(2018-12-02). Minneapolis Municipal ID passes first committee vote. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – People holding signs reading, "Municipal ID for all" and "Sanctuary now!" packed into the Minneapolis City Council Public Health, Environment and Civil Rights Committee hearing November 26. They came to give testimony and to encourage the city council to create a Minneapolis Municipal ID. | Dozens of Minneapolis residents spoke to their need for an ID due to immigration status, gender identity, housing instability, age and other reasons. After hearing the testimony, the committee voted unanimously in favor of creating a Minneapolis Municipal ID. The vote of approval from the committee forwards t…
(2018-12-02). Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza to speak at GLIDE's Sunday Celebration, Decembe. indybay.org Alicia Garza, American civil rights activist, Oakland-based organizer, writer and public speaker, and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter network will speak | at GLIDE's Sunday Celebration on December 2 at 9 and 11am.
(2018-12-01). America's Criminal "Injustice" System. therealnews.com 
Nina Turner, Cornel West, Danny Glover, Cynthia Nixon and Gus Newport on the roots of and solutions to America's addiction to mass incarceration at the Sanders Institute Gathering
(2018-12-01). The Left and Our Fight Against Anti-Semitism. truthout.org After the massacre of 11 Jews in Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in late October, people flocked to social media and to the streets with messages of unity and collective opposition to the anti-Semitism behind the killing. | It didn't take long, however, for the forces of racism and reaction to turn their outrage on the main people capable of mobilizing opposition to the rising tide of anti-Semitism: broadly speaking, the left and the social movements. | After the 2017 neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, during which anti-racist protester Heather Heyer was murdered, people around the world responded w…
(2018-12-01). Army Abducts A Palestinian In Bethlehem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers invaded, on Saturday at dawn, Hindaza area, east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and abducted one Palestinian. The soldiers also broke into and searched several homes in the governorate. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers abducted Mahmoud Sami Obeyyat, 23, after invading …
(2018-12-01). All Eyes are On Georgia and Louisiana Runoff Elections, But Do Voters Know What's At Stake on the Ballot? naacp.org Two special elections will decide the fate of black people in Louisiana and Georgia. While most states across the union voted on their senatorial and gubernatorial candidates on November 6, election season is still underway as two states, Georgia and Louisiana, prepare for special elections for their Secretary of State — the person who will […]
(2018-12-01). Mike Pence sparks QAnon theories after deleting tweet featuring badge. rt.com 
Vice President Mike Pence is fuelling QAnon conspiracists after he tweeted, and then deleted, a photograph of him standing next to a Florida sheriff deputy wearing a QAnon badge.
(2018-12-01). The Ignored Legacy of George H.W. Bush: War Crimes, Racism, and Obstruction of Justice. theintercept.com 
Hagiographies neglect to mention that Bush's presidency included a racist drug war, the Willie Horton ad, and massive civilian deaths in Iraq.
(2018-11-30). Trumpland: Get Ready for the Storm Ahead. counterpunch.org 
The pre-Trump and post-Trump GOPs are fruit of the same poison tree — the Southern Strategy, the plan Pat Buchanan and Richard Nixon hatched in the aftermath of the civil rights victories of the 1960s to reconstitute the Solid South of the Jim Crow era within the bowels of the Republican Party. It is no surprise, therefore, that they would both be contemptible. But GOP racism and nativism used to be muted; that was the Reagan and post-Reagan style. The Trumpian version rings loud enough to revive the vilest specters of the twentieth century's inter-war years.
