Podcasting Offers California Inmate Unlikely Path to Freedom
STAFF | truthdig.com | 2019-01-02
OAKLAND, Calif. — In California, inmates typically are granted parole by doing good deeds or showing they have been rehabilitated by becoming pastors, drug counselors or youth advocates. For Walter "Earlonne" Woods, the path to freedom was podcasting. | Woods, 47, was recently released from San Quentin State Prison after California Gov. Jerry Brown commuted his 31-years-to-life sentence for attempted armed robbery. Brown cited Woods' leadership in helping other inmates and his work at "Ear Hustle," a podcast he co-hosts and co-produces that documents everyday life inside the prison. | Woods has since been h…
truthdig.com/articles/podcasting-offers-california-inmate-unlikely-path-to-freedom/

Proposed Florida law would stop local governments from removing racist Confederate monuments
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-01-02
Jacksonville, FL – Pensacola State Representative Mike Hill has introduced a bill in the state legislature, House Bill 97, titled the Soldiers' and Heroes' Monuments and Memorials Protection Act, that would stop local authorities from removing racist confederate monuments. Hill is an African American Republican. Hill acknowledges his lack of support in the Black community. | Todd Wells, an African American member of Take Em Down Jax, a group devoted to removing these monuments to the cause of white supremacy, stated, "The struggle for the removal of Confederate statues has been ongoing since they were e…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/1/2/proposed-florida-law-would-stop-local-governments-removing-racist-confederate-monuments

The Broader U.S. Movement for Peace, Economic Justice, Civil Rights and the Environment
Kevin Zeese | globalresearch.ca | 2019-01-02
There will be important opportunities in the next few years to advance the movement for economic, racial and environmental justice as well as peace. This article will focus on three opportunities: the 2020 elections, the decline of US empire and … | The post The Broader U.S. Movement for Peace, Economic Justice, Civil Rights and the Environment appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/the-broader-u-s-movement-for-peace-economic-justice-civil-rights-and-the-environment/5664477

US wants access to American held in Russia on spying charges
aljazeera | aljazeera.com | 2019-01-02
US Secretary of State Pompeo says if Paul Whelan's 'detention is not appropriate, we will demand his immediate return'.
aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/access-american-held-russia-spying-charges-190102145959611.html

Rudy Giuliani: Julian Assange Should Not Be Prosecuted
Joe Lauria | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-02
Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, said Monday that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange had not done "anything wrong" and should not go to jail for disseminating stolen information just as major media does. | "Let's take the Pentagon Papers," Giuliani told Fox News. "The Pentagon Papers were stolen property, weren't they? It was in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Nobody went to jail at The New York Times and The Washington Post." | Giuliani said there were "revelations during the Bush administration" such…
mintpressnews.com/rudy-giuliani-julian-assange-not-prosecuted/253420/

Nixon and Trump: Bookends to the Culture Wars
David Rosen | counterpunch.org | 2019-01-02
Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump are bookends to the culture wars. They personify how two opportunist politicians can effectively exploit critical social issues — racism and patriarchy, among others — for personal gain. The year 2020 will be the year that Trump may likely seek re-election as president — and will mark a half-century of…
counterpunch.org/2019/01/02/nixon-and-trump-bookends-to-the-culture-wars/

The New Congress and the Rolling Catastrophe of the US Body Politic
Roger Harris | counterpunch.org | 2019-01-02
Bathed in the soothing waters of the Blue Wave, such that it was, a new US Congress will be baptized on January 3rd. But what portends when "Mad Dog" Mattis, arch racist Jeff Sessions, and deep state spooks are canonized by self-identified liberals and leftists as bulwarks against fascism? When all mainstream "opposition" politics can be reduced to a single issue: Trump. And when the midterm elections ignored deepening impoverishment at home, endless wars abroad, and climate calamity — let alone the tax cut for the super-rich — and instead focused on the "threat" posed by (take your pick) immigrants o…
counterpunch.org/2019/01/02/the-new-congress-and-the-rolling-catastrophe-of-the-us-body-politic/

While Activists Mobilize for Lula, Right-wing Extremist is Inaugurated in Brazil
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2019-01-02
January 1st was the inauguration of Brazil's new right-wing extremist president Jair Bolsonaro. In his speech he promised to rid Brazil of socialism. Meanwhile, at a prison in Curitiba, thousands gathered in support of former Workers Party President Lula. Mike Fox reports from Brazil | The post While Activists Mobilize for Lula, Right-wing Extremist is Inaugurated in Brazil appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/while-activists-mobilize-for-lula-right-wing-extremist-is-inaugurated-in-brazil

