(2018-12-13). EPA slams door to justice on historic Black community. peoplesworld.org 
TALLASSEE, Al. — On December 10, leaders of a historic Black community in Tallassee, Alabama, denounced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for closing a civil rights complaint filed in 2017 against the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) in the face of clear evidence, acknowledged by EPA, that the state's actions caused "adverse harms" to …
(2018-12-13). White House Considers Plan to Deport Vietnam War Refugees. truthdig.com In what critics described as a " consciously racist" and immensely cruel move that has the fingerprints of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller all over it, the Trump administration is reportedly working to make Vietnam War refugees who have lived in the United States for decades eligible for deportation. | First reported by The Atlantic on Wednes…
(2018-12-13). Prisoner Swap, Hodeida Ceasefire Mark Successful First Step in Yemen Peace Talks. mintpressnews.com The Saudi-led coalition and Ansar Allah, the political wing of the Houthi resistance movement, have agreed to a ceasefire in Hodeida and in the Taiz Province of northwestern Yemen.
(2018-12-13). Ecuador: Balda Now Accuses Rafael Correa of Embezzlement. telesurenglish.net The Ecuadorean former lawmaker Fernando Balda has filed yet another lawsuit against ex-President Rafael Correa, now accusing him of redirecting state funds for his alleged kidnapping attempt in Bogota. | RELATED: | Ecuadorean Ex-President Correa Denounces Political Persecution | Balda claims that Correa, along with the former intelligence secretaries Pablo Romero and Rommy Vallejo, that former interior minister Jose Serrano and other four public servants, used about US$500,000 fr…
(2018-12-13). US Senate Votes to End Support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen. telesurenglish.net The U.S. Senate Thursday approved a resolution by a 56-41 vote that would require the U.S. to end its military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, heating up pressure on President Donald Trump who has aligned himself with the Saudi's in recent months. | RELATED: | Cohen Gets Prison, Fined For Orchestrating Trump's Hush Money | Furthermore, The Senate passed a resolution condemning Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. | Sp…
(2018-12-13). Police, Systemic Racism Threatens Canadian Indigenous: Study. telesurenglish.net Canadian Sen. Murray Sinclair is recommending the Thunder Bay police board be dismantled for a year after a damning report revealed racism and negligence towards Ontario's Indigenous, CBC said Thursday. | RELATED: | Toronto Police Use Excessive Force on Black People: Report | A report released Monday by police watchdog, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, showed high levels of police oversight, systemic racism, and an overall distrust of police in the community. | "
(2018-12-13). Headlines for December 13, 2018. democracynow.org Former Trump Lawyer Cohen Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison, National Enquirer Admits to Suppressing Trump Affair Story to Aid 2016 Presidential Bid, Yemen: Hodeidah Ceasefire Declared, Rep. Pelosi Secures Votes for House Speaker Role, Guardian: FBI Was Surveilling Members of Environmental Group 350.org, NYT: ALEC & Oil Industry Secretly Campaigning to Weaken Car Emission Standards, U.K.: Prime Minister May Survives Leadership Challenge, China Detains 2 Canadians as Huawei CFO Gets Out on Bail, Turkey Threatens Offensive Against U.S.-Backed Kurds in Syria, Australian Media Barred from Reporting on Vatican Official C…
(2018-12-13). Arkansas Is Attempting to Ban a Safe and Effective Abortion Method. aclu.org Banning D&Es is part of a national campaign to push abortion out of reach. | The ACLU is in a federal appeals court on Thursday, challenging a slate of Arkansas laws intended to prevent women from being able to get abortions. One of the four laws we are challenging is a ban on the dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedure, a safe and effective abortion method. If enforced, the ban would prevent women from being able to obtain an abortion at all. | Arkansas' ban is part of an anti-abortion campaign being orchestrated by state…
(2018-12-13). Natalie Portman Calls Israel's Nation-State Law Racist. telesurenglish.net Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman said in an interview to London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi that Israel's nation-state law is "racist" and a "mistake." | RELATED: | Violence Escalates After Israeli Forces Murder 3 Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank | During the interview published Th…
(2018-12-13). Iran: Escalating Crackdown on Lawyers. hrw.org 
| | Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and Farhad Meysami, a human rights defender, protest the suspension of Sotoudeh's law license in front of the Tehran bar association in Tehran, February 2015. | © Private 2015 | (Beirut) — Iranian authorities have escalated their crackdown on lawyers, Human Rights Watch said today. Over the past month, revolutionary courts have sentenced at least three lawyers to long prison terms for their human rights activ…
(2018-12-13). No Justice for Horrors of Brazil's Military Dictatorship 50 Years On. hrw.org 
| | Tanks occupy the Avenida Presidente Vargas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 4, 1968. | © 1968 Correio da Manh࣠| Fifty years ago today, Brazil ¥s military regime unleashed all-out repression with the publication of Institutional Act 5. Brazil's president, army general Artur da Costa e Silva, immediately invoked the Act to close Congress and state legislatures, arrest opposition politicians, and revoke their political rights. He established widespread censorship and suspended habeas corpus for offenses th…
(2018-12-13). State of Palestine: Further Information: Hunger-Striking Detainee Admitted to Hospital: Suha Jbara. amnesty.org The Palestinian authorities have transferred social justice activist Suha Jbara to a hospital in Jericho following a deterioration in her health condition. She has been on hunger strike since 22 November to protest against her arbitrary detention. Her next court hearing is scheduled for 20 December.