(2018-11-30). In Major Threat to Due Process, Marsy's Law Gains Ground Nationwide. aclu.org A growing movement wants to amend the US Constitution and weaken its due process protections in its ill-advised pursuit of victims' rights. | Alongside the major criminal justice reform headlines that came out of the midterm elections, a quieter trend also gained momentum through the ballot box: a budding, national threat to due process and the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. | On Nov. 6, six states adopted, through ballot initiatives, what is known as "Marsy's Law," which e…
(2018-11-30). The five most compelling moments so far in the 'Unite the Right' murder trial. splcenter.org A juror clasped his hand over his mouth in court on Thursday as prosecutors played a video showing a young neo-Nazi sympathizer plowing his car into a group of anti-racist protestors after last year's "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2018-11-30). Not So Black & White: NYT Touts Rural Voters, Buries Racism in Mississippi Election Analysis. fair.org 
The New York Times ( 11/24/18) warns that Democrats speaking "boldly" risk turning off approximately one-seventh of the electorate. | Stop me if you've heard this one before: During a high-profile election, a major newspaper decides to stubbornly focus its coverage on an increasingly narrow sliver of white voters, while minimizing the racism that colors the electorate and the eventual Republican victor's campaign. | If this sounds like a repeat of the mainstream press's response to Trump's 2016 campaign, well, it is. B…
(2018-11-30). Blind man suing Playboy for not letting him enjoy its online magazine. rt.com 
A blind man has filed a lawsuit against Playboy for discrimination because its online publication isn't compatible with his screen-reading software, meaning he can't enjoy the publication to its fullest.
(2018-11-30). Eritrea: Visiting US envoy must demand action on deplorable record of arbitrary detentions. amnesty.org US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, should demand the release of all prisoners arbitrarily detained solely for peacefully exercising their freedom of expression and freedom of belief, including Ciham Ali who also holds US citizenship, when he visits Eritrea in the coming days, said Amnesty International. | Ciham Ali was arrested in 2012, when she was 15-years-old, for trying to leave the country in violation of Eritrea's national service policy. She has been held incommunicado and her family has not seen or heard from her since. |
(2018-11-30). Beaten and prosecuted for standing up to hate. amnesty.org Just over a year ago Elzbieta gathered with small group of women in central Warsaw with a large "Stop Fascism" banner. It was 11 November, Independence Day, and tens of thousands of people were marching through the city, many wielding flares and proudly displaying racist and fascist banners. The march – described by some journalists as "the biggest gathering of far-right activists in Europe in recent years"- might sound like an event best avoided, but not for Elzbieta. | She and 12 other women joined the march, and once in its midst, they unfurled their seven-metre long banner. Another woman from their group film…
(2018-11-30). Thailand: Don't Send Back Bahraini Dissident. hrw.org 
(New York ) — Thailand's government should ensure that Hakeem Ali Mohamed Ali al-Araibi, a recognized refugee, is not returned to Bahrain, Human Rights Watch said today. If returned, he would face an imminent risk of wrongful detention and ill-treatment by Bahraini authorities. | | | Hakeem Ali Mohamed Ali al-Araibi in detention at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. | © 2018 Private | "The Thai government needs to realize the grave dangers facing Ha…
(2018-11-30). Morocco: Torture Suspicions Mar Mass Trial Verdicts. hrw.org 
| | Rabat, Morocco, July 15, 2018: demonstrators protest heavy jail sentences on imprisoned activists by wearing masks showing their faces. | © 2018 Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images | (New York) — The Casablanca Court of Appeals should weigh evidence that the police tortured the defendants when it reviews the convictions of protesters and activists from the Rif region, Human Rights Watch said today. The appeals case began on November 14, 2…
(2018-11-30). US condemned for tear-gassing refugees, children. greenleft.org.au 
Legal experts and human rights advocates have denounced the tear gassing of children and other asylum seekers by US forces at the Mexico border on November 25. | "The migrants at our southern border include mothers and small children exercising their legal, human right to seek asylum," declared the ACLU in a tweet on November 26. It told the US Customs and Border Protection agency: "Tear gassing children is out…
(2018-11-30). Labor's promise to deliver in Victoria may well be elusive. greenleft.org.au 
While the final results of Victoria's November 24 state elections are yet to be announced, Labor looks set to go from 47 to 52 seats in the state's Legislative Assembly, after receiving a primary vote of 43%. | It also appears Labor will have 19 seats in the new Legislative Council, up from 14 seats, though it may pay a heavy price for preferencing some racist and anti-worker micro parties ahead of the Greens. | The Coalition received a combined primary vote of 36%, representing a 6.2% swing against it, with the Liberals predicted to go from 14 to 9 seats. The Liberals lost all its marginal seats in the south-eas…
