truthout--2020-12-29--9-Year-Old Ali Kinani Was Among Victims of Killers Pardoned by Trump

AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
President Trump ’ s pardon of four former Blackwater mercenaries convicted for their role in a massacre in Baghdad has sparked outrage in Iraq .
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said the decision violates , quote , “ the values of justice , human rights and rule of law ” and , quote , “ ignores the dignity of the victims , ” unquote .
The Blackwater guards included Nicholas Slatten , who was sentenced to life in prison after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role in the 2007 Nisoor Square massacre , when he and other Blackwater mercenaries opened fire with machine guns and grenades on a crowded public space in Baghdad , killing 17 unarmed civilians , including women and children , the youngest victim a 9-year-old boy named Ali Kinani .
Later in the program , we ’ ll be joined by a lawyer who sued Blackwater over the massacre , but first we turn to a short documentay by Jeremy Scahill and Rick Rowley that first aired on Democracy Now !
in 2010 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s father , Mohammed Kinani .
This is Blackwater ’ s Youngest Victim .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] I ’ m not just remembering the scene .
I ’ m reliving it as if it were happening now .
I will never forget those few minutes .
So whatever you ask me , I will answer with absolute clarity .
All I could hear from my car were gunshots and the sound of glass shattering and the sound of tires blown out with bullets .
I started to scream , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed my son !
” What can I tell you ?
It was like the end of days .
With cold blood and stone hearts , they continued shooting .
JEREMY SCAHILL : Baghdad , September 16 , 2007 .
Shortly before noon , a convoy of four armored vehicles departs the Green Zone , the heavily fortified U.S. base in Iraq .
The men inside of the vehicles were elite private soldiers working for Blackwater .
Their code name : Raven 23 .
The men had defied orders from their superiors to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on to the streets of Baghdad .
As they departed , they were again told to return to base .
They didn ’ t .
Within minutes , Blackwater Raven 23 would arrive at the congested Baghdad intersection known as Nisoor Square .
Fifteen minutes later , at least 17 Iraqi civilians would be dead , more than 20 others wounded , in a shooting that would go down in infamy as Baghdad ’ s Bloody Sunday .
You probably have never heard his name , but you likely know something about how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He was the youngest person killed by Blackwater forces at Nisoor Square .
This is the story of the death of young Ali Kinani , and his father has provided us with the most detailed eyewitness account of the Nisoor Square massacre ever given to a U.S. media outlet .
Mohammed Hafedh Abdulrazzaq Kinani and his wife Fatimah lived with their three children in Baghdad .
Mohammed ran his family ’ s auto parts business , and he adored his youngest son Ali , whom the family affectionately called by his kid nickname @ @ @ @ @ @ @ translated ] He would sleep on my arm .
He was nine-and-a-half years old , but still slept on my arm .
He had his own room , but he never slept alone .
When he turned 9 , I told him it was time to stop using my arm as his pillow .
I said , “ Son , you ’ re getting older .
Go sleep with your brothers , on your bed in your room .
Your name is Ali .
We used to call you Allawi , but you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So he said , “ As you wish , father.
” He always said that .
So I looked and saw his feet under the door .
I called him in .
He opened the door and said , “ Dad , I ’ m Allawi , not Ali.
” He was telling me that he was still a child .
After that , he kept sleeping on my arm .
It was the only pillow he ever had .
JEREMY SCAHILL : When U.S. forces rolled into Baghdad in April of 2003 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greet the men he called their liberators , the U.S. military .
Mohammed was that rare personification of the neoconservative narrative about the U.S. invasion .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] The first day the American Army entered Baghdad , I handed out juice and candy in the street , to celebrate our liberation from Saddam .
JEREMY SCAHILL : Before September 16th , 2007 , Mohammed had never heard of Blackwater .
Now he thinks of them and that day every waking moment .
He remembers that Ali was not supposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mohammed had just pulled away from his family ’ s home on his way to pick up his sister Jenan and her children for a visit .
Ali came running out of the house .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] He was quiet the whole ride .
But then we passed a newly built park , a garden .
So he turned to me and asked , “ Daddy , when are you going to bring us here ?
” I told him , “ Next week , hopefully , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mohammed and Ali picked up Jenan and her three children and made their way back home .
The return journey would bring them through Nisoor Square .
When Mohammed found himself in a traffic jam at the square that day , he thought it was a U.S. military checkpoint .
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him when he saw the armored vehicles block off traffic .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] One of the guards gestured toward us with his hands .
This gesture means “ stop.
” So we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in front and behind me stopped .
We followed their orders .
At that point , I didn ’ t even know they were Blackwater .
I didn ’ t know it was a security company .
I thought it was some sort of American Army unit , or maybe a military police unit .
In any case , we followed their orders .
JEREMY SCAHILL : As Mohammed and his family waited in the SUV , the man in the car next to them was frantic .
“ I think someone was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you , ” he told Mohammed .
It was then Mohammed watched in horror as Blackwater gunners , for no apparent reason , blew up a white Kia sedan in front of his eyes .
Inside , Mohammed would later learn , were a young Iraqi medical student and his mother .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] There was absolutely no shooting or any sign of danger for us or Blackwater .
No one was in the slightest danger .
Suddenly , in the flash of a second , they started shooting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t warning shots .
They were shooting as if they were fighting in the field .
By the time they stopped shooting , the car looked like a sieve .
This is the only way to describe it , because it was truly riddled with bullets .
They finished with the first car and turned their guns on us .
It turned into the apocalypse .
JEREMY SCAHILL : As chaos and blood flooded the square , Mohammed remembers the fate of one man in particular who tried to flee the Blackwater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] Everyone was trying to escape .
Whoever wasn ’ t shot dead in their car just wanted to escape somehow .
When one man tried to run , they shot him .
He dropped dead on the spot .
He was on the ground bleeding , and they were shooting nonstop .
They shot like they were trying to kill everyone they could see .
He sank into his own blood .
And every minute , they would go back and shoot him again , and I could see his body shake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but his body shook with the bullets .
He would shoot at someone else and then go back to shooting at this dead man .
The man is dead in a pool of blood .
Why would you keep shooting him ?
JEREMY SCAHILL : As Mohammed sat in his SUV with his 9-year-old son Ali , his sister Jenan and her three children , he realized that , for them , attempting to escape was not an option .
As the shooting intensified , Mohammed yelled for the kids to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] Bullets were coming from the right and the left .
My younger sister was trying to cover me with her body .
So I pulled out of her grip and covered her with my body to protect her .
I have pictures that show the headrest of my sister ’ s seat is full of bullet holes .
It was horrific , extremely terrifying .
I still wake up from sleep , startled .
Why ?
I ask .
Why would they do this ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Most of the cars had families in them .
So why did this happen ?
I kept hearing boom , boom , boom in my car .
Bullets were flying everywhere .
It was horrific , horrific .
I don ’ t know .
I don ’ t know how to describe it .