AFGE sues over government shut down
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-01-01
Washington D.C. — On December 31, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch (KCNF DC) sued the federal government on behalf of AFGE members and federal employees being forced to work without pay. The lawsuit alleges that the federal government is violating the law by requiring some federal employees to work without pay during a shutdown. | "Our members put their lives on the line to keep our country safe," said J. David Cox Sr., national president, American Federation of Government Employees. | "The harm to federal employees began at the first moment of the…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/1/1/afge-sues-over-government-shut-down

Four Days in Occupied Western Sahara–A Rare Look Inside Africa's Last Colony
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-01
In this special rebroadcast of a Democracy Now! exclusive documentary, we break the media blockade and go to occupied Western Sahara in the northwest of Africa to document the decades-long Sahrawi struggle for freedom and Morocco's violent crackdown. Morocco has occupied the territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. Thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation. A 1,700-mile wall divides Sahrawis who remain under occupation from those who fled into exile. The international media has largely ignored the occupat…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/1/four_days_in_occupied_western_sahara

Brasilia Militarized as Far-right Jair Bolsonaro Takes Oath
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-01
Far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who has vowed to crack down on left-wing opposition, progressive politics, and open up the Amazon harming the Indigenous population, was sworn in as Brazil's president Tuesday. | RELATED: | US: Mike Pompeo Starts Interventionist Latin American Tour | The neoliberal, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic former army captain scored the B…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brasilia-Militarized-with-12000-Troops-for-Inauguration-of-Neoliberal-Far-right-Bolsonaro-20190101-0012.html

Germany: 'Xenophobic' Attacker Drives Into Crowd of Migrants
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-01
A 50-year-old man has been arrested after driving his car into a crowd of people in Germany in what police say appears to be a racist attack. | RELATED: | 'United Against Racism': 242,000 Germans Protest The Far-Right | A group of migrants from Syria and Afghanistan was attacked in the town of Bottrop, an area of western Germany. According to official report…
telesurenglish.net/news/Germany-Xenophobic-Attacker-Drives-Into-Crowd-of-Migrants-20190101-0020.html

Neoliberalism, Militarism Await Brazil as Bolsonaro Sworn in
Martin Varese | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-01
Former army captain Jair Bolsonaro was sworn on Tuesday, in Brazilia, opening a new, rather dark, era for Brazil and for the whole Latin American region. | When he was a lawmaker, and then as a candidate and most recently as a president-elect, Bolsonaro, has regularly expressed far-right, neoliberal, racist, homophobic sentiments, the very same hate spee…
telesurenglish.net/news/Grim-Neoliberalism-Militarism-Await-Brazil-and-Region-as-Bolsonaro-Takes-Office-20181227-0009.html

Prosecutors Mull 'Assault' Charges After Videos Show Children Being Dragged and Hit at Arizona Immigration Detention Center
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-01-01
Maricopa County prosecutors in Arizona are considering potential criminal charges after viewing footage of children being dragged, hit, and shoved by staff members at a detention center near Phoenix, after the videos, first published by the Arizona Republic, provoked outrage. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/screen_shot_2019-01-01_at_9.07.47_am.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/01/01/prosecutors-mulling-assault-charges-after-videos-show-children-being-dragged-and-hit?cd-origin=rss

Trump's Lawyer Rudy Giuliani Admits Julian Assange Should Not Be Prosecuted
Consortium News | theantimedia.com | 2019-01-01
Donald Trump's lawyer said on Monday that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange should not be prosecuted and he compared WikiLeaks publications to the Pentagon Papers. (CN) — Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, said Monday that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange had done "nothing wrong" and should not go to jail for disseminating stolen information just as …
theantimedia.com/rudy-giuliani-julian-assange/

Worse than Obsolete: NATO Creates Enemies
John Laforge | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-31
NATO's and the US military's desecration of corpses, attacks on wedding parties, mosques, hospitals and market places — along with the bombing of allied troops, torture of prisoners, and their notoriously unaccountable drone warfare — are a few of the alliance's more infamous outrages in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia.
counterpunch.org/2018/12/31/worse-than-obsolete-nato-creates-enemies/

An Extraordinary Year for Civil Rights
Vanessa Mbonu@naacpnet | naacp.org | 2018-12-31
This was an extraordinary year for the NAACP. From building more political power in communities of color to fighting to protect the federal bench from those who have a record of purposefully harming our communities, we've had great successes–and it was your support that made it all happen. Here's a look at what we did […] | The post An Extraordinary Year for Civil Rights appeared first on NAACP.
naacp.org/latest/extraordinary-year-civil-rights/

