(2019-01-23). Canada Arrest of China's HuaWei CFO Meng Wanzhou: Diplomatic Blunder or Cold War Stratagem? globalresearch.ca The arrest and detention by Canadian authorities of one of China's most important business executives boggles the mind. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's CFO, was arrested as she changed planes at Vancouver International Airport en route to Mexico on December 1….
(2019-01-23). ACLU: Trump's Anti-Trans Ban Has No Military Justification, Is Driven by Animus & Discrimination. democracynow.org 
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court revived President Donald Trump's plan to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court lifted two lower court rulings that had blocked the ban from going into effect on constitutional grounds. Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented. A third injunction remains in place for now. We speak to Chase Strangio, staff attorney at the ACLU, which is challenging the Trump administration's ban on servicemembers who are transgender.
(2019-01-23). US Detention of American-Iranian Journalist Draws Local, International Protests. mintpressnews.com Iran's Foreign Ministry lodged a protest on Tuesday with the Swiss ambassador to Tehran, who has represented the U.S. in diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, when diplomatic ties were severed between the countries.
(2019-01-23). Former Peruvian President Fujimori Returns to Prison. telesurenglish.net The National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) determined Tuesday that the ex-dictator Alberto Fujimori be transferred to Barbadillo prison from the Centenario Clinic, where he has been hospitalized for more than 100 days. | RELATED: | Peru: Supreme Court Delays Vote on Fujimori Appeal By 48 Hours | Agents to the Security of the State and members of the Peruvian National Police had previously been guarding the hospital where the disgraced former-President had been battling heart prob…
(2019-01-23). Rights Defenders Accuse Zimbabwe Security Forces of Torture. telesurenglish.net The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) denounced Thursday cases of torture and arbitrary detentions during the protests that have taken place since last week, warning that among the detainees are children as young as 11 years old. | RELATED: | Zimbabwe: 12 Dead in Protests, Gov't Crackdown to Intensify | "In the aftermath of Jan. 14 disturbances, armed and unifo…
(2019-01-23). Supreme Court Finds in Favor of Mapuche Leader Facundo Jones. telesurenglish.net The Supreme Court declared admissible the appeal for annulment in favor of Mapuche leader, Facundo Jones Huala, who is being held in Temuco prison. | RELATED: | Chile: Mapuche Indigenous Leader Facundo Jones Huala Condemned | The alleged cause is related to the use of intelligence law in criminal proceedings, where it's rumored that the Chilean government – specifically the Ministry of Security were illegally monitoring Jones Huala, and leaking secret documents to the Prosecution,…
(2019-01-23). Pakistan cricket captain Sarfaraz apologises after racist remark. aljazeera.com Sarfaraz Ahmed was caught 'sledging' on stump microphone during the second ODI match in South Africa.
(2019-01-23). The Brazen Detention of Marzieh Hashemi, America's Newest Political Prisoner. mintpressnews.com Today Marzieh Hashemi sits alone. Isolated and entombed deep in a government catacomb, she stands charged with no offense but in the eyes of this administration guilty as charged . . . a Muslim, a journalist, and a US ex-pat who has found shelter from its storm in Iran.
(2019-01-23). Indonesia: Ex-Governor's Blasphemy Sentence Ends. hrw.org 
| | Former Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama is released from prison but Indonesia keeps its notorious blasphemy law. | ©2019 Toni Malakian/Human Rights Watch | (Jakarta) — The expected release of the former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama from a Jakarta prison on January 24, 2019 underscores Indonesia's dangerous and discriminatory blasp…
(2019-01-23). Stop Privatization & Slave Labor on MLK Day 2019 in SF Workers Speak Out! indybay.org On MLK Day in San Francisco on January 21, 2019 workers talked about the growing racism and discrimination as well as slave labor in the US. They also discussed the plight of laid off Federal contract workers and US Federal workers who have been ordered to work without pay.
(2019-01-23). Police-Led Martin Luther King Day March, Lots of Smiles, Little Substance. indybay.org I joined the MLK parade, annoyed at the annual pomp and ceremony, sterilizing, sanitizing, and snoozifying his real message-to act locally against war, racism, and poverty. The flyers I distributed lay out some of the specifics that I often echo on this website. At least one speaker at the civic Auditorium noted it was, for the second year, police-led–the final bitter icing on the fluffy cake of expropriating, transforming, and degrading King's original message and work.
