Featured Stories
World Vision International: Nine Years of Struggle - Rohingya Children Caught Between Climate Disasters and Plunging Aid
MONROVIA, California, Aug. 26 -- World Vision International issued the following news release:
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Nine Years of Struggle: Rohingya Children Caught Between Climate Disasters and Plunging Aid
* Compounding Disasters & Plunging Aid: Nine years into protracted displacement, nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees face the combined threat of severe El Nino-driven climate shocks--including 638 disasters in July alone--and a critical 24% shortfall in humanitarian funding for the 2026 Joint Response Plan.
* Integrated Lifelines for Child Wellbeing: World Vision's response reached over 352,000 individuals
... Show Full Article
MONROVIA, California, Aug. 26 -- World Vision International issued the following news release:
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Nine Years of Struggle: Rohingya Children Caught Between Climate Disasters and Plunging Aid
* Compounding Disasters & Plunging Aid: Nine years into protracted displacement, nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees face the combined threat of severe El Nino-driven climate shocks--including 638 disasters in July alone--and a critical 24% shortfall in humanitarian funding for the 2026 Joint Response Plan.
* Integrated Lifelines for Child Wellbeing: World Vision's response reached over 352,000 individualsacross 19 camps and 26 host unions, providing essential nutrition, Psychological First Aid (PFA), safe water for 91,000+ people daily, and vital protection systems for 164,563 children.
* Operationalising the HDP Nexus: World Vision stands in solidarity with the NGO Platform and calls on global donors to share responsibility by bridging humanitarian relief with long-term development, social cohesion, and peacebuilding (the HDP Nexus)--empowering local actors to lead sustainable, climate-resilient solutions.
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COX'S BAZAR, BANGLADESH -- Marking nine years since the 2017 mass displacement, World Vision warns that compounding climate shocks, shifting El Nino patterns, and sharp international funding shortfalls are pushing nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees and surrounding host communities to the brink.
The nine-year milestone arrives as the 2026 Joint Response Plan (JRP) faces a 24% reduction to $710.5 million, leaving essential services severely constrained just as extreme weather escalates.
Between July 5 and 19 alone, 638 climate-related incidents tore through camp settlements, impacting 56,643 individuals and displacing more than 13,000 refugees. Landslides and flash floods claimed 15 lives--including children--while damaging learning centres, water points, latrines, and makeshift shelters. Across adjacent host communities, over 260,000 people were affected.
Jared Berends, National Director, World Vision Bangladesh, said, "Entering our ninth year of response, we are witnessing a dangerous convergence where protracted displacement meets intense climate volatility. Shifting El Nino weather patterns are turning the monsoon into an existential threat for already vulnerable families. Protecting the well-being of children and communities requires more than emergency relief; it demands sustained international funding, climate-resilient infrastructure, and long-term investment so an entire generation is not left behind."
Safeguarding Children and Youth Amid Compounding Shocks
Operating across 19 camps and 26 host community unions in four sub-districts, World Vision's Bangladesh Rohingya Crisis Response (WVBRCR) reached 352,760 individuals in 2026, focusing on health, protection, and vital care for 164,563 children.
Response Highlights:
* Emergency Nutrition & Food Security: Distributed 7,369 emergency hot meals to families displaced by landslides and maintained e-voucher food assistance for 44,791 households (over 221,000 individuals) to prevent malnutrition.
* Child Protection & Psychosocial Support: Delivered Psychological First Aid (PFA) and psychosocial support to over 1,000 children and adolescents, establishing safe spaces to manage trauma from compounding disasters and displacement.
* WASH Services: Provided clean drinking water to 91,695 people daily, repaired 801 latrine cubicles, and treated over 17.5 million litres of sludge to prevent waterborne disease outbreaks in flood zones.
* Youth Empowerment and Protection: Engaged adolescents through multimedia learning sessions covering reproductive health, hygiene, and trafficking prevention.
A Collective Call for the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus
World Vision joins the NGO Platform and humanitarian partners in urging the international community to move beyond short-term survival and commit to decisive, collective action rooted in the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus:
* Sustained Financing for Lifesaving Needs & Host Communities: Fully fund the Joint Response Plan (JRP) to prevent critical food, healthcare, and education lifelines from collapsing, while expanding dedicated social cohesion and infrastructure support for local host communities.
