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Lawsuit against American Airlines claims Black passengers were asked to deboard flight

https://lemmy.today/post/11355534

Lawsuit against American Airlines claims Black passengers were asked to deboard flight - Lemmy Today

> Five other Black male passengers were also asked to leave the plane, a press statement said, adding, “As the plaintiffs began to comply with the directive to deplane, they noticed that the only* *passengers who were being ordered off the plane were Black men, and it appeared that every Black man on the flight was being removed.” > After the men were removed from the plane, they were allegedly told by an American representative that they would not be allowed to fly on the flight and would have to rebook their trip. Upon asking for an explanation, the men were told that they were removed because a white male flight attendant had complained about an unidentified passenger’s body, according to the lawsuit. > “Notably, at no time did anyone accuse any of the plaintiffs of having offensive body odor,” the press statement said. > When the plaintiffs pointed out that it appeared they were being racially targeted, at least one American representative allegedly said that she did “not disagree”.

US aid to Gaza stalls after temporary pier breaks apart in heavy seas

https://lemmy.today/post/11319693

US aid to Gaza stalls after temporary pier breaks apart in heavy seas - Lemmy Today

> “The rebuilding and repairing of the pier will take at least over a week, and, following completion, will need to be re-anchored to the coast of Gaza,” Singh said. > “Thus, upon completion of the pier repair and reassembly, the intention is to re-anchor the temporary pier to the coast of Gaza and resume humanitarian aid to the people who need it most.” > The damage is the latest setback to the pier, which opened two weeks ago, and is likely to be seized on by Joe Biden’s critics as a waste of taxpayer money.

Are you puzzled by these numbers? Are you asking, “How could they think letting Trump win is going to make anything better?” Well, if you genuinely want to understand, read this reporting by Slate.

Here are some highlights:

I heard a similar sentiment from another patron, Fares, a Palestinian man who became a U.S. citizen 20 years ago, and voted for Biden in 2020. “I feel like, whether Republicans or Democrats, it’s all the same,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to vote for any because it doesn’t matter.” It’s a major shift for him. He was born in Syria to parents exiled in 1948 from what is now Haifa. He told me he hadn’t missed a presidential election before, but now he doesn’t see a point. “If 12,000 dead kids don’t change their hearts, you think you or I will?”

In a conversation at Qahwah House, Elabed seemed tired. It had become obvious to her she could no longer support Biden, and she didn’t see why that was so hard to understand. “It is hard for me to reconcile my core beliefs and morals to support a president that dehumanizes my people,” Elabed said. “This is a president that I met in person. That knows my sister. That met my mom, who wore a traditional Palestinian thobe at the White House.”

I posed the obvious question, asking if she thought Trump would be better. “What’s worse than genocide?” she retorted. “Maybe if the Democrats lose this election, they’ll learn their lesson. I’m happy to take several steps back if that’s what it takes to take a step forward.” When I argued, I got thousand-yard stares.

Are Arabs in Michigan Really Prepared to Hand the Presidency Back to Donald Trump? In a Word: Yes.

Michigan has the power to unravel a second Biden presidency. It just might.

Slate

A poll published at the end of October 2023 found “only 17% of Arab American voters saying they will vote for Biden in 2024—a staggering drop from 59% in 2020.”

Then a couple weeks ago a NYT poll “found Trump leading among registered Middle Eastern, North African or Muslim voters in the swing states, with 57 percent saying they were planning to back him in November. Only 25 percent said they were supporting Biden.”

Biden’s Gaza Stance Spurs Stunning Drop in Arab American Support

The first national poll of Arab Americans since the war in Gaza finds 17% plan to vote for Biden in 2024—a staggering drop from 59% in 2020

Time

Arab Americans reject Biden, Trump reelection: Survey

https://lemmy.today/post/11316040

Arab Americans reject Biden, Trump reelection: Survey - Lemmy Today

On May 17 and 18 the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Truth Project asked 36,139 Arab Americans and “allied voters,” “Who are you voting for in November?” 2,196 people responded. 2% Trump 7% Biden 25% Jill Stein 20% Cornell West 19% Undecided 23% Uncommitted 3% Stay home

The Pentagon Continues to Exonerate Itself of Harming Noncombatants

https://lemmy.today/post/11086930

The Pentagon Continues to Exonerate Itself of Harming Noncombatants - Lemmy Today

> Late last year, the Defense Department also issued its long-awaited “Instruction on Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response,” which established the Pentagon’s “policies, responsibilities, and procedures for mitigating and responding to civilian harm.” The document, mandated [https://civiliansinconflict.org/blog/ndaa/] under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, and approved by Austin, directs the military [https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/300017p.pdf] to “acknowledge civilian harm resulting from U.S. military operations and respond to individuals and communities affected by U.S. military operations,” including “expressing condolences” and providing ex gratia payments [https://theintercept.com/2020/07/27/pentagon-cilivian-deaths/] to next of kin. > But despite $15 million allocated by Congress since 2020 to provide just such payments and despite members of Congress repeatedly [https://web.archive.org/web/20221209074004/https:/malinowski.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-malinowski-crow-jacobs-senators-warren-durbin-leahy-urge-dod] calling on [https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2022.12.19%20Letter%20to%20DoD%20re%20Incompleteness%20of%20Civilian%20Casualties%20Annual%20Report.pdf] the Pentagon to make amends for civilian harm, it has announced just one such payment in the years since.

The thing about voting for the lesser evil is that they actually have to be less evil.

Blinken willing to work with Congress on potential sanctions against ICC

https://lemmy.today/post/10981651

Blinken willing to work with Congress on potential sanctions against ICC - Lemmy Today

Joe Biden and his political opponents have sharply criticized Khan’s announcement, arguing the court does not have jurisdiction over the Gaza conflict and raising concerns over process. At an earlier hearing on Tuesday, Blinken said he would work with Congress on an appropriate response, calling the ICC’s move “profoundly wrong-headed”.  In 2020, Donald Trump’s administration accused the ICC of infringing on US national sovereignty when it authorized an investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan. The US targeted court staff, including then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, with asset freezes and travel bans.

I was detained at a US airport and asked about Israel and Gaza for 2 hours. Why? | Ilan Pappé

https://lemmy.today/post/10964991

I was detained at a US airport and asked about Israel and Gaza for 2 hours. Why? | Ilan Pappé - Lemmy Today

I was held for two hours. The first round of questions was about my views on Hamas. Then the agents wished to know whether I thought Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip amount to genocide and what I think of the slogan “Palestine should be free from the river to the sea”. I said yes, I do think Israel is committing genocide. As to the slogan, I said that in my view people anywhere in the world should be free. Then the agents interrogated me about who I know in the Arab American and Muslim American community. They asked me to provide them with telephone numbers, took my phone away for quite a long period and asked to wait until they made some phone calls before they let me go.

Biden is dramatically out of touch with voters on Gaza. He may lose because of it

https://lemmy.today/post/10962186

Biden is dramatically out of touch with voters on Gaza. He may lose because of it - Lemmy Today

On the issue of Gaza, Biden is dramatically out of touch with the voters he needs to win re-election. If he will not be moved by morality to stop his support of this war, he should be moved by vulgar self-interest. Gaza is not a distant foreign conflict: it is an urgent moral emergency for large swaths of voters. Biden will lose those voters – and may indeed lose the election – if he does not cease his support of these atrocities. Biden has that rare opportunity in politics: to help the country, and himself, by doing the right thing. But he must do so now. Both the Palestinian people and his own election prospects are running out of time.