Some updates.

2019-12-12 13:24:39 -08:00 · 2019-12-12 13:24:39 -08:00 · b80a2adf8e
commit b80a2adf8e
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--- a/capitalism_doesnt_work.md
+++ b/capitalism_doesnt_work.md
@ -11,11 +11,13 @@ Lets unpack the idea that "Capitalism works". In the US, the most developed Capi
 - [The bottom half of US citizens have a combined negative net worth.](https://www.timesunion.com/technology/businessinsider/article/One-brutal-sentence-captures-what-a-disaster-13882763.php) [Average US household carries ~$140k in debt. Median household income only $60k](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/11/18/a-foolish-take-heres-how-much-debt-the-average-us-household-owes/107651700/).
 - [40% of millenials live with their parents.](http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/goodbye-american-dream-the-average-u-s-household-is-137063-in-debt-and-38-4-of-millennials-live-with-their-parents) Younger generations, with dwindling opportunities, feeling disposable and unwanted under late capitalism, suffer from a [burnout epidemic](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work). Many have [stopped pursuing romantic relationships](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/20/young-people-japan-stopped-having-sex), and [having children.](https://www.curbed.com/2019/7/19/20700379/raising-kids-cities-family-friendly)  [2](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/hikikomori-japan), 
 - [~ 1/4th of US workers are trapped in the gig economy as of 2019.](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/02/gig-economy-us-trump-uber-california-robert-reich)
+- [70% of US citizens say they are struggling financially.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/70-americans-are-struggling-financially/)
 - [8 men control as much wealth as half the worlds population.](https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/meet-the-8-men-who-control-half-the-worlds-wealth.html). Anyone wanna take a guess at how this game of monopoly ends?
 - [Capitalist monopolies in media, food, energy, and transportation, mostly controlled by ~200 powerful shareholders.](https://imgur.com/a/xgnEp)
 - [Billionaires made enough money in 2017 to end poverty 7 times over.](https://www.newsweek.com/billionaires-money-end-poverty-report-786675)
- [US Life expectancy peaked in 2014, is on the decline, and is now lower than in China.](https://www.businessinsider.com/china-boasts-that-its-healthy-life-expectancy-beats-the-us-is-correct-2018-5), [2](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-life-expectancy/us-life-expectancy-declining-due-to-more-deaths-in-middle-age-idUSKBN1Y02C7)
+- [US Life expectancy peaked in 2014](https://i.redd.it/6zo861tkn0441.png), is on the decline, and [is now lower than in China.](https://www.businessinsider.com/china-boasts-that-its-healthy-life-expectancy-beats-the-us-is-correct-2018-5), [2](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-life-expectancy/us-life-expectancy-declining-due-to-more-deaths-in-middle-age-idUSKBN1Y02C7)
 - Suicide rates have leaped more than [33% in the last 20 years.](https://politsturm.com/american-suicide-rate-up-33/) [2](https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/07/health/suicide-report-cdc/index.html), [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/06/07/u-s-suicide-rates-rise-sharply-across-the-country-new-report-shows/?utm_term=.18c1060e6b2f) [Teen suicides are on the rise and outpacing all other age groups.](http://archive.is/Ips7C)
+- A [Drug overdose epidemic, and suicides](https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-11-26/life-expectancy-decline-deaths-of-despair) are fueling a decrease in life expectancy.
 - [Committed countless atrocities](https://github.com/dessalines/essays/blob/master/us_atrocities.md), killing millions directly and indirectly across the globe. Currently maintains an [imperialist network](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df4R-xdKvpM) of over [800 military bases in 70 countries.](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/us-military-bases-around-the-world-119321) (For comparison, all the other countries combined have only 30 bases)
 - [Most prisoners per capita AND by total](https://www.statista.com/statistics/262962/countries-with-the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants/). Makes sense, since prison is Capitalism's boarding house. 
 - [Runs least 54 agricultural slave labor camps.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_farm#In_the_United_States_.28partial_list.29). 
--- a/socialism_faq.md
+++ b/socialism_faq.md
@ -221,6 +221,7 @@
 - [Thomas Sankara - Women’s liberation and African freedom struggle](http://www.themilitant.com/2011/7502/750249.html)
 - [Clara Zetkin - Lenin and the Women's Question](https://www.marxists.org/archive/zetkin/1920/lenin/zetkin1.htm)
 - [Witchcraft - Class struggle and women's liberation in the middle ages.](https://www.cvltnation.com/rebellion-of-the-damned-witchcraft-as-social-revolt-in-early-modern-france/)
+- [Interviews with Women in the USSR.](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/e30gjm/ussr_and_women_rights/f90d0r8/)

 ## On Race and Class

@ -277,6 +278,7 @@
 - [What's the role of the state in the revolution, and what is a state?](https://theimmortalscience.wordpress.com/2017/02/27/the-state-and-revolution-an-overview/)
 - Why do many socialist attempts end up in an one-party state? Watch this [brilliant talk by Micheal Parenti](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7WmYEoNtPY&feature=youtu.be), or read his article, [Left anticommunism, the unkindest cut](http://www.greanvillepost.com/2015/05/23/left-anticommunism-the-unkindest-cut/), [audiobook](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51KSe96VCuI)
 - [What did Lenin say about socialism in one country?](https://espressostalinist.com/2012/03/11/lenin-on-socialism-in-one-country-2/)
+- [What is Dialectical Materialism?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Socialism_101/comments/e6iyt3/can_someone_explain_the_concept_of_dialectical/f9r4iep/)
 - [Is Chomsky right about Marxist-Leninists being evil?](https://www.reddit.com/r/socialism/comments/4394rt/how_do_you_guys_feel_about_chomskys_views_on/czgj95w/)