* Investing in Education, Self-Reliance & Youth Skills: Scale up accredited learning, vocational training, and livelihood skills that build self-reliance and empower adolescents to actively shape their futures.
* Strengthening Protection, Documentation & Climate Resilience: Ensure standardised registration for all refugees--including over 150,000 new arrivals since 2024--while investing in disaster-resilient infrastructure, survivor-centred protection, and mental health support to mitigate environmental hazards and prevent dangerous onward journeys.
* Global Responsibility-Sharing & Peace Pathways: Mobilise diplomatic engagement to address root causes in Myanmar for safe, voluntary, and dignified return, while accelerating third-country resettlement and complementary mobility pathways so Bangladesh does not shoulder this crisis alone.
Md. Mofizur Rahman, Deputy Response Director, World Vision Bangladesh Rohingya Crisis Response, said, "Meeting the complex challenges of protracted displacement requires deep collaboration, robust multi-stakeholder partnerships, and meaningful localisation. But the deeper work is keeping hope alive. By empowering local actors and ensuring refugee and host communities are central to shaping solutions, we create interventions that are truly sustainable. Global responsibility-sharing must translate into equitable partnerships on the ground -- investing in local capacity, climate-resilient systems, and dignity for every child and family."
As the Rohingya crisis approaches its tenth year in 2027, World Vision urges the international community to safeguard the rights and health of children, families, and host communities by providing sustained humanitarian funding to confront protracted displacement and intensifying climate emergencies with enduring hope.
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Original text here: https://www.wvi.org/newsroom/south-asia-and-pacific/nine-years-struggle-rohingya-children-caught-between-climate
[Category: Sociological]
Save the Sound: Long Island Sound Partnership Awards Nearly $1 Million to River Restoration Network
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Aug. 26 -- Save the Sound issued the following news release:
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Long Island Sound Partnership Awards Nearly $1 Million to River Restoration Network
Award supports the work of eight member organizations and partners to accelerate regional stream barrier removal efforts for ecosystem health and community resilience
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The Long Island Sound Partnership has awarded nearly $1 million to the Long Island Sound River Restoration Network (RRN), which includes Save the Sound and seven other environmental organizations, to support ongoing efforts to remove dams and replace
... Show Full Article
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Aug. 26 -- Save the Sound issued the following news release:
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Long Island Sound Partnership Awards Nearly $1 Million to River Restoration Network
Award supports the work of eight member organizations and partners to accelerate regional stream barrier removal efforts for ecosystem health and community resilience
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The Long Island Sound Partnership has awarded nearly $1 million to the Long Island Sound River Restoration Network (RRN), which includes Save the Sound and seven other environmental organizations, to support ongoing efforts to remove dams and replaceundersized or misaligned culverts (collectively "stream barriers").
Connecticut has the most dams per river mile of any state in the nation, with more than 5,000 dams and an estimated 26,000 road-stream crossings including culverts and bridges. The density of barriers is similarly high in the New York portion of the Long Island Sound watershed (portions of Westchester County, the Bronx, Queens, and the North Shore of Long Island). To varying degrees, each one of these structures represents a barrier to the natural function and flow of a stream or river.
This human-made infrastructure has negative implications for wildlife and communities, including but not limited to disrupting habitat access and connectivity for aquatic, amphibious, terrestrial species and risk of dam, bridge, or culvert failure and potential flooding of downstream communities, street-level infrastructure, and emergency routes.
The RRN was founded in 2022 to accelerate the pace and scale of stream barrier removal in the Long Island Sound region through cross-sector collaboration and capacity building.
The new funding from the Long Island Sound Partnership will strengthen the work of the network, increasing its capacity to advance river restoration throughout the region.
"We celebrate this award and are grateful for the ongoing support of the Long Island Sound Partnership to the River Restoration Network. This is a huge step forward for the RRN," said Anthony Allen, director of strategy and innovation for Save the Sound. "This award funds the entire strategic workplan of the RRN for the coming year, which leverages the full expertise and capacity of our members to continue building the relationships, methods, expertise, and project pipeline required to address the thousands of stream barriers on our region's rivers that threaten ecological and community resilience."
The new funding will support regional efforts to map and assess stream barriers, identify potential priorities for removal, engage with owners (both private and municipal), and advance nine new removal projects through a standard feasibility study process the RRN has developed. It also supports the expansion of the RRN's Stream Smart training - an educational program for anyone interested in planning, designing, or constructing road-stream crossings which was originated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Maine and adapted by the RRN for the Long Island Sound region.
