Black Agenda Report 3 December 2018: Activists Demand Sanders Oppose Militarism; Pro-Cop Chicago Councillors to Face Challenge; Judge to Rule on Mumia Appeal

3 December 2018 — Black Agenda Report

Activists Demand Sanders Take Stand Against Militarism

David Swanson, one of 100 activists and intellectuals that sent an open letter calling on Sen. Bernie Sanders to finally tackle the US war budget, said “It’s incoherent to have a public policy that ignores over 60 percent of federal discretionary spending” that goes to the military. “He is in the right place on ending the US war in Yemen,” said Swanson, publisher of the influential web site WarIsACrime.org, but otherwise talks “as if the military doesn’t exist.”

Chicago Movement to Target Pro-Cop City Council Members

“There are 34 alderpeople who were all part of the conspiracy to hide the video” that was key to proving a Chicago cop murdered Laquan McDonald, said Black Lives Matter activist Aislinn Pulley. A broad coalition of organizations is gearing up to oust every city council person involved in the “criminal enterprise that seeks to cover up the murder and brutality, violence, terrorism and torture of our people,” said Pulley.

Judge to Soon Rule on Mumia’s Appeal Bid

Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Leon Tucker promised a decision on whether a former prosecutor unlawfully took part in rejecting Mumia Abu Jamal’s appeal of his 1981 conviction in the killing of a police officer. “We’re not going to stop fighting until we see Mumia walk out of these prison walls,” said Johanna Fernandez, of the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. Pam Africa, of the MOVE organization, said Abu Jamal’s supporters have sustained his defense for decades “no matter what kind of devious tricks this government has used to try to break this movement.”