 ### Further reading
@ -418,15 +420,20 @@
  * [What is socialism with Chinese characteristics (SWCC\)?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff_ZkwJmfWQ)
  * [Why do Chinese billionaires keep ending up in prison?](https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/01/why-do-chinese-billionaires-keep-ending-up-in-prison/272633/) [Why are many billionaires and CEOs going missing?](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/china-billionaires-ceo-disappearing-missing-station-sanctioned-abductions-beijing-security-agencies-a7564896.html)
  * [50% of the economy is in the socialist public sector and directly follows the plan (40% if you ignore the agricultural sector). 20 to 30% is inside the state capitalist sector, which is the sector partially or totally owned by domestic capitalists but run by the CPC or by local workers councils. The rest is made up of the small bourgeois ownership like in the NEP.](https://chinareporting.blogspot.com/2009/11/class-nature-of-chinese-state-critique_26.html)
+  * [The backbone of the economy is state ownership and socialist planning.](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/8hdbib/how_is_china_communist_if_it_has_a_ton_of_private/dyj082s/)
+  * [China pushing forward Marxist training in colleges, attracts 1M students.](http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/988795.shtml)
+  * [China tells the US that it has no plans to weaken the role of its State-Owned-Enterprises, one of the US's main demands in the trade war. "Beijing plans to make the state economy stronger, bigger, and better."](https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3038993/china-wont-give-its-state-led-economic-model-top-trade?fbclid=IwAR2ys8_Y_6Nxq2x__BM4SoKdR63it7X_JRy1XJdkLw4QrK0VQ77mXYyrcks)
 
 ### Is China a Democracy?

 * [Is China a democracy?](https://www.quora.com/What-kind-of-democracy-does-the-China-have/answer/Godfree-Roberts?share=0ac8c628&srid=JMzz)
  * [What kind of democracy does China have, and how is it different from the west?](https://www.quora.com/What-kind-of-democracy-does-the-China-have/answers/81676052?share=0ac8c628&srid=JMzz)
-  * In contrast to low US political approval ratings, 96% of Chinese are satisfied with the national government (Edelmans 2016). World Values Surveys says that 83% think the country is run for their benefit rather than for the benefit of special groups. [How is this possible in a one-party state? (TED talk by Eric X Li)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0YjL9rZyR0)
+  * In contrast to low US political approval ratings, 96% of Chinese are satisfied with the national government (Edelmans 2016). World Values Surveys says that 83% think the country is run for their benefit rather than for the benefit of special groups. [87% believe their country is headed in the right direction.](https://stalinsmoustache.org/2017/08/09/china-most-confident-and-optimistic-country-in-world-ipsos-survey/) [How is this possible in a one-party state? (TED talk by Eric X Li)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0YjL9rZyR0)
  * [How does China’s political system work?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu4QTxl9GVw)
  * [How are Chinese leaders elected / chosen? How meristocratic is the system? How do elections differ from those in western bourgeois democracies?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgpQxVCekgw)
  * [Who runs China? Makeup of the national people's congress.](https://news.cgtn.com/event/2019/whorunschina/index.html)
+  * [US policy-makers are misjudging popular support China's Government.](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-numbers-show-just-how-much-the-lives-of-everyday-chinese-have-improved-in-recent-decades-2019-10-02)
+  * [The american dream is alive... in China.](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/18/world/asia/china-social-mobility.html)
 * Some stats
  * [The real wage (IE the wage adjusted for the prices you pay) has gone up 4x in the past 25 years, more than any other country. This is staggering considering it's the most populous country on the planet. The US real wage by comparison is lower in 2019 than it was in 1973.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw8SvK0E5dI)
  * [US Life expectancy peaked in 2015, is on the decline, and is now lower than in China.](https://www.businessinsider.com/china-boasts-that-its-healthy-life-expectancy-beats-the-us-is-correct-2018-5) [2](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/07/c_138372963.htm) 
@ -437,13 +444,14 @@
  * [The workplace safety standards of China are better than in the capitalist countries of the West like in Australia who have an higher rate of work related death despite having a GDP per capita 3-5 times higher.](http://www.trotskyistplatform.com/workplace-safety-now-better-in-china-than-in-australia/)
 * [The US is losing to China: “Washington is actually far more corrupt than Beijing. If you want to get something done in Washington, you do what you do in Jakarta: just slip some money to the right people.”]( https://www.forbes.com/sites/eamonnfingleton/2014/11/12/obama-in-china-taking-candy-from-a-baby/#27d9d3c1231e)
 * [China 9 years ahead of schedule on meeting its Paris agreement climate change goals. ](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2211366-china-is-on-track-to-meet-its-climate-change-goals-nine-years-early/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=news)
-* [A letter to the Trump Administration signed by over 100 US academics and ambassadors: China is not an enemy.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/making-china-a-us-enemy-is-counterproductive/2019/07/02/647d49d0-9bfa-11e9-b27f-ed2942f73d70_story.html?source=post_page---------------------------&utm_term=.07add96223b6)
+
 ### Is China Imperialist?

 - [China has forgiven over $10B in debt, over half to Cuba](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2019/05/29/china-has-forgiven-nearly-10-billion-in-debt-cuba-accounts-for-over-half/#7a4116c3615b), but also including > 20 African nations, Pakistan, and Cambodia.
 - [China forgives over $5.2B in Cameroon debt](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/04/china/cameroon-china-debt-relief-intl/index.html).
 - [China writes off $36m Mozambican debt](https://furtherafrica.com/2017/10/26/china-writes-off-36m-mozambican-debt/).
 - [China writes off substantial amount of Angola debt.](https://www.angop.ao/angola/en_us/noticias/politica/2017/5/23/China-agrees-partial-write-off-Angola-debt,73246665-509c-48a2-ae40-415d3fb65b00.html)
+- [Nato's new enemy: the CPC.](https://www.rt.com/news/473935-pompeo-nato-china-communist/)