After they had killed everyone in sight , my sister and I kept still .
I had her rest her head on my lap , and my body was on top of her .
We would sneak to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continued shooting here and there , killing this and that one .
Then it cleared .
Nothing was moving on the street .
Only the Blackwater men were moving .
Then , they drove off .
JEREMY SCAHILL : It seemed to Mohammed like a miracle had blessed his car .
“ We ’ re alive , ” he thought .
As the Blackwater forces retreated , Mohammed told Jenan he was going to check on the man who had been repeatedly shot by Blackwater .
It was then Mohammed ’ s world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] When I got out of the car , my nephew said , “ Uncle , Allawi is dead.
” My sister started screaming , and I turned to look at Ali .
I turned and saw that his window was broken .
It was shot .
I looked at him , and his head was resting at the side of the door .
I opened the door to see if he was OK .
I opened the door , and he started falling out .
I stood there in shock , watching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brain fell to the ground between my feet .
I looked at his brain on the ground , and I pushed him back into the car .
I told my sister that they had blown his brains out .
I started to scream , “ They killed my son !
They killed my son !
” I was turning and screaming .
People were standing on the roof of a nearby building , saying , “ Get out !
Get out !
” But I was in another world .
They killed my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his brain .
I didn ’ t know what to do .
I didn ’ t know what to do .
I reached through the window to check his heart , and it was beating .
I told my sister , who said , “ Let ’ s rush him to the hospital .
Maybe he still can make it.
” But I knew .
His brain was on the ground .
He ’ s gone .
I turned the car , which had no water , no tires , and I spun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hospital .
JEREMY SCAHILL : At the hospital , Mohammed was told that because of Ali ’ s severe head injuries , an ambulance would need to rush him across town to a neurological hospital .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] Riding in the ambulance , I was completely destroyed .
My son was dying in front of my eyes .
He was suffering .
His arms were shaking and almost pulled out the IVs .
So I held his hands still .
He died .
What can I say ?
My @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his death , my son never slept alone .
JEREMY SCAHILL : After Ali died , the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad contacted Mohammed , offering his family a $ 10,000 condolence payment , making clear it was not a remedy for what happened and not a substitute for any potential legal action against the shooters .
Initially , Mohammed refused the money , but the embassy pursued his family , urging them to take it .
They eventually did , but with one condition : that half the money be donated to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iraq .
Mohammed ’ s wife Fatimah delivered the gift to the U.S. Embassy .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] This is a gift from Ali ’ s family to whichever family you choose , the family of any soldier who lost his life for the sake of Iraq .
I want you to give it as a gift .
I know it is insignificant , but it is an emotional and moral gesture from us to them .
JEREMY SCAHILL : Mohammed carries around a letter sent his family by General @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces in Iraq .
“ Your substantial generosity on behalf of the families of fallen American soldiers , ” Odierno wrote , “ has touched me deeply.
” While Mohammed and his family mourned the death of Ali , half a world away in Washington , D.C. , Blackwater ’ s owner , Erik Prince , was summoned before the U.S. Congress .
Blackwater , Prince said , had been the victim of an armed ambush by Iraqi insurgents at Nisoor Square , and he defended the conduct of his men , saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appropriately at all times.
” REP. DANNY DAVIS : You do admit that Blackwater personnel have shot and killed innocent civilians , don ’ t you ?
ERIK PRINCE : No , sir .
I disagree with that .
I think there ’ s been times when guys are using defensive force to protect themselves , to protect the package .
They ’ re trying to get away from danger .
There could be ricochets .
There are traffic accidents , yes .
This is war .
You know .
JEREMY SCAHILL : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outraged .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] I wish they would ask the head of Blackwater : Did he think that this child was a threat to his company ?
This giant company with all the biggest weapons , guns and planes — was this boy a threat to them ?
JEREMY SCAHILL : At the hearing , a State Department document was produced revealing that before Nisoor Square , the department had coordinated with Blackwater to set a low payout for Iraqi shooting victims , because , in the words of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was too high , Iraqis may try “ to get killed by our guys to financially guarantee their family ’ s future.
” Despite Prince ’ s brazen denials , the thought of suing Blackwater didn ’ t cross Mohammed ’ s mind .
He didn ’ t want anyone ’ s money .
He readily cooperated with the U.S. military and federal investigators , and he believed that justice would be done in America .
Then , he says , Blackwater stepped in .
In February of 2008 , ABC News did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day the story was posted online , Blackwater ’ s attorney threatened to take legal action against the network , accusing ABC of defamation .
What outraged Mohammed was that Blackwater denied its forces killed Ali , claiming instead that he was killed by a stray bullet , possibly fired by the U.S. military an hour after Blackwater personnel had departed the scene .
Blackwater claimed Ali was hit by a warning shot that ricocheted and killed him .
It was not even possible , the Blackwater lawyer claimed , that Blackwater was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said an Iraqi attorney approached him .
But he wasn ’ t just any lawyer .
Ja ’ afar al Moussawy was the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal , which prosecuted Saddam Hussein .
He was the Iraqi lawyer .
Mohammed agreed to meet with Moussawy and Blackwater ’ s regional manager .
He says they offered him $ 20,000 .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] I said , “ I ’ m not taking a penny from you .
I want nothing.
” I asked them if they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , “ Yes.
” I said , “ OK , get me a pen and paper.
” I said , “ Look , I have the paper , and I can sign and waive all my rights .
All of them .
I will sign now , but under one condition : I want the head of Blackwater to apologize publicly to me in America and say , ‘ We killed your son , and we ’ re sorry.
’ That ’ s all I want.
” I told them , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or $ 20,000 .
I just want him to publicly apologize .
That would be enough for me.
” Blackwater ’ s regional manager said , “ We do not apologize.
” I said , “ You kill my son and go on TV and publicly accuse me and all Iraqis of being mercenaries who intentionally have you kill us for the compensation .
And you were under oath in front of Congress , and you tell me you will not apologize .
What did you want , then ?
Why did you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ No , we won ’ t apologize.
” JEREMY SCAHILL : Mohammed then confronted the Blackwater manager about the company ’ s claim that the U.S. military , not Blackwater , may have killed Ali .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] I told the manager , “ My son was killed in the car with me .
How can you say it was the military ?
Do you want to stain the reputation the American Army ?
The American Army is innocent of this .
Why would you blame this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hate them more ?
Aren ’ t you an American company , and this is your national military ?
Why would you do this to your own ?
” I told them , “ We love the American Army more than you do.
” JEREMY SCAHILL : Mohammed threw the pen and paper at the Blackwater manager and left the meeting .
MOHAMMED KINANI : [ translated ] So I had no choice but to go the legal route and take things to court .
JEREMY SCAHILL : As we wrap up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us a cellphone video of young Ali hopping around a swimming pool with his cousins and siblings .
With a smile ear to ear , Ali approaches Mohammed ’ s cellphone camera and says to his dad , “ I am Allawi .
”

