The end of congressional negotiations, at least for now, marked yet another setback for the Democratic president, who campaigned on the need for policing reforms.

Calling Floyd’s murder “a stain on the soul of America,” Biden, in a statement, held out hope for eventually signing a comprehensive police reform bill into law and said he would look at developing further executive actions on the matter.

Biden says, “Regrettably, Senate Republicans rejected enacting modest reforms, which even the previous president had supported while refusing to take action on key issues that many in law enforcement were willing to address.”

Among the issues that lawmakers were discussing were some changes to “qualified immunity” that protects police officers from some lawsuits accusing them of using excessive force and prohibiting the kind of chokeholds and other restraints on people being arrested that have led to deaths.

Reuters found among some cases it analyzed more than three dozen in which qualified immunity protected officers whose actions had been deemed against the law.

The increasing frequency of such cases has prompted a growing chorus of criticism from lawyers, legal scholars, civil rights groups, politicians, and even judges that qualified immunity, as applied, is unjust. However, this broad coalition says the doctrine has become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims’ constitutional rights.

The Reuters research supports arguments that the Supreme Court has built qualified immunity into an often insurmountable police defense by intervening in cases in favor of the police.

The high court has indicated it is aware of the mounting criticism of its treatment of qualified immunity. After letting multiple appeals backed by the doctrine’s critics pile up, the justices are scheduled to discuss privately as soon as May 15, which, if any, of 11 such cases they could hear later this year.

Speaking to journalists, Booker says, “It was clear at this negotiating table at this moment we were not making progress” following nine months of meetings. He added, “In fact, recent back and forths with paper showed me that we were actually moving away from it.”

Republican Senator Tim Scott, in a statement, accused Democrats of reverting to “a partisan approach to scoring political points.” Scott said the two sides had reached agreements banning chokeholds, limiting the transfer of military equipment to police departments, and increasing mental health resources.

In April, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd. This death triggered protests across the United States and gave new impetus to police reform efforts in Washington to stamp out systemic racism.

Floyd, a Black man, died after Chauvin, white, knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. Reform advocates encouraged Biden to use his executive powers to achieve changes.

One of the congressional negotiators, Democratic Representative Karen Bass, pointed to just such an action this month imposing strict limits on when federal officers can use chokeholds and “no-knock warrants.” But those will not apply to local police departments

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – A student opened fire on officers responding to a report of a possible gunman at a Tennessee, the US, high school Monday.

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According To Iran News, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, a Canadian politician expressed hoped that world can finally see the backside of Trump and applaud his exit.

George Floyd, an unarmed American black man died on May 25, 2020, after a police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving and pleading for air.

His death by the US police has caused a ripple of protests throughout the US, turning the country into a battlefield between police and demonstrators. Rallies have turned violent in some US cities, where the police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators.

US President Donald Trump threatened the use of force in dealing with protests against the death of George Floyd, referring to participants as “thugs” in a tweet that was later hidden by Twitter for “glorifying violence.”

But the former President Barack Obama issued a statement on Floyd’s killing via Twitter and pleaded for Americans to open their eyes to the ongoing racial injustice that plagues the country.

Growing unrest against police brutality across the country, Obama said to demonstrators that this moment is politically advantageous for protesters who are calling for widespread police reforms and large-scale institutional change.

Simultaneously with all the protests in the US, thousands of people of all colors, creeds, ages, and walks of life took to the streets across the world to show their anger over the racism and police brutality.

In an exclusive interview with Mehr News Agency, Celina R. Caesar-Chavannes, a Canadian politician and former Member of Parliament for the riding of Whitby in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019, shared her views on the racial violence and police brutality in light of the brutal killing of George Floyd.

Following is the text of our interview with her:

Historically speaking, black people were brought to the US for slavery, and, as this has been against their will, these people have been involved in constant rebellion while the US security forces have been seeing them as a threat. Why the US policies have failed to change this perspective since the era of slavery has long passed as we are still seeing violence against African Americans?

US policies have failed, as they have in Canada, because of the structural and systemic nature of racismIn my opinion, US policies have failed, as they have in Canada, because of the structural and systemic nature of racism. Eradicating, through policy, a racist structure that was supported by the policy in the first place, is tough. Especially when those in power want to remain in power. The dehumanization of Black bodies has roots in the historical context that persists today. If Americans or Canadians are not willing to take new, and perhaps extraordinary measures to fix this problem, we will be protesting 30 years from now.