A further $665,000 in non-federal matching funds committed by member organizations will advance existing stream barrier assessment and removal projects across the region.
To date, the Long Island Sound Partnership has supported the network with grants totaling $2.1 million from its Futures Fund and supplemental grantmaking. Other funders have included The Jeniam Foundation and the Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative.
The Long Island Sound Partnership, led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its state and regional partners, brings together federal and state agencies, local communities and organizations, and the public to improve and protect the health of the Sound and its rivers and streams. Programs like the River Restoration Network help to fulfill one of the Partnership's objectives in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to support migratory pathways by increasing the number of restored rivers and streams that connect to the Sound.
The RRN includes eight organizational members: Save the Sound, American Rivers, The Nature Conservancy in CT, Trout Unlimited, Housatonic Valley Association, Seatuck Environmental Association, Farmington River Watershed Association, and the Connecticut River Conservancy. The network has become a critical voice and collaborative supporting and driving the work of stream barrier removal across the region for ecological restoration and community resilience.
Since its launch, the River Restoration Network has more than doubled the number of active stream barrier removal projects being led or supported by its member organizations, as well as the number of project managers able to advance them.
"The continued support for the RRN from the Long Island Sound Partnership is a reflection of the deep collaboration we have fostered amongst members of the RRN and our partners in other sectors - especially the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Connecticut Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the New York State Department of Transportation," said Paul Woodworth, senior director of ecological restoration at Save the Sound. "The level of trust, clarity, and transparency we have developed has enabled us to work together in new ways to advance the critical work of stream barrier removal - and we are all better for it."
For more details about the River Restoration Network, click here (https://www.savethesound.org/what-we-do/ecological-restoration/river-restoration-network/%5d)
To learn more about stream barrier removal, view the trailer to the short documentary Reconnected: Restoring the Rivers of Long Island Sound produced by the River Restoration Network
Statements from Organizations:
"The River Restoration Network has connected the Connecticut River Conservancy with a community of organizations dedicated to creating continuous, healthy river passage across Connecticut and into neighboring New York. That fellowship and shared expertise strengthens the work all of us do individually and translates directly into healthier habitat for fish and wildlife and more resilient rivers for the communities who depend on them." Amber Lively, River Steward in CT, Connecticut River Conservancy
"For the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), the River Restoration Network (RRN) is a vital opportunity to connect with other non-for-profit watershed organizations working to protect and restore healthy, resilient rivers. River systems cross municipal and organizational boundaries which means collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and coordinated action are essential to achieving meaningful, long-term restoration outcomes. This funding will increase our capacity to move restoration priorities from planning into action and amplify the impact of individual projects through the collaboration of the network." Jillian Gunderson, Ecological Restoration Manager, Housatonic Valley Association
"The River Restoration Network enables a high level of collaboration and innovation, allowing us to accomplish dam removal and culvert upgrades at a scale that no single organization can accomplish alone. While collaborative networks like the RRN provide tremendous benefits, they can be challenging to sustain without dedicated funding and resources. With this support, our organizations are no longer working in silos and can focus on large-scale initiatives such as strengthening policy, training practitioners, and building capacity for critical restoration projects that accelerate barrier removal across the Long Island Sound region." Emily Hadzopulos, Senior Freshwater Restoration Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy in CT
"Being a part of the River Restoration Network has allowed Seatuck to expand its capacity to address river restoration issues on Long Island and significantly raise the profile of the many rivers and streams across the island's North Shore. In the coming years, the network's collective expertise and resources will help Seatuck advance the restoration of these important waterways, which play a vital part in supporting native wildlife, as well as the ecological health of Long Island and our shared coastal ecosystem." Enrico Nardone, Executive Director, Seatuck Environmental Association
"The River Restoration Network and the funding it receives has been a critical part of fast-tracking river restoration projects across the Long Island Sound Region. The funding has advanced many early phase projects practitioners have identified but have had difficulty funding. The impacts of this grant will be noticeable across communities in the greater Long Island Sound by creating more flood resilient landscapes which fish and wildlife can thrive." Jon Vander Werff, Connecticut Project Manager, Trout Unlimited
"The Farmington River Watershed Association's involvement with the RRN, since its inception, has allowed us to build capacity, share concerns, work through problems, and overall create meaningful strides in removing barriers within our watershed. It allows us to work directly with other river experts to further our impact and gives us more leverage when applying for funding and working with municipalities and the state." Laura Hart, Conservation Director, Farmington River Watershed Association
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Original text here: https://www.savethesound.org/2026/08/24/long-island-sound-partnership-awards-nearly-1-million-to-river-restoration-network/
[Category: Environment]
Earthjustice: Appeals Court Gives FERC a Free Pass on CP2 LNG Export Terminal
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Aug. 26 -- Earthjustice issued the following news release on Aug. 25, 2026:
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Appeals Court Gives FERC a Free Pass on CP2 LNG Export Terminal
CP2 LNG terminal is set to be one of the largest LNG export terminals in the nation
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Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)'s approval for Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal, despite serious concerns with FERC's decision making and failure to study the project's cumulative impacts.