 ### What about the Hong Kong protests?

@ -470,8 +478,9 @@
 - [What's going on with the Uyghurs / Xinjiang province?](https://worldaffairs.blog/2019/07/05/xinjiang-and-uyghurs-what-youre-not-being-told/)
 - [XinJiang: Facts vs Fiction.](https://medium.com/@leohezhao/xinjiang-facts-vs-fiction-bdc2aa403c91)
 - [A Pakistani Diplomat given full access to “re-education camps” and this is what she found](https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/422970-pakistani-diplomat-narrates-visit-to-chinas-xinjiang).
+  - Despite claims of "erasing Uyghur culture", [they stated](https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/422970-pakistani-diplomat-narrates-visit-to-chinas-xinjiang): "I did not find any instance of forced labor or cultural and religious repression. The imams we met at the mosques and the students and teachers at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute told us that they enjoy freedom in practicing Islam and that the Chinese government extends support for maintenance of mosques all over Xinjiang. [...]The most visible sign of protection of Uyghur culture by the government is the government-run bilingual kindergarten schools where children learn Putonghua as well as Uyghur language and culture from a very young age."
 - [Egyptian media delegates provide a detailed insight of the situation in Xinjiang](https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/430738-egyptian-media-delegates-provide-a-detailed-insight-of-the-situation-in-xinjiang)
- [A majority of Muslim countries support China's policies in XinJiang](https://i.imgur.com/Cks29xL.jpg), [and don't believe the western lies told about it.](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/07/278860/arab-muslim-majority-countries-china-mistreatment-uighurs/) [2](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/13/c_138222183.htm), [3](https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/china-thanks-37-countries-including-islamic-states-praising-its), [4](http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1159357.shtml) Supporters: Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, Kuwait, Laos, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, UAE, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
+- [A majority of Muslim countries support China's policies in XinJiang](https://i.imgur.com/Cks29xL.jpg), [and don't believe the western lies told about it.](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/07/278860/arab-muslim-majority-countries-china-mistreatment-uighurs/). [54 Countries in total](http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1168522.shtml). [2](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/13/c_138222183.htm), [3](https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/china-thanks-37-countries-including-islamic-states-praising-its), [4](http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1159357.shtml) Supporters: Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, Kuwait, Laos, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, UAE, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
 - [China's policies in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region lift 1.85 million people out of poverty from 2014-2017.](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-10/24/c_137554986.htm?source=post_page---------------------------)
 - [US fuels terrorism in China: “1 million Uyghurs never verified”](https://journal-neo.org/2018/10/24/us-fueling-terrorism-in-china/) 
 - [China’s Xinjiang Problem – Made in USA](https://journal-neo.org/2015/11/10/chinas-xinjiang-problem-made-in-usa/).
@ -479,9 +488,11 @@
 - [Religious freedoms in China explained](https://twitter.com/isgoodrum/status/1004884261051092993?s=21).
 - [Thousands of Muslims from the Uyghur province make Hajj Pilgrimage yearly.](https://www.app.com.pk/over-11000-chinese-muslims-from-xinjiang-proceed-to-saudi-arabia-for-hajj/)
 - [EU rejects China offer of Xinjiang tour](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3003217/eu-rejects-chinas-offer-xinjiang-tour-says-its-open-one-later).
+- [A wikileaks cable from 2011](https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/13/1305169_-alpha-insight-china-inner-mongolia-movement-cn127-.html) shows that the US coordinated with groups to incite separatism in Mongolia, XinJiang, and Tibet.
 - The sources for an Australian documentary about the uyghurs, turn out to be [members of the FSA and TIP,  right wing, ultra-nationalist Turkish terrorist orgs.](https://twitter.com/ethan_parallels/status/1151153694517260288?s=21) The two men with links to terrorist groups were interviewed on nearly every Australian TV station for a week. [2](https://twitter.com/j_bigboote/status/1182726991675625472?s=21)
 - [If China Is Anti-Islam, Why Are These Chinese Muslims Enjoying a Faith Revival?](https://time.com/3099950/china-muslim-hui-xinjiang-uighur-islam/) 
 - [A New York Times "expose" of re-education centers in Xinjiang lied and mistranslated every claim.](https://www.quora.com/What-would-be-the-consequences-of-the-New-York-Times-expose-on-Xinjiang/answer/Jamin-Chen-1)
+- [Reddit holds an AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/e9ad4n/i_am_rushan_abbas_uyghur_activist_and_survivor_of/) for an "Uyghur Activist", who turns out to be [Rushan Abbas](https://web.archive.org/web/20181207031224/https://www.isi-consultants.com/rushan-abbas/), a CIA agent who worked for Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Justice, and various U.S. intelligence agencies, and even worked at Guantanamo bay, the US muslim torture camp. [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitLiberalsSay/comments/e9crzq/shit_liberals_do_claim_to_be_an_uyghur_survivor/) [2](https://medium.com/@rsahthion/a-reddit-ama-claiming-to-be-a-uiyghur-quickly-exposes-a-cia-asset-slandering-china-1d667c098b77)
 - [More sources debunking this here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XiHrkJ_zudQZP1hBIBCgJKKAfAILxEG0cmQGrNH8pIU/mobilebasic).

