Eight years ago when Rodrigo Duterte ran for president of the Philippines, he pledged that upon taking office, he’d order the police and the military to track down drug users and traffickers and kill them, while also promising immunity for such killings. After winning the election, Duterte followed through on that pledge, and police and vigilantes launched a bloody war against drug suspects that included summary executions. While the government says 6,200 people were killed in those years, human rights groups maintain that the number of victims is closer to 30,000.
(“Years Later, Philippines Reckons With Duterte’s Brutal Drug War,” New York Times, June 28, 2024)
Advocates for victims of two deadly crashes of the Boeing 737MAX aircraft are condemning a proposed U.S. Department of Justice plea bargain agreement with the airplane’s manufacturer. In 2021, the Justice Department and Boeing reached a controversial deal that protected the company from a criminal conspiracy charge to commit fraud that arose from two 737 Max jet airline crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 passengers. But after a cabin panel blew out on 737 Max Alaska Airlines flight in January, the Justice Department said Boeing had breached their 2021 agreement.
(“US Accused of Offering Boeing ‘Sweetheart Deal’ Over Fatal Crashes,” Guardian, June 30, 2024; “Justice Dept Pushes Boeing to Plead Guilty in 737 Max Crash Case,”Washington Post, June 30, 2024)
In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and shortages of meat, Native American tribes in Oklahoma are opening new small slaughterhouses to service local ranchers and native communities. It’s an effort to promote self-reliance and counter the concentration of corporate ownership of beef processing facilities. Today Tyson Foods, Cargill, National Beef Packing Company and JBS control about 70 percent of the slaughterhouses in the U.S.
(“Oklahoma Tribes are Fighting Corporate Consolidation of the Cattle Industry and Building Food Sovereignty,” In These Time, May 11, 2024)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