(2018-11-29). Statement of Derrick Johnson on Postponement of Vote on Thomas Farr. naacp.org "The NAACP is encouraged by the Senate's decision today to postpone the vote on Thomas Farr's nomination to the Eastern District of North Carolina. The Senate does not have the votes to confirm Farr, and it hopefully it will never will. This week, a smoking gun was uncovered demonstrating that Farr himself coordinated voter suppression […]
(2018-11-29). We're Suing the CIA to Find the Body of a Torture Victim. aclu.org 
The U.S. government's obsessive secrecy has deprived a man's family of basic dignity and closure. | In November 2002, the CIA tortured Gul Rahman to death in a secret prison in Afghanistan. Sixteen years later, Rahman's family is still desperately trying to find out what the CIA did to his body. | To date, the CIA has told his loved ones nothing, and his daughter cannot even give her father a decent burial. | That same month, Gina Haspel oversaw the torture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri at a CIA black site in Tha…
(2018-11-29). Farr vote at noon TODAY. naacp.org Despite the fact that a large number of North Carolina NAACPers, led by North Carolina State Conference of NAACP branches President Rev. Anthony Spearman, spent all day yesterday on a bus to come the Washington, DC, to join President Derrick Johnson and others to express their strong opposition to the confirmation of Thomas Farr to a […]
(2018-11-29). Hatewatch Headlines 11/30/2018. splcenter.org Vote-suppressing judge's appointment falls shy; GOP offended by its racists being called out; Tucker Carlson is neo-Nazi site's favorite pundit; and more.
(2018-11-29). Farr vote postponed until next week. naacp.org Due to a serious personal matter which has taken a solid vote in support of the Farr nomination out of Washington, DC, until next week, Senate leadership has postponed the final vote on the Thomas Farr confirmation until next week. This gives us more time to contact our Senators and let them know of our deep […]
(2018-11-29). NAACP Statement on Black Voter Turnout in Mississippi Elections. naacp.org The incredible Black voter turnout in Mississippi on November 6 — and again in the November 27 runoff election — provides a powerful example of what can happen when African Americans and other voters of color are encouraged to participate actively in our democracy. This election illustrates what can happen when voters and politicians alike […]
(2018-11-29). State of Palestine: Social Justice Activist on Hunger Strike: Suha Jbara. amnesty.org Suha Jbara has been on hunger strike since 22 November in protest against her detention and torture by Palestinian security forces. Her next court hearing is scheduled for 6 December 2018.
(2018-11-29). Bangladesh: Further information: Activist released on bail after months in detention: Shahidul Alam. amnesty.org Shahidul Alam, photographer and outspoken social activist, has been freed on permanent bail after spending more than 100 days behind bars for comments he made in an interview with Al-Jazeera in August 2018. In detention, he was ill-treated and subjected to prolonged detention merely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.
(2018-11-29). Amnesty International launches worlds biggest human rights campaign. amnesty.org Women human rights defenders around the world are facing unprecedented levels of abuse, intimidation and violence, said Amnesty International as it launched its global Write for Rights campaign, in a bid to shine a spotlight on brave women who have been harassed, jailed, tortured or even killed for their human rights work. | Women continue to face multiple forms of discrimination, targeted because of their gender and other characteristics, as well as for their human rights work. However, women refuse to stay silent and have been at the forefront of the battle for human rights in 2018. | "Across the world, women a…
(2018-11-29). Viet Nam: Ludicrous charge against activist accused of 'insulting national flag' must be dropped. amnesty.org A charge of "insulting the national flag" against prominent Vietnamese human rights activist Huynh Thuc Vy amounts to an attack on freedom of expression by the authorities and must be dropped, Amnesty International said ahead of her trial on Friday. | It is rare for the authorities to prosecute a human rights activist for this charge, which carries a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment, in a disturbing sign of the intensifying crackdown against peaceful dissent in the country. | "This ludicrous charge must be dropped as it is aimed solely at silencing a dedicated, peaceful human rights activist. This is…
(2018-11-29). Pakistan Should Remove People with Mental Disabilities From Death Row. hrw.org 
| | Imdad Ali, who is aged around 50, was sentenced to death for the murder of a religious cleric in 2002 and is set to be hanged tomorrow. | © Reuters (Representative image) | This week, a medical board confirmed that Saleem Ahmad, a prisoner on death row for 14 years, has chronic schizophrenia. | Ahmad, 50, had been scheduled to be executed in November 2017, but a court …
(2018-11-28). A Mexican Perspective on Trump's Border Crisis. progressive.org "You've got a President of the United States who is a racist. Instead of having the United States be a world leader in human rights, Trump wants to be world leader of racism. It's very difficult."
