Background

About 10 weeks after the U.S. entered World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 signed Executive Order 9066. The order authorized the Secretary of War and the armed forces to remove people of Japanese ancestry from what they designated as military areas and surrounding communities in the United States. These areas were legally off limits to Japanese aliens and Japanese-American citizens.

The order set in motion the mass transportation and relocation of more than 120,000 Japanese people to sites the government called detention camps that were set up and occupied in about 14 weeks. Most of the people who were relocated lived on the West Coast and two-thirds were American citizens. In accordance with the order, the military transported them to some 26 sites in seven western states, including remote locations in Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona.

Facts

Fred Korematsu, 23, was a Japanese-American citizen who did not comply with the order to leave his home and job, despite the fact that his parents had abandoned their home and their flower-nursery business in preparation for reporting to a camp.  Korematsu planned to stay behind.  He had plastic surgery on his eyes to alter his appearance; changed his name to Clyde Sarah; and claimed that he was of Spanish and Hawaiian descent.

On May 30, 1942, about six months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the FBI arrested Korematsu for failure to report to a relocation center.  After his arrest, while waiting in jail, he decided to allow the American Civil Liberties Union to represent him and make his case a test case to challenge the constitutionality of the government’s order. Korematsu was tried in federal court in San Francisco, convicted of violating military orders issued under Executive Order 9066, given five years on probation, and sent to an Assembly Center in San Bruno, CA.

Korematsu’s attorneys appealed the trial court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which agreed with the trial court that he had violated military orders.  Korematsu asked the Supreme Court of the United States to hear his case. On December 18, 1944, a divided Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-3 decision, that the detention was a “military necessity” not based on race. 

Source: and for the complete article … uscourts.gov

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2021 — As millions of Americans get ready to commemorate Memorial Day and welcome summer, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds people to keep it safe this weekend: follow the latest CDC guidance for COVID-19 and remember your food safety practices.

Rates of foodborne illness tend to increase during the summer months because germs grow faster in warmer, more humid weather. People also cook and eat outside, making shortcuts to food safety tempting because they are away from the convenience of soap and running water at the kitchen sink.

“Memorial Day marks the beginning of warmer weather and summer fun,” said Sandra Eskin, USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. “Don’t let foodborne illness ruin the cookout –follow food safety guidelines like washing your hands, thoroughly cooking your food and checking food temperature with a thermometer.”

For those who choose to celebrate outdoors, USDA has some advice for grilling novices and pros.

Amnesty International
The Nobel Peace Prize 1977

Founded: 1961 in London, United Kingdom

Residence at the time of the award: London, United Kingdom

Role: A worldwide organization for the protection of the rights of prisoners of conscience

Prize motivation: “for worldwide respect for human rights.”

Prize share: 1/1

A Light in the Darkness

Amnesty International is a worldwide human rights organization run by its members. It is independent of all governments and all financial players. It is also independent of political convictions and religious faiths.

Amnesty International uncovers the facts about violations and breaches of human rights. The issues may concern individuals or conditions within a particular state, but the organization also pursues various themes, such as the death penalty. Results are published in special reports. Amnesty’s members organize targeted action and campaigns to bring an end to violations.

Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by the British lawyer Peter Benenson. He got the idea for the organization’s logo – the lit candle surrounded by barbed wire – from a Chinese proverb,”It is better to light a light than to curse the darkness”.Copyright © The Norwegian Nobel Institute