(2018-12-13). Bahrain: Further Information: Expected Verdict For Human Rights Defender: Nabeel Rajab. amnesty.org On 31 December Bahrain's Cassation Court is expected to issue its verdict in the case of prominent human rights defender and prisoner of conscience, Nabeel Rajab. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in June 2018 in relation to peaceful tweets about the conflict in Yemen and torture allegations in Jaw prison.
(2018-12-13). Occupied Western Sahara: A rare look inside Africa's last colony. greenleft.org.au 
In an exclusive broadcast, US-based independent news outlet Democracy Now! broke the media blockade and visited the occupied Western Sahara in the northwest of Africa to document the decades-long Sahrawi struggle for freedom and occupying power Morocco's violent crackdown. | Morocco has occupied the territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. Thousands of Sahrawi people have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation. A 1700-mile wall…
(2018-12-13). SF Mayor Breed calls on racism expert, DHR Director Callahan, to Further Oppress Blacks. indybay.org The Mayor of San Francisco London Breed wants the racist head of the Department of Human Resources Micki Callahan to stop the racist hiring and retention practices that she here self has been responsible for.
(2018-12-13). The White House Is Working on a Plan to Deport Vietnam War Refugees. truthout.org In what critics described as a " consciously racist" and immensely cruel move that has the fingerprints of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller all over it, the Trump administration is reportedly working to make Vietnam War refugees who have lived in the United States for decades eligible for deportation.First reported by The Atlantic on Wednes…
(2018-12-13). Donald Trump Is Under the Bus. truthout.org Just after noon on Wednesday, the personal lawyer to the president of the United States was sentenced in federal court to 36 months in prison. | Think about that. | "Michael D. Cohen, Trump's long-time consigliere and Man Who Knows All Secrets had his world turned inside out like a laundered sock on Monday morning," I wrote on April 11 of this year, "when the FBI basically raided every place he's ever spent more than five minutes. Cohen's home, office and hotel all got the treatment courtesy of the office…
(2018-12-13). Huawei executive's arrest provokes anti-US protests in China. wsws.org Meng Wanzhou's detention is part of a broader US campaign, under both the Obama and Trump administrations, aimed at undermining Huawei and other Chinese tech companies.
(2018-12-13). Sex abuse scandal-plagued Boy Scouts may declare bankruptcy. rt.com 
The Boy Scouts of America are planning to file for bankruptcy, cutting their losses after years of declining membership numbers and a raft of sex abuse lawsuits, according to sources familiar with the matter.
(2018-12-12). Hatewatch Headlines 12/13/2018. splcenter.org Campus racism thrives in age of Trump; Gohmert says SPLC stirs up hate; Heyer's mother questions 'Bikers for Trump' presence; and more.
(2018-12-12). Africa, Diaspora Must Collaborate to Develop. naacp.org 
For Immediate Release From the office of Ghana Vice President: Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Africa, Diaspora must collaborate to develop — Ghana Vice Presiden Bawumia The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has called for greater interaction and collaboration between Africa and people of African descent across the world in order to help achieve our collective aspirations.This […]
(2018-12-12). Marc Lamont Hill and the Legacy of Punishing Black Internationalists. mronline.org 
Hill's bold statement to the UN is part of the internationalist Black radical tradition, exemplified by Paul Robeson, the Black Panther Party, and today's Black Lives Matter movement. | Source
(2018-12-12). Donald Trump's Travel Ban Faces a New Day in Court. theintercept.com Opponents of Donald Trump's travel ban have a chance to chip away at it this week by challenging the way it's been implemented. If they're successful, Trump will have only his own administration to blame. | The argument that a group of plaintiffs is making is straightforward: Because the travel ban was upheld, individuals impacted by it can only enter the United States through a waiver system that was said to be a safeguard against arbitrarily keeping people out of the country. Yet the administration has done next to nothing to set the waiver system up, which suggests that a total ban of Muslim travelers from the…
(2018-12-12). Michael Cohen Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison. theantimedia.com 
(ZHE) — Update 5: Cohen has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for his crimes, far below the guideline of 51 — 63 months laid out by New York prosecutors. The Judge noted that the guidelines aren't binding and had the ability to issue a lesser sentence. Update 4: Judge Pauley has responded following Cohen's statement, saying "Mr. …
(2018-12-12). Political warfare in Washington escalates to crisis of capitalist rule. wsws.org Trump's embrace of murder, his defense of fascists, his racist attacks on immigrants are blowing up an ideological pillar of US imperialist foreign policy—the pretense that the United States is a bulwark of human rights and democracy.