(2018-11-28). What would Marx have said about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica? mronline.org 
Twitter says it is about "what people are talking about right now". Facebook argues its "mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what […] | Source
(2018-11-28). Headlines for November 28, 2018. democracynow.org U.N. Report Warns World Falling Far Behind on Paris Climate Goals, Mexico Agrees to U.S. Demand to Hold Asylum Seekers While Claims Are Decided, Trump Administration Defends Tear Gas Use at U.S.-Mexico Border, Border Patrol Fired Tear Gas Dozens of Times Under President Obama, U.S. Waived Background Checks for Staff at Jail for Migrant Children, Mississippi: GOP's Cindy Hyde-Smith, Who Posed as Confederate Soldier, Wins Senate Seat, Ukraine's President Warns of "Full-Fledged War" with Russia, Trump "Not Even a Little Bit Happy" with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump Says "We're Not Necessarily Such Believers" in Cli…
(2018-11-28). NAACP Statement on Recent Criminal Justice Reform Compromise Introduced in Senate. naacp.org NAACP released the following statement in support of the Crimianl Justice Reform Compromise: Our American criminal justice system is broken. Sentencing is disproportionately weighted against African Americans, and the current political climate continues to devalue black lives by reviving the same failed policies of the war on drugs that fueled mass incarceration," said NAACP President […]
(2018-11-28). How Trump Weaponized the Government's Refugee Resettlement Agency. aclu.org The Office of Refugee Resettlement was supposed to protect vulnerable immigrant children. Now it's an arm of Trump's deportation force. | Back in April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, both under the Department of Homeland Security, entered into a memorandum of agreement with an obscure government agency known as the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The office, known by its initials ORR, had traditionally served vulnerable immigrant youth coming to the United States without an adult. The agency took custody of those c…
(2018-11-28). 'Republicans Just Don't Want All the Votes to Count' – CounterSpin interview with Ari Berman on 2018 voter suppression. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Ari Berman about 2018 voter suppression for the November 16, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2018-11-28). NAACP Comments on Mississippi Senatorial Runoff Election. naacp.org BALTIMORE — The NAACP issued the following statement regarding the results of the Mississippi senatorial runoff election: While we are hopeful that the Senator-Elect will prove herself worthy of her new office, this election demonstrates the need to continue broadening the tent of civic and democratic participation in our nation. We must continue to organize, […]
(2018-11-28). NAACP YOUTH LEADERS COMMENT ON THE RESULTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI SENATORIAL RUNOFF ELECTION. naacp.org BALTIMORE — Youth leaders of the NAACP shared the following statements regarding the results of the Mississippi senatorial runoff election: "We are constantly in a war for a fair democracy, not only for voting rights but also for representation that is accountable to the people. Mississippi's election shows that we can't afford to ignore marginalized voters and young people […]
(2018-11-28). Government Use of Tear Gas Is Illegal in War. It Should Be Illegal Here, Too. aclu.org The chemical agent is outlawed in international warfare but used regularly by police here at home. | This piece originally appeared at The Washington Post's PostEverything. | Pictures of migrant women and children fleeing in panic as tear gas canisters were fired at them by U.S. border agents this week shocked many Americans, but the Trump administration praised the Border Patrol for responding " …
(2018-11-28). The Baltimore Bureau Podcast Show: Weeks of November 12 and 19, 2018. therealnews.com 
Dharna Noor and Khalilah Harris talk about federal police oversight, Bloomberg's gift to Johns Hopkins University, a pipeline set to be built through Maryland, and global struggles against racism and fascism
(2018-11-28). Honduras: State must ensure access to justice for victims of post-election repression. amnesty.org One year after the Honduran security forces began their repression of those involved in mass post-election protests, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said: | "We reiterate our call for investigations into all cases of unnecessary or excessive use of force by the Honduran authorities during the post-election period last year, including killings, arbitrary detentions and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The people responsible for this brutal repression must be brought to justice without further delay." |