Where do you think these protests across the US will eventually lead? Do you see any hope for a change of behavior towards African Americans?

If nothing, there will be an awareness of the frustration and hurt of Black communities across North America and around the world. The protest will also allow those in power to see the power and strength of the community, and the power and strength of those willing to work with us. I hope to see a change in institutions, like policing that continue to disregard Black and Indigenous people, especially here in Canada. But I am also hoping to see other institutions change, like education, justice, and housing in which systemic racism plays a role in negative outcomes for Black communities.

Celina Caesar-Chavannes, former Whitby MP and parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shook hands with former US President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. on March 10, 2016

Former President Obama asked American people to continue protests until changes happen. What do you think of his viewpoint? We know racism has been institutionalized in the US so can this be useful to achieve the goals?

We need political will to advocate and create changeWe can continue to protest, but we are also very tired. We have been fighting as Black communities for over 400 years. When does that stop? Continuing to protest will not get us the outcomes we want. It will draw attention to some of the demands, but protesting isn’t everything. We need political will, where those representing us in political systems have the strength of conviction and support from the community to advocate and create change. We need courage in our school systems to change the outcomes for Black students. We need to prioritize budget to give adequate resources to programs and institutions that save our lives and remove money from institutions, like policing that destroy them.

Can these developments in the US affect Trump’s political fate in the upcoming Presidential election in the US?

I would hope so. I hope that Americans finally see their leader as the racist, inflammatory, bigot that he has always been. I hope the world can finally see the backside of Trump and applaud his exit. It’s about time.

Interview by Zahra Mirzafarjouyan & Payman Yazdani

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According To Iran News, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its twitter account on Tuesday wrote that Western governments keep silence and forget their Human Rights fever.

Iran Foreign Ministry in reaction to the protest rallies in the US due to the death of an American black man George Floyd by the US police wrote, “Despite cruel murder of another black man & days of brutal suppression of protests in the US, Western govs keep silence, & forget their Human Rights fever.”

“Imagine their reaction if it was in a non-Western country. (No, this is not “whataboutism”, but just a mere fact-recounting),” it added.

Following the tragic death of an American black man on May 25, 2020, due to the violence of a white Minneapolis police officer, thousands of people have hit the streets across the US to protest against this behavior of the American police.

Rallies have turned violent in some cities, where the police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators.

These protests came after disturbing footage surfaced online showing the police officer, Derek Chauvin, choking unarmed George Floyd to death after forcing him to the ground and pinning him down with his knee.

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According To Iran News, Thomas M. Scanlon, Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity at Harvard University says “Police violence, especially against blacks and other minorities, is not a new phenomenon. It has been true for many years and was even worse in the past.”

Thomas M. Scanlon, Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity at Harvard University says “Police violence, especially against blacks and other minorities, is not a new phenomenon. It has been true for many years and was even worse in the past.”

He adds that “Mass protests of the kind we are seeing have been much more frequent since the 1960s.”

Following is the full text of the interview:

After a black man was killed in Minneapolis, USA, we witnessed popular protests against this violent act. What are the reasons for these clashes between the American police and the colored people, especially the blacks?

Members of minority communities, especially blacks, believe, very reasonably and correctly, that the police do not take their rights sufficiently seriously, treat them with disrespect, and use violence against them when this is not justified and would not be used against whites in similar circumstances. What you say raises two questions: Why does this kind of behavior by police occur and persist? And why are we seeing these protests now? The answer to the first question is that because of the groups from which police are recruited and the internal culture of police departments, police see the residents of minority neighborhoods as people they are to control rather than as people they are to protect. They see black men, in particular, as more likely than whites to be criminals or to be a threat them, and are, therefore, partly for reasons of self-protection, feel justified in using violence first. But they also are particularly sensitive to having their authority questioned by blacks, particularly black men. This may in part be self-protection: they see a willingness to obey their commands as important to their safety. But it is also a matter of status: they feel superior to blacks and resist any questioning of that superiority. This was shown, for example, in an incident here in Cambridge at which police confronted a black Harvard professor who was returning from a trip in his own house, accusing him of having broken in. They were extremely disrespectful, demanding he leaves the house, and so on, and became very angry when he refused to do this.