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
President Trump’s pardon of four former Blackwater mercenaries convicted for their role in a massacre in Baghdad has sparked outrage in Iraq. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said the decision violates, quote, “the values of justice, human rights and rule of law” and, quote, “ignores the dignity of the victims,” unquote. The Blackwater guards included Nicholas Slatten, who was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the 2007 Nisoor Square massacre, when he and other Blackwater mercenaries opened fire with machine guns and grenades on a crowded public space in Baghdad, killing 17 unarmed civilians, including women and children, the youngest victim a 9-year-old boy named Ali Kinani.
Later in the program, we’ll be joined by a lawyer who sued Blackwater over the massacre, but first we turn to a short documentay by Jeremy Scahill and Rick Rowley that first aired on Democracy Now! in 2010. It features an interview with Ali Kinani’s father, Mohammed Kinani. This is Blackwater’s Youngest Victim.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] I’m not just remembering the scene. I’m reliving it as if it were happening now. I will never forget those few minutes. So whatever you ask me, I will answer with absolute clarity.
All I could hear from my car were gunshots and the sound of glass shattering and the sound of tires blown out with bullets. I started to scream, “They killed my son! They killed my son!” What can I tell you? It was like the end of days. With cold blood and stone hearts, they continued shooting.
JEREMY SCAHILL: Baghdad, September 16, 2007. Shortly before noon, a convoy of four armored vehicles departs the Green Zone, the heavily fortified U.S. base in Iraq. The men inside of the vehicles were elite private soldiers working for Blackwater. Their code name: Raven 23.
The men had defied orders from their superiors to remain in the Green Zone and proceeded on to the streets of Baghdad. As they departed, they were again told to return to base. They didn’t.
Within minutes, Blackwater Raven 23 would arrive at the congested Baghdad intersection known as Nisoor Square. Fifteen minutes later, at least 17 Iraqi civilians would be dead, more than 20 others wounded, in a shooting that would go down in infamy as Baghdad’s Bloody Sunday.
You probably have never heard his name, but you likely know something about how 9-year-old Ali Mohammed Hafedh Kinani died. He was the youngest person killed by Blackwater forces at Nisoor Square.
This is the story of the death of young Ali Kinani, and his father has provided us with the most detailed eyewitness account of the Nisoor Square massacre ever given to a U.S. media outlet.
Mohammed Hafedh Abdulrazzaq Kinani and his wife Fatimah lived with their three children in Baghdad. Mohammed ran his family’s auto parts business, and he adored his youngest son Ali, whom the family affectionately called by his kid nickname, Allawi.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] He would sleep on my arm. He was nine-and-a-half years old, but still slept on my arm. He had his own room, but he never slept alone.
When he turned 9, I told him it was time to stop using my arm as his pillow. I said, “Son, you’re getting older. Go sleep with your brothers, on your bed in your room. Your name is Ali. We used to call you Allawi, but you’ll be a man soon.” So he said, “As you wish, father.” He always said that.
So I looked and saw his feet under the door. I called him in. He opened the door and said, “Dad, I’m Allawi, not Ali.” He was telling me that he was still a child. After that, he kept sleeping on my arm. It was the only pillow he ever had.
JEREMY SCAHILL: When U.S. forces rolled into Baghdad in April of 2003, Mohammed proudly took his son to greet the men he called their liberators, the U.S. military. Mohammed was that rare personification of the neoconservative narrative about the U.S. invasion.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] The first day the American Army entered Baghdad, I handed out juice and candy in the street, to celebrate our liberation from Saddam.
JEREMY SCAHILL: Before September 16th, 2007, Mohammed had never heard of Blackwater. Now he thinks of them and that day every waking moment. He remembers that Ali was not supposed to be in his car that day. Mohammed had just pulled away from his family’s home on his way to pick up his sister Jenan and her children for a visit. Ali came running out of the house.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] He was quiet the whole ride. But then we passed a newly built park, a garden. So he turned to me and asked, “Daddy, when are you going to bring us here?” I told him, “Next week, hopefully, if God wills it.”
JEREMY SCAHILL: Mohammed and Ali picked up Jenan and her three children and made their way back home. The return journey would bring them through Nisoor Square. When Mohammed found himself in a traffic jam at the square that day, he thought it was a U.S. military checkpoint. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him when he saw the armored vehicles block off traffic.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] One of the guards gestured toward us with his hands. This gesture means “stop.” So we stopped. I and all the cars in front and behind me stopped. We followed their orders.
At that point, I didn’t even know they were Blackwater. I didn’t know it was a security company. I thought it was some sort of American Army unit, or maybe a military police unit. In any case, we followed their orders.
JEREMY SCAHILL: As Mohammed and his family waited in the SUV, the man in the car next to them was frantic. “I think someone was shot in the car in front of you,” he told Mohammed. It was then Mohammed watched in horror as Blackwater gunners, for no apparent reason, blew up a white Kia sedan in front of his eyes. Inside, Mohammed would later learn, were a young Iraqi medical student and his mother.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] There was absolutely no shooting or any sign of danger for us or Blackwater. No one was in the slightest danger.
Suddenly, in the flash of a second, they started shooting in all directions. And it wasn’t warning shots. They were shooting as if they were fighting in the field.
By the time they stopped shooting, the car looked like a sieve. This is the only way to describe it, because it was truly riddled with bullets. They finished with the first car and turned their guns on us. It turned into the apocalypse.
JEREMY SCAHILL: As chaos and blood flooded the square, Mohammed remembers the fate of one man in particular who tried to flee the Blackwater gunmen.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] Everyone was trying to escape. Whoever wasn’t shot dead in their car just wanted to escape somehow. When one man tried to run, they shot him. He dropped dead on the spot. He was on the ground bleeding, and they were shooting nonstop. They shot like they were trying to kill everyone they could see. He sank into his own blood. And every minute, they would go back and shoot him again, and I could see his body shake with every bullet. He was dead, but his body shook with the bullets. He would shoot at someone else and then go back to shooting at this dead man.
The man is dead in a pool of blood. Why would you keep shooting him?
JEREMY SCAHILL: As Mohammed sat in his SUV with his 9-year-old son Ali, his sister Jenan and her three children, he realized that, for them, attempting to escape was not an option. As the shooting intensified, Mohammed yelled for the kids to get down. He and Jenan did the same.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] Bullets were coming from the right and the left. My younger sister was trying to cover me with her body. So I pulled out of her grip and covered her with my body to protect her. I have pictures that show the headrest of my sister’s seat is full of bullet holes. It was horrific, extremely terrifying. I still wake up from sleep, startled.
Why? I ask. Why would they do this? We were civilians sitting in our cars. Most of the cars had families in them. So why did this happen?
I kept hearing boom, boom, boom in my car. Bullets were flying everywhere. It was horrific, horrific. I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe it.
After they had killed everyone in sight, my sister and I kept still. I had her rest her head on my lap, and my body was on top of her. We would sneak to peek from under the dashboard. They continued shooting here and there, killing this and that one. Then it cleared. Nothing was moving on the street. Only the Blackwater men were moving. Then, they drove off.
JEREMY SCAHILL: It seemed to Mohammed like a miracle had blessed his car. “We’re alive,” he thought. As the Blackwater forces retreated, Mohammed told Jenan he was going to check on the man who had been repeatedly shot by Blackwater. It was then Mohammed’s world crumbled.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] When I got out of the car, my nephew said, “Uncle, Allawi is dead.” My sister started screaming, and I turned to look at Ali.
I turned and saw that his window was broken. It was shot. I looked at him, and his head was resting at the side of the door. I opened the door to see if he was OK. I opened the door, and he started falling out. I stood there in shock, watching him as the door opened and his brain fell to the ground between my feet. I looked at his brain on the ground, and I pushed him back into the car. I told my sister that they had blown his brains out.
I started to scream, “They killed my son! They killed my son!” I was turning and screaming. People were standing on the roof of a nearby building, saying, “Get out! Get out!” But I was in another world. They killed my son, and I was looking at his brain.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to do. I reached through the window to check his heart, and it was beating. I told my sister, who said, “Let’s rush him to the hospital. Maybe he still can make it.” But I knew. His brain was on the ground. He’s gone.
I turned the car, which had no water, no tires, and I spun it around. I drove towards Yarmouk Hospital.
JEREMY SCAHILL: At the hospital, Mohammed was told that because of Ali’s severe head injuries, an ambulance would need to rush him across town to a neurological hospital.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] Riding in the ambulance, I was completely destroyed. My son was dying in front of my eyes. He was suffering. His arms were shaking and almost pulled out the IVs. So I held his hands still.
He died. What can I say? My son. Up to the night before his death, my son never slept alone.
JEREMY SCAHILL: After Ali died, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad contacted Mohammed, offering his family a $10,000 condolence payment, making clear it was not a remedy for what happened and not a substitute for any potential legal action against the shooters. Initially, Mohammed refused the money, but the embassy pursued his family, urging them to take it. They eventually did, but with one condition: that half the money be donated to the family of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Mohammed’s wife Fatimah delivered the gift to the U.S. Embassy.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] This is a gift from Ali’s family to whichever family you choose, the family of any soldier who lost his life for the sake of Iraq. I want you to give it as a gift. I know it is insignificant, but it is an emotional and moral gesture from us to them.
JEREMY SCAHILL: Mohammed carries around a letter sent his family by General Ray Odierno, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. “Your substantial generosity on behalf of the families of fallen American soldiers,” Odierno wrote, “has touched me deeply.”
While Mohammed and his family mourned the death of Ali, half a world away in Washington, D.C., Blackwater’s owner, Erik Prince, was summoned before the U.S. Congress. Blackwater, Prince said, had been the victim of an armed ambush by Iraqi insurgents at Nisoor Square, and he defended the conduct of his men, saying they had, quote, “acted appropriately at all times.”
REP. DANNY DAVIS: You do admit that Blackwater personnel have shot and killed innocent civilians, don’t you?
ERIK PRINCE: No, sir. I disagree with that. I think there’s been times when guys are using defensive force to protect themselves, to protect the package. They’re trying to get away from danger. There could be ricochets. There are traffic accidents, yes. This is war. You know.
JEREMY SCAHILL: Mohammed watched those hearings live and was outraged.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] I wish they would ask the head of Blackwater: Did he think that this child was a threat to his company? This giant company with all the biggest weapons, guns and planes — was this boy a threat to them?
JEREMY SCAHILL: At the hearing, a State Department document was produced revealing that before Nisoor Square, the department had coordinated with Blackwater to set a low payout for Iraqi shooting victims, because, in the words of a department security official, if it was too high, Iraqis may try “to get killed by our guys to financially guarantee their family’s future.”
Despite Prince’s brazen denials, the thought of suing Blackwater didn’t cross Mohammed’s mind. He didn’t want anyone’s money. He readily cooperated with the U.S. military and federal investigators, and he believed that justice would be done in America.
Then, he says, Blackwater stepped in.
In February of 2008, ABC News did a brief story about Mohammed. The day the story was posted online, Blackwater’s attorney threatened to take legal action against the network, accusing ABC of defamation.
What outraged Mohammed was that Blackwater denied its forces killed Ali, claiming instead that he was killed by a stray bullet, possibly fired by the U.S. military an hour after Blackwater personnel had departed the scene. Blackwater claimed Ali was hit by a warning shot that ricocheted and killed him. It was not even possible, the Blackwater lawyer claimed, that Blackwater was responsible.
Shortly after that, Mohammed said an Iraqi attorney approached him. But he wasn’t just any lawyer. Ja’afar al Moussawy was the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, which prosecuted Saddam Hussein. He was the Iraqi lawyer. Mohammed agreed to meet with Moussawy and Blackwater’s regional manager. He says they offered him $20,000.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] I said, “I’m not taking a penny from you. I want nothing.” I asked them if they wanted to resolve the problem. They said, “Yes.” I said, “OK, get me a pen and paper.” I said, “Look, I have the paper, and I can sign and waive all my rights. All of them. I will sign now, but under one condition: I want the head of Blackwater to apologize publicly to me in America and say, ‘We killed your son, and we’re sorry.’ That’s all I want.” I told them, “I don’t want $50 or $20,000. I just want him to publicly apologize. That would be enough for me.”
Blackwater’s regional manager said, “We do not apologize.” I said, “You kill my son and go on TV and publicly accuse me and all Iraqis of being mercenaries who intentionally have you kill us for the compensation. And you were under oath in front of Congress, and you tell me you will not apologize. What did you want, then? Why did you bring me here?” He said, “No, we won’t apologize.”
JEREMY SCAHILL: Mohammed then confronted the Blackwater manager about the company’s claim that the U.S. military, not Blackwater, may have killed Ali.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] I told the manager, “My son was killed in the car with me. How can you say it was the military? Do you want to stain the reputation the American Army? The American Army is innocent of this. Why would you blame this on them? Do you want us to hate them more? Aren’t you an American company, and this is your national military? Why would you do this to your own?” I told them, “We love the American Army more than you do.”
JEREMY SCAHILL: Mohammed threw the pen and paper at the Blackwater manager and left the meeting.
MOHAMMED KINANI: [translated] So I had no choice but to go the legal route and take things to court.
JEREMY SCAHILL: As we wrap up our time together, Mohammed Kinani shows us a cellphone video of young Ali hopping around a swimming pool with his cousins and siblings. With a smile ear to ear, Ali approaches Mohammed’s cellphone camera and says to his dad, “I am Allawi.”
ALI KINANI: [translated] I am Allawi. I am Allawi.