 ### What about the Falun Gong?
@ -639,6 +650,7 @@
  - Philanthro-capitalism undermines local communities, dismantling their democracy and autonomy in health care, by making them fully dependent on US billionaires, who are completely unnaccountable.
  - Philanthrocapitalists are currently rushing to take power in a system of global health and population control. Bill Gates warned of “huge population growth in *places where we don’t want it*, like Yemen and Pakistan and parts of Africa.”, echoing  overpopulation fears that have inspired eugenicists since the time of Malthus. Population control is a form of social control, directly targeting the bodies and dignity of poor people, conditioning them to believe that life’s most intimate decisions are outside of their competence and control. 
  - Elite charitable funds are a legal means of **tax avoidance**. Under US law, investments in charitable foundations are tax-free; moreover, investors are not required to sell their stock positions and may continue to vote their shares without restriction. By sheltering foundations, the US Treasury effectively co-finances the activities of Gates foundation and its investors.
+  - Since he is the largest donor to the WHO, [he pushes funding for "headline grabbers" such as Malaria and HIV, despite local experts telling policy-makers that other ailments such as Tuberculosis, malnutrition, and bacterial disease are the biggest causes of death.](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736\(09\)60885-0/fulltext)
  - [Used philanthropy as a front to generate profits for businesses in the agricultural and health sectors. ](https://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25920011&item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Fblog%2F60%2Findex.html%3Fuuid%3D25408)
 - [Citations Needed - The Not-So-Benevolent Billionaire - Bill Gates and Western Media.](https://soundcloud.com/citationsneeded/episode-45-the-not-so-benevolent-billionaire-bill-gates-and-western-media)
 - [Post from a web developer about Microsoft's monopoly practices in the 1990s.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ragecomics/comments/11c1t1/internet_explorer_rfunny_said_i_should_post_it/c6lbhu2/)
@ -742,6 +754,13 @@

 - http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2019/01/17/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-for-consent-the-political-economy-of-the-non-profit-industrial-complex/

+### Slavoj Zizek
+
+- ["Immigration has to be restricted to prevent the rise of Fascism."](https://twitter.com/zei_squirrel/status/1186709823250927616)
+- [Helped work to overthrow Yugoslavia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_the_Defence_of_Human_Rights)
+- [He's anti-USSR, anti bolivarian revolution, supported the coups in Ukraine and Libya](https://alphonsevanworden.tumblr.com/post/146430343445/the-protocols-of-the-learned-lacanian-of)
+- [More here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Marxism/comments/dlz8me/zizek_criticizes_european_leftists_who_reject/f4yl11f/)
+
 ### Others

 - [What's so bad about Winston Churchill?](http://www.reddit.com/r/ShitLiberalsSay/comments/80sxhj/-/duy08zm) , [2](https://crimesofbritain.com/2016/09/13/the-trial-of-winston-churchill/)
@ -788,6 +807,11 @@
 - https://twitter.com/DemSocialists/status/1194298720780791810
 - https://twitter.com/jacobinmag/status/1202641283023376384

+### Buddhism
+
+- https://jacobinmag.com/2019/12/corporate-mindfulness-ron-purser-interview/
+- https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/mcmindfulness-and-the-case-for-small-talk-1.5369984/mcmindfulness-how-capitalism-hijacked-the-buddhist-teaching-of-mindfulness-1.5369991
+
 ### Others
 - [What is Antifa? (Olly)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgwS_FMZ3nQ)
 - [Whats so bad about UBI (universal basic income)?](https://thenewinquiry.com/universal-basic-bullshit/),[2](https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/false-promise-universal-basic-income-andy-stern-ruger-bregman),[3](https://youtu.be/J10jKdPRN9A)
--- a/us_atrocities.md
+++ b/us_atrocities.md
@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Notes :
 ### Middle East

 - In September 2019, the [US killed at least 30 pine nut farmers, and injured 40 others via a drone attack](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/afghanistan-dozens-civilians-killed-drone-attack-190919072728303.html) in the nangarhar province in Afghanistan. Malik Rahat Gul, a tribal elder in Wazir Tangi, said the air raid happened at a time when tired workers, mainly daily wage earners, had gathered near their tent after harvesting pine nuts in a field nearby. "The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them". This marks the 18th year of war in Afghanistan. 
- On April 14, 2018, the US, UK, and France [launched 100 more missiles](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/14/syria-air-strikes-us-uk-and-france-launch-attack-on-assad-regime) at 3 different targets in Syria, again claiming that the Syrian government used chemical attacks against its own citizens in douma as justification.  On 10 April, the Syrian government again invited the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to send a team to investigate the sites of the alleged attacks. Trump, Macron, and May have all issued statements saying that this is not an intervention in the Syrian civil war. [1](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/14/syria-air-strikes-us-uk-and-france-launch-attack-on-assad-regime)
+- On April 14, 2018, the US, UK, and France [launched 100 more missiles](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/14/syria-air-strikes-us-uk-and-france-launch-attack-on-assad-regime) at 3 different targets in Syria, again claiming that the Syrian government used chemical attacks against its own citizens in douma as justification.  On 10 April, the Syrian government again invited the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to send a team to investigate the sites of the alleged attacks. Trump, Macron, and May have all issued statements saying that this is not an intervention in the Syrian civil war. [1](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/14/syria-air-strikes-us-uk-and-france-launch-attack-on-assad-regime). In a [leaked email](https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1198423637805666305) in Nov, 2019, an OPCW whistleblower stated that the US fabricated the evidence, and used it justify the air-strike. [2](https://wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/document/Internal-OPCW-E-Mail/Internal-OPCW-E-Mail.pdf)
 - Starting in June 2017, photos and videos from Syrian civilians in Raqqa showed that the US-backed coalition in Syria was illegally using [white phosphorus](https://www.opendemocracy.net/north-africa-west-asia/josepha-ivanka-wessels/white-phosphorus-over-raqqa) in civilian areas. White phosphorus can burn human flesh down to the bone, and wounds can reignite up to days later. “No matter how white phosphorus is used, it poses a high risk of horrific and long-lasting harm in crowded cities like Raqqa and Mosul and any other areas with concentrations of civilians,” said [Steve Goose](https://www.hrw.org/about/people/stephen-goose), arms director at Human Rights Watch. One attack on an internet cafe killed at least 20 civilians, while other deaths are still being confirmed. One of those civilians killed was in the process of sending a report to Humans Rights Watch, when the cafe was struck. The US killed 273 syrian civilians in April, slightly more than the number killed by ISIS. A US attack in July killed another 50 civilians. In August, the US killed another 60+ civilians. [1](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/world/middleeast/raqqa-syria-white-phosphorus.html),[2](https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/14/iraq/syria-danger-us-white-phosphorus),[3](https://www.opendemocracy.net/north-africa-west-asia/josepha-ivanka-wessels/white-phosphorus-over-raqqa)
 - On April 4th, 2017, following the [Khan Shaykhun chemical attack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Shaykhun_chemical_attack), Trump ordered an airstrike of 59 tomahawk cruise missiles (worth $70 million) fired at the Shayrat air base in Syria (one that Trump claims is the source of the chemical attack) in the [2017 Shayrat Missile Strike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Shayrat_missile_strike). This is the first attack by the US directly targeting [Ba'athist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Socialist_Ba%27ath_Party_%E2%80%93_Syria_Region) [Syrian government](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_government) forces, who are closely allied with Russia. Russian Prime Minister [Dimitry Medvedev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitry_Medvedev) said the attack brought the U.S. "within an inch" of clashing with the Russian military, and could've sparked a nuclear war. The attack was praised by US politicians on both sides of the aisle, as well >30 countries. Over 700 children have been killed US coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since August 2014. The US conducted another airstrike against Syria on June 7th, 2017.[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Shayrat_missile_strike)
 - On March 21st, 2017, A US airstrike [killed at least 30 Syrian civilians](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/at-least-30-dead-after-air-strike-hits-syrian-school-1.3020369) in an airstrike on a school in the Raqqa province. The week before, 49 people were killed when US warplanes fired on a target in in the [2017 al-Jinah airstrike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_al-Jinah_airstrike), a village in western [Aleppo](https://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Aleppo&article=true) province. US officials said the attack had hit a building where al-Qaeda operatives were meeting, but residents said the warplanes had struck a mosque where hundreds of people had gathered for a weekly religious meeting. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_al-Jinah_airstrike)
@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ Notes :