Police violence especially against blacks and other minorities is not a new phenomenon. It has been true for many years and was even worse in the past. Mass protests of the kind we are seeing have been much more frequent since the 1960s. In one way, this reflects a kind of progress. Blacks are more encouraged to think that they do not have to stand for this kind of mistreatment and that protests will receive a sympathetic hearing in the national press and in many sections of American society. But this progress itself fuels resentment on the part of the police and members of society who identify with them, at having their status and authority called into question.

As president of the United States, Trump also angered protesters with a tweet following the incident, to the point that Twitter was forced to hide his tweet. What is the reason for Trump’s racist approach?

This resentment is encouraged by politicians such as President Trump and the members of his party (going back to Nixon’s “southern strategy” in the 1960s), who cynically want to exploit it for political gain. Many whites, like white members of the police force, do not want to have their superior status questioned, and do not want to accept the charge, made explicit in the protests and echoed in the more liberal press, that blacks still suffer from widespread discrimination, in their treatment by police and in other ways. So a lot of what we are seeing is the product of progress made in the 1960s, and the backlash against it.

Which moral schools pay more attention and emphasis to the fight against racism and the rights of minorities, or at least have a theoretical basis for this emphasis?

I am not sure what you mean by “schools of philosophy.” As for myself a member of what might be called the school of egalitarian liberalism, of which the work of John Rawls is a leading example, I believe that this school provides a solid basis for condemning discrimination against blacks in the treatment by police, in the provision of public services such as education and public health, and in economic opportunity.

One of the dangers facing the United States is the multiculturalism that prevails in this country, for which liberalism has not been able to find a solution. Why has the country not been able to find a way to this multiculturalism and attract immigrants, linguistic, racial, and religious minorities to the dominant American culture?

The term, ‘Multiculturalism’, generally refers to a view in political philosophy that a society consisting of different cultural groups is possible and even desirable. But I take it that by ‘the multiculturalism that prevails’ you may mean simply the social phenomenon of cultural diversity. Multiculturalism in the former sense includes the idea that in order to have a peaceful and desirable society it is not necessary for members of distinct cultural groups to adopt the “dominant culture” of the society. This idea is an important part of what “liberalism” means in the U.S. I think that this idea is widely accepted in American society. As in the case of racism discussed earlier, I think that what we are seeing is in part a by-product of this progress. Significant sectors of American society, particularly away from the coasts and the large cities, see the erosion of the idea that everyone must accept the “dominant culture” as a threat to their status, as the only, “real Americans.” Cynical politicians such as our current president and many members of his party are trying to foster and exploit this resentment for their own political gain. So the problems we are seeing are not a failure of liberalism except in the sense of illustrating that liberalism is not as widely accepted as one would like it to be. And this is true in no small part because of the actions of cynical political leaders.

Interview by Javad Heirannia

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It shows the moment George Floyd was pulled from his car by officers during his arrest, moments before he lost consciousness and died after a white officer kneeled on his neck for five minutes during an altercation.

Floyd passed out after officers arrested him on Monday for allegedly trying to use forged documents at a local deli. He later died in hospital in an incident that has sparked outrage across the US and prompted thousands to protesters to take to the streets.

The new video shows the moment Floyd was forcibly removed from his vehicle by two officers from the Minneapolis Police Department and manhandled as he was placed in handcuffs on 38th and Chicago.

The footage, obtained by FOX 9, shows officers wrestling with Floyd as they attempt to place him in handcuffs.

Floyd is handcuffed in the footage and appears to be complying with the officers as they escort him to the waiting police car. A police statement following the incident alleged that Floyd had physically resisted arrest.

Moments later the 46-year-old was pinned to the floor by an officer and in disturbing footage can be heard pleading with the cop to stop, saying ‘please, please, I can’t breathe’ and ‘My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts.’

Witnesses at the scene urged the officer to stop, with one pointing out that the suspect was not resisting arrest.

Four members of the Minneapolis Police Department who were involved in Monday’s incident have now been fired, and the FBI and state law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into the man’s death.

of defiant protesters took to the streets to demand justice for Floyd on Tuesday, and were met with Minneapolis cops in riot gear firing rubber bullets.

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