truthout--2020-12-29--Bernie Sanders Vows to Filibuster Military Budget to Force Vote on $2,000 Checks

Sen. Bernie Sanders is planning to filibuster the Senate ’ s upcoming attempt to override President Donald Trump ’ s veto of the annual military spending bill in an effort to force a clean vote on House-passed legislation that would provide one-time $ 2,000 direct payments to struggling Americans .
“ This week on the Senate floor [ Republican Majority Leader ] Mitch McConnell wants to vote to override Trump ’ s veto of the $ 740 billion defense funding bill and then head home for the New Year , ” the Vermont senator said in a statement late Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ object until we get a vote on legislation to provide a $ 2,000 direct payment to the working class.
” “ Let me be clear : If Senator McConnell doesn ’ t agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $ 2,000 direct payment , Congress will not be going home for New Year ’ s Eve , ” Sanders added .
“ Let ’ s do our job.
” Sanders ’ statement came shortly after the Democrat-controlled House overwhelmingly passed the CASH Act , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the new coronavirus relief law from $ 600 to $ 2,000 and include some people who were originally deemed ineligible for the checks , such as adult dependents .
The measure passed by a 275-134 vote , with 44 House Republicans joining 231 Democrats in approving the bill .
Following the House vote , Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D-N.Y. ) reiterated his intention to try to pass the CASH Act on Tuesday , declaring that “ every Senate Democrat is for this relief.
” But McConnell has not committed to allowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that prompted Sanders ’ vow to hold up a Senate vote to override Trump ’ s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act ( NDAA ) .
The House voted to override the president ’ s veto Monday night .
“ At noon tomorrow , McConnell is expected to ask for Unanimous Consent to vote on the veto override of the $ 740 billion defense bill , ” said Warren Gunnels , Sanders ’ staff director .
“ Bernie will object until we get a vote on $ 2,000 direct payments .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ session until the New Year .
This is no bluff.
” In an interview with Politico , Sanders said that “ it would be unconscionable , especially after the House did the right thing , for the Senate to simply leave Washington without voting on this.
” “ The American people are desperate , ” the Vermont senator added , “ and the Senate has got to do its job before leaving town.
” Politico noted that “ the Vermont independent can ’ t ultimately stop the veto override vote , but he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Day and make things more difficult for the GOP… Though veto overrides can be filibustered , as Sanders plans to do , it is a rare procedural move because the veto override already requires 67 votes and the filibuster is simply a delay tactic , according to the Congressional Research Service.
” While Sanders may not have the power to single-handedly kill the NDAA veto override , The American Prospect ’ s David Dayen wrote Monday that the Vermont senator “ has the procedural means at his disposal to keep the Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Year ’ s Day , inconveniencing senators of both parties , particularly the incumbent Republicans from Georgia , who are in their final full week of campaigning for runoff elections on January 5.
” Dayen reported that Sanders will be operating “ with the backing of the Senate Democratic caucus.
” In order to get through the week without a clean vote on the $ 2,000 payments , Senate Majority Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) will have to object numerous times to Sanders ’ pleas to bring up the bill… The Senate operates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s not impossible to get things done if one senator objects , but it ’ s quite a bit slower .
The majority needs to hold votes and waste time to muscle past an objecting senator .
For this reason , Sanders can prevent quick passage of the defense bill override , the only thing McConnell really wants to accomplish in the last week of the Senate session .
This ramps up pressure on McConnell to just hold a vote on the $ 2,000 checks .
Senators don ’ t want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Year ’ s Eve or New Year ’ s Day if they can prevent it… McConnell has options to eventually get to the defense bill vote .
He can move to end debate , known as a cloture vote , and push past Sanders ’ objection .
However , he can not do that on Tuesday , because he won ’ t have enough senators in the building to win a floor vote .
In a tweet late Monday , Sanders pointed to new Data for Progress polling showing that 78 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats , 73 % of Republicans , and 74 % of Independents — support a $ 2,000 direct relief check .

Though Sanders can’t ultimately stop the veto override, he can force the Senate to stay in session until the New Year.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is planning to filibuster the Senate’s upcoming attempt to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the annual military spending bill in an effort to force a clean vote on House-passed legislation that would provide one-time $2,000 direct payments to struggling Americans.
“This week on the Senate floor [Republican Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell wants to vote to override Trump’s veto of the $740 billion defense funding bill and then head home for the New Year,” the Vermont senator said in a statement late Monday. “I’m going to object until we get a vote on legislation to provide a $2,000 direct payment to the working class.”
“Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn’t agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year’s Eve,” Sanders added. “Let’s do our job.”
Sanders’ statement came shortly after the Democrat-controlled House overwhelmingly passed the CASH Act, which would increase the direct payments in the new coronavirus relief law from $600 to $2,000 and include some people who were originally deemed ineligible for the checks, such as adult dependents. The measure passed by a 275-134 vote, with 44 House Republicans joining 231 Democrats in approving the bill.
Following the House vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reiterated his intention to try to pass the CASH Act on Tuesday, declaring that “every Senate Democrat is for this relief.”
But McConnell has not committed to allowing a vote on the bill, intransigence that prompted Sanders’ vow to hold up a Senate vote to override Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The House voted to override the president’s veto Monday night.
“At noon tomorrow, McConnell is expected to ask for Unanimous Consent to vote on the veto override of the $740 billion defense bill,” said Warren Gunnels, Sanders’ staff director. “Bernie will object until we get a vote on $2,000 direct payments. We can force the Senate to stay in session until the New Year. This is no bluff.”
In an interview with Politico, Sanders said that “it would be unconscionable, especially after the House did the right thing, for the Senate to simply leave Washington without voting on this.”
“The American people are desperate,” the Vermont senator added, “and the Senate has got to do its job before leaving town.”
Politico noted that “the Vermont independent can’t ultimately stop the veto override vote, but he can delay it until New Year’s Day and make things more difficult for the GOP… Though veto overrides can be filibustered, as Sanders plans to do, it is a rare procedural move because the veto override already requires 67 votes and the filibuster is simply a delay tactic, according to the Congressional Research Service.”
While Sanders may not have the power to single-handedly kill the NDAA veto override, The American Prospect’s David Dayen wrote Monday that the Vermont senator “has the procedural means at his disposal to keep the Senate in session all the way to New Year’s Day, inconveniencing senators of both parties, particularly the incumbent Republicans from Georgia, who are in their final full week of campaigning for runoff elections on January 5.”
Dayen reported that Sanders will be operating “with the backing of the Senate Democratic caucus.”
Often the only way anything gets done in Washington is if you inconvenience Senators enough. That’s the plan here. https://t.co/3shdjnmYDN — David Dayen (@ddayen) December 29, 2020
As Dayen explained:
In order to get through the week without a clean vote on the $2,000 payments, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will have to object numerous times to Sanders’ pleas to bring up the bill… The Senate operates on the principle of unanimous consent. It’s not impossible to get things done if one senator objects, but it’s quite a bit slower. The majority needs to hold votes and waste time to muscle past an objecting senator. For this reason, Sanders can prevent quick passage of the defense bill override, the only thing McConnell really wants to accomplish in the last week of the Senate session. This ramps up pressure on McConnell to just hold a vote on the $2,000 checks. Senators don’t want to be stuck in Washington on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day if they can prevent it… McConnell has options to eventually get to the defense bill vote. He can move to end debate, known as a cloture vote, and push past Sanders’ objection. However, he cannot do that on Tuesday, because he won’t have enough senators in the building to win a floor vote.
In a tweet late Monday, Sanders pointed to new Data for Progress polling showing that 78% of likely U.S. voters — 84% of Democrats, 73% of Republicans, and 74% of Independents — support a $2,000 direct relief check.
“The House approved a $2,000 direct payment,” Sanders wrote. “Let the Senate vote, Mitch!”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-12-29--19 House Democrats Join Ro Khanna in Voting Against Bloated Military Budget