"FERC acknowledges
... Show Full Article
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Aug. 26 -- Earthjustice issued the following news release on Aug. 25, 2026:
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Appeals Court Gives FERC a Free Pass on CP2 LNG Export Terminal
CP2 LNG terminal is set to be one of the largest LNG export terminals in the nation
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Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)'s approval for Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal, despite serious concerns with FERC's decision making and failure to study the project's cumulative impacts.
"FERC acknowledgesthe harm it's causing by approving the massive CP2 LNG terminal and gas pipeline, but FERC approved the project anyway, without even arguing that benefits outweigh the costs," said Nathan Matthews, Senior Attorney at Earthjustice. "We have separately challenged the Department of Energy (DOE) over its failure to consider harm to the community of Cameron Parish, and look forward to completing that case. These agencies must go back to the drawing board to do their jobs and properly serve the public interest."
"This decision is a blow for the climate and the communities surrounding this project," said Gillian Giannetti, senior attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). "But the fight is not over and we, alongside our partners, are currently challenging DOE's approval of exports from this polluting project that will harm the environment and do nothing to lower U.S. energy costs."
"From its first moment in Louisiana, Venture Global has limited fishing access in one of the most beloved areas of our state," said Anne Rolfes, Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. "It is clear to all of us who love this area that permitting this rogue company to build another facility will mean more pollution, more tanker traffic, and fewer fish, shrimp, and fishing families who can make their living. It is a sad day for Louisiana when Venture Global is allowed to relentlessly expand."
"For years LNG facilities have polluted our air and water and intensified climate change through methane and carbon emission," said Joanie Steinhaus, Ocean Program Director for Turtle Island Restoration Network. "It is time for the courts to make the commitment to protect our communities and the environment from further contamination and truly acknowledge the long-term cumulative impacts from this massive facility."
"FERC is required to evaluate the full scope of the potential harm from a project, and they failed to do that here," said Roddy Hughes, Sierra Club Campaign Organizing Strategist. "Construction of the CP2 export facility has already been an unmitigated disaster for the health and livelihoods of the local community; its operation would contribute to skyrocketing energy prices more widely. While this is a setback, we won't stop fighting against CP2 LNG and the damage it threatens to inflict on communities and our climate."
"Cameron Parish's historic fishing community -- generations of fishing families and businesses whose livelihoods depend on these waters and wildlife -- is already being devastated by FERC's rubber-stamping of gas export projects," said Megan Gibson, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. "FERC has failed in its basic responsibility as an economic regulator by approving these projects without meaningfully accounting for who benefits and who bears the risks and costs -- including communities, local businesses, and, as the mounting evidence demonstrates, the domestic economy. Today's decision allows that approval to stand, putting this community's health and local economy at further risk while companies like Venture Global pursue profits from exports overseas. SELC will continue to support our partners as they oppose this unnecessary, harmful, and costly fossil fuel infrastructure and demand a federal approval process that protects the public interest."
Background
If fully constructed, Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG export terminal would be one of the largest LNG plants in the nation. It would export 28 million metric tons per year of LNG, and the terminal and pipeline will emit 8.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of 1.8 million cars. Construction for the project has already been disastrous for the local community of Cameron Parrish, devastating the livelihoods of local fishermen.
Earthjustice, representing Sierra Club and alongside NRDC, is also challenging the Department of Energy's approval of LNG exports from CP2. The groups argue the approval was based on unlawful refusal to consider the harms caused by the terminal itself, failure to consider lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, and a lack of other environmental review.
