Activism

Post-Election Ferguson: Bipartisan Congress to Demilitarize Police

HUFFINGTON POST 10/21/14 By Michael Shank As the Ferguson fight rages on, a potentially more courageous Congress stands ready to return, post-elections, to shut down that which rightfully enraged protestors initially. Last month, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives finally took a stand against the […]

Police Militarization Must Be Halted

POLITIX 10/13/14 By Michael Shank Last month, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives finally took a stand against the growing militarization of our police forces and our main streets. Shortly after Congressmen Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) introduced the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement […]

Why Hong Kong’s #OccupyCentral Used Nonviolent Action as Tactic

HUFFINGTON POST 09/30/14 By Michael Shank and Jamila Raqib The Occupy Movement has returned and is resurrecting itself in Hong Kong. But in this case, the “occupying” is not associating itself with the Occupy Wall Street of recent years. Instead, a new political initiative in Hong Kong – called Occupy […]

UN Summit Already Successful: $50 Billion Divested From Fossil Fuels

NATIONAL JOURNAL 09/22/14 By Michael Shank The United Nations climate summit in New York, where I’m writing from this week, is already a success. With Rockefeller Brothers Fund announcing this week that they’re divesting entirely from fossil fuels, pulling $860 million of RBF funds out of fossil fuel stocks, the […]

Fossil Fuel Divestment Makes UN Climate Summit a Success

HUFFINGTON POST 09/22/14 By Michael Shank The United Nations climate summit in New York, where I’m writing from this week, is already a success. With Rockefeller Brothers Fund announcing this week that they’re divesting entirely from fossil fuels, pulling $860 million of RBF funds out of fossil fuel stocks, the […]

Q&A: Rep. Hank Johnson on Ending Police Militarization

ATLANTA MAGAZINE 09/05/14 By Cameron Albert-Deitch  Hank Johnson may have been best known as one of two Buddhists in the House (the other being Hawaii’s Colleen Hanabusa). But the lawmaker, who has served Georgia’s 4th congressional district since 2007, has set his sights on reforming the Department of Defense’s 1033 […]

Fossil Fuel Divestment Works in Slowing Global Warming

HUFFINGTON POST 09/02/14 By Michael Shank and Julia Trezona Peek Once the lone province of climate scientists, the chorus warning of the costs of inaction on climate change grows larger daily, from former United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who warned Washington this summer of the coming climate bubble, to […]

Ferguson Could Lead to More US Weapons for Middle East

AL-MONITOR 09/02/14 By Julian Pecquet and Sarita Iyer The images of small-town police officers pointing sniper rifles at protesters from atop armored trucks have many people drawing comparisons between Ferguson, Missouri and Baghdad. If Congress gets its way, Baghdad is exactly where some of that military equipment may end up. […]

Stop Treating America Like a War Zone

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 08/22/14 By Michael Shank and US Rep Hank Johnson America is finally waking up to the militarization of its police forces. This is a good thing and heralds a tipping point in the changing face of policing in the United States. America must realize that […]