Just 20 House Democrats opted to break with their party and their Republican counterparts late Monday to vote against overriding President Donald Trump ’ s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act , a sprawling bill that greenlights over $ 740 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2021 .
Rep. Ro Khanna ( D-Calif. ) , one the few House Democrats who voted against overriding the president ’ s NDAA veto , applauded his colleagues for having “ the courage tonight to vote no on the bloated defense budget.
” “ They are changing the culture of endless war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American people , ” said Khanna .
The veto override ultimately succeeded in the House by a 322-87 margin and now heads to the Senate , where Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) and other members of the Democratic caucus are threatening to hold up the NDAA in an effort to force a vote on $ 2,000 direct payments .
Here are the 20 Democrats who voted against overriding Trump ’ s NDAA veto : Reps. Earl Blumenauer ( Ore. ) , Suzanne Bonamici ( Ore. ) , Yvette Clarke ( N.Y. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Adriano Espaillat ( N.Y. ) , Tulsi Gabbard ( Hawaii ) , Jesús García ( Ill. ) , Jimmy Gomez ( Calif. ) , Jared Huffman ( Calif. ) , Pramila Jayapal ( Wash. ) , Joe Kennedy ( Mass . )
, Ro Khanna ( Calif. ) , Barbara Lee ( Calif. ) , Jim McGovern ( Mass . )
, Grace Meng ( N.Y. ) , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( N.Y. ) , Ilhan Omar ( Minn. ) , Mark Pocan ( Wis. ) , Ayanna Pressley ( Mass . )
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Nearly 70 House Republicans also voted against the veto override , but more out of allegiance to the president than opposition to out-of-control military spending .
Trump vetoed the NDAA last week not because of the bloated military budget , but rather because he objected to the exclusion of a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and inclusion of a provision ordering the Pentagon to rename military installations named after Confederate generals .
In an interview on Democracy Now !
ahead of Monday ’ s vote , Khanna said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opposing the NDAA don ’ t align with progressive objections , “ the bottom line is , $ 740 billion is way too much defense spending.
” “ We ’ re spending money on the modernization of nuclear weapons .
And we can ’ t find money to get food in to people who need it ?
” Khanna said .
“ We can ’ t find money to get more rental assistance for folks who are going to face evictions ?
We can ’ t find money to get $ 2,000 into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are wrong , and so I ’ m not going to vote to override his veto .
”

Just 20 House Democrats opted to break with their party and their Republican counterparts late Monday to vote against overriding President Donald Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, a sprawling bill that greenlights over $740 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2021.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one the few House Democrats who voted against overriding the president’s NDAA veto, applauded his colleagues for having “the courage tonight to vote no on the bloated defense budget.”
“They are changing the culture of endless war and calling for more investment instead in the American people,” said Khanna.
The veto override ultimately succeeded in the House by a 322-87 margin and now heads to the Senate, where Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other members of the Democratic caucus are threatening to hold up the NDAA in an effort to force a vote on $2,000 direct payments.
Here are the 20 Democrats who voted against overriding Trump’s NDAA veto: Reps. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.), Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), Jesús García (Ill.), Jimmy Gomez (Calif.), Jared Huffman (Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Joe Kennedy (Mass.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Grace Meng (N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).
Nearly 70 House Republicans also voted against the veto override, but more out of allegiance to the president than opposition to out-of-control military spending.
Trump vetoed the NDAA last week not because of the bloated military budget, but rather because he objected to the exclusion of a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and inclusion of a provision ordering the Pentagon to rename military installations named after Confederate generals.
In an interview on Democracy Now! ahead of Monday’s vote, Khanna said that while Trump’s reasons for opposing the NDAA don’t align with progressive objections, “the bottom line is, $740 billion is way too much defense spending.”
“We’re spending money on the modernization of nuclear weapons. And we can’t find money to get food in to people who need it?” Khanna said. “We can’t find money to get more rental assistance for folks who are going to face evictions? We can’t find money to get $2,000 into the pockets of Americans? The priorities are wrong, and so I’m not going to vote to override his veto.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-12-29--Civil Rights Groups Fight Back Against Georgia’s Voter Purges

The importance of the January 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia can not be overestimated .
They will determine which party controls the Senate , with vast ramifications for economic policy , climate change , workers ’ rights , immigrants ’ rights , judicial nominees , and much more .
The purging of nearly 200,000 registered voters from the voting rolls in Georgia could spell the difference between a Republican or a Democratic majority in the Senate .
In October 2019 , Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger purged 313,243 people from the voter rolls , claiming they had moved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ground for removal under the National Voter Registration Act ( NVRA ) .
But five top expert firms hired by the Palast Investigative Fund ( PIF ) determined that 198,351 of those Georgia voters had not moved at all and were therefore illegally purged from the rolls .
Georgia claimed that thousands of voters submitted postal change-of-address forms , but the U.S .
Postal Service said they did not .
In addition , Georgia allegedly violated the NVRA by employing an unlicensed contractor who used an incorrect list .
The PIF experts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , using Advanced Address List Hygiene .
John Lenser , an address hygiene consultant and CEO of American Fifth Act , testified that this is the industry standard for residential address verification .
The experts called on more than 240 data sources .
They found a 63.3 percent error rate .
That doesn ’ t even include tens of thousands of other voters purged for moving within their neighborhoods or apartment buildings , which constitutes a violation of the NVRA .
“ Georgia ’ s officials have been exposed using a horrendously inaccurate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filled out postal change-of-address forms , ” investigative reporter Greg Palast told Truthout .
“ The Postal Service itself says they did not fill them out .
They did not move .
Yet , the political hacks that run Georgia ’ s elections have chosen this rotten trick to stop tens of thousands of citizens from voting.
” The cancellations primarily impact young voters , lower income voters and people of color .
In a prior case , Georgia ’ s secretary of state admitted that voters could be restored to the rolls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Why , then , does Raffensperger refuse to reinstate those voters ?
“ It is a cold , racially poisonous game , brazenly backed by the Republican National Committee lawyers desperate to bend the upcoming Senate runoff , ” Palast said .
The voter registrations were cancelled because , the secretary of state alleged , ( 1 ) they had filed a change of address form with the National Change of Address ( NCOA ) registry ; ( 2 ) election officials had received returned mail ; and ( 3 ) Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cancellations allowed removal if , after three years of no contact , the voter did not return a confirmation postcard and then did not vote in the next two general elections ; this is known as “ use it or lose it.
” Four civil rights organizations , including Black Voters Matter and Rainbow PUSH Coalition , filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ( Atlanta ) on December 2 .
The suit was based on the expert reporting of PIF and the official report of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on September 1 .
Those experts determined that 199,908 voters can still receive mail at their address of registration so it is not likely they have moved .
Plaintiffs are asking that the nearly 200,000 names allegedly wrongfully removed from the voter rolls be restored in time for the critical runoff election on January 5 .
In the alternative , they seek the appointment of a “ special master ” — an expert who would review the work of the PIF experts and the secretary of state ’ s list maintenance experts to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rolls and reinstate them .
The NVRA , which Congress enacted in 1993 , declares that voting is a fundamental right .
It requires that federal , state and local governments promote the exercise of the right to vote .
And it says : Georgia ’ s “ use it or lose it ” rule violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment , the lawsuit claims , because it creates incorrect distinctions , thereby disenfranchising infrequent voters .
On December 16 , the district court judge denied the plaintiffs ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NVRA ’ s 90-day notice requirement .
But the judge said there were discrepancies and told the parties to sit down and try to settle the case .
On December 28 , the plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration and a request to add the Palast Investigative Fund as a plaintiff in the case .
A letter the plaintiffs ’ attorney sent to Raffensperger on September 22 on behalf of PIF would then satisfy the 90-day notice period , which expired on December 23 .
The plaintiffs are also asking the judge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ count the provisional ballots of voters who try to vote but whose registrations were cancelled for moving when they didn ’ t move , as documented by the plaintiffs ’ experts .
Although the secretary of state is willing to put people back on the voter rolls , there is no indication that will be accomplished before the January 5 runoff elections .
The conservative Raffensperger is feeling the heat , having come under fire from Donald Trump , who called him “ the enemy of the people ” for refusing to join @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential election from Joe Biden .
They recounted the votes three times in Georgia and got the same result each time .
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit have assembled a legal team of committed attorneys , including C.K .
Hoffler , president of the National Bar Association ; Gerald Griggs , known as the “ Justice Fighter ” ; iconic civil rights attorney Fred Gray ; and Jeanne Mirer from New York .
“ This case is the first of its kind to provide evidence that nearly two-thirds of the people that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having moved , have not done so , ” Mirer told Truthout .
“ Despite losing the injunction , we will continue to fight to get these voters back on the rolls and to have their votes count in the Senatorial runoff.
” LaTosha Brown , co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund , said the removal of voters from the Georgia rolls is not an issue of voter fraud , but one of “ [ m ] assive scale voter suppression.
” Mirer said , “ In addition to the efforts at voter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we need to think about the lesson from this last election .
If the barriers to voting are eliminated , if the states make the franchise accessible , then people will vote.
” She noted , “ That lesson is not lost on the Republicans , who believe they can only win if the vote is suppressed.
” “ The easing of restrictions and expansion of access to voting during COVID will be targeted by Republicans starting at the beginning of the year , ” Mirer predicts .
“ All voting rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up with a proactive strategy to protect and expand access to voting.
” She cited the NAACP , the NAACP Legal Defense Fund , the League of Women Voters , Common Cause , the Brennan Center for Justice , the National Lawyers Guild , Latinx and Asian American groups , and labor unions as some of the organizations “ laboring for years to protect the right to vote against all attacks.
” The voting rights groups have not joined together to develop “ a proactive strategy to expand voting rights given the amount @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Mirer said .
She thinks it is more important than ever for progressive groups to work in coalition to combat the Republican efforts in 2021 and 2022 “ to shut the doors to easing access to voting that COVID-19 opened.
” Expect “ an onslaught of moves to constrict access to the ballot.
” Meanwhile , Mirer ’ s legal team will continue the struggle to reinstate the purged Georgia voters to the rolls in time for the Senate runoff elections .
Biden beat Trump in Georgia by 12,000 votes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on January 5 .