(2018-11-28). Stranded refugees and migrants must be immediately allowed to dock in Italy or Malta. amnesty.org Twelve refugees and migrants who have been stranded in the Central Mediterranean on a Spanish fishing boat for almost a week must be allowed to disembark in Europe as soon as possible, said Amnesty International. | Six days after they were rescued from the water by the Nuestra Madre de Loreto vessel, the 12 – including two children – remain on board in overcrowded conditions and stormy waters. |
(2018-11-27). U.S. Prisons Have a Mental Health Crisis. This Story of a New York Prisoner's Death Helps Reveal Why. democracynow.org 
A major new Marshall Project investigation looks at the the mental health crisis in U.S. prisons by diving deep into the story of Karl Taylor, a prisoner who died at a maximum-security prison in the Catskills of New York after an altercation with prison guards in 2015. Karl Taylor was serving out a minimum 27-year sentence for a rape conviction when his life came to a sudden end at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in April of 2015. The African-American prisoner had been diagnosed with delusional disorder and paranoid personality disorder when he was taken into custody in 1995. By April of 2015, Taylor was house…
(2018-11-27). Radical black feminism and the simultaneity of oppression. mronline.org 
As the word intersectionality falls from the lips of Hillary Clinton and increasingly is normalized and sanitized, we should be clear about its radical moorings. | Source
(2018-11-27). NAACP Calls for Withdrawal of Thomas Farr Nomination. naacp.org Statement of Derrick Johnson Calling for Withdrawal of Thomas Farr Nomination Thomas Farr needs to withdraw his nomination immediately. We've always known Thomas Farr as the architect of the worst voter suppression law in the country, however, we have now found that he was more deeply engaged than anyone knew in intimidating Black voters during […]
(2018-11-27). Hatewatch Headlines 11/28/2018. splcenter.org Facebook discrimination review still a mystery; Neuroscience explains bigotry's persistence; Proud Boys' new rules including less fighting; and more.
(2018-11-27). Russian National Dies After Detention by US Immigration. hrw.org 
| | Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. | © Nathalie Graham/The Stranger | Over Thanksgiving weekend, another person who was in US immigration detention died. | Mergensana Amar, a Russian national who had been detained at Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, was taken off life support on Saturday, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE stated he had attempted suicide on November 15; the…
(2018-11-26). Jeff Sessions' Legacy Is Full of Dangerous Successes. aclu.org Attorney General Sessions proved how dangerous the nation's top prosecutor can be to criminal justice reform. | In his 636 days in office, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions secured a legacy that has been described as " unprecedented" and " dark." But Sessions' unwavering actions against criminal justice reform may also earn another descriptor for his time…
(2018-11-26). Court sides with L.A. cop who murdered Jesse Romero. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – In an outrageous decision, the jury sided with two-time killer and Los Angeles Police Department officer Eden Medina. The civil rights violations trial on 14-year-old Jesse Romero's killing started November 13 and lasted only six days. Early in the preceding, a judge ruled to exclude key evidence from the proceedings. | Killed on August 9, 2016 Jesse Romero was visiting his friends at the apartment complex in Boyle Heights. Someone inside of the apartment complex called 911 saying Romero and another teen were potentially smoking marijuana and graffitiing. LAPD officers Eden Medina and backu…
(2018-11-26). Headlines for November 26, 2018. democracynow.org U.S. Border Patrol Fires Tear Gas at Families Seeking Asylum, Border Patrol Officer Who Shot Teen Acquitted of Manslaughter Charge, North Carolina: ICE Arrests Immigrant Who Left Church Sanctuary, White House Tries to Bury Climate Report With Devastating Conclusions, California: Camp Fire 100% Contained as Death Toll Climbs to 85, Russia Seizes Three Ukrainian Ships Near Crimean Peninsula, President Trump Contradicts CIA Findings on Jamal Khashoggi Murder, Yemen: U.N. Urges Warring Parties to Enter Peace Talks, UAE Pardons UK Academic of Spying After Months of Imprisonment, EU Approves Brexit Deal, France: Police…