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About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.
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Original text here: https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/appeals-court-gives-ferc-a-free-pass-on-cp2-lng-export-terminal
[Category: Environment]
CAIR Welcomes Arrest in Spitting Attack Targeting Muslim Woman in Kentucky
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on Aug. 24, 2026:
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CAIR Welcomes Arrest in Spitting Attack Targeting Muslim Woman in Kentucky
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed an arrest of a suspect in an allegedly bias-motivated spitting attack on a Muslim woman in Kentucky.
CAIR recently called on local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate the attack as a hate crime.
The alleged victim, a worker at Golisano Children's
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on Aug. 24, 2026:
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CAIR Welcomes Arrest in Spitting Attack Targeting Muslim Woman in Kentucky
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed an arrest of a suspect in an allegedly bias-motivated spitting attack on a Muslim woman in Kentucky.
CAIR recently called on local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate the attack as a hate crime.
The alleged victim, a worker at Golisano Children'sat UK hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, who wears an Islamic head scarf (hijab), reported that she was walking back to her car yesterday after work at the hospital when she felt spit splatter felt spit splattered across my face, followed by the words, "That's how I feel about people like you." The alleged attacker then reportedly shouted that he would kill her.
The victim recorded a post-attack video of the alleged assailant.
Police arrested 52-year-old Damian Hisle and charged him with harassment and terroristic threatening
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said:
"We welcome the arrest in this disturbing allegedly bias-motivated attack and will monitor the case as it moves through the legal system. No one should be subjected to harassment, assault or threats because of their faith or religious attire. We commend the victim for documenting the incident and coming forward, and we urge law enforcement authorities to continue taking this case - and all similar cases - seriously."
BACKGROUNDER: CAIR recently responded to a number of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationwide.
CAIR's Maryland office condemned the reported harassment of multiple Muslim women wearing Islamic headscarves, or hijabs, at a market in Montgomery County.
CAIR's Los Angeles office recently condemned the violent online threats responding to an online anti-Muslim smear campaign targeting the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI).
In New York, CAIR called on local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate reported hate vandalism targeting a mosque site on Long Island as a possible hate crime.
CAIR's Florida chapter welcomed charges for an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a mosque.
Its Michigan chapter welcomed federal charges against an Alaska man accused of making threats to injure and murder Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and issuing violent, Islamophobic threats against Muslims.
Its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia chapters welcomed the City of Erie's response to reported threats targeting the local Muslim community and urged authorities to remain vigilant in protecting residents from anti-Muslim hate and intimidation.
CAIR also welcomed the federal indictment of a Utah man on a hate crime charge for allegedly stabbing a Muslim man at the West Valley Mall in West Valley City, Utah.
CAIR's latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 - the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.
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Original text here: https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-welcomes-arrest-in-spitting-attack-targeting-muslim-woman-in-kentucky/
[Category: Sociological]
Anti-Defamation League: Keeping the Lights On: How Cloudflare Sustains Violent Extremism, Graphic Violence and Terrorism Online
NEW YORK, Aug. 26 -- The Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization that aims to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all, issued the following report entitled "Keeping the Lights On: How Cloudflare Sustains Violent Extremism, Graphic Violence and Terrorism Online":
Here are excerpts:
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Report overview
This report details the real human impact of some of the sites Cloudflare sustains and evaluates the systemic policy and enforcement gaps that allow them to remain operational.
This first section delves into the specific websites --
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Aug. 26 -- The Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization that aims to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all, issued the following report entitled "Keeping the Lights On: How Cloudflare Sustains Violent Extremism, Graphic Violence and Terrorism Online":
Here are excerpts:
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Report overview
This report details the real human impact of some of the sites Cloudflare sustains and evaluates the systemic policy and enforcement gaps that allow them to remain operational.
This first section delves into the specific websites --by threat category -- that Cloudflare continues to facilitate, alongside the physical violence linked to their user bases, based on COE research. It also presents ADL's reporting efforts to Cloudflare and its response.
The second section examines Cloudflare's history of inaction on bad-actor sites, the limits of its "pass-through" defense, and the reputational and legal risks the company has faced while largely evading accountability, per CTS research.