(2019-01-23). Guantánamo Prisoner Says Judge Used Pro-Government Rulings to Curry Favor With the Justice Department. theintercept.com 
Lawyers for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri asked the D.C. Court of Appeals to take the extraordinary step of vacating decisions made under Col. Vance Spath.
(2019-01-23). China: Canadian sentenced to death in a one-day retrial: Robert Schellenberg. amnesty.org Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian national, was sentenced to death after he was convicted of drug trafficking at his re-trial. First arrested in 2014, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by the Dalian Municipal Intermediate People's Court on 20 November 2018. Schellenberg subsequently appealed the verdict and on 14 January 2019 at his retrial, he was found guilty of a more serious drug-related offence and sentenced to death. Announcing a death sentence at the same time of the conviction was unprecedented, according to Mo Shaoping, a partner of the law firm representing Schellenberg.
(2019-01-23). Mauritania: Further Information: Mauritanian anti-slavery activists released: Biram Dah Abeid and Abdellahi el Housein Mesoud. amnesty.org Two anti-slavery activists Biram Dah Abeid and Abdellahi el Housein Mesoud were released from Nouakchott civil Prison on 31 December 2018. The Tribunal of Arafat in Nouakchott sentenced them to six months, two months of which would be a suspended sentence. Having already spent more than four months in prison, Biram and Abdellahi were released the same day.
(2019-01-23). Baltimore Rejects Plan to Arm School Police During School Day. therealnews.com 
The Baltimore school board rejected the proposal amid heated debate. Meanwhile, we get a response to an ACLU and NAACP-LDF letter demanding Maryland adequately fund Baltimore schools
(2019-01-23). It's Time for Compassionate Release. truthout.org The US is home to nearly one out of every four prisoners in the world. There are 2.1 million prisoners in the US, including 1.2 million people incarcerated in state prisons. Nearly 180,000 are behind federal prison bars, and 704,500 are in local jails. The number of US…
(2019-01-22). Supreme Court Gives Green Light to Trump's Ban on Transgender Service Members. truthdig.com In a decision LGBTQ rights advocates immediately denounced as an "awful attack" on the rights of transgender Americans, the Supreme Court's conservative majority on Tuesday gave a green light to President Donald Trump's widely condemned ban on transgender people serving in the military. | While one nationwide injunction against the ban remains in effect—meaning Trump's policy cannot yet be implemented—Slate's Mark Joseph Stern noted that the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling makes it likely that the remaining injunction will "soon be reversed." | "This is heartbreaking and temporary," declared ACLU staff att…
(2019-01-22). It's Perfectly Constitutional to Talk About Jury Nullification. aclu.org Jurors have the power to vote against convicting criminal defendants under laws that the jurors believe are unjust. | Eric Patrick Brandt and Mark Iannicelli were handing out pamphlets outside a Denver courthouse in July 2015. They wanted to inform the public about jury nullification — that is, the power of jurors to vote against convicting criminal defendants under laws that the jurors believe are unjust. | Brandt and Iannicelli were trying to participate in a centuries-old and still-thriving discussion. The pamphlets they were handing out included statements such as: | "Juror nullification is your right t…
(2019-01-22). Amid a Deteriorating Landscape for Abortion Rights, a Critical Victory in New York. aclu.org On Tuesday, New York passed the Reproductive Health Act, finally bringing state law in line with Roe v. Wade. | On the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that secured the right to abortion, the nationwide picture could not look grimmer. That's what makes Tuesday's victory in New York, which protected and expanded abortion rights in the state through the Reproductive Health Act, so important. | Across the country, anti-abortion politicians have been eroding abortion rights in state after state. Since 2011, they have…
(2019-01-22). Mr. President, We Don't Need Your Stinking Wall. counterpunch.org As of January 20, 2019, the United States government remains partially shutdown for one month due to President Donald J. Trump's insistence of $5.7 billion from Congress to fund his racist and medieval border wall. When it comes to this ongoing debate, Trump, along with his Republican cronies, suffers from selective amnesia: he forgets what More
