July, 23 2019, 12:00am EDT
![Fight for the Future](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012623/origin.jpg)
WASHINGTON
CNET is reporting that Reps Yvette Clark (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are planning to introduce a bill this week that would ban the use of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technology in public housing units that receive federal funding from HUD.
Fight for the Future, a leading digital rights group that has called for a complete Federal ban on government use of facial recognition surveillance, welcomes this legislation, reportedly titled the "No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act."
"Facial recognition surveillance should be banned everywhere, but keeping it out of public housing is an excellent start," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future (pronouns: she/her), "This type of invasive surveillance technology is often tested on, and disproportionately used to target poor people and people of color. If public housing units become a panopticon of automated face scanning and monitoring, it will mean more people in prison, more police abuse, and more families torn apart. Surveillance of poor communities isn't about safety, it's about social control. Everyone deserves liberty and privacy in their own homes -- no one should have to choose between homelessness and losing their basic rights."
The new bill comes on the heels of growing backlash to facial recognition surveillance that has been spreading across the country. Last week Fight for the Future released an interactive map showing where in the US facial recognition surveillance is being used, and also where there are local and state efforts to ban it. San Francisco, Somerville, MA, and Oakland, CA, recently became the first cities in the country to ban the technology. Berkeley is also considering a ban, and bills to halt current use of the tech are moving in the Massachusetts and Michigan legislatures. In Congress, there is growing bipartisan agreement to address the issue, but it could easily stall under pressure from law enforcement and big tech.
Fight for the Future opposes attempts by the tech industry and law enforcement to pressure Congress to pass an industry-friendly "regulatory framework" for facial recognition that would allow this dangerous technology to spread quickly with minimal restrictions intended to assuage public opposition. But we support narrower efforts to ban or restrict specifically egregious uses of this surveillance. For more on our position, read our op-ed in Buzzfeed News: "Don't regulate facial recognition. Ban it."
Fight for the Future is a group of artists, engineers, activists, and technologists who have been behind the largest online protests in human history, channeling Internet outrage into political power to win public interest victories previously thought to be impossible. We fight for a future where technology liberates -- not oppresses -- us.
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Ocasio-Cortez Says Democrats Who 'Resign Themselves to Fascism' Should Retire
"This kind of leadership is functionally useless to the American people," said the New York congresswoman.
Jul 15, 2024
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lashed out Sunday night against an unnamed "senior House Democrat" who said party leadership had already come to terms with the idea, following the weekend assassination attempt against Donald Trump, of the far-right former Republican president winning back the White House in November.
Responding to Axiosreporting in which the lawmaker, provided anonymity by the outlet, was quoted as saying, "We've all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency," Ocasio-Cortez said, "If you're a 'senior Democrat' that feels this way, you should absolutely retire and make space for true leadership that refuses to resign themselves to fascism."
"This kind of leadership is functionally useless to the American people," she added. "Retire."
Since the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday that bloodied the former president and left one event attendee dead, many political observers and pundits have said or suggested that the violent attack likely bolsters the GOP candidate's chances in the upcoming election—especially at a time that President Joe Biden appears politically weak following a disastrous debate performance last month.
Despite grave concerns among many Democratic and progressive voters about Biden's ability to defeat Trump, Ocasio-Cortez has been outspoken in her defense of Biden in recent weeks.
"What I think the president does need to do is continue to lean in and move further toward the working class, and be more assertive in providing an affirmative vision for this country," Ocasio-Cortez told Capitol Hill reporters last week.
"If we can actually provide and chart out a future that is more leaning into the needs of working people," she said, "then I think we can chart a path to win."
Following Saturday's shooting, Ocasio-Cortez condemned political violence broadly and called the incident "horrific."
"It is absolutely unacceptable and must be denounced in the strongest terms," the congresswoman said. "My heart goes out to all the victims and I wish the former president a speedy recovery."
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World 'Cannot Remain Silent in the Face of This Endless Massacre,' Says Lula
"The Israeli government continues to sabotage the peace process and the cease-fire in the Middle East," said the Brazilian president after a deadly weekend of bombings.
Jul 15, 2024
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the Israeli government on Sunday after bombings across the Gaza Strip killed more than 140 people and wounded hundreds more, adding to the gruesome death toll and worsening the enclave's humanitarian emergency as cease-fire talks continue.
Lula specifically decried Israel's Saturday attack on al-Mawasi, an overcrowded town on Gaza's southern coast to which Israeli forces previously ordered Palestinians to flee. Israel claimed to be targeting Hamas' military chief in the attack; Hamas said Sunday that the commander was not harmed in the strikes, which killed around 90 people—including children.
The New York Timesreported that one of the Israeli strikes "exploded directly in front of two vehicles clearly marked as belonging to Gaza Civil Defense, an emergency services agency, spraying them with shrapnel and apparently killing and injuring first responders."
Lula said Sunday that "the Israeli government continues to sabotage the peace process and the cease-fire [negotiations] in the Middle East" with its relentless bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, which has been utterly decimated by Israel's assault—a military campaign fueled by billions of dollars of weaponry from the United States, Germany, and other major countries.
"It is appalling that they continue to collectively punish the Palestinian people," Brazil's president said. "There have already been tens of thousands of deaths in consecutive attacks since last year, many of them in delimited humanitarian zones that should be protected."
"We, the political leaders of the democratic world, cannot remain silent in the face of this endless massacre," he added. "The cease-fire and peace in the region need to be priorities on the international agenda. All our efforts must be focused on securing the release of the Israeli hostages and ending the attacks on the Gaza Strip."