The last section provides actionable recommendations for reforms Cloudflare should undertake, rooted in the position that the only effective means of turning off the lights on high-threat sites and disrupting these digital ecosystems of extremism is establishing and enforcing rigorous service termination policies for platforms that serve as catalysts for violent attacks.
Sites Dedicated to Graphic Violence and Extremism Supported by Cloudflare
I. The Gore-Extremism Nexus: Mass Murders and Antisemitic Manifestos
COE research has repeatedly identified a correlation between violent targeted attacks and participation in online ecosystems where graphic violence and extremist ideologies converge. These spaces expose users, often young people, to high volumes of graphic content, desensitizing them to violence and gore. Extremist content with narratives of white supremacy, antisemitism, violent misogyny, and other forms of hate also circulate freely alongside footage of extremist mass shootings and terror attacks.
This gore-extremism nexus has created a fertile environment for radicalization that has cultivated would-be attackers.
WatchPeopleDie (WPD)
The most prominent website at the intersection of violence, gore, and extremism is WatchPeopleDie, which claims some five million registered users. ADL research has tied at least six attacks over the past two years to users on the internet forum, established just four years ago. These attacks have resulted in 12 people killed and 134 injured.
Cloudflare has provided services to WPD since the forum's founding in April 2022. The site allows users to post and view real images and videos of extreme violence, including murders, torture, rape, executions, beheadings, suicides, dismemberments, accidents, and animal killings.
The redistribution of extremist material, such as white supremacist and antisemitic manifestos, and videos of mass murders, is pervasive. Footage of the 2019 Christchurch Mosque and 2022 Buffalo Tops supermarket attacks has received hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of comments on the forum. Footage of the May 18, 2026, shooting attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, in which three were killed, quickly made its way to WPD forums.
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View the full link at: https://www.adl.org/resources/report/keeping-lights-how-cloudflare-sustains-violent-extremism-graphic-violence-and
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[Category: Political]
Anti-Defamation League: A Crisis of Representation: Antisemitism and Inclusion in Higher Education Unions
NEW YORK, Aug. 26 -- The Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization that aims to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all, issued the following report entitled "A Crisis of Representation: Antisemitism and Inclusion in Higher Education Unions":
Here are excerpts:
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Executive Summary
Higher education unions are central to academic life. They shape working conditions, advocate for fair treatment, and give members a collective voice in the institutions where they teach, research, and learn. At their best, unions are grounded in solidarity,
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Aug. 26 -- The Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization that aims to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all, issued the following report entitled "A Crisis of Representation: Antisemitism and Inclusion in Higher Education Unions":
Here are excerpts:
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Executive Summary
Higher education unions are central to academic life. They shape working conditions, advocate for fair treatment, and give members a collective voice in the institutions where they teach, research, and learn. At their best, unions are grounded in solidarity,democratic participation, and the principle that every member deserves representation. It is precisely because unions play this vital role that concerns about exclusion, antisemitism, and failures of representation within them require serious attention.
This report, produced in partnership by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Academic Engagement Network (AEN), examines growing concerns that some higher education unions are not fully meeting their responsibility to represent Jewish members fairly, address antisemitism seriously, and protect viewpoint diversity within their ranks. ADL and AEN undertook this work to better understand how union governance, campus politics, and activist dynamics can create environments in which Jewish faculty and graduate students feel marginalized, silenced, or inadequately represented within their unions.
Drawing on incident reports, member accounts, union materials, and campus developments, the report finds that some higher education unions have become flashpoints for conflicts involving antisemitism, Israel, Zionism, and Jewish identity. In some cases, highly organized activist factions have used low-participation governance processes to advance divisive political positions without broad member consensus. In others, mainstream Jewish voices are subject to such open hostility by anti-Israel activists that they lose the opportunity to meaningfully engage in their union's democratic processes.
These dynamics distract from core labor priorities, including wages, working conditions, academic freedom, job security, and fair treatment. They also erode trust and internal cohesion, particularly when Jewish faculty and graduate students experience exclusion, hostility, silencing, or fear of retaliation for raising concerns about antisemitism or expressing views related to Jewish identity, Israel, or Zionism.
This report is intended as a constructive intervention: not to weaken unions, but to strengthen them as democratic, inclusive, and accountable institutions. With greater transparency, broader member engagement, renewed focus on labor priorities, and serious attention to antisemitism alongside other forms of discrimination, faculty and graduate student unions can better represent the full diversity of their membership.
