August, 24 2012, 02:39pm EDT
ACLU of Florida to Have First Amendment Resource Center at RNC Site
ACLU of Florida staff and volunteers to have base of operations along parade route, online and printed resources, press availability during the convention
TAMPA
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida will be present at the Republican National Convention (RNC) next week providing informational resources in many different forms. For over a year, the organization has been working to prepare for the event, distributing Know Your Rights materials, hosting community forums and webinars with city officials and First Amendment experts, and working to ensure that individuals' rights will be protected during the convention. Now that the convention has arrived, the ACLU of Florida will be focused on promoting, protecting and celebrating the constitutional rights of protesters, press and the public on the streets of Tampa.
Below is a list of some of the work and resources the ACLU of Florida is planning around the RNC:
The ACLU of Florida will have a mobile resource center within the RNC event zone at the corner of Whiting Street and Nebraska Avenue along the official parade route. This site, four blocks from the arena, will be our base of operation within the event zone where staff and volunteers will provide information to demonstrators, distribute materials throughout the event zone, and be available for media comment.
The ACLU of Florida, along with the Greater Tampa Chapter of the ACLU of Florida, have produced a "First Amendment Toolkit" newspaper for protesters at the RNC, with information about First Amendment Rights, the permitting process in Tampa, and your rights when encountering police. 15,000 copies of the newspaper will be distributed to demonstrators and activists throughout the week.
The ACLU of Florida's online resource hub can be found at: www.aclufl.org/RNC. This page is a one-stop-shop for RNC materials, and includes our RNC First Amendment Toolkit both as a browsable, mobile-friendly webpage and a downloadable PDF, as well as links to additional Know Your Rights materials, resources we've developed for the RNC, slideshows and videos from our RNC forums and webinars, and links to get help and volunteer. This page will also be updated throughout the week with information related to the RNC and any news as it develops.
The ACLU of Florida will be live-tweeting throughout the RNC. Follow us on Twitter at @ACLUFL.
The ACLU of Florida will also post regular blog posts on RNC activity. Check the blog at: https://aclufl.wordpress.com/
The ACLU of Florida encourages individuals who believe their rights have been violated during the convention to fill out the "Get Help" form linked at the top of our website: www.aclufl.org. (Note: the ACLU of Florida will not be equipped to provide emergency legal assistance at the RNC. The National Lawyers Guild will have legal observers at the RNC and an assistance hotline at 813-241-0101. The National Lawyers Guild also has a website set up for the RNC: www.tampa.nlg.org)
ACLU of Florida staff will be available to provide comment on the rights of protesters and other issues regarding civil liberties and the RNC. ACLU of Florida staff may be reached in the following ways:
Baylor Johnson, ACLU of Florida Online Advocacy Coordinator (inside the event zone):
(786) 363 - 2720 bjohnson@aclufl.org
ACLU of Florida Mid-Florida Regional Office (Tampa): (813) 286 - 3439 jhamiltonhenry@aclufl.org
ACLU of Florida General Media Office (Miami): (786) 363 - 2737media@aclufl.org
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666LATEST NEWS
'Dirty Dozen' Guide Shows 95% of These Fruits and Veggies Tested Positive for Pesticides
This year, EWG scientists found that four out of five of the most frequently detected pesticides on the produce were fungicides that could have serious health impacts.
Mar 20, 2024
The latest edition of an annual consumer's guide published Wednesday reveals that almost three-fourths of non-organic fruits and vegetables sampled contained traces of toxic pesticides while the "dirty dozen"—including strawberries and spinach—tested at levels closer to 95%.
Scientists with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) document in their new report, "2024 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides In Produce," that four out of five of the most frequently detected pesticides found on the twelve most-contaminated produce items were fungicides that could have serious health impacts.
"There's data to suggest that these fungicides can disrupt the hormone function in our body," EWG senior scientist Alexa Friedman told Common Dreams, adding that the chemicals had "been linked to things like worse health outcomes" and "impacts on the male reproductive system."
"We recommend using the Shopper's Guide as a way to prioritize which fruits and vegetables to buy organic to reduce your pesticide exposure."
The four fungicides detected on the Dirty Dozen produce were fludioxonil, pyraclostrobin, boscalid, and pyrimethanil. Two of these—fludioxonil and pyrimethanil—were also found in the highest concentrations of any pesticide detected.
The annual Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists are based on a review of Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration data. This year, EWG looked at results from 47,510 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables.
