(2018-12-05). The ignored legacy of George H.W. Bush: war crimes, racism, and obstruction of justice. mronline.org 
THE TRIBUTES TO former President George H.W. Bush, who died on Friday aged 94, have been pouring in from all sides of the political spectrum. | Source
(2018-12-05). Mueller Urges That Flynn Receive No Prison Time. truthdig.com WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's former national security adviser provided so much information to the special counsel's Russia investigation that prosecutors say he shouldn't do any prison time, according to a court filing that describes Michael Flynn's cooperation as "substantial." | The filing by special counsel Robert Mueller provides the first details of Flynn's assistance in the Russia investigation, including that he participated in 19 interviews with prosecutors and cooperated extensively in a separate and undisclosed criminal probe. But the filing's lengthy redactions also underscore how much M…
(2018-12-05). Israeli Soldiers Abduct Four Palestinians, Including A Child, Near Hebron. imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, four Palestinians, including a child and a former political prisoner, from the southern West Bank governorate of Hebron. The PPS said the soldiers invaded and searched many homes in the al-'Arroub refugee camp, north of …
(2018-12-05). Israeli Soldiers Abduct Twenty Palestinians In The West Bank. imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has confirmed that Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, at least twenty Palestinians, including children and former political prisoner, in several parts of the occupied West Bank. The soldiers invaded and violently searched dozens of homes across the West Bank, and interrogated many Palestinians, …
(2018-12-05). Rashida Tlaib To Head US Congressional Delegation To West Bank, Endorses BDS. imemc.org US Democratic Representative-elect Rashida Tlaib plans to lead a delegation of American lawmakers to the West Bank, the congresswoman-to-be has told the Intercept. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, told the publication that the delegation will focus on "Israel's detention of Palestinian children, education, access to clean water, and poverty" and that the …
(2018-12-05). This State Agency Is Refusing to Help a Trans Woman Who Says She Was Assaulted by Police. aclu.org New York's Division of Human Rights says it cannot investigate alleged police and corrections abuses because they are not public accommodations. | DeAnna LeTray of Watertown, New York, was arrested in September 2017 during a domestic dispute with her daughter's boyfriend, who she says pointed a gun at her. | LeTray, who is trans, says the Watertown police officers who arrested her mocked her gender expression and questioned her gender identity. Then, at the police station, LeTray says police ripped her hair off her head and, once she got to the jail, she was stripped naked and sexually assaulted. | LeTray filed…
(2018-12-05). More people with mental illnesses seeking treatment from US emergency rooms. wsws.org Grossly inadequate funding for mental health means that patients swing from poorly-equipped group home facilities to emergency rooms—and, ultimately, jails and prisons.
(2018-12-05). French protests spark media demands for Facebook censorship. wsws.org Sections of the press in France and the United States have seized upon the "yellow vest" demonstrations to directly demand the suppression of popular opposition on social media.
(2018-12-05). Is the United States Beyond Redemption? truthdig.com 
The midterms were bearing down on us like a runaway train with Donald Trump in the driver's seat and the throttle wide open, the Presidential Special hell-bent for the bottom. "Go Trump Go!" tweeted David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, as if the president needed anyone's encouragement. There had been no slacking after pipe bombs were sent to a number of his critics; nor after two black people were killed in Kentucky by a white man who, minutes bef…
(2018-12-05). Billionaire Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein Settles Out of Court to Avoid Releasing New Info. theantimedia.com 
Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to a financial settlement and issued an apology to Bradley Edwards, the attorney representing several of Epstein's victims. (CR) West Palm Beach, Florida — Jeffrey Epstein has apologized for filing a malicious lawsuit against attorney Bradley Edwards. The apology and a confidential financial settlement officially bring an end to the lawsuit which …
(2018-12-05). Army Abducts 24 Palestinians In The West Bank. indybay.org Israeli soldiers abducted, overnight until morning hours Tuesday, twenty-four Palestinians, from their homes in several parts of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported.
(2018-12-04). Five things to know from the third day of testimony in the 'Unite the Right' murder trial. splcenter.org The injuries that took Heather Heyer's life after last year's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia captivated the court on the third day of testimony in the first-degree murder trial of neo-Nazi sympathizer James Alex Fields Jr.
(2018-12-04). The Effects of the Muslim Ban One Year Later. aclu.org We've had one year of the Muslim ban. Congress must ensure it's the last. | Exactly one year ago today, the Supreme Court allowed the full implementation of Trump's Muslim ban. It would be months still before it heard oral arguments in Hawaii v. Trump and issued its ruling on June 26, allowing the ban to remain in place. But on Dec. 4, 2017, America began to ban millions of Muslims from the United States, even if they have family members, jobs, academic spots, or other compelling connections here, and even if they would otherwise be fully…
(2018-12-04). Rashida Tlaib to Lead Congressional Delegation to Palestine's Occupied West Bank. mintpressnews.com The first Palestinian-American woman to be elected to Congress, said that her "group will focus on issues like Israel's detention of Palestinian children, education, access to clean water, and poverty."