This report includes testimonials from faculty members within AEN's and ADL's networks who volunteered to contribute their perspectives on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias within unions. For confidentiality reasons, we have removed identifying information from these quotes.
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View the full link at: A Crisis of Representation: Antisemitism and Inclusion in Higher Education Unions
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[Category: Political]
A Better Wisconsin Together: Meet the Anti-Abortion Extremists Topping the GOP Statewide Ticket in Wisconsin
MONONA, Wisconsin, Aug. 26 -- A Better Wisconsin Together, a state-based research and communications hub for progressives, posted the following news release:
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Meet the Anti-Abortion Extremists Topping the GOP Statewide Ticket in Wisconsin
The possibility of a new trifecta at the state Capitol has been dominating recent headlines in Wisconsin. But there's a different kind of trifecta brewing at the top of the GOP ticket.
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The possibility of a new trifecta at the state Capitol has been dominating recent headlines in Wisconsin. But there's a different kind of trifecta brewing at the top
... Show Full Article
MONONA, Wisconsin, Aug. 26 -- A Better Wisconsin Together, a state-based research and communications hub for progressives, posted the following news release:
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Meet the Anti-Abortion Extremists Topping the GOP Statewide Ticket in Wisconsin
The possibility of a new trifecta at the state Capitol has been dominating recent headlines in Wisconsin. But there's a different kind of trifecta brewing at the top of the GOP ticket.
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The possibility of a new trifecta at the state Capitol has been dominating recent headlines in Wisconsin. But there's a different kind of trifecta brewing at the topof the GOP ticket, and Republicans are hoping Wisconsinites won't notice.
A Better Wisconsin Together notes that a radical, anti-abortion trio is topping the Republican ticket this Fall, with the GOP candidates for governor (Congressman Tom Tiffany), lieutenant governor (David Varnam), and attorney general (Fond Du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney) all haunted by a long record of opposing abortion rights.
"Over and over again, Wisconsinites have made it clear they support protecting the freedom to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions," said Lucy Ripp, communications director at A Better Wisconsin Together. "Which is the exact opposite of Tiffany, Varnam, and Toney's agenda, which would insert politicians like themselves into these personal, family decisions where they have no business."
See below for more information on Wisconsin Republicans' newest anti-abortion trio:
Eric Toney, GOP Nominee for Attorney General
Fond Du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney is once again the Republican candidate for Attorney General after losing this same race in 2022, but has yet to become any less extreme on abortion. Toney has voiced support for an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, has refused to rule out prosecuting people for abortion, and even advocated for changing state law to allow local district attorneys like himself to cross county lines and prosecute abortion cases outside of their own jurisdiction.
Toney has previously been endorsed by Wisconsin Family Action, Wisconsin Right to Life, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and National Right To Life. Notably, National Right To Life supports forcing children to carry pregnancies to term.
David Varnam, GOP Nominee for Lieutenant Governor
Varnam, who's so out of step with the views of Wisconsinites that even the Republican Party of Wisconsin refused to endorse him, said in an on-air interview that he opposes any exceptions at all for abortion - not even for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. In fact, Varnam's fringe anti-abortion agenda has earned him endorsements from Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Family Action.
Pro-Life Wisconsin not only pushes for banning abortion but also opposes fertility treatments like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and most forms of birth control. Wisconsin Family Action, in addition to trying to ban abortion, also advocates against the constitutionally protected right to same-sex marriage.
Tom Tiffany, GOP Nominee for Governor
Congressman and Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany recently endorsed a total abortion ban with no exceptions that news reports have said could make abortion "legally tantamount" to committing murder. Tiffany also voted to ban abortion without exceptions in 2015, and in 2021 Tiffany co-sponsored a federal abortion ban. He also voted against protecting Wisconsinites' right to access birth control.
Tiffany has also been endorsed by the notorious anti-abortion group Wisconsin Right to Life, and was also given the highest rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America - a group that wants to end abortion rights at the federal level.
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A Better Wisconsin Together is a state-based research and communications hub for progressives and is an affiliate of ProgressNow.
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Original text here: https://abetterwisconsin.org/meet-the-anti-abortion-extremists-topping-the-gop-statewide-ticket-in-wisconsin/
[Category: Economics]