2024's Dirty Dozen list is similar to previous years, with strawberries, spinach, and a trio of hearty greens—kale, collard greens, and mustard greens—once again taking the top three spots. The full list is as follows:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Kale, collard, and mustard greens
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Pears
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Bell and hot peppers
- Cherries
- Blueberries
- Green beans
The four fungicides were found on the fruits and vegetables for which new data was available this year—blueberries, green beans, peaches, and pears—for some of them at high levels.
"One reason we might see fungicides in high concentrations compared to other types of pesticides are that fungicides are often sprayed on the produce later in the process," Friedman said.
Farmers frequently apply fungicides after harvest to protect crops from mildew or mold on the way to the grocery store.
Beyond fungicides, testing also turned up the neonicotinoids acetamiprid and imidacloprid, which harm bees and other pollinators and have been associated with damage to the development of children's nervous systems.
Testing also revealed the pyrethroid insecticides cypermethrin and bifenthrin. While there are fewer studies on these pesticides, existing research suggests they may also harm children's brains. More than 1 in 10 pear samples tested positive for diphenylamine, which is currently banned in the European Union over cancer concerns.
Most of the pesticides detected on the Dirty Dozen are legal, but one exception is acephate, an organophosphate insecticide that is essentially prohibited for use on green beans but is still found on them. One sample tested positive for levels 500 times the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) legal limit.
In total, EWG found that nearly 75% of non-organic fruits and vegetables tested were contaminated with pesticides. However, nearly 65% of the conventional items on the Clean Fifteen list were pesticide free. This year's Clean Fifteen are:
- Sweet corn
- Avocados
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Papaya
- Sweet peas
- Asparagus
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwi
- Cabbage
- Watermelon
- Mushrooms
- Mango
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
The Shopper's Guide is primarily geared toward helping consumers make informed choices as they choose between conventional and organic items, which may be more expensive or harder to find.
"We always recommend that people consume as many fruits and veggies as possible, whether they're organic or conventional," Friedman said.
But for people concerned about consuming pesticides, she added, EWG recommends "using the Shopper's Guide as a way to prioritize which fruits and vegetables to buy organic to reduce your pesticide exposure."
EWG recommends prioritizing organic versions of Dirty Dozen items.
As a whole, the EWG advocates for policymakers and regulators to do more to understand the real risks posed by pesticides and protect people from them.
"We still feel that there needs to be more studies that really focus on the health effects of these pesticides, specifically the pesticides that we found in high detection this year, so that we can better understand how these might impact health for susceptible populations, particularly for children," Friedman said.
She added that while many of the pesticides detected in tests were at or below legal limits set by the EPA, "legal doesn't always mean that they're safe for everyone."
In a 2020 study, for example, EWG researchers found that for nearly 90% of common pesticides the EPA had failed to apply an extra margin of safety for children when setting limits, even though it is required to do so under the Food Quality Protection Act.
Currently, the EPA has a chance to improve regulations as it rewrites a ban on chlorpyrifos on food, which was overturned by a court on a technicality. It is also reviewing whether or not the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA) can be used safely after it acknowledged the "significant risks" it posed to human health.
EWG is also raising the alarm about a slate of new rules that some lawmakers may try to attach to the 2023 Farm Bill or other important legislation. These proposed laws, such as the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act and the EATS Act, would prevent states or localities from setting additional regulations on pesticides. In September 2023, EWG joined with 184 other environmental groups in sending a letter to the House and Senate opposing such measures, which the groups argue take "decision-making out of the hands of those most impacted by pesticide use."
"States and localities are often in a much better position than the EPA to quickly assess risks, consider emerging evidence, and to make decisions to protect their unique local environments and communities including schools and childcare facilities, from toxic pesticides," the letter states. "Undermining that authority would hamstring critical local efforts to address cancer and other human health risks, threats to water resources, and harms to pollinators and other wildlife."
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Prominent Jewish Americans Condemn AIPAC Effort to 'Dominate' US Primaries
"AIPAC is an essential link in the chain that holds in place the unbearable tragedy of Israel/Palestine."
Mar 20, 2024
More than 100 prominent Jewish Americans signed a statement released Wednesday condemning the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's increasingly aggressive interventions in U.S. elections, particularly Democratic Party primaries in which the powerful lobbying group is spending big to unseat progressives.
The statement's list of signatories includes well-known scholars, rabbis, anti-war activists, journalists, and filmmakers who have "agreed to come together to highlight and oppose the unprecedented and damaging role of AIPAC" and its allied organizations in the American electoral process. The statement calls on Democratic candidates to reject all funding from AIPAC's political network.