Not My Revolution
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-31
"If I can't dance to it, it's not my revolution." — Emma Goldman The Women's March is not immune to the same forces that have confronted the political left in the U.S. for decades. The larger women's movement itself, that sprang from the antiwar movement and civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, carried…
counterpunch.org/2018/12/31/not-my-revolution/

Prisoner for Free Speech: the Relentless Pursuit of Julian Assange
Serge Halimi | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-31
CNN correspondent Jim Acosta returned to the White House on 17 November, a few days after a US judge had forced President Donald Trump to reverse the revocation of his press pass. Smiling before 50 or more photographers and cameramen, Acosta said triumphantly: 'This was a test and I think we passed the test. Journalists need to know that in this country their First Amendment rights of freedom of the press are sacred, they're protected in our constitution. Throughout all of this I was confident and I thought that … our rights would be protected as we continue to cover our government and hold our leaders accounta…
counterpunch.org/2018/12/31/prisoner-for-free-speech-the-relentless-pursuit-of-julian-assange/

A Disaster for Brazil: Noam Chomsky on Brazil's New Far-Right President Jair Bolsonaro
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-31
As Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro prepares to take office on Tuesday, we return to our conversation with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky shortly after the election. Bolsonaro's impending presidency marks the most radical political shift Brazil since military rule ended more than 30 years ago. Bolsonaro is a former Army officer who has praised Brazil's former military dictatorship, spoken in favor of torture and threatened to destroy, imprison or banish his political opponents. Bolsonaro has also encouraged the police to kill suspected drug dealers, and once told a fem…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/31/a_disaster_for_brazil_noam_chomsky

The Long Hand of U.S. Intervention: The Intercept's 2018 World Coverage
The Intercept | theintercept.com | 2018-12-31
Many of the world's troubles are legacies of American intervention. In Iraq, there is the continuation of a war that began with the U.S. invasion in 2003. One of the casualties is an American citizen imprisoned in Iraq for more than a decade, a victim of torture, secret evidence, and witnesses who later recanted. Decades of U.S. meddling in Central America, and support for repressive dictatorships there, have undermined social fabrics; gangs are rampant, and if joining them is easy, getting out is not. In Yemen, where the Saudi-led war has been supported by the U.S. military, children are dying of starvation. |
theintercept.com/2018/12/31/the-intercept-2018-world/

UAE: Rights Defender's Conviction Upheld
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-31
Ahmed Mansoor speaks to Reuters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2011. | © 2011 Reuters | The United Arab Emirates Federal Supreme Court, the country's court of last resort in state security cases, on December 31, 2018, upheld a 10-year sentence for Ahmed Mansoor, an award-winning human rights activist, Human Rights Watch said today. | In May, an Abu Dhabi court sentenced Mansoor to 10 years in prison for "defaming" the UAE on s…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/31/uae-rights-defenders-conviction-upheld

Bahrain: Rights Defender's Conviction Upheld
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-31
Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab arrives for his appeal hearing at court in Manama, February 11, 2015. | © 2015 Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters | (Beirut) — The Bahrain Court of Cassation, the country's court of last resort, on December 31, 2018 upheld a five-year sentence for Nabeel Rajab, a prominent human rights defender, Human Rights Watch said today. | The sentence arose from comments criticizing torture in a Bahrain prison and the Saudi-…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/31/bahrain-rights-defenders-conviction-upheld

Prison Programs That Work
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-30
Even though the cost of educating prisoners is less than housing prisoners and reduces recidivism, the federal government cut the Pell grant which helped to fund educational programs in prison. Recidivism is the goal for corporations that continue to fund prison labor. However, volunteers continue to create programs that work, but which need funding to… | The post Prison Programs That Work appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/prison-programs-that-work

The Courts Consistently Brushed Back Trump's Assaults on Immigrants in 2018
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-28
From family separation to the asylum ban, our independent judiciary stepped in to ensure that the president is not above the law. | This article was originally published in t he Los Angeles Times. | For immigrants, there's no way to sugarcoat 2018. The Trump administration enacted a series of draconian policies targeting noncitizens, and the one that will most define the year — and this administration — is the separation of thousands of children, some less than a year old, from their mothe…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/courts-consistently-brushed-back-trumps