 ### Western hemisphere

- On Nov 10, 2019, newly re-elected [Bolivian President Evo Morales](https://twitter.com/camilateleSUR/status/1193718218705264641) was forced to resign by the Bolivian military as [part of a US-backed right-wing coup.](https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bolivia-President-Evo-Morales-Resigns-Amid-Right-Wing-Coup-20191110-0006.html) [Right-wing violence](https://www.telesurenglish.net/opinion/Its-Now-or-Never-Bolivian-Elite-Destroying-the-Country-20191107-0023.html) in the wake of Evo's re-election ( [a landslide victory](https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Evo-Morales-Fraud-Allegations-Are-Pretext-for-Coup-20191105-0011.html) of > 10% the next runner ) included the kidnapping of Evo's brother and sister, [cutting the hair of a leftist mayor, painting her red and parading her down the street, forcing her resignation, burning the town hall](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bolivia-protests-cut-hair-mayor-patricia-arce-mas-party-red-paint-a9193816.html), the firebombing of several leftist government members' houses, and street clashes in Cochabamba, Potosi, and La paz resulting in deaths and injuries. The Radio Education Network of Bolivia (Erbol) has released [16 recordings](https://www.en24.news/news/2019/11/10/bolivia-audios-leaked-from-opposition-leaders-calling-for-a-coup-against-evo-morales.html), [2](https://erbol.com.bo/nacional/surgen-16-audios-que-vinculan-c%C3%ADvicos-exmilitares-y-eeuu-en-planes-de-agitaci%C3%B3n), which uncover talks between U.S. officials, Bolivian opponents, and former military, [outlining the coup strategy](https://bbackdoors.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/us-hands-against-bolivia-part-i/). In a three-part plan outlined by U.S. officials, former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (2002-2003) is mentioned. Lozada had Carlos Mesa (the principal opponent of Morales in the last election) as his vice-president and currently lives in the U.S. U.S. senators Bob Menendez, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio are some of the American officials mentioned in the audios, linked to the Bolivian opposition planning a coup against President Evo Morales. A [Wikileaks cable confirmed](https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1193650483208052744?s=20) that the [US was using Mesa to undermine Evo for years.](https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08LAPAZ2311_a.html) [World leaders have condemned the coup.](https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/World-Leaders-Organizations-Condemn-Coup-Against-Evo-Morales-in-Bolivia-20191110-0008.html)
+- On Nov 10, 2019, newly re-elected [Bolivian President Evo Morales](https://twitter.com/camilateleSUR/status/1193718218705264641) was forced to resign by the Bolivian military as [part of a US-backed right-wing coup.](https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bolivia-President-Evo-Morales-Resigns-Amid-Right-Wing-Coup-20191110-0006.html) [Right-wing violence](https://www.telesurenglish.net/opinion/Its-Now-or-Never-Bolivian-Elite-Destroying-the-Country-20191107-0023.html) in the wake of Evo's re-election ( [a landslide victory](https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Evo-Morales-Fraud-Allegations-Are-Pretext-for-Coup-20191105-0011.html) of > 10% the next runner ) included the kidnapping of Evo's brother and sister, [cutting the hair of a leftist mayor, painting her red and parading her down the street, forcing her resignation, burning the town hall](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bolivia-protests-cut-hair-mayor-patricia-arce-mas-party-red-paint-a9193816.html), the firebombing of several leftist government members' houses, and street clashes in Cochabamba, Potosi, and La paz resulting in deaths and injuries. The Radio Education Network of Bolivia (Erbol) has released [16 recordings](https://www.en24.news/news/2019/11/10/bolivia-audios-leaked-from-opposition-leaders-calling-for-a-coup-against-evo-morales.html), [2](https://erbol.com.bo/nacional/surgen-16-audios-que-vinculan-c%C3%ADvicos-exmilitares-y-eeuu-en-planes-de-agitaci%C3%B3n), which uncover talks between U.S. officials, Bolivian opponents, and former military, [outlining the coup strategy](https://bbackdoors.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/us-hands-against-bolivia-part-i/). In a three-part plan outlined by U.S. officials, former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (2002-2003) is mentioned. Lozada had Carlos Mesa (the principal opponent of Morales in the last election) as his vice-president and currently lives in the U.S. U.S. senators Bob Menendez, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio are some of the American officials mentioned in the audios, linked to the Bolivian opposition planning a coup against President Evo Morales. A [Wikileaks cable confirmed](https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/1193650483208052744?s=20) that the [US was using Mesa to undermine Evo for years.](https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08LAPAZ2311_a.html) The US government (through USAID) spent [over $97M dollars to try to topple Morales and fund separatists in his first 7 years in office.](https://nacla.org/news/usaids-silent-invasion-bolivia) [World leaders have condemned the coup.](https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/World-Leaders-Organizations-Condemn-Coup-Against-Evo-Morales-in-Bolivia-20191110-0008.html) Over the next few days, [over 68k fake twitter accounts were created](https://orinocotribune.com/non-existent-support-68000-fake-twitter-accounts-supporting-the-coup-in-bolivia) supporting the coup, many coming from [airforce bases in Virginia](https://i.imgur.com/gDOgavC.jpg). [Debunking US propaganda on Bolivia.](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/dvdsds/effort_post_counter_cia_propaganda_a_guide_to_the/)