AIPAC's political entities, including its United Democracy Project super PAC, are expected to spend $100 million this election cycle targeting candidates who have backed a cease-fire in Gaza or have otherwise been deemed inadequately pro-Israel.
"We recognize the purpose of AIPAC's interventions in electoral politics is to defeat any critics of Israeli government policy and to support candidates who vow unwavering loyalty to Israel, thereby ensuring the United States' continuing support for all that Israel does, regardless of its violence and illegality," reads the new statement from Jewish Americans, which can be read in full below.
"Given that Israel is so isolated internationally that it could not continue its inhumane treatment of the Palestinians without U.S. political and military support, AIPAC is an essential link in the chain that holds in place the unbearable tragedy of Israel/Palestine," the statement continues. "In the coming U.S. elections, we need to break that chain in order to help free the people of Israel/Palestine to pursue peaceful coexistence."
"In contrast to AIPAC, we are American Jews who believe that U.S. support for foreign governments should only be extended to those that respect the full human and civil rights, and right to self-determination, of all people."
The statement comes days after more than 20 progressive advocacy organizations—including Jewish Voice for Peace Action and the Jewish-led IfNotNow Movement—formed a coalition aimed at countering AIPAC's influence in the 2024 elections after the lobbying group had a significant impact on the 2022 midterms.
According to OpenSecrets, most of the candidates AIPAC supported in the 2022 cycle won their races after the group's super PAC raised more than $30 million.
In the current cycle, AIPAC's top targets are members of the progressive Squad who have called for a cease-fire and end to weapons exports to Israel. As The Interceptreported earlier this month, AIPAC recruited and is funding Rep. Jamaal Bowman's (D-N.Y.) primary challenger and is expected to spend heavily to unseat Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), who overcame AIPAC money to win her seat in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District in 2022.
On top of working to sink progressives, AIPAC has also previously "endorsed Republican extremists and dozens of Congress members who'd voted against certifying" President Joe Biden's 2020 victory over former President Donald Trump, the Jewish Americans noted in their new statement.
"In contrast to AIPAC, we are American Jews who believe that U.S. support for foreign governments should only be extended to those that respect the full human and civil rights, and right to self-determination, of all people," the statement reads. "We oppose all forms of racism and bigotry, including antisemitism—and we support the historic alliance in our country of Jewish Americans with African Americans and other people of color in the cause of civil rights and equal justice."
"Therefore, we strongly oppose AIPAC's attempts to dominate Democratic primary elections," the statement adds. "We will support candidates who are opposed by AIPAC, and who are advocates for peace and a new, just U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine."
Read the full statement and list of signatories:
We are Jewish Americans who have varying perspectives. We’ve agreed to come together to highlight and oppose the unprecedented and damaging role of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and allied groups in U.S. elections, especially within Democratic Party primaries. We recognize the purpose of AIPAC's interventions in electoral politics is to defeat any critics of Israeli Government policy and to support candidates who vow unwavering loyalty to Israel, thereby ensuring the United States' continuing support for all that Israel does, regardless of its violence and illegality.
Given that Israel is so isolated internationally that it could not continue its inhumane treatment of the Palestinians without U.S. political and military support, AIPAC is an essential link in the chain that holds in place the unbearable tragedy of Israel/Palestine. In the coming U.S. elections, we need to break that chain in order to help free the people of Israel/Palestine to pursue peaceful coexistence.
In the same 2021-22 election cycle in which AIPAC endorsed Republican extremists and dozens of Congress members who’d voted against certifying Biden's victory over Trump, the AIPAC network raised millions from Trump donors and spent the money inside Democratic primaries against progressives, mostly candidates of color. AIPAC is now vowing to spend even more millions in the 2024 Democratic primaries, targeting specific Democrats in Congress—initially all legislators of color—who’ve advocated for a Gaza cease-fire, a position supported by the vast majority of Democratic voters. AIPAC’s election spending increasingly works to defeat candidates who criticize the racist policies of Israel.
In contrast to AIPAC, we are American Jews who believe that U.S. support for foreign governments should only be extended to those that respect the full human and civil rights, and right to self-determination, of all people. We oppose all forms of racism and bigotry, including antisemitism—and we support the historic alliance in our country of Jewish Americans with African Americans and other people of color in the cause of civil rights and equal justice.