(2018-12-04). Thomas Farr's Judicial Nomination Defeated. naacp.org Late in the afternoon on Thursday, November 29, 2018, Senator Tim Scott (SC) announced that he intended to vote against NAACP-opposed Attorney Thomas Farr's nomination to a life-time appointment to the Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Senator Scott's decision, along with the objections of 50 of his colleagues, was the deciding […]
(2018-12-04). Rattling the Bars: Stopping Corporate Exploitation in Prisons (Pt. 1/2). therealnews.com 
Eddie Conway talks with Bianca Tylek, found of the Corrections Accountability Corporation about thousands of corporations funding private prisons and immigration detention centers and what citizens can do about it
(2018-12-04). Sorry To Bother You offers rich lessons in seeking radical social change. greenleft.org.au 
Sorry to Bother You
| Written & directed by Boots Riley
| In cinemas now | This review includes mild spoilers. | As an Australian living abroad, incidents of Australians being racist and/or misogynistisic that attract attention from international media outlets are frequently forwarded to me in anticipation of a seething refrain. | My response is typically motivated by a mix of rage and embarrassment, as well as a deep concern for how racial capitalism has been almost completely normalised. I am deeply concerned by the fact that not only is our social and political climate ill-equipped to address racism, i…
(2018-12-04). History class gone wrong: High schoolers caught chanting KKK jingle, assignment sparks probe. rt.com 
A light-hearted history assignment at a US high school ended up with two students singing a racist KKK version of Jingle Bells in front of the class. A teacher has been suspended as the school is investigating how it came to be.
(2018-12-04). A Blue Wave From Another Universe. truthout.org Evil days. | The midterms were bearing down on us like a runaway train with Donald Trump in the driver's seat and the throttle wide open, the Presidential Special hell-bent for the bottom. "Go Trump Go!" tweeted David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, as if the president needed anyone's encouragement. There had been no slacking after pipe bombs were sent to a number of his critics; nor after two black people were killed in Kentucky by a white man who…
(2018-12-04). Imprisoned Hacktivist Jeremy Hammond Bumped a Guard With a Door — and Got Thrown in Solitary Confinement. theintercept.com Hammond is starting his third week in solitary confinement — a duration that the U.N. says is tantamount to torture.
(2018-12-03). The Government Is Trying to Keep Key NSA Spying Rules Secret. aclu.org We're telling a federal appeals court that democracy has no room for secret law on surveillance of Americans. | A federal appeals court in New York will hear oral argument on Tuesday in our lawsuit fighting for the public's right to know the legal justifications for government spying. | The Freedom of Information Act suit seeks the release of secret memos written by government lawyers that provided the foundation for the warrantless surveillance of Americans' international communications. In essence, these memos serve as the law that gove…
(2018-12-03). There's No Real Difference Between Border Walls and Border Fences. aclu.org 
Democrats, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer, are playing word games when it comes to funding Trump's border wall. | Sometime between now and Dec. 21*, when the current appropriation for the Department of Homeland Security will expire, Congress needs to provide the agency with another's year's funds. A single word has become a sticking point for the politicians who will vote on that funding: "wall," as in President Trump's border wall. | Trump and his Republican allies are demanding billions of dollars for walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats, wanting to be seen as opposing Trump, say that they won't vote for b…
(2018-12-03). Hatewatch Headlines 12/3/2018. splcenter.org Black workers recount Tesla factory racism; Facebook report targeted George Soros; Milo's court documents reveal he is deep in debt; and more.
(2018-12-03). Mehdi Hasan on George H.W. Bush's Ignored Legacy: War Crimes, Racism and Obstruction of Justice. democracynow.org 
George H.W. Bush died in Houston on Friday night at the age of 94. Bush was elected the 41st president of the United States in 1988, becoming the first and only former CIA director to lead the country. He served as Ronald Reagan's vice president from 1981 to 1989. Since Bush's death, the media has honored the former president by focusing on his years of service and his call as president for a kinder, gentler America. But the headlines have largely glossed over and ignored other parts of Bush's legacy. We look at the 1991 Gulf War, Bush's pardoning of six Reagan officials involved in the Iran-Contra scandal and ho…
(2018-12-03). SPLC brings first lawsuit challenging Florida sheriffs' latest collaboration agreements to detain people for ICE. splcenter.org The SPLC sued Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay today for illegally holding a U.S. citizen in the county jail on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold.
(2018-12-03). How the FIRST STEP Act Moves Criminal Justice Reform Forward. aclu.org The FIRST STEP Act is a modest piece of legislation that tackles harsh sentencing while mostly failing to apply its reforms retroactively. | It's not often that you'll find the ACLU on the same side of an issue as President Donald Trump. | But in the waning days of the 115th Congress, lawmakers have the rare opportunity to show bipartisanship isn't completely dead. For months, advocates and lawmakers have worked together to craft a criminal justice reform bill, known as the FIRST STEP Act, that enjoys broad support from the White House and members of Congress in both parties. | Only one thing stands in the way…
(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 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). 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.
(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). 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). 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 illusive. 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…
(2018-11-30). 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…
(2018-11-29). 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). 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). My Black Son Was Sent Home From First Grade Because of His Natural Hair. aclu.org 
My 6-year-old was turned away from his school for the offense of wearing locs. | Six-year-olds never seem to run out of questions, and my son is no exception. But in August, CJ asked me a question that was harder than the rest: He wanted to know if there was something wrong with his hair. | As a father, I'd tried to shield him from racism for as long as I could. But we had just been turned away in humiliating fashion from A Book's Christian Academy in Apopka, Florida, on the first day of classes. The school's administrators, led by John Book, barred CJ from entering the building because of his locs. They treated…
(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). 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). 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.
(2018-11-28). 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). '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). 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). 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 […]
(2018-11-27). 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). 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…
(2018-11-12). Love Bollywood, hate apartheid! bdsmovement.net 
Love Bollywood, hate apartheid!: Action AlertThe Israeli government wants to use Bollywood stars to whitewash its oppression against Palestinians. Join us in urging them to refuse to participate. | Cultural BoycottNovember 12, 2018 | By: | | Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)