(2019-01-22). In Montana, the Practice of Suspending People's Licenses for Outstanding Court Debt Could Soon Be Over. aclu.org Lawmakers are considering a bill that would repeal a Montana policy that permits driver's licenses to be suspended for failure to pay court debt. | In more than 40 states across the country, state governments suspend people's driver's licenses for outstanding court debts, a practice that disproportionately harms low-income people. But if a Republican legislator has his way, this destructive and counterproductive policy may soon be null and void in Montana. | On Jan. 9, Rep. Casey Knudsen (R-Malta) introduced a bill
(2019-01-22). Marchers condemn lenient sentence in Laquan murder. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – A crowd of 250 people marched in the bitter cold through Washington Park on Chicago's South Side today, January 21, to continue the fight for Justice for Laquan McDonald. The march was held in protest of the lenient sentence of only 81 months handed down by Judge Vincent Gaughan on Friday. In October 2014, the racist police officer, Jason Van Dyke, shot Laquan 16 times. | The main demand of the march was the immediate implementation of an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC). The march went past the place where Ronald "Ronnieman" Johnson was shot in the back by a cop only days b…
(2019-01-22). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Tax Proposal Rattles Billionaires at Davos. truthdig.com Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., during a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper on Jan. 6, proposed a 70 percent marginal tax rate on income earned above $10 million. Cooper called this "radical." The proposal has earned extensive media coverage,…
(2019-01-22). Children in the Philippines as Crime Scapegoats. hrw.org 
| | Detainees sit next to an anti-drug mural of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte inside the Manila City Jail, October 16, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | The Philippine government is one step closer to prosecuting young children as adults, a key plank in President Rodrigo Duterte's abuse-ridden anti-crime campaign. | On Monday, a congressional committee approved a bill that would lowe…
(2019-01-22). Uniting against racism. greenleft.org.au 
A collective of alt-right and neo-Nazi groups organised what they called a "political meeting" at St Kilda beach on January 5. It was done a week after the neo-Nazi Neil Erikson led a group of acolytes down to the same beach to harass and film African Australians in an attempt to incite violence. | Various hate-filled Facebook pages promoted the "meeting", including one described as "Rise Up Australia — Romper Stomper 2.0", a reference to a film about white supremacists in Footscray who attacked and violently assaulted Vietnamese Australians. | The event was not a "political meeting" nor was it ever intende…
(2019-01-22). Iran: Labour rights activists at imminent risk of further torture. amnesty.org Two labour rights activists who were rearrested after speaking out about beatings and other abuse they suffered in detention last year are at grave risk of further torture, Amnesty International has warned. | Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian were violently arrested in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, on 20 January in apparent reprisal for talking publicly about the torture they have said they endured in detention during November and December 2018, provoking a public outcry. | "There are real fears that Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian could be facing a second round of torture after their rearrest. The timing of the…
(2019-01-22). State of Palestine: Further Information: Activist Risks Charges Over Forced 'Confession': Suha Jbara. amnesty.org On 9 January 2019, Suha Jbara was released after spending over two months in detention where she says she was tortured by interrogators. She spent over 26 days on hunger strike in protest against her treatment by security forces and prosecutors. Suha Jbara still has not been read her charges in court and her upcoming hearing is scheduled for 30 January. She is at risk of being charged based on information obtained under torture, although the prosecutor's office has not provided any credible evidence against her. On 13 December 2018, the Palestinian Attorney General's office concluded a brief investigation into he…
(2019-01-22). China: Human Rights Defender Tried in Secret: Huang Qi. amnesty.org Huang Qi, founder and director of Sichuan-based human rights website "64 Tianwang", was secretly tried at Mianyang City Intermediate People's Court on 14 January 2019 after being held in detention for more than two years. No verdict has yet been announced but, if convicted, the maximum punishment could be up to life imprisonment. Pu Wenqing, his 85-year-old mother, was taken away by Sichuan police in December 2018 and only released after more than a month in detention.