Therefore, we strongly oppose AIPAC's attempts to dominate Democratic primary elections. We call on Democratic candidates to not accept AIPAC network funding, and demand that the Democratic leadership not allow Republican funders to use that network to deform Democratic primary elections. We will support candidates who are opposed by AIPAC, and who are advocates for peace and a new, just U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine.
Signed by: (Organizational Affiliations For Identification Purposes Only)
Adam Gold, Senior Strategist, Working Families Party
Adam Shatz, London Review of Books
Alan Levine, Civil rights lawyer
Alan Minsky, Executive Director, Progressive Democrats of America
Alicia T. Singham Goodwin, Political Director at Jews For Racial & Economic Justice
Rabbi Alissa Wise, Lead Organizer, Rabbis for Ceasefire
Alisse Waterson, Presidential Scholar and Professor, John Jay College, CUNY
Anna Baltzer, Author, “Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories”
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, M4BL Black Hive/Black Alliance for Peace
Ariel Dorfman, Novelist, playwright, essayist, human rights activist
Ariel Gold, Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Ariela Gross, Distinguished Professor, UCLA School of Law
Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Cohen, Professor, American Jewish University
Aurora Levins Morales, Writer
Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History, Salem State University
Aviva Orenstein, Professor, Maurer School of Law, Indiana University
Ben Cohen, Co-founder, Ben & Jerry’s, philanthropist
Ben Ehrenreich, Author, winner of American Book Award
Beth Miller, Political Director, Jewish Voice for Peace
Rabbi Brant Rosen
Rabbi Brian Walt
Caroline Levine, Professor of the Humanities, Cornell University
Dan Segal, Professor Emeritus, Anthropology and History, Pitzer College
Dan Simon, Professor of Law and Psychology, University of Southern California
Daniel Stolzenberg, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Davis
Danny Goldberg, Music executive, author
Dave Zirin, Sports editor at The Nation, author
David Vine, Professor of Anthropology, American University
Deborah Eisenberg, Writer and actress
Deena Metzger, Poet, novelist, and essayist
Dennis Bernstein, Poet, human rights reporter, and host of Flashpoints
Donna Nevel, Educator
Eliot Katz, Poet, author “The Poetry and Politics of Allen Ginsberg”
Elliott Gould
Eric Drooker, Graphic novelist and artist
Estee Chandler, Board Chair, Jewish Voice for Peace Action
Eva Borgwardt, National Spokesperson, If Not Now
Ira Shor, Professor Emeritus, Graduate Center, CUNY
Gabriel Winant, Assistant Professor of History, University of Chicago
Gail Hershatter, Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, Santa Cruz
Gene Bruskin, Labor leader and playwright
Hadar Cohen, Scholar, mystic, and artist
Hollie Ainbinder, Program Director, Institute for Public Accuracy
Howard Horowitz, Board President, WESPAC Foundation
Howard A. Rodman, Screenwriter, novelist, and educator
Ivan Handler, J Street Chicago
James Schamus, Filmmaker, Professor, Columbia University
Jay Levin, Founder of LA Weekly
Jeff Cohen, Media critic, retired Ithaca College journalism professor
Jeff Gottlieb, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Jennifer Spitzer, Associate Professor, Literatures in English, Ithaca College
Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, Organizer, founding member, Radical Jewish Calendar
Joel Beinin, Emeritus Professor of History, Stanford University
Judith Butler, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Judith Gurewich, Publisher, Other Press
Kenneth Pomeranz, Professor, University of Chicago, Yuen Campus in Hong Kong
Larry Cohen, Former President of Communications Workers of America
Laura Dittmar, Professor Emerita, author of “Tracing Homelands”
Leora Auslander, Professor, University of Chicago
Lesley Williams, Librarian, Board Member, Jewish Voice for Peace Action
Lisa Sternlieb, Associate Professor of English and Jewish Studies, Penn State University
Marcy Winograd, Co-founder, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita of Law, past president of National Lawyers Guild
Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers Union
Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Martin A. Lee, Author, “The Beast Reawakens”
Maya Schenwar, Director, Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism
Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Co-founder
Michael Greenberg, Founder and Executive Director, Climate Defiance
Mike Hersh, Communications Director, Progressive Democrats of America
Mitchell Plitnick, President, ReThinking Foreign Policy
Molly Crabapple, Artist and writer
Morgan Spector, Actor
Naomi Dann, Chief of Staff, Housing Justice for All
Nomi Stolzenberg, Professor, USC Gould School of Law
Norman Solomon, National Director, RootsAction
Dr. Paul Zeitz, Author and activist
Penny Rosenwasser, Author, Center for Jewish Nonviolence
Peter Beinart, Editor-at-Large, Jewish Currents, author, and journalism professor
Phyllis Bennis, Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
Rafael Shimunov, Radio host and co-founder, The Jewish Vote