 - In 2017, [Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Maria#Puerto_Rico), leaving 3.4 million without electricity and fuel, and causing an estimated $50 Billion in damage. 55% of Puerto Ricans have no potable water,  in one of the worst humanitarian crises in decades. In marked contrast to the initial relief efforts for [Hurricane Katrina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina) and the [2010 Haiti earthquake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake), on September 22 the only signs of relief efforts were beleaguered Puerto Rican government employees. The US response has been dismal, leading many to believe that the US prefers a decapitalized Puerto Rico. On September 29, San Juan Mayor Cruz held a press conference to plead for aid and to highlight failures by FEMA, saying, "This is what we got last night. Four pallets of water, three pallets of meals, and 12 pallets of infant food — which, I gave them to the people of [Comerío](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comer%C3%ADo,_Puerto_Rico), where people are drinking off a creek. So I am done being polite. I am done being politically correct. I am mad as hell." Cruz continued. "So I am asking the members of the press, to send a mayday call all over the world. We are dying here... And if it doesn't stop, and if we don't get the food and the water into people's hands, what we are going to see is something close to a [genocide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide)." In response [President Donald Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_Donald_Trump) wrote on [Twitter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter): "Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help." [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Maria#Puerto_Rico)
 - Following a series of terrorist attacks against Cuba (such as the bombing of [Cuban commercial flight 455](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubana_Flight_455), that originated from anti-Castro Cuban exile groups in the US, such as  [Alpha 66](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_66), the [F4 Commandos](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=F4_Commandos&action=edit&redlink=1), the [Cuban American National Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_American_National_Foundation), and [Brothers to the Rescue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_to_the_Rescue)), the Cuban government sent spies to infiltrate these insurgent groups operating in Miami. Afterwards, the Cuban government then provided 175 pages of documents to FBI agents investigating [Posada Carriles's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Posada_Carriles) (a former CIA operative) role in the [1997 terrorist bombings in Havana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Cuba_hotel_bombings), but the FBI failed to use the evidence to follow up on Posada. Instead, they used it to uncover and imprison the Cuban spies, known as the [Cuban Five](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Five). [[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Five#cite_note-18)[[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Five#cite_note-19). The Cuban Five said they were spying on Miami's Cuban exile community, not the US government. They were imprisoned from 1998, until their eventual release via a prisoner swap in 2014. The terrorist bomber Posada Carriles (who admitted to planning 6 bombings of Havana Hotels and Restaurants) lived in Miami and was safeguarded by the US government until his death in 2018. [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Posada_Carriles)
 - In 2009, [a coup in Honduras](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Honduran_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat) has led to severe repression and death squad murders of political opponents, union organizers and journalists. At the time of the coup, U.S. officials denied any role in the coup and used semantics to avoid cutting off U.S. military aid as required under U.S. law. But two Wikileaks cables revealed that the U.S. Embassy, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was the main power broker in managing the aftermath of the coup and forming a government that is now repressing and murdering its people, including popular leader Berta Cáceres. The two men who killed [Berta Cáceres](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres) were trained in the US. A former soldier with the US-trained special forces units of the Honduran military asserted that Caceres' name was included on a hitlist distributed to them months before her assassination.[[66\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres#cite_note-66) According to a February 2017 investigation by *The Guardian*, court papers purport to show that three of the eight people arrested in connection with the assassination are linked to the US-trained elite troops. Two of them, Maj Mariano Díaz and Lt Douglas Giovanny Bustillo, received military training in the US.[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres#cite_note-67),[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Honduran_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat)
@ -346,6 +346,8 @@ Notes :
 - From the 1880s onward, many US states (27 + Puerto Rico in 1956) operated a system of [forced sterilization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilization#United_States) of women, rooted in white supremacy. The principle targets were the mentally ill, Native Americans, and blacks. For example, in [Sunflower County Mississippi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_County,_Mississippi), 60% of black women living there were sterilized without their permission. An estimated 3,406 Indian women were sterilized.[[63\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics_in_the_United_States#cite_note-Lawrence-63) California eugenicists in 1933 began sending their literature overseas to german scientists and medical workers, sparking the beginnings of Nazi Eugenics. In the end, over 65,000 individuals were sterilized in 33 states, in all likelihood without the perspectives of ethnic minorities. 148 female prisoners in two California institutions were sterilized between 2006 and 2010 in a supposedly voluntary program, but it was determined that the prisoners did not give consent to the procedures. In [Madrigal vs. Quilligan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrigal_v._Quilligan), many unsuspecting women were coerced to sign paperwork to perform sterilization, while others were told that the process could be reversed. None of the women were fluent in English. 10 latina women were sterilized, and the doctor was found innocent. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilization#United_States),[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilization#cite_note-71),[3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrigal_v._Quilligan)
