The Sunday Subject – February 27, 2022
Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, February 24th.
In the early hours of the morning, Putin announced Russia was initiating a “special military operation” to allegedly demilitarize and denazify the county. He proceeded to launch a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, beginning the worst fighting in the country since the second world war. Three days prior, Putin declared that he would recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, which were created after Russia fomented a separatist war in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The US and its allies have escalated sanctions on Russia, while some nations have declared their intent to send more weapons to the Ukrainian defense forces as they battle for control of the capital. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has chosen to remain in the capital, has urged Ukrainians to fight, stating, “We will be defending our country, because our weapon is truth, and our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend all of this.”
President Biden has nominated Ketanji Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court.
Jackson is a highly regarded federal appeals court judge and former public defender. She also served as vice chair of the US Sentencing Commission, where she helped revise sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine possession, which had imposed harsh penalties and disproportionately affected black Americans. If confirmed, Jackson would make history by becoming the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Three former officers have been convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
A federal jury determined that the officers violated George Floyd’s constitutional rights by failing to intervene as Chauvin was killing him and not providing medical care when he lost a pulse. The case is a rare example of the Justice Department prosecuting officers for inaction as their colleagues use excessive force.
The three men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery have been found guilty of federal hate crimes.
Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, had been chased and fatally shot by the three Georgia men. A jury found the men targeted Arbery because he was black. The men had already been found guilty on murder charges and sentenced to life in prison, but now face life sentences on top of their current sentences.