Brazil under Lula's leadership has backed the South Africa-led genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and been a vocal supporter of a permanent cease-fire and an end to Israel's decadeslong occupation of Palestinian territory.
"I saw toddlers who are double amputees, children paralyzed and unable to receive treatment, and others separated from their parents."
Israel's weekend onslaught in Gaza came as "Hamas and Israel appear closer to some form of a Gaza cease-fire deal than at any time since the brief truce last November," as Drop Site's Jeremy Scahill put it late last week.
"Hamas is considering an approach that would not immediately require a commitment to a permanent cease-fire and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as a precondition to move forward in phased negotiations," Scahill reported. "This would mark a significant concession by Hamas, which has long insisted any agreement must include defined steps that end Israel's war. Instead, Hamas officials said, they would consider entering an initial six-week phase that would include a conditional cease-fire and an exchange of Israeli civilian and female soldiers held in Gaza in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians."
The Associated Pressreported Sunday that Hamas—which led the deadly October 7 attack on Israel—intends to keep participating in cease-fire talks in the face of incessant Israeli airstrikes, though a spokesperson for the group said there is "no doubt that the horrific massacres will impact any efforts in the negotiations."
Scott Anderson, the United Nations' deputy humanitarian coordinator, described the appalling scene he witnessed over the weekend at Nasser Hospital, the overwhelmed medical facility in southern Gaza where many wounded Palestinians were taken following Israel's Saturday attack on al-Mawasi.
"With not enough beds, hygiene equipment, sheeting, or scrubs, many patients were treated on the ground without disinfectants," said Anderson. "Ventilation systems were switched off due to a lack of electricity and fuel, and the air was filled with the smell of blood. I saw toddlers who are double amputees, children paralyzed and unable to receive treatment, and others separated from their parents. I also saw mothers and fathers who were unsure if their children were alive. Parents told me in despair that they had moved into the 'so-called humanitarian zone' in the hope that their children would be safe there."
"Impediments to humanitarian operations prevent us from supporting people anywhere near the scale necessary," Anderson continued. "Civilians must be protected at all times. We urgently need a cease-fire, the release of all remaining hostages, respite for the people of Gaza, and a meaningful opportunity for healing to begin."
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'Fragile Political Moment' Is No Time to Silence Concerns Over Biden, Progressives Say
"The greatest consequence of this event may turn out to be fence-sitting Democratic electeds using it as an excuse to avoid a decision on Biden," said one observer.
Jul 14, 2024
Progressives on Sunday pushed back against calls from "top Democratic sources," via CBS News, who said the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump demanded that those pushing to replace President Joe Biden in the presidential race "stand down."
Sources within the Democratic Party, said CBS News correspondent Robert Costa, "believe that those Democrats who have concerns about President Biden are now standing down politically [and] will back President Biden because of this fragile political moment."
"All of that talk about the debate faded almost instantly" after one person was killed and a bullet grazed Trump's right ear at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, according to Costa.
Biden and his allies have vehemently pushed back against calls for him to step aside from lawmakers and commentators following the first presidential debate in which he struggled to deliver a coherent message about his plans for a second term and the threat posed by Trump.
Trump has led Biden in polls for months, and the debate late last month led to calls from Democrats including Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont and 19 House members for Biden to allow another Democrat—such as Vice President Kamala Harris or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer—to run in his place.
"The greatest consequence of this event may turn out to be fence-sitting Dem electeds using it as an excuse to avoid a decision on Biden," said author and podcast host Max Fisher. "Probably the single best thing that could happen to Trump just happened."
Progressive organizer and former U.S. House candidate Aaron Regunberg said he was not convinced that Trump's chances of winning the election would necessarily be "massively helped by having a registered Republican almost shoot him," referring to suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks.
The rally shooting, however—now indelibly associated with an image of Trump raising his fist before being whisked off stage by Secret Service agents—will likely emphasize the former president's claims to "strength and toughness," said Regunberg. "Democrats desperately need a nominee who can similarly demonstrate strength."
With Republican allies of Trump increasingly embracing "violent, authoritarian rhetoric," he added, it is "more urgent—not less—for Democrats to have a real conversation about whether our current nominee is on course to hand Trump a governing trifecta."
With Trump allies including Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) openly accusing Biden of fanning the flames that led to the shooting by speaking out against the former president's anti-democratic agenda, progressive political commentary magazine Current Affairs said the assassination attempt may have "emboldened Trump and his base while Biden remains historically unpopular."
Progressive commentators including Mehdi Hasan applauded Democratic elected officials for displaying "what normal people say and do at times like this" in contrast with Trump and other Republicans' response to violence directed at Democrats such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) husband Paul Pelosi in 2022.
Last year, Trump drew laughter at an event where he asked a crowd of supporters, "How's [Pelosi's] husband doing by the way? Does anyone know?" His son, Donald Trump Jr., spread conspiracy theories about the attack just days after it happened, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was among those who mocked Pelosi shortly after he was injured.
But critics cautioned Biden and the Democrats not to conflate a cruel response to the violence directed at Trump with legitimate attacks on the former president's authoritarian aspirations.
In the eyes of some voters, said University of Washington professor Sasha Senderovich, "The candidate who has to prove he's not senile every day is now running against a fucking superhero whom one is no longer allowed to call fascist because 'inflammatory rhetoric.'"
Financial Times columnist Edward Luce warned that "almost any criticism of Trump is already being spun by MAGA as an incitement to assassinate him. This is an Orwellian attempt to silence what remains of the effort to stop him from regaining power."
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