(2019-01-22). Algeria: Absurd conviction of journalist Adlène Mellah must be overturned. amnesty.org Algeria's Court of Appeal must end the ordeal of the journalist, Adlène Mellah, who was jailed simply for covering a peaceful public gathering last month, said Amnesty International today ahead of his appeal hearing on 23 January. | Adlène Mellah, director of news websites Algerie direct and Dzair Press has been held in solitary confinement since he was jailed in El Harrach prison on 11 December 2018. | "It is outrageous that a journalist has been imprisoned simply for carrying out his work and exercising his rights to freedom o…
(2019-01-22). Sudan: 'Not guilty' verdict welcome but torture in prison must be investigated. amnesty.org Responding to the 'not guilty' verdict issued today at the re-trial of Sudanese student activist, Asim Omar Hassan, who was originally sentenced to death for allegedly killing a police officer during protests in 2016, Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International's Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said: |
(2019-01-21). MLK Day Special: Rediscovered 1964 King Speech on Civil Rights, Segregation & Apartheid South Africa. democracynow.org 
As the nation marks 90 years since the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we air a rediscovered speech he delivered on December 7, 1964, days before he received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. In a major address in London, King spoke about segregation, the fight for civil rights and his support for Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. The speech was recorded by Saul Bernstein, who was working as the European correspondent for Pacifica Radio. Bernstein's recording was rediscovered by Brian DeShazor, director of the Pacifica Radio Archives.
(2019-01-21). Libya: Nightmarish Detention for Migrants, Asylum Seekers. hrw.org 
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(2019-01-21). Trump's Border Wall Would Destroy Historic Gravesites in South Texas. theintercept.com 
Ramiro R. Ramírez remembers his grandmother, when he was a young child, planting a red rose bush to mark the gravesite of Nathaniel Jackson, his great-great grandfather. With time, the rose bush vanished, like the wooden cross marking Jackson's death in 1865. But Jackson's legacy was not forgotten, nor that of his wife Matilda Hicks, an emancipated slave who forged a life with Nathaniel, a white man and son of a plantation owner. | The interracial couple, along with their eldest son Eli Jackson and six other children, fled a racist South and persecution under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, searching for acceptan…
(2019-01-21). Missing in action: Supporters blast Trump for silence on Covington Catholic kids. rt.com 
False accusations of racism and abuse against boys from a Kentucky Catholic high school — only because they wore MAGA hats — have spurred many supporters of President Donald Trump to action, but the POTUS himself has been missing.
(2019-01-20). Remembering Martin Luther King Jr., the Organizer. aclu.org What a new generation of activists can learn from America's most celebrated civil rights leader. | Martin Luther King Jr. is rightly celebrated as a transformative political and moral leader who championed racial equality, but he is less often credited as a brilliant strategic and tactical organizer who led cutting edge campaigns to deliver the rights for which he is known. As an organizer, I am struck by the mastery of the organizing craft that infuses King's writing, so on this holiday remembering his legacy, I'll share several of King's lessons that all activists can benefit from today. | King chose campai…
(2019-01-20). How to Spend MLK Day. naacp.org 
Tomorrow, our nation will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man whose dream of an America that was truly equal for all its people has inspired generations of people to fight to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott to marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, […]
(2019-01-20). A Problem for Kamala Harris: Can a Prosecutor Become President in the Age of Black Lives Matter? theintercept.com 
The regressive reality of what prosecutors do is proving difficult for the senator and likely presidential candidate to rationalize.
(2019-01-20). West Michigan Women's March builds resistance to Trump. fightbacknews.org Grand Rapids, MI – About 500 people rallied and marched thru Grand Rapids, January 19, to build resistance to Trump during the 2019 Women's March. The women's movement in West Michigan hosted leaders from the immigrant rights, African American freedom, student and labor movements. | Many of the speeches were personal and heartfelt, detailing women's struggles against sexual assault, workplace discrimination, and mistreatment at the hands of ICE, law enforcement and the courts. | "This month we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, a man who unselfishly shared his dream of equality with us," said Cindy R…
(2019-01-19). For the People Act. naacp.org The first legislation to be introduced in the 116th Congress is H.R. 1, the For the People Act. H.R. 1 is a comprehensive bill with provisions to protect and support eligible American citizens to cast a free and unfettered vote and for the American people to be sure their vote was counted. The For the […]
(2019-01-19). Since Decriminalization, 96% of People Arrested for Weed in Baltimore Are Black. therealnews.com 
Journalist Brandon Soderberg and 34-year police veteran Neill Franklin discuss "Structural Racism and Cannabis: Black Baltimoreans still disproportionately arrested for weed after decriminalization."