Part of the Series Human Rights and Global Wrongs
The importance of the January 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia cannot be overestimated. They will determine which party controls the Senate, with vast ramifications for economic policy, climate change, workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, judicial nominees, and much more. The purging of nearly 200,000 registered voters from the voting rolls in Georgia could spell the difference between a Republican or a Democratic majority in the Senate.
In October 2019, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger purged 313,243 people from the voter rolls, claiming they had moved from their registration residence, which is a ground for removal under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). But five top expert firms hired by the Palast Investigative Fund (PIF) determined that 198,351 of those Georgia voters had not moved at all and were therefore illegally purged from the rolls.
Georgia claimed that thousands of voters submitted postal change-of-address forms, but the U.S. Postal Service said they did not. In addition, Georgia allegedly violated the NVRA by employing an unlicensed contractor who used an incorrect list.
The PIF experts performed a name-by-name analysis of the addresses, using Advanced Address List Hygiene. John Lenser, an address hygiene consultant and CEO of American Fifth Act, testified that this is the industry standard for residential address verification. The experts called on more than 240 data sources. They found a 63.3 percent error rate. That doesn’t even include tens of thousands of other voters purged for moving within their neighborhoods or apartment buildings, which constitutes a violation of the NVRA.
“Georgia’s officials have been exposed using a horrendously inaccurate list of voters whom they claim had filled out postal change-of-address forms,” investigative reporter Greg Palast told Truthout. “The Postal Service itself says they did not fill them out. They did not move. Yet, the political hacks that run Georgia’s elections have chosen this rotten trick to stop tens of thousands of citizens from voting.” The cancellations primarily impact young voters, lower income voters and people of color.
In a prior case, Georgia’s secretary of state admitted that voters could be restored to the rolls within 24 to 48 hours if necessary. Why, then, does Raffensperger refuse to reinstate those voters? “It is a cold, racially poisonous game, brazenly backed by the Republican National Committee lawyers desperate to bend the upcoming Senate runoff,” Palast said.
© Zach D. Roberts, 2020
The voter registrations were cancelled because, the secretary of state alleged, (1) they had filed a change of address form with the National Change of Address (NCOA) registry; (2) election officials had received returned mail; and (3) Georgia law in effect at the time of the cancellations allowed removal if, after three years of no contact, the voter did not return a confirmation postcard and then did not vote in the next two general elections; this is known as “use it or lose it.”
Four civil rights organizations, including Black Voters Matter and Rainbow PUSH Coalition, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) on December 2. The suit was based on the expert reporting of PIF and the official report of the ACLU of Georgia that was published on September 1. Those experts determined that 199,908 voters can still receive mail at their address of registration so it is not likely they have moved.
Plaintiffs are asking that the nearly 200,000 names allegedly wrongfully removed from the voter rolls be restored in time for the critical runoff election on January 5. In the alternative, they seek the appointment of a “special master” — an expert who would review the work of the PIF experts and the secretary of state’s list maintenance experts to decide which voters were wrongfully removed from the rolls and reinstate them.
The NVRA, which Congress enacted in 1993, declares that voting is a fundamental right. It requires that federal, state and local governments promote the exercise of the right to vote. And it says:
Discriminatory and unfair registration laws and procedures can have a direct and damaging effect on voter participation in elections for Federal office and disproportionately harm voter participation by various groups, including racial minorities.
Georgia’s “use it or lose it” rule violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the lawsuit claims, because it creates incorrect distinctions, thereby disenfranchising infrequent voters.
On December 16, the district court judge denied the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction for noncompliance with the NVRA’s 90-day notice requirement. But the judge said there were discrepancies and told the parties to sit down and try to settle the case.
On December 28, the plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration and a request to add the Palast Investigative Fund as a plaintiff in the case. A letter the plaintiffs’ attorney sent to Raffensperger on September 22 on behalf of PIF would then satisfy the 90-day notice period, which expired on December 23.
The plaintiffs are also asking the judge to order the secretary of state to count the provisional ballots of voters who try to vote but whose registrations were cancelled for moving when they didn’t move, as documented by the plaintiffs’ experts.
Although the secretary of state is willing to put people back on the voter rolls, there is no indication that will be accomplished before the January 5 runoff elections. The conservative Raffensperger is feeling the heat, having come under fire from Donald Trump, who called him “the enemy of the people” for refusing to join Trump’s conspiracy to steal the presidential election from Joe Biden. They counted the votes three times in Georgia and got the same result each time.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit have assembled a legal team of committed attorneys, including C.K. Hoffler, president of the National Bar Association; Gerald Griggs, known as the “Justice Fighter”; iconic civil rights attorney Fred Gray; and Jeanne Mirer from New York.
“This case is the first of its kind to provide evidence that nearly two-thirds of the people that the state removed from the voter rolls for having moved, have not done so,” Mirer told Truthout. “Despite losing the injunction, we will continue to fight to get these voters back on the rolls and to have their votes count in the Senatorial runoff.”
LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, said the removal of voters from the Georgia rolls is not an issue of voter fraud, but one of “[m]assive scale voter suppression.”
Mirer said, “In addition to the efforts at voter suppression, which purging voter rolls represents, we need to think about the lesson from this last election. If the barriers to voting are eliminated, if the states make the franchise accessible, then people will vote.” She noted, “That lesson is not lost on the Republicans, who believe they can only win if the vote is suppressed.”
“The easing of restrictions and expansion of access to voting during COVID will be targeted by Republicans starting at the beginning of the year,” Mirer predicts. “All voting rights groups need to get together and come up with a proactive strategy to protect and expand access to voting.” She cited the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the Brennan Center for Justice, the National Lawyers Guild, Latinx and Asian American groups, and labor unions as some of the organizations “laboring for years to protect the right to vote against all attacks.”
The voting rights groups have not joined together to develop “a proactive strategy to expand voting rights given the amount of defense they have had to play,” Mirer said. She thinks it is more important than ever for progressive groups to work in coalition to combat the Republican efforts in 2021 and 2022 “to shut the doors to easing access to voting that COVID-19 opened.” Expect “an onslaught of moves to constrict access to the ballot.”
Meanwhile, Mirer’s legal team will continue the struggle to reinstate the purged Georgia voters to the rolls in time for the Senate runoff elections. Biden beat Trump in Georgia by 12,000 votes. The purged voters could decide who wins on January 5.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-12-30--UN Experts: Trump Violated International Law in Pardoning Blackwater Mercenaries

The pardoning of four Blackwater mercenaries by President Donald Trump earlier this month was an action that violated international law , a group of experts at the United Nations ( UN ) said on Wednesday .
Trump pardoned the four contractors — Nicholas Slatten , who was convicted of first-degree murder , as well as Paul Slough , Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard , all three who were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter — as part of more than a dozen pardons and commutations last week .
Those contractors were convicted for opening fire on a crowd and killing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what has become known as the Nisour Square Massacre in Baghdad , Iraq .
Seventeen unarmed Iraqi citizens were killed in total .
The youngest victim in that shooting , Ali Kinani , was just 9 years old when he was killed by the four Blackwater contractors .
His father , Mohammed Kinani , recounted the scene he witnessed when the massacre happened .
“ When one man tried to run , they shot him , ” Kinani said in a Democracy Now !
interview from 2010 .
“ He dropped dead on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ground bleeding , and they were shooting nonstop .
They shot like they were trying to kill everyone they could see.
” Due to how vicious and criminal these men ’ s actions were , members of the UN condemned Trump ’ s decision to pardon them , describing his actions as criminal while doing so .
“ Pardoning the Blackwater contractors is an affront to justice and to the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families , ” Jelena Aparac , chair of a UN working group on the use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s pardoning of the four Blackwater contractors .
The president of the United States has tremendous leeway when it comes to whom they may pardon .
However , many scholars believe there are still limits to the pardon power , particularly when it comes to consideration for other laws — including international agreements and treaties , which are treated as “ the supreme law of the land ” according to the U.S. Constitution .
In that respect , it ’ s possible that Trump violated the Geneva Conventions when he pardoned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to that agreement are responsible for holding war criminals in their own country accountable for their actions .
Private contractors or mercenaries are included in those Geneva Conventions agreements .
There are grave consequences , according to those agreements , for not adhering to this rule — ignoring or curtailing punishments for war criminals will likely encourage other nations , for instance , to hire private contractors in order to break the spirit of the international agreement .
With that in mind , the pardons are in violation of “ U.S .
obligations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ undermine humanitarian law and human rights at a global level , ” Aparac said .
“ Ensuring accountability for such crimes is fundamental to humanity and to the community of nations , ” Aparac elaborated , adding that “ pardons , amnesties , or any other forms of exculpation for war crimes open doors to future abuses when States contract private military and security companies for inherent state functions.
” Marjorie Cohn , professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaking directly to Truthout about the matter , also said that Trump should have pardoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for his role in revealing other atrocious actions of the U.S. military in years ’ past .
“ The Geneva Conventions require that States hold war criminals accountable , ” Cohn said .
“ Yet Trump pardoned four war criminals but indicted Julian Assange for revealing evidence of U.S. war crimes in Iraq .
”

The choice to pardon the military contractors convicted of murder and manslaughter may violate the Geneva Conventions.
The pardoning of four Blackwater mercenaries by President Donald Trump earlier this month was an action that violated international law, a group of experts at the United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday.
Trump pardoned the four contractors — Nicholas Slatten, who was convicted of first-degree murder, as well as Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, all three who were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter — as part of more than a dozen pardons and commutations last week.
Those contractors were convicted for opening fire on a crowd and killing a number of individuals in 2007 in what has become known as the Nisour Square Massacre in Baghdad, Iraq. Seventeen unarmed Iraqi citizens were killed in total.
The youngest victim in that shooting, Ali Kinani, was just 9 years old when he was killed by the four Blackwater contractors. His father, Mohammed Kinani, recounted the scene he witnessed when the massacre happened.
“When one man tried to run, they shot him,” Kinani said in a Democracy Now! interview from 2010. “He dropped dead on the spot. He was on the ground bleeding, and they were shooting nonstop. They shot like they were trying to kill everyone they could see.”
Due to how vicious and criminal these men’s actions were, members of the UN condemned Trump’s decision to pardon them, describing his actions as criminal while doing so.
“Pardoning the Blackwater contractors is an affront to justice and to the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families,” Jelena Aparac, chair of a UN working group on the use of mercenaries, said on Wednesday of Trump’s pardoning of the four Blackwater contractors.
The president of the United States has tremendous leeway when it comes to whom they may pardon. However, many scholars believe there are still limits to the pardon power, particularly when it comes to consideration for other laws — including international agreements and treaties, which are treated as “the supreme law of the land” according to the U.S. Constitution.
In that respect, it’s possible that Trump violated the Geneva Conventions when he pardoned these four individuals, as member states to that agreement are responsible for holding war criminals in their own country accountable for their actions.
Private contractors or mercenaries are included in those Geneva Conventions agreements.
There are grave consequences, according to those agreements, for not adhering to this rule — ignoring or curtailing punishments for war criminals will likely encourage other nations, for instance, to hire private contractors in order to break the spirit of the international agreement.
With that in mind, the pardons are in violation of “U.S. obligations under international law,” and will “undermine humanitarian law and human rights at a global level,” Aparac said.
“Ensuring accountability for such crimes is fundamental to humanity and to the community of nations,” Aparac elaborated, adding that “pardons, amnesties, or any other forms of exculpation for war crimes open doors to future abuses when States contract private military and security companies for inherent state functions.”
Marjorie Cohn, professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, expressed similar sentiments. Cohn, speaking directly to Truthout about the matter, also said that Trump should have pardoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for his role in revealing other atrocious actions of the U.S. military in years’ past.
“The Geneva Conventions require that States hold war criminals accountable,” Cohn said. “Yet Trump pardoned four war criminals but indicted Julian Assange for revealing evidence of U.S. war crimes in Iraq.”
Cohn continued:
Assange published the ‘Collateral Murder’ video, which depicts U.S. soldiers killing 18 civilians, in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Trump should dismiss the indictment against Assange and grant him a full pardon.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-12-30--Trump Plans New Year’s Party as COVID Death Count Continues to Climb

In spite of the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spread at an alarmingly high rate , President Donald Trump appears to be planning on celebrating New Year ’ s Eve with hundreds of attendees at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this week .
The celebrations would go against recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) , which cautions strongly against attending large events during the holiday season in general — particularly if you are unsure of other attendees ’ habits prior to being in the same place as them .
“ As cases , hospitalizations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States , the safest way to celebrate the winter holidays is to celebrate at home with people who live with you , ” the CDC states on its website .
Trump doesn ’ t appear fazed by those recommendations , however — he has continued to hold holiday celebrations at the White House this past month in spite of what the CDC has said .
And it appears that his New Year ’ s Eve celebrations at Mar-a-Lago , which he has hosted since 2000 , are continuing to move forward as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many will actually attend the event , but according to one employee of the resort , at least 500 reservations have already been made .
It ’ s also unclear whether or not the celebration will adhere to social distancing rules , but one member of the resort has indicated that “ little regard for the pandemic ” has been given at Mar-a-Lago in recent days , indicating that the same lackadaisical attitude will likely be allowed on the evening of December 31 .
Coronavirus continues to be a significant problem for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s actions do not provide the rest of the nation with an example of how to behave during New Year ’ s Eve .
More than 201,000 new cases of COVID-19 were announced on Tuesday alone , with a staggering 3,628 deaths due to the virus being reported on that day as well .
As of Wednesday morning , nearly 340,000 Americans have died of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic .
Florida itself has seen a significant rise in new cases of COVID-19 , with its recent surge of cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state saw over the summer .
Florida currently is seeing a seven-day average of 9,891 new daily cases reported , with 94 deaths happening per day over the past week as well .
Perhaps because so many haven ’ t heeded the agency ’ s advice on holiday travel , the CDC also warned this week that Americans should expect to see a huge influx of deaths related to coronavirus in the next three weeks .
By the time Trump leaves office on January 20 , the CDC has said , the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus since the pandemic began .
Put another way , the U.S. can expect to see close to 2,900 deaths per day from now until that date .
Celine Gounder , an epidemiologist who is part of President-elect Joe Biden ’ s coronavirus advisory team , has warned that January will be “ one of the worst months in this nation ’ s history , ” blaming continued holiday travel and gatherings as the reason why death rates will likely increase .
“ There is no doubt about that .
That cake is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ travel that has happened over the holidays , ” Gounder said earlier this week .
Deaths from coronavirus have climbed faster this past month than they have earlier this year .
At the start of the pandemic , it took about two months for the number of deaths to reach 100,000 .
Four months later , the total death count from COVID-19 reached 200,000 , and three months after that , the U.S. reached 300,000 deaths .
However , if the CDC ’ s prediction ends up being correct , the period of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total deaths ( from the 300,000 starting point on December 14 ) will be just slightly over a single month ’ s time .

The party planned by Trump goes against the CDC’s recommendations for attending gatherings during the holiday season.
In spite of the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spread at an alarmingly high rate, President Donald Trump appears to be planning on celebrating New Year’s Eve with hundreds of attendees at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this week.
The celebrations would go against recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which cautions strongly against attending large events during the holiday season in general — particularly if you are unsure of other attendees’ habits prior to being in the same place as them.
“As cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to increase across the United States, the safest way to celebrate the winter holidays is to celebrate at home with people who live with you,” the CDC states on its website.
Trump doesn’t appear fazed by those recommendations, however — he has continued to hold holiday celebrations at the White House this past month in spite of what the CDC has said. And it appears that his New Year’s Eve celebrations at Mar-a-Lago, which he has hosted since 2000, are continuing to move forward as well.
It’s unclear how many will actually attend the event, but according to one employee of the resort, at least 500 reservations have already been made. It’s also unclear whether or not the celebration will adhere to social distancing rules, but one member of the resort has indicated that “little regard for the pandemic” has been given at Mar-a-Lago in recent days, indicating that the same lackadaisical attitude will likely be allowed on the evening of December 31.
Coronavirus continues to be a significant problem for the country as a whole, and Trump’s actions do not provide the rest of the nation with an example of how to behave during New Year’s Eve. More than 201,000 new cases of COVID-19 were announced on Tuesday alone, with a staggering 3,628 deaths due to the virus being reported on that day as well. As of Wednesday morning, nearly 340,000 Americans have died of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Florida itself has seen a significant rise in new cases of COVID-19, with its recent surge of cases being reported appearing comparable to what the state saw over the summer. Florida currently is seeing a seven-day average of 9,891 new daily cases reported, with 94 deaths happening per day over the past week as well.
Perhaps because so many haven’t heeded the agency’s advice on holiday travel, the CDC also warned this week that Americans should expect to see a huge influx of deaths related to coronavirus in the next three weeks.
By the time Trump leaves office on January 20, the CDC has said, the country will exceed 400,000 total deaths from the virus since the pandemic began. Put another way, the U.S. can expect to see close to 2,900 deaths per day from now until that date.
Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist who is part of President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisory team, has warned that January will be “one of the worst months in this nation’s history,” blaming continued holiday travel and gatherings as the reason why death rates will likely increase.
“There is no doubt about that. That cake is in the oven already, with the travel that has happened over the holidays,” Gounder said earlier this week.
Deaths from coronavirus have climbed faster this past month than they have earlier this year. At the start of the pandemic, it took about two months for the number of deaths to reach 100,000. Four months later, the total death count from COVID-19 reached 200,000, and three months after that, the U.S. reached 300,000 deaths.
However, if the CDC’s prediction ends up being correct, the period of time it will take to reach 400,000 total deaths (from the 300,000 starting point on December 14) will be just slightly over a single month’s time.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-12-30--Dr. Susan Moore Died of COVID 2 Weeks After Recording Video Decrying Racist Care

As the United States reports record deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 in the final days of 2020 , we look at how the pandemic that ravaged the country this year has shone a stark new light on racism in medical care .
In a viral video recorded by Black physician Dr. Susan Moore , she describes racist treatment by medical staff at a hospital in Indianapolis and says they did not respond to her pleas for care , despite being in intense pain and being a doctor herself .
In the video , Dr. Moore says she had to beg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drug remdesivir , and accuses a doctor at Indiana University Health North Hospital of ignoring her pleas because she was Black .
“ I put forth , and I maintain : If I was white , I wouldn ’ t have to go through that , ” she says .
Dr. Moore died December 20 , just over two weeks after she posted the video .
She was 54 years old .
This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : As the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from COVID-19 in the final days of 2020 , we look at how the pandemic that ’ s ravaged the country this year has shone stark new light on racism in medical care .
We begin with a now-viral video recorded by Black physician Dr. Susan Moore and posted to her Facebook earlier this month , in which she describes racist treatment by medical staff at a hospital in Indianapolis who did not respond to her pleas for care despite being in intense pain and being a doctor herself .
Dr. Moore says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antiviral drug remdesivir and pain medication , and accuses a doctor at Indiana University Health North Hospital of ignoring her pleas because she was Black .
This is Dr. Susan Moore , as she summoned the energy to speak from her hospital bed , days before she would die .
She had an oxygen tube in her nose .
DR. SUSAN MOORE : At that time I had only received two treatments of the remdesivir .
He says , “ Ah , you don ’ t need it .
You ’ re not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Yes , I am.
” Then he went on to say , “ You don ’ t qualify.
” I must have , because I ’ ve gotten two treatments .
And then he further stated , “ You should just go home right now .
And I don ’ t feel comfortable giving you any more narcotics.
” I was in so much pain from my neck .
My neck hurt so bad .
I was crushed .
He made me feel like I was a drug addict , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t take narcotics .
I was hurting .
So , spoke to a patient advocate , who left me wanting : “ There ’ s not much I can do.
” So I started asking , “ Send me to another hospital where they can treat me .
If they ’ re not going to treat me here properly , send me to another hospital.
” Well , next thing I know , I ’ m getting a stat CT of my neck with and without contrast .
The CT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lungs , and you can see new pulmonary infiltrates , new lymphadenopathy all throughout my neck .
And all of a sudden , “ Yes , we will treat your pain.
” You have to show proof that you have something wrong with you in order for you to get the medicine .
I put forth , and I maintain : If I was white , I wouldn ’ t have to go through that .
… The other thing that that white doctor , Bannec , said was that if I stayed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday at 10 p.m. , in the dark .
Who does that ?
On a week — who does that ?
… This is how Black people get killed , when you send them home , and they don ’ t know how to fight for themselves .
I had to talk to somebody , maybe the media — somebody — to let people know how I ’ m being treated up in this place .
And he gladly told me , “ I know you ’ re a doctor.
” And he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have no medicine , nothing , and then had the nerve to say it ’ s because of him , the nurse , that I got the medicine .
“ Really ?
Because of you ?
No .
How about because I had that stat CT of my neck , where it showed all of that lymphadenopathy and infiltrates ?
Yeah , you didn ’ t know about that ?
You didn ’ t get that in the report ?
” That ’ s what I said .
Mm-hmm .
Mm-hmm .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is what happens .
AMY GOODMAN : Dr. Susan Moore died due to complications from COVID-19 on December 20th , just over two weeks after she recorded this video and posted it to her Facebook page .
She was 52 years old .
Her 19-year-old son Henry Muhammed is now left to care for her parents , who are both suffering from dementia .
The president and CEO of Indiana University Health issued a statement in response to her death , saying the technical aspects of the treatment she received , quote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level of compassion and respect we strive for in understanding what matters most to patients , ” unquote .
Dr. Moore ’ s chilling message has been compared to the video of George Floyd begging for his life as he was killed by Minneapolis police .
When we come back , we ’ ll speak to two leading Black women doctors fighting racial disparities in healthcare .
They co-wrote a piece in The Washington Post titled “ Say her name : Dr. Susan Moore.
” Stay with us .

As the United States reports record deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 in the final days of 2020, we look at how the pandemic that ravaged the country this year has shone a stark new light on racism in medical care. In a viral video recorded by Black physician Dr. Susan Moore, she describes racist treatment by medical staff at a hospital in Indianapolis and says they did not respond to her pleas for care, despite being in intense pain and being a doctor herself. In the video, Dr. Moore says she had to beg to receive pain medication and the antiviral drug remdesivir, and accuses a doctor at Indiana University Health North Hospital of ignoring her pleas because she was Black. “I put forth, and I maintain: If I was white, I wouldn’t have to go through that,” she says. Dr. Moore died December 20, just over two weeks after she posted the video. She was 54 years old.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: As the United States reports world record deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 in the final days of 2020, we look at how the pandemic that’s ravaged the country this year has shone stark new light on racism in medical care.
We begin with a now-viral video recorded by Black physician Dr. Susan Moore and posted to her Facebook earlier this month, in which she describes racist treatment by medical staff at a hospital in Indianapolis who did not respond to her pleas for care despite being in intense pain and being a doctor herself. Dr. Moore says she had to beg to receive the antiviral drug remdesivir and pain medication, and accuses a doctor at Indiana University Health North Hospital of ignoring her pleas because she was Black.
This is Dr. Susan Moore, as she summoned the energy to speak from her hospital bed, days before she would die. She had an oxygen tube in her nose.
DR. SUSAN MOORE: At that time I had only received two treatments of the remdesivir. He says, “Ah, you don’t need it. You’re not even short of breath.” I said, “Yes, I am.” Then he went on to say, “You don’t qualify.” I must have, because I’ve gotten two treatments. And then he further stated, “You should just go home right now. And I don’t feel comfortable giving you any more narcotics.” I was in so much pain from my neck. My neck hurt so bad. I was crushed. He made me feel like I was a drug addict, and he knew I was a physician. I don’t take narcotics. I was hurting. So, spoke to a patient advocate, who left me wanting: “There’s not much I can do.” So I started asking, “Send me to another hospital where they can treat me. If they’re not going to treat me here properly, send me to another hospital.” Well, next thing I know, I’m getting a stat CT of my neck with and without contrast. The CT went down a little bit into my lungs, and you can see new pulmonary infiltrates, new lymphadenopathy all throughout my neck. And all of a sudden, “Yes, we will treat your pain.” You have to show proof that you have something wrong with you in order for you to get the medicine. I put forth, and I maintain: If I was white, I wouldn’t have to go through that. … The other thing that that white doctor, Bannec, said was that if I stayed, that he would send me home Saturday at 10 p.m., in the dark. Who does that? On a week — who does that? … This is how Black people get killed, when you send them home, and they don’t know how to fight for themselves. I had to talk to somebody, maybe the media — somebody — to let people know how I’m being treated up in this place. And he gladly told me, “I know you’re a doctor.” And he didn’t want the Black doctor to have no medicine, nothing, and then had the nerve to say it’s because of him, the nurse, that I got the medicine. “Really? Because of you? No. How about because I had that stat CT of my neck, where it showed all of that lymphadenopathy and infiltrates? Yeah, you didn’t know about that? You didn’t get that in the report?” That’s what I said. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. To being Black up in here, this is what happens.
AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Susan Moore died due to complications from COVID-19 on December 20th, just over two weeks after she recorded this video and posted it to her Facebook page. She was 52 years old. Her 19-year-old son Henry Muhammed is now left to care for her parents, who are both suffering from dementia.
The president and CEO of Indiana University Health issued a statement in response to her death, saying the technical aspects of the treatment she received, quote, “may not have shown the level of compassion and respect we strive for in understanding what matters most to patients,” unquote.
Dr. Moore’s chilling message has been compared to the video of George Floyd begging for his life as he was killed by Minneapolis police.
When we come back, we’ll speak to two leading Black women doctors fighting racial disparities in healthcare. They co-wrote a piece in The Washington Post titled “Say her name: Dr. Susan Moore.” Stay with us.