 - US elites in the 18th and 19th centuries pushed a narrative of *domestic purity*, or the *cult of true womanhood*, for women as a way of pacifying her with a doctrine of "separate but equal"-giving her work equally as important as the man's, but separate and different. Inside that "equality" there was the fact that the woman did not choose her mate, and once her marriage took place, her life was determined. One girl wrote in 1791: "The die is about to be cast which will probably determine the future happiness or misery of my life.... I have always anticipated the event with a degree of solemnity almost equal to that which will terminate my present existence." Marriage enchained, and children doubled the chains. One woman, writing in 1813: "The idea of soon giving birth to my third child and the consequent duties I shall he called to discharge distresses me so I feel as if I should sink."
 ---
+
+- In 2019, it was discovered that [US Border patrol had been protecting rapes and abuse of its own members since the 1990s.](https://www.newsweek.com/border-patrol-game-smiles-sexual-assault-1447434) In one instance, a trainee was forced to give oral sex to 5 officers, and then raped while she was unconcious. At least 35 instances of rape by officers was found.
 - In May, 2019, Alabama lawmakers [banned abortion](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/alabama-senate-passes-nations-most-restrictive-abortion-law-which-makes-no-exceptions-for-victims-of-rape-and-incest/2019/05/14/e3022376-7665-11e9-b3f5-5673edf2d127_story.html?utm_term=.3f5e8c23ff60) in the state, providing no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. Those caught performing abortions will face up to 99 years in prison. The bill is part of a larger effort to overturn *Roe vs Wade*, a long-standing supreme court decision affirming a woman's right to choose. Alabaman women seeking abortions are now forced to travel across state lines, and hide everything about the procedure from friends and family, in order to avoid legal repercussions from their home state. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a [federal suit](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/planned-parenthood-aclu-sue-over-alabama-s-extreme-abortion-ban-n1009651) against the state.
 - On November 25, 2017, Yang Song died after falling from a 4th floor balcony during a targeted police raid. Her personal messages revealed that in 2016, [she was raped at gunpoint by an undercover police officer, and was subsequently harrassed, threatened with deportation, and then likely murdered by the NYPD.](https://t.co/CMBpgv7MwB)
 - In the 1830s, The [Lowell Mill Girls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Mill_Girls) were female workers who came to work in industrial factories in [Lowell, Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell,_Massachusetts), during the [Industrial Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution), and who despite living in cramped boarding houses and working from 5am-7pm every day, developed a culture of defiance against the factory owners, and created reform associations, and began strikes in 1834 and 1836. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Mill_Girls)
@ -360,6 +362,7 @@ Notes :
 - Although the US economy produces more than enough food to feed those in poverty, [UNICEF](http://www.unicef.org/sowc06/pdfs/sowc06_chap1.pdf), [RESULTS](https://web.archive.org/web/20080527011602/http://www.results.org/website/article.asp?id=241), and [Bread for the World](http://www.bread.org/hunger/global/facts.html) estimate that **15 million** people die **each year** from preventable poverty, of whom 11 million are **children under the age of five**. In addition, The US has a comparatively terrible social support system to fight poverty and prevent deaths: "approximately 245,000 deaths in the United States in the year 2000 were attributable to low levels of education, 176,000 to racial segregation, 162,000 to low social support, 133,000 to individual-level poverty, 119,000 to income inequality, and 39,000 to area-level poverty" ([sources](https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/how-many-us-deaths-are-caused-poverty-lack-education-and-other-social-factors)). That is 2 million people every 10 years in the US alone.[1](http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/08/crimes-against-humanity-01-poverty-murder-over-400-million-people-since-1995-more-than-all-wars-in-recorded-history.html)
 - In the modern day, [20,000 to 40,000 people die every year](http://obamacarefacts.com/facts-on-deaths-due-to-lack-of-health-insurance-in-us/) because of lack of universal health care or health insurance. On average, that's 300,000 over the last decade. [1](http://obamacarefacts.com/facts-on-deaths-due-to-lack-of-health-insurance-in-us/)
 ---
+- On December 5th, 2019, [police opened fire on a busy highway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Miramar_shootout) in Miramar Florida, while in pursuit of 2 jewel thieves who stole $3k of jewelry, killing the kidnapped UPS driver, the two thieves, and an innocent 70-year-old bystander in traffic. [The graphic video](https://twitter.com/rklueber28/status/1202722185690914817) shows complete negligence for the hostage, and surrounding drivers, all to recover some stolen jewelry. On a GoFundMe page that had raised more than $100,000 by Friday evening, Roy Ordonez wrote that his brother, the UPS driver, had been gunned “down like a criminal by the Florida police.” He asked people to share the fundraising page to “make people aware of trigger-happy police officers.”  “They could have killed many more people, could have been one of your loved ones,” Roy Ordonez wrote. “Please don’t let my brother’s death be for nothing. Police need to be held accountable.” 
 - In February 2019, an [11 year old was arrested by police after refusing to say the pledge of allegiance.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/florida-student-arrested-pledge-of-allegiance.amp)  The teacher then asked “Why if it was so bad here he did not go to another place to live,” “They brought me here,” the boy replied. Polk County Public Schools spokesman Kyle Kennedy insisted the 11-year-old “was arrested after becoming disruptive and refusing to follow repeated instructions by school staff and law enforcement.” The sixth grader was then taken to a juvenile detention center, charged with disrupting a school function and resisting arrest without violence. 
 - In 2019, a Phoenix Arizona resident, Jim Stauffer, learned that the body of his deceased mother, Doris, who died in 2014, was one of [many bodies sold to the US army used for "blast testing".](https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/valley-man-learns-moms-body-was-sold-for-blast-testing) He had checked "no" on the paperwork for medical tests involving explosions. “She was then supposedly strapped in a chair on some sort of apparatus, and a detonation took place underneath her to basically kind of get an idea of what the human body goes through when a vehicle is hit by an IED.” Stauffer is one of many plaintiffs named in the suit against [Biologic Resource Center and its owner Stephen Gore.](https://www.abc15.com/news/crime/fbi-shines-light-on-now-shut-down-human-chop-shop-in-phoenix) Gore pleaded guilty to running an illegal enterprise in 2015, but was sentenced to serve probation. 
