Marcus F Benigno

“We urgently need to bring to our communities the limitless capacity to love, serve, and create for and with each other.” — Grace Lee Boggs

What is happening in Gaza is Genocide summed up perfectly in 2 minutes while a stunned Piers Morgan sits in silence.

AMDG

“It’s clear that the Trump administration is smearing non-violent protesters so that they can abduct and disappear dissidents… Equating support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism or terrorism is just a way to deflect from their authoritarianism.” @LGreenbergCall recently spoke to @AymanM about how the Trump admin is weaponizing antisemitism to crush dissent, starting with the movement for Palestinian rights.

HAPPENING NOW: Los Angeles protestors halt traffic, joining the nationwide movement demanding freedom for detained Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil.

Absolutely fantastic journalism from @guardian, here 🙃

Elon Musk says that no one has died because he slashed humanitarian aid. I went to South Sudan to check if that's true. It's not. Within an hour of starting interviews, I had the names of a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl who had died because of decisions by wealthy men in Washington. The visit that moved me the most was to a remote area that used to have no health care, where women routinely died in childbirth. Then a US-funded maternity clinic opened through @UNFPA in December, and not one woman has died since. I showed up, and people mistakenly thought I was responsible for the clinic. One new mom wanted to name her baby for me, and the village elders thanked me and hailed America's generosity. What they didn't know was that Trump/Musk had cut all funding for UNFPA and that as a result the maternity clinic will close this month, and women will once again be bleeding to death in the dust. Here's a giftlink to my report from ground level about what the shutdown of USAID means: nytimes.com/interactive/20…

ICE relentlessly pursued this Fulbright scholar and forced her to flee the country because she had liked some pro-Palestine posts and signed onto a letter calling for Palestinian liberation. Even the most basic expressions of support for Palestinian human rights or critique of Israel can make you a target for destruction by the Trump regime.

ACLU Strongly Condemns Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Columbia Student Activist Mahmoud Khalil: aclu.org/press-releases…

Donna Lieberman of @NYCLU at Jews Say No To Deportations press conference in front of Columbia.

“Abducting Mahmoud Khalil and tearing him away from his family is an affront to freedom and safety for all of us, Jewish people very much included.” Bend the Arc’s CEO Jamie Beran spoke at the “Jews Say No To Deportations” press conference in front of Columbia this afternoon.

Disappearing a man for protesting state violence is fascism.

Not sure I've ever seen a more obvious picture to remind us that police exist to protect the property of the ruling class, not the rights of the people.

One could not conceive of a more textbook First Amendment violation. It will be an important test of the judiciary and elite academic institutions to see whether they crumble in the face of fascism.

1/ If you teach or work at @Columbia you should be striking, refusing/withdrawing your labor, marching, screaming, protesting, & doing everything you can to get Mahmoud Khalil released & sent home. We need you putting your body on the line now.

UPDATE: Mahmoud Khalil is being held by ICE in the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Louisiana, per ICE detainee tracker Khalil was detained Saturday night from his New York apartment building

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu at the House hearing on sanctuary cities: "If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms. Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our cities safe." Mic drop! 🎤

We lost so much talent and institutional knowledge at the LA Times today in these buyouts. One, Tracy Wilkinson, ends a 30+ career covering war zones in Middle East and Latin America, a pioneering woman foreign correspondent who rose in the newsroom ranks. She taught me a lot.

Good morning from Ukraine. I live in Kyiv and travel the country often and spend most of my time engaging Ukrainians and I am also learning Ukrainian langauge and pay attention to Ukrainian social media and news sites to practice my language skills. Here's what I can tell you: Most Ukrainians, even those who do not like him and want him gone, are standing in support of him. Let me show you an example. Thread

Yesterday, Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts. Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressional mandated. They've saved millions of lives. 🧵