(2019-01-18). The Case Against Galveston County's Pretrial Detention System Survives the Government's Challenge. aclu.org A win could set a precedent for prosecutor accountability and right to counsel in bail hearings that could help reform pretrial detention nationally. | If you are accused of a crime and arrested in Galveston County, Texas, you better hope you can afford to pay the preset bail amount to get out of jail. If not, then you will join hundreds of other people who are incarcerated simply because they cannot afford to buy their freedom. In Galveston and communities across the country, there is one pretrial detention system for the poor and an entirely different one for everyone else. | Thirty-six-year-old Aaron Booth fou…
(2019-01-18). NAACP to Participate in Women's March to Empower and Uplift Black Women Voices. naacp.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BALTIMORE (January 18, 2019) —NAACP is proud to support the Women's March and uplift the voices of all black women, and as such, Spelman NAACP Chapter President, Amari Fennoy, will speak at the Women's March in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 19. Fennoy will be speaking to ensure that the voice of […]
(2019-01-18). Alaska Governor's Mass-Firing of State Workers Violated the First Amendment. aclu.org Gov. Dunleavy's actions are a throwback to a corrupt spoils system that our system strived to eradicate for generations. | Days after being elected governor of Alaska, Michael Dunleavy requested resignations from more than 1,200 at-will state employees. Those who didn't resign were later fired. This kind of political retaliation against non-political state workers is an attack on the very foundations of free speech and good government. | It is not unusual for newly elected chief executives at the federal, state, and local levels to replace political appointees. But such political tests can only reach so far down…
(2019-01-18). Spectre Unmasked: Racist 'Alt-Right' Podcaster Used To Be Local Reporter. splcenter.org A notorious white nationalist podcaster with a history of instigating harassment campaigns and threats of violence against reporters is in fact a journalist himself, Hatewatch has learned.
(2019-01-18). Oppose William Barr Nomination. naacp.org The United States Senate is considering the nomination of William P. Barr to be the next Attorney General of our United States in extraordinary times. The next Attorney General of our United States has the opportunity to reverse course and place the Justice Department back on track to fulfill its historic role in safeguarding our civil […]
(2019-01-18). The Justice Department Shouldn't Be Snooping on Journalists. aclu.org Rolling back Justice Department rules that protect journalists' privacy would undermine freedom of the press. | At a time when President Trump regularly attacks the news media, the Department of Justice may be preparing to make it easier for the government to obtain journalists' private communications data. | The public relies on both journalists and whistleblowers for vital information about our government's most controversial activities. Weakening the current rules that protect reporters — as wel…
(2019-01-18). Will "Tough on Crime" Policies Fuel Mass Incarceration? therealnews.com 
As three of the most powerful men in Maryland vow to crack down on repeat violent offenders, community advocates question their plans to address the root causes of inequality and violence
(2019-01-17). Rochester Could Break Through the Thin Blue Line Protecting Abusive Police. aclu.org How the city could create New York's first independent review board with the power to discipline officers. | We know what happens when we allow police to police themselves. Too often, they escape punishment when they abuse the people they are supposed to protect. A lack of meaningful police accountability not only skirts justice, but people's lives are in danger when officers who repeatedly harm civilians keep their jobs. | The Rochester City Council in New York introduced a draft bill this week that addresses this fundamental problem. The bill would create a civilian-controlled Police Accountability Board with t…
(2019-01-17). Campaign to free Aboriginal women jailed for unpaid fines. greenleft.org.au 
An online crowdfunding campaign set up to help Aboriginal women in Western Australia avoid jail for unpaid fines has raised $230,000 in its first four days and already settled the debts of 30 imprisoned women, with another 50 expected to be free in coming weeks. | The campaign is being organised by the Queensland-based Sisters Inside advocacy group. | In a statement calling for donations, Sisters Inside explained: "Western Australia refuses to change the laws where people who have no criminal convictions are imprisoned if they do not have the capacity to pay a fine. | "Single Aboriginal mothers make up the majori…
(2019-01-16). Imprisoned Neo-Nazi Leader Says His Hate Group Is a Religion, Court Says No. splcenter.org A federal appeals court has ruled that Matthew Hale's hate philosophy, Creativity, isn't a religion because it focuses almost exclusively on preserving the white race and lacks a coherent set of "ultimate ideas."