Amber Heard: I Spoke Up Against Sexual Violence and Faced Our Culture's Wrath
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-27
It's time to reform institutions that protect men accused of abuse. | This piece was originally published in The Washington Post. | I was exposed to abuse at a very young age. I knew certain things early on, without ever having to be told. I knew that men have the power — physically, socially and financially — and that a lot of institutions support that arrangement. I knew this long before…
aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/violence-against-women/amber-heard-i-spoke-against-sexual-violence-and-faced-our

Headlines for December 27, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-27
President Trump Makes Surprise Visit to U.S. Military Base in Iraq, NYT: Queens Podiatrist Helped Donald Trump Avoid Vietnam in 1968, Trump Says No End in Sight to Partial Government Shutdown, Violence Against Women Act Expires Due to Government Shutdown, Texas: Hundreds More Migrants Released by ICE at El Paso Bus Station, Guatemala: Funeral Held for 7-Year-Old Girl Who Died in U.S. Custody, ProPublica: Sexual Assaults Pervasive Inside Jails for Migrant Children, Sudan: 37 Killed as Protests Call for an End to Omar al-Bashir's Rule, Russia Tests New "Hypersonic" Nuclear-Capable Missile, Yemen: U.N. Team Tasked w…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/27/headlines

#LogOutFacebook: Because of You, We Did. Thank You!
Vanessa Mbonu@naacpnet | naacp.org | 2018-12-27
Thank you. During the week-long #LogOutFacebook protest, you were joined by thousands of advocates, celebrities, elected officials and partners to take a stand, to let Facebook know that they need to do better. You made it known that you will no longer tolerate privacy breaches, hate speech, bias, and misinformation. This logout cycle is done, but our […] | The post #LogOutFacebook: Because of You, We Did. Thank You! appeared first on NAACP.
naacp.org/latest/logoutfacebook-because-of-you-we-did-thank-you/

The First Step Act Is a Small Step for Incarcerated Women
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-27
While the law ends two gender-specific indignities of federal incarceration, it only begins to scratch the surface for incarcerated women. | The enactment of the First Step Act earlier this month will bring some much-needed change to our criminal justice system. But the First Step Act remains just that, a first step — particularly with respect to the impact that mass incarceration has had on cisgender women and trans people. | The legislation ends two gender-specific indignities…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/women-prison/first-step-act-small-step-incarcerated-women

Rally on 3rd anniversary of David Dungay's death at Long Bay Jail
peter_b | greenleft.org.au | 2018-12-27
The Dungay Family supported by the Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) has invited all to attend a rally on December 29, the third anniversary of David Dungay's death in Sydney's Long Bay Jail. | David Dungay was a 26-year-old Aboriginal man who was killed when under the control of Correctional Services Officers (CSO) and Justice Health (JH) nurses, just four weeks before he was due to be released. Dungay died simply because he ate a biscuit he wasn't supposed to. | Dungay's death has been shrouded in mystery; his family have spent the last three years fighting for information and some kind of justi…
greenleft.org.au/content/rally-3rd-anniversary-david-dungays-death-long-bay-jail

A motel beside I-75 in Adel, GA
The I-75 in Adel, GA.
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Lee Grimes' home in McRae, GA.
A police car races down a country road in Adel, GA.
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Dinah Ray in the reflection of a painting at her home in Sacramento, CA.
Dinah Ray at her home in Sacramento, CA.
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GEORGIA_0080-1544766841.
Liliana Segura | theintercept.com | 2018-12-27
Hercules Brown has been in prison for murder for more than 16 years, but he has not confessed to the September 1998 murder of Donna Brown at the Taco Bell in Adel, Georgia — even though there is strong evidence pointing to his guilt, and Devonia Inman, a man unconnected to the crime, is serving a life sentence in prison for it. | Jessica Cino, a dean and law professor at Georgia State University, has spent countless hours over more than three years trying to find a way to help Inman prove his innocence, a monumental feat that means battling a court system rigged to keep him behind bars. He's exhausted his n…
theintercept.com/2018/12/27/murderville-georgia-adel-murders/

When Portland Tried to Dictate Favorable News Coverage of Its Protest Crackdowns
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-26
Journalists rightfully turned down an offer by Portland police to observe the command center during a protest. They had at least three good reasons. | After months of facing criticism for how Portland has been policing protests, the city's mayor and police bureau recently invited select reporters to the bureau's command center to watch their policing in action. The only catch? Well, there were at least three. | But first, some background: The Portland Police Bur…
aclu.org/blog/free-speech/freedom-press/when-portland-tried-dictate-favorable-news-coverage-its-protest