Rebecca Vilkomerson, Organizer and author
Richard Bauman, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University
Richard Handler, Professor of Anthropology, University of Virginia
Rick Goldsmith, Documentary filmmaker
Robert Brenner, Professor Emeritus of History, UCLA
Robert Greenwald, Filmmaker, President of Brave New Films
Robert Herbst, Esq., Board Co-Chair, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
Robert Naiman, Former Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy
Robert Scheer, Author, journalist, publisher of ScheerPost
Sam Rosenthal, Political Director, RootsAction
Samuel Moyn, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History, Yale University
Sarah Jaffe, Journalist, author of “Work Won’t Love You Back”
Sarah Schulman, Writer
Seth Ackerman, Editor-at-Large, Jacobin
Sheldon Pollock, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University
Simone Zimmerman, Co-founder, IfNotNow
Sarah Sophie Flicker, Artist, actress, and activist
Spencer Ackerman, Journalist and author
Stefanie Fox, Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace
Susan Adelman, Feminist, activist, and philanthropist
Suzanne Gordon, Journalist and author
Suzi Weissman, Professor of Politics, St. Mary’s College
Tony Kushner, Writer
Victor Wallis, Professor of Liberal Arts, Berklee College of Music
Wallace Shawn, Actor & Playwright
Zillah Eisenstein, Professor Emerita of Politics, Ithaca College
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Sanders Says US Must Follow Suit After Canada Halts Arms Exports to Israel
"The U.S. should not provide another nickel for Netanyahu's war machine," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Mar 20, 2024
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Tuesday that the Biden administration must follow Canada's government in halting arms exports to Israel, a call that came after humanitarian groups refuted the Israeli government's claim that its use of American weaponry in Gaza has been in line with international law.
Sanders (I-Vt.) said the Canadian Parliament was "absolutely right" to vote to stop weapons exports to Israel, whose military has killed more than 31,800 people in Gaza in less than six months—often using explosives, ammunition, and other equipment supplied by the U.S., Canada, Germany, and other countries.
"Given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, including widespread and growing starvation, the U.S. should not provide another nickel for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's war machine," said Sanders.
Canadian lawmakers on Monday approved a nonbinding motion calling on the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to "cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada's arms export regime."
Shortly following the vote, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told the Toronto Star that the government would stop exporting arms to Israel in line with the motion's demand. In the three months after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, Canada exported at least $28.5 million worth of military equipment to Israel, according to Global Affairs Canada.
"This is an important step," Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East wrote in response to Joly, "but we need to make sure that Canada stops the transfer of all military exports, period, without any loopholes."
The U.S. is a far bigger weapons supplier for Israel than Canada. Since October 7, the Biden administration has approved more than 100 separate arms sales—collectively worth billions of dollars—to Israel even amid massive and growing evidence that the country's military is using American-made weapons to commit atrocities against civilians in Gaza.
In a new memo to the Biden administration, Oxfam and Human Rights Watch noted that Israeli forces "routinely" drop "2,000-pound bombs on densely populated areas in Gaza."
"According to The Washington Post," the memo states, "Israeli forces dropped over 22,000 U.S.-origin munitions on Gaza during the first 45 days of the hostilities. The United States has reportedly transferred at least 5,000 2,000-pound 'dumb bombs' to Israel since October 7."
Last week, prompted by a new Biden administration policy, Israel's defense minister reportedly provided the White House with a written assurance that "Israel will use U.S. weapons according to international law and allow U.S.-supported humanitarian aid into Gaza." Critics dismissed Israel's pledge as a "sick joke."
But at least one key Biden administration official appears satisfied. HuffPost's Akbar Shahid Ahmed reported that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew on Tuesday "privately endorsed Israel's claims it's abiding by U.S. law in using American weapons [and] sending aid to Gaza."
According to Ahmed, Lew's move alarmed U.S. officials who believe the Israeli government's claims are untrue.
"I used to advise the U.S. State Department on law of war assurances," Brian Finucane of the International Crisis Group wrote in response to Ahmed's reporting. "If Ambassador Lew buys these Israeli assurances, I have a bridge he'll also be interested in purchasing."
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