(2018-12-12). Redacted Tonight: Lee Camp thanks Obama for making fossil fuels GREAT AGAIN! rt.com 
Big oil wrecking the planet and Wall Street greed plundering its wealth? Barack Obama wants you to thank him for that too. And if you don't, host Lee Camp says, you're just racist.
(2018-12-12). Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen gets 3 years in prison for crimes incl hush-money payments. rt.com 
Michael Cohen, former attorney to President Trump, has been sentenced to three years in jail for crimes including lying to Congress and facilitating hush-money payments to two women who had affairs with Trump.
(2018-12-11). Jury recommends life plus 419 years for James Alex Fields in Unite the Right attack. splcenter.org A jury in Charlottesville has handed up a life prison sentence plus 419 years behind bars for a neo-Nazi sympathizer convicted of driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters after the "Unite the Right" rally.
(2018-12-11). Extradition of Bahraini Football Player Moves Ahead. hrw.org 
This week Bahraini soccer player Hakeem al-Araibi was taken to Bangkok Criminal Court, where bail was denied and his detention was extended for 60 days so Thailand can prepare his extradition to Bahrain, a country where he has said he was tortured. | | | Hakeem Ali Mohamed Ali al-Araibi in detention at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. | © 2018 Private | Al-Araibi is a former member of Bahrain's national team who was detained follo…
(2018-12-11). Thailand: Don't Return Cambodian Dissident. hrw.org 
| | Rath Rott Mony | © Private | (New York) — The Thai government should not forcibly return the dissident Rath Rott Mony to Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said today. There are strong reasons to believe that Mony would face politically motivated prosecution, wrongful detention, and ill-treatment in Cambodia. | "Thailand should not do Cambodia's bidding by forcibly returning an out…
(2018-12-11). Black Women are the Most Rapidly Growing Prison Population, Criminalized and Stereotyped as Aggressive. therealnews.com 
Caryn York, executive director of the Job Opportunities Task Force and Nicole Hanson, director of Out for Justice, talk about why black girls are punished more harshly than any other demographic and are the largest growing population in the prison system. Black women are given stereotypical handles like aggressive and hostile. Instead of dealing with…
(2018-12-10). WATCH NOW: NAACP Represents Communities of Color at United Nations Climate Conference in Poland. naacp.org Katherine Egland, Member NAACP National Board of Directors and Chairwoman, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, was among an NAACP delegation at the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties #24.
(2018-12-10). As Polish Gov't Promotes Coal, Advocate Warns Coal Hastens Climate Change, Devastates Human Health. democracynow.org 
This year's U.N. climate summit is in Katowice, Poland, and the Polish government is using the summit to promote coal, with several state-owned Polish coal companies sponsoring parts of the talks. Democracy Now! visited the Guido coal mine near Katowice, which has been turned into a mining museum, to speak with Polish environmental lawyer Bartosz Kwiatkowski. He is the director of the Frank Bold Foundation, which is involved in numerous lawsuits challenging the expansion of coal mining in Poland.
(2018-12-10). How the 'Unite the Right' murder trial helped debunk alt-right myths. splcenter.org Within hours of the arrest of neo-Nazi sympathizer James Alex Fields Jr. and the death of 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer after the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the racist "alt-right" began spinning conspiracy theories about the collision that killed Heyer and wounded multiple other people.
(2018-12-10). NRA: You Can No Longer Stay Silent. naacp.org NAACP, the nation's foremost civil rights organization released the following statement to the National Rifle Association (NRA): "The senseless killing of Emantic J. Bradford and the silence from the NRA has confirmed that the 2nd amendment does not apply to legally licensed Black gun owners. Instead of standing by their principles, the NRA continues to demonize and […]
(2018-12-10). Doctors Who Facilitate Torture Must Be Held to Account. aclu.org To prevent further stains on the medical profession, the names of those involved in torture and executions need to be made public. | Physicians hold a special position in U.S. society. They are given a place of honor in return for the expectation that they will use their knowledge and skills in the public interest and adhere to a clear set of ethical standards. | Under pressure from the government to misuse their expertise, though, some doctors have been willing to rationalize cooperation in unethical behavior. In recent years, nowhere has such ethical deviation been so starkly on display as in the case of the pa…
(2018-12-10). A GOP Governor Has a Chance to Fix a Blue State's Draconian Approach to Paroling Juvenile Offenders. theintercept.com 
Larry Hogan, re-elected to his second and final term, should give juveniles with life sentences a real chance at parole, criminal justice reformers urge.
