(2019-03-04). Top Huawei Executive Sues Canada Over Her Detention. truthdig.com TORONTO—An executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei is suing the Canadian government, its border agency and the national police force, saying they detained, searched and interrogated her before telling her she was under arrest. | Lawyers for Meng Wanzhou said Sunday they filed a notice of civil claim in the British Columbia Supreme Court. Canada arrested Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, at the request of the U.S. on Dec. 1 at Vancouver's airport. She is wanted on fraud charges that she misled banks about the company's business dealings in Iran. | The suit alleges that instead of immediately arresting h…
(2019-03-03). MEDIA ADVISORY: NAACP Announces Regional Training in South Carolina. naacp.org Training to be Association's First National Event in South Carolina in two decades BALTIMORE (March 3, 2019)—The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation's foremost civil rights organization will host a press conference on Tuesday, March 6, to announce the Civil Rights Advocacy Training Institute (CRATI), to be held in …
(2019-03-03). Selected Articles: The Pentagon's "Ides of March": Best Month to Go to War. globalresearch.ca Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …
(2019-03-03). The prisoner says no to Big Brother. zcomm.org Stop scrolling. Organise. Occupy. Insist. Persist. Make a noise. Take direct action. Be brave and stay brave. Defy the thought police…
(2019-03-03). Former Presidents Indicted for Money Laundering in El Salvador. telesurenglish.net Former El Salvador President Elias Antonio Saca is once-again being accused of financial irregularities, stemming from a US$10 million Taiwan grant provided to the Central American nation, and which was allegedly misused, according to Prensalibre. | RELATED: | Former El Salvador President Antonio Saca Sentenced to 10 Years | The Prosecuter's Office of El Salvador this week annouced it would proceed with indictments against jailed former president, Elias Antonio Saca, along wit…
(2019-03-03). Milan Says 'People First' To Salvini's Racist Policies. telesurenglish.net Milan's streets were filled Saturday with tens of thousands of anti-nationalist protesters who say Italy's national government is enacting racist policies they don't want to be a part of. | RELATED: | Italy's New 'Bad Law' Tightens Asylum Criteria | The demonstrators played drums and trumpets as they marched peacefully among northern Italy's main streets and shouted "prima le persone" (people first) to counter the vocally anti-immigrant prime minister's "prima gli Italiani" (Italians first). | M…
(2019-03-03). The Dakota Access Pipeline Company Is Abusing the Judicial System to Silence Dissent. globalresearch.ca In a win for free speech, a federal court in North Dakota recently dismissed a baseless $900 million lawsuit brought by the Dakota Access Pipeline company against Greenpeace and a number of individual protesters. The company should have learned its …
(2019-03-03). U.S. Citizen Detained by Saudi Arabia, Abused in Prison: Report. telesurenglish.net A joint citizen of the United States and Saudi Arabia, who has been imprisoned in the oil-rich kingdom with no charges since 2017, was reportedly abused while in custody, the New York Times reported. | RELATED: | Saudi Sisters Afraid of Deportation From Hong Kong, Seeks Help | Walid Fitaihi is a Harvard-trained doctor who was dragged from his room in Riyadh's Ritz Carlton…
(2019-03-03). Santa Cruz, CA: Keepin' It Real? "Big Joe" Netro and Steve Schlicht Partner Up for Hate. indybay.org In Santa Cruz, the latest hate blog masquerading as a public safety blog is "Santa Cruz, CA: Keepin' It Real". Published on Facebook and Twitter, the blog has gradually been gaining followers since its founding in 2017 by an individual writing anonymously under the pen name "Big Joe 77". Big Joe 77's real name is Joe Netro, and he's a self-described "cop" retired from working 26 years as a correctional officer at Soledad state prison. The blog features reposted crime reports local to the Santa Cruz area, as well as regular "court watch" features in which Netro publishes information gathered from criminal court re…
(2019-03-03). It's Still Open: Will the Guantánamo Bay Prison Become a 2020 Issue? theintercept.com The reporter Carol Rosenberg has been covering Guantánamo Bay since before it became a "war on terror" prison camp — and she's still at it.
(2019-03-02). Congressional, civil rights leaders gather at Civil Rights Memorial to honor movement's martyrs. splcenter.org U.S. Rep. John Lewis led a gathering of congressional and civil rights leaders in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, today, honoring those who lost their lives in the struggle for civil rights.