Muslim Ban: Meet the Yemeni Americans Suing Trump in an Attempt to Reunite with Loved Ones
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-26
A group of Yemeni Americans have filed a new federal lawsuit over President Trump's Muslim ban. The suit alleges the State Department has revoked previously approved visas, preventing many Yemenis from reuniting with their families living in the United States. We speak to two of the plaintiffs and the Center for Constitutional Rights, which brought the lawsuit.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/26/muslim_ban_meet_the_yemeni_americans

The Battle to Stop Family Separation
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-26
How a Congolese mother and child set in motion an extraordinary battle that exposed government conduct unprecedented in its cruelty and carelessness. | This piece originally appeared at The New York Review of Books. | In March 2017, John Kelly, then Secretary of Homeland Security, said in an interview with CNN that the Trump administration was considering a national policy to separate parents f…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/battle-stop-family-separation

The Man Who Fell From The Sky: Is Revenge Justified Against Racist Murder?
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-26
A page-turning murder mystery set in a Cape Verdean community during the Vietnam War and the war against The Black Panthers, by writer, scholar, and author Bill Fletcher, Jr. | The post The Man Who Fell From The Sky: Is Revenge Justified Against Racist Murder? appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/the-man-who-fell-from-the-sky-is-revenge-justified-against-racist-murder

A Tribute to Blacklisted Lyricist Yip Harburg: The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-25
His name might not be familiar to many, but his songs are sung by millions around the world. Today, we take a journey through the life and work of Yip Harburg, the Broadway lyricist who wrote such hits as "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and who put the music into The Wizard of Oz. Born into poverty on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Harburg always included a strong social and political component to his work, fighting racism and poverty. A lifelong socialist, Harburg was blacklisted and hounded throughout much of his life. We speak with Harburg's son, Ernie Harburg, about the music and politics of his father. T…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/25/a_tribute_to_blacklisted_lyricist_yip

Angela Davis: We Owe It to People Who Came Before Us to Fight to Abolish Prisons
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-24
Angela Davis is a leading advocate for prison abolition, a position informed by her own experience as a prisoner and a fugitive on the FBI's top 10 wanted list more than 40 years ago. Once caught, she faced the death penalty in California. After being acquitted on all charges, she spent her life fighting to change the criminal justice system. Amy Goodman sat down with Angela Davis at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., in October to talk about the prison abolition movement.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/24/angela_davis_we_owe_it_to

From 1968 to 2018: Angela Davis on Freedom Struggles Then and Now, and the Movements of the Future
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-24
Legendary scholar and activist Angela Davis's work around issues of gender, race, class and prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across several generations. Amy Goodman sat down with her in Washington, D.C., in October to discuss freedom struggles over the past 50 years, and where people's movements are going next.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/24/from_1968_to_2018_angela_davis

Angela Davis on Running from the FBI, Lessons from Prison and How Aretha Franklin Got Her Free
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-24
For more than four decades, Davis has been one of most influential activists and intellectuals in the United States. An icon of the black liberation movement, Davis's work around issues of gender, race, class and prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across several generations. She is a leading advocate for prison abolition, a position informed by her own experience as a prisoner and fugitive on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list more than 40 years ago. Once caught, she faced the death penalty in California. After being acquitted, she has spent her life fighting to change the criminal justic…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/24/angela_davis_on_running_from_the

Iraq/Kurdistan Region: Risk of Double Trials for ISIS Ties
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-23
Cigarette burns cover the hands and arms of 18-year-old "Karim." Kurdish authorities held him for 13 months. He then returned home and was rearrested by authorities under Baghdad's control, who tortured and held him for months. | © 2018 San Saravan | (Beirut) — Sunni Arab boys who serve prison time in Iraq's Kurdistan region for Islamic State (also known as ISIS) connections risk rearrest after their release if they try to reunite with their families…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/23/iraq/kurdistan-region-risk-double-trials-isis-ties

The Death Penalty in 2018: A Punishment on the Decline
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-21
We have much to celebrate in 2018, and much work towards abolition in the years ahead. | An annual survey conducted by the Death Penalty Information Center shows a significant decline in 2018 in the use of the death penalty nationwide. This is as it should be — the nation is turning away from the barbaric practice of killing its people as punishment. | In 2018, 25 people were executed, marking the fourth year in a row the United States has had fewer than 30 executions. That's down dramatically from the peak of 98 executions we saw in 1999. Death sentenc…
aclu.org/blog/capital-punishment/innocence-and-death-penalty/death-penalty-2018-punishment-decline