 - In January 2018 in Camden New Jersey, [a 33 year old police Detective Rafael Martinez Jr raped and impregnated a 15-year old girl.](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5645553/Former-New-Jersey-police-officer-33-given-five-years-probation.html).  He negotiated a plea deal in which he only serves 5 months of probation, with no prison time. [1](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5645553/Former-New-Jersey-police-officer-33-given-five-years-probation.html)
@ -424,6 +427,10 @@ Notes :
 - Over 90% of criminal trials in the US are settled not by a judge or jury, but with [plea bargaining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea_bargain), a system where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in return for a concession from the prosecutor. It has been statistically shown to benefit prosecutors, who "throw the book" at defendants by presenting a slew of charges, manipulating their fear, who in turn accept a lesser charge, regardless of their innocence, in order to avoid a worst outcome. The number of potentially innocent prisoners coerced into accepting a guilty plea is impossible to calculate. Plea bargaining can present a dilemma to [defense attorneys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_attorney), in that they must choose between vigorously seeking a good deal for their present client, or maintaining a good relationship with the prosecutor for the sake of helping future clients. Plea bargaining is forbidden in most European countries. John Langbein has equated plea bargaining to medieval torture: "There is, of course, a difference between having your limbs crushed if you refuse to confess, or suffering some extra years of imprisonment if you refuse to confess, but the difference is of degree, not kind. Plea bargaining, like torture, is coercive. Like the medieval Europeans, the Americans are now operating a procedural system that engages in condemnation without adjudication."  [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea_bargain#Controversy)
 - A [grand jury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_juries_in_the_United_States#Criticism) is a special legal proceeding in which a prosecutor may hold a trial before the real one, where ~20 jurors listen to evidence and decide whether criminal charges should be brought. Grand juries are rarely made up of a jury of the defendant's peers, and defendants do not have the right to an attorney, making them essentially show-trials for the prosecution, who often find ways of using grand jury testimony to intimidate the accused, such as leaking stories about grand jury testimony to the media to defame the accused. In the murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice, all of whom were unarmed and killed by police in 2014, grand juries decided in all 3 cases not to pursue criminal trials against the officers. The US and Liberia are the only countries where grand juries are still legal. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_juries_in_the_United_States#Criticism)
 - The US [system of bail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_in_the_United_States#Criticisms_of_bail) (the practice of releasing suspects before their hearing for money paid to the court) has been criticized as monetizing justice, favoring rich, white collar suspects, over poorer people unable to pay for their release. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_in_the_United_States#Criticisms_of_bail)
+
+---   
+
+- A photo surfaced of a November 2019 training class for prison guards in west virginia, showing [34 trainees doing a nazi salute](https://www.foxnews.com/us/west-virginia-corrections-employees-fired-suspended-after-apparent-nazi-salute-photo-officials-say). Only 3 people have been fired. [A large number of prison workers, and populations in prison-towns, are white supremacists.](https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2000/allegations-racist-guards-are-plaguing-corrections-industry)
 - A black-site interrogation warehouse in Chicago called [Homan Square](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/14/homan-square-detainee-police-abuse), is notorious for sexual abuse, torture, and [dissappearances](https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/02/behind-the-disappeared-of-chicagos-homan-square/385964/) of its prisoners. The main interrogator, Richard Zuley, [applied torture techniques he learned at Guantanamo bay](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/18/guantanamo-torture-chicago-police-brutality) at Homan Square[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Police_Department#Homan_Square), [2](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/14/homan-square-detainee-police-abuse), [3](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/18/guantanamo-torture-chicago-police-brutality)
 - On Oct 25th, 2014, a mentally ill inmate, Michael Anthony Kerr, at the Alexander Correctional Institution in Taylorsville, NC, [died of thirst after being denied water during a 35-day solitary confinement.](http://www.rawstory.com/2014/10/mentally-ill-nc-inmate-dies-of-thirst-after-water-denied-during-35-day-solitary-confinement/) Prison officials have said since Kerr’s death six months ago that they would investigate the events that led to his death, but no report has been issued and officials have not said when one would be. [1](http://www.rawstory.com/2014/10/mentally-ill-nc-inmate-dies-of-thirst-after-water-denied-during-35-day-solitary-confinement/)
 - On May 23rd, 2014, a mentally ill inmate at a Dade county correctional facility near Miami FL was [tortured to death](http://breakingbrown.com/2014/05/prison-guards-who-scalded-inmate-to-death-avoid-punishment/) by prison guards. Darren Rainey was serving a two year sentence for cocaine possession when he was forced into a locked shower by prison guards as punishment for defecating in his cell, says one inmate. Once Rainey was inside the shower, guards blasted him with scalding hot water as he begged for his life. Investigators determined that there is not enough evidence to charge the guards. [1](http://breakingbrown.com/2014/05/prison-guards-who-scalded-inmate-to-death-avoid-punishment/)