(2019-03-02). Vile Racism in West Virginia GOP: Rep. Ilhan Omar Likened to al-Qaeda. commondreams.org Republicans in the West Virginia state legislature held a "GOP takes the Rotunda" event at the state capitol on Friday. As part of this event they hung a poster of the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks on the Twin Towers, labeled "'NEVER FORGET'—YOU SAID." Below it they placed a picture of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with the caption "I AM PROOF—YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN."
(2019-03-02). The Dakota Access Pipeline Company Is Abusing the Judicial System to Silence Dissent. commondreams.org In a win for free speech, a federal court in North Dakota recently dismissed a baseless $900 million lawsuit brought by the Dakota Access Pipeline company against Greenpeace and a number of individual protesters. The company should have learned its lesson. Instead, it refiled the case in state court.
(2019-03-02). 'He took a punch for all of us': Trump invites Berkeley attack victim on stage as suspect arrested. rt.com 
President Donald Trump shared the stage with a conservative activist assaulted on the Berkeley University campus, hours after police found and arrested the attacker. Trump urged the victim to punish his attacker with lawsuits. |
(2019-03-02). Black woman sentenced to 15 years in brick beating of elderly Mexican man. rt.com 
A young black California woman charged with attempted murder over the brutal beating of a 91-year-old Mexican man with a brick has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
(2019-03-02). WaPo issues correction to Covington kids story — 6 weeks & 1 lawsuit later. rt.com 
The Washington Post has corrected its erroneous coverage of the confrontation between the boys from Covington Catholic and the activist Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial, two months after publishing the misleading story.
(2019-03-02). Trump blames media for twisting his words on Warmbier, issues non-apology. rt.com 
President Donald Trump has scolded the media for "misrepresenting" his words on Otto Warmbier, a US student who died shortly after his release from a North Korean jail, saying that he still holds the reclusive nation responsible.
(2019-03-01). The Kansas Bomb Plot: What Has the Media Missed? counterpunch.org 
Resolution has been reached in the Kansas Bomb Plot case with the sentencing of three men on January 25 for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights. Two of the men, Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright, were sentenced to 25 years on the first charge, and 10 years on More
(2019-03-01). Activists, Banks and For-Profit Immigrant Detention. counterpunch.org JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo lend to GEO Group and CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America), for-profit operators of immigrant detention facilities under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A campaign to end these banks' financial role is underway. Autumn Gonzalez is with the Sacramento-based NorCal Resist, a migrant activist group advocating on More
(2019-03-01). The Dakota Access Pipeline Company Is Abusing the Judicial System to Silence Dissent. aclu.org A federal court threw out a baseless lawsuit against Greenpeace and other pipeline opponents and the company promptly refiled the case in state court. | In a win for free speech, a federal court in North Dakota recently dismissed a baseless $900 million lawsuit brought by the Dakota Access Pipeline company against Greenpeace and a number of individual protesters. The company should have learned its lesson. Instead, it refiled the case in state court. | These meritless cases…
(2019-03-01). Cohen's Overlooked Warning — and Other Media Silences Worth Hearing. counterpunch.org 
Drawing by Nathaniel St. ClairI fear that if he loses the election in 2020, there will never be a peaceful transition of power. | — Michael Cohen, speaking to the U.S. Congress, February 27, 2019 | It's the silences — the things left out and sent down the "memory hole" — that strike me most in the United States' Orwellian capitalist and white-supremacist media. | Urban Racism as a Nonstory | Here in Chicago, the Jussie Smollett and R. Kelly cases were recently all the local media rage. By contrast, recent reports that 63 Black people have so far been exonerated after having bags of heroin and coc…
(2019-03-01). Activist Faces Prison for Climbing Statue of Liberty & Southwest Key HQ to Protest Family Separation. democracynow.org 
Last week, immigrant activist Patricia Okoumou climbed the Southwest Key building in Austin, Texas, to protest the company jailing immigrant children. Now a judge in New York will decide whether to revoke her bail from her first arrest, when she climbed the Statue of Liberty on July 4 to protest President Trump's "zero tolerance" policy. Okoumou was with the group Rise and Resist on July 4 last year as they dropped a banner from the statute that read "ABOLISH ICE." She broke away from the group and climbed all the way to Lady Liberty's left foot, where she continued to protest and refused to leave until she was a…
(2019-03-01). Headlines for March 1, 2019. democracynow.org U.N. Human Rights Panel: Israel May Have Committed War Crimes in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to Be Indicted on Corruption Charges, NYT: Trump Intervened to Give Security Clearance to Jared Kushner