Extremists' collectibles used to fund today's hate movement
Bill Morlin | splcenter.org | 2018-12-21
Attempts to sell neo-Nazi memorabilia online are nothing new, but a recent marketing ploy attempts to use the sale of racist antiquities to fund modern-day racist activities.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/12/21/extremists-collectibles-used-fund-todays-hate-movement

Single Moms Get Sucked Into the Cruelest Debtors' Prison We've Ever Seen
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-21
In Lexington County, SC, moms struggling to make ends meet get jailed for weeks or months at a time when they can't afford to pay court fines and fees | Twanda Marshinda Brown is a single mom in South Carolina who was supporting her children by working at Burger King. In 2016, a court in Lexington County fined her around $2,300 for two traffic offenses. The judge ordered her to make monthly payments of $100, even though she explained she could only afford to pay $50 a month whil…
aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/single-moms-get-sucked-cruelest-debtors-prison-weve

#SaveHakeem — Stop deportation of Bahraini refugee
kathy_f | greenleft.org.au | 2018-12-21
Bahraini refugee Hakeem Al-Araibi has been held in detention in Thailand since November 27, facing the terrifying prospect of deportation to the country where he was tortured. | Al-Araibi fled to Australia in 2014 and was accepted as a refugee. In November, he travelled on UN travel documents to Thailand for a short holiday with his wife. When he arrived at Bangkok airport, Al-Araibi was arrested under an Interpoll "Red Notice" (an international arrest warrant) issued by the Bahrain government. | Interpol is not meant to issue red notices for refugees, so this red notice should never have been issued for Al-Araib…
greenleft.org.au/content/savehakeem-%E2%80%93-stop-deportation-bahraini-refugee

Anti-Lynching Bill Passes the U.S. Senate
Adam Lee | naacp.org | 2018-12-20
Late in the afternoon of 12/19, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed S. 3178, the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, which was originally introduced by Senators Kamala Harris (CA), Cory Booker (NJ) and Tim Scott (SC). This crucial legislation would make lynching a hate crime, therefore eligible for the additional federal tools and resources used […] | The post Anti-Lynching Bill Passes the U.S. Senate appeared first on NAACP.
naacp.org/latest/anti-lynching-bill-passes-u-s-senate/

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Ruth Conniff | progressive.org | 2018-12-20
"It was Paul Ryan and Reince Priebus who transformed the politics of Wisconsin with racist dog-whistle messaging, and that laid the foundation for Donald Trump."
progressive.org/dispatches/paul-ryans-hypocrisy-181220/

Congress Just Took a Big Step Toward Ending the Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-20
Passing the First Step Act will be a step toward upholding the rights and protecting the health of pregnant prisoners. | Congress on Thursday passed the Senate version of the First Step Act, which is now headed for signature to President Trump. He is expected to sign it on Friday. | The First Step Act would, in addition to enacting other important criminal justice reforms, prohibit the shackling of p…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/women-prison/congress-just-took-big-step-toward-ending-shackling-pregnant

PRISON AND SENTENCING REFORM PASSES THE US SENATE
Adam Lee | naacp.org | 2018-12-20
On December 18, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed, by a vote of 87 yeas to 12 nays, its version of the First Step Act, legislation which begins to reform our nation's sentencing laws and prison terms. This bipartisan legislation, which has been strongly supported and promoted by the White House, offers some important improvements to the current federal criminal […] | The post PRISON AND SENTENCING REFORM PASSES THE US SENATE appeared first on NAACP.
naacp.org/latest/prison-sentencing-reform-passes-us-senate/

'Domestic Workers Don't Have Protections Against Discrimination and Harassment' – CounterSpin interview with Mariana Viturro on Domestic Workers Bill of Rights
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2018-12-20
Janine Jackson interviewed Mariana Viturro about the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights for the December 14, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/domestic-workers-dont-have-protections-against-discrimination-and-harassment/

Déjà vu on the Greek-Turkey Border
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-20
Migrants that crossed the land border between Greece and Turkey are seen at the Pre-Removal Detention Center in the village of Fylakio, Northern Greece, February 24, 2017. | © 2017 Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters | Ten years ago, I documented a systematic pattern of brutal Greek border police pushbacks of migrants and asylum seekers at the Evros River border that divides Greece and Turkey. Last week, as I edited a new Human Rights Watch report, I felt as though I was re-reading my old report. | Here's a paragraph fro…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/20/deja-vu-greek-turkey-border