(2018-12-08). A day after a neo-Nazi is convicted of murder, associates of the country's oldest, most violent skinhead groups charged with hate crimes. splcenter.org Individuals associated with some of the country's oldest and most violent racist skinhead groups have been charged with hate crimes in Washington state, just hours after a jury convicted a neo-Nazi of murder for his actions at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2018-12-07). CIA Torture Killed My Father. I Want to Know What They Did With His Body. aclu.org The truth hurts, but it also helps. | This piece was originally published by The Washington Post. | I believe there are two paths in life — the paths of right and wrong — and that all people know the right path in their hearts. So I believe that people in America, if they can read this, will know the right thing for their government to do is tell me and my family what happened to my father's body. | My father was Gul Rahman. Sixteen ye…
(2018-12-07). Neo-Nazi sympathizer found guilty in 'Unite the Right' trial of murdering Heather Heyer. splcenter.org James Alex Fields Jr., a young neo-Nazi sympathizer from Ohio, was found guilty of first-degree murder and multiple other charges on Friday in a trial stemming from last year's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2018-12-07). No Relief: William Barr Is as Bad as Jeff Sessions — if Not Worse. aclu.org Barr's record suggests he will continue the former attorney general's worst policies while promoting a sweeping view of executive power. | Donald Trump's nomination of William Barr to succeed Jeff Sessions as attorney general ought to raise alarm bells across the country. Barr is as bad as Sessions was on the full range of civil rights issues that fall with the Justice Department's purview. And he's a longstanding advocate of expansive executive power. | It's almost certainly the latter view that attracted President Trump, whose own power is likely to be called into question should the Mueller investigation…
(2018-12-07). New NYPD Drone Policy Represents a Serious Threat to Privacy. aclu.org The police department's drone policy places no meaningful restrictions on the invasive technology's use and threatens New Yorkers' privacy. | The New York Police Department announced this week that it will deploy 14 new drones as part of its policing activities across New York City. The use of this highly invasive technology represents a new frontier for both public safety and abuses of power. | The department did reach out to the NYCLU to ask us for input on a draft of the policy governing the use of its dr…
(2018-12-06). Re-education Camps, Infiltration, Surveillance: China Criticized over Persecution of Uyghur Muslims. democracynow.org 
The United Nations and human rights groups have accused China's government of setting up massive anti-Muslim "re-education" camps in the northwest Xinjiang province to disappear, jail and brainwash Uyghur Muslims. Some estimates put the population in the camps at up to 2 million. After months of denials, China acknowledged their existence in October, saying they are part of efforts to counter extremism. But Uyghurs say it's a form of collective punishment—and that they live under a high-tech surveillance state designed to eradicate Islam. We speak to Rushan Abbas, a Uyghur-American activist based in Washing…
(2018-12-06). Triumph of the Swill: New Doc Puts Roger Ailes in the No Spin Zone. progressive.org The best exposé on Fox in years dives into its former chief's history of racism and the sexual misconduct that would ultimately be his undoing.
(2018-12-06). How George H.W. Bush and Other Conservatives Undermined his Americans with Disabilities Act Legacy. progressive.org Bush deserves credit for what he did to make the ADA happen. But federal civil rights laws are just empty symbolic gestures unless the executive branch vigorously enforces them and judges take them seriously.
(2018-12-06). Americans Endorsed Voting Rights in 2018, but Some State Lawmakers Want to Sabotage These Victories. aclu.org 
State legislators are ignoring their voters' wishes and engaging in new tactics to suppress the vote. | The 2018 election ushered in a wave of voting rights victories. Voters in Florida, Michigan, Maryland, and Nevada all made it easier to register and vote, showing that voters reject voter suppression efforts and <...
(2018-12-05). President Trump Is Accelerating the Militarization of the Southwest Border. aclu.org Under President Trump, the slide toward a fully militarized border between the U.S. and Mexico is happening rapidly to the detriment of civil rights. | For decades, the ACLU has fought back against the militarization of domestic law enforcement agencies and the use of the military in our communities. Nowhere is this militarization more pronounced than on the border between the U.S. and Mexico — and President Trump is only making it worse. | The creation of the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11 accelerated the government's operations on the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP…
(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). 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…
(2018-10-18). A Tribute to Ron Dellums, Radical. zcomm.org Ron Dellums appreciated the struggle against racism is permanently joined with those against sexism, militarism, and capitalism…