasoline equivalent to “driving roughly 16,000 passenger cars,” Grist’s Maria Gallucci reported. And each individual ship consumes the equivalent of 800 cars hitting the road in carbon emissions equivalent. CARB told Grist that it is “closely monitoring the situation and tracking these ships.”
Biden-Sanders Climate Unity
On May 13, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden announced the names of members of policy unity committees to help write the party’s next platform.
For the climate change committee participating as co-chairs are U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Secretary of State John Kerry. Sunrise Movement Executive Director Varshani Prakash, a leading proponent of the Green New Deal, is also on the task force, as is former Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), chairwoman of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis that was formed to fend off a proposed House Select Committee on a Green New Deal, also sits on the task force.
While some have praised the task force as a cast of “progressive all-stars,” others have expressed skepticism about what the task force can achieve and what impact it will have if Biden defeats President Donald Trump in November. One of those skeptics is Mitch Jones, policy director at Food and Water Action. He spoke with former Real News climate correspondent, and current Earther reporter, Dharna Noor on May 13.
“It remains unclear exactly what these task forces will do and how much they will influence what a Biden presidency would pursue,” Jones told Noor. “So, while we appreciate that a few Green New Deal advocates have been brought into the Biden camp, the climate movement must continue to push not only Joe Biden, but Democratic Congressional leadership, and elected officials at all levels of government to fight the fossil fuel industry and take the actions we need to save our habitable planet.”
Prakash also expressed skepticism about what the task force could yield, writing “I want to be real that I don’t know how much this task force will be able to accomplish, or what this process will yield” in a blog post. But she added that she finds what will take place outside of the halls of power (or likely in this case, via Zoom meetings) for activists even more crucial.
“The stronger and louder you are in continuing to call out for a Green New Deal, the more power I will have when I enter these negotiations, and the more courage and resolve you will give me to fight for us,” she wrote.
Ocasio-Cortez expressed similar sentiments.
“I have always believed that real change happens not with a panel or task force, but in everyday people organizing mass movements to demand change,” she tweeted. “Yet we should also commit to showing up everywhere- every space where there are decisions &formative conversations – w/ mvmt voices.”
New Climate Reporter
Though he began working at TRNN over three weeks ago as my climate beat colleague, I have to date failed to introduce Aman Azhar to readers of the Climate Crisis News Roundup! Aman comes to TRNN by way of Voice of America and the BBC, places he worked as a producer, host and journalist for the better part of the past eight years. He has also worked within the halls of political power, both for the U.S. Department of State and for the Asian Development Bank.
As a way to get to know a bit about Aman, he and I spoke in an audio recorded session about his background in journalism and why he went into the profession. I also got thoughts on why the climate crisis beat matters during this time of a global pandemic, the types of multimedia stories he will aim to tell for TRNN and a discussion about a formal journalism school education versus a learning by doing approach. You can listen to that here:
Aman is currently working on his first batch of reporting for us, a story on the group ClimateMusic and how they’re using their craft to raise awareness of the gravity of the climate crisis for new audiences. Please welcome Aman to the team over on Twitter at @TheAmanAzhar and please do stay tuned for his work in the weeks and months ahead here at The Real News!
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therealnews--2020-05-15--Stir Crazy! Episode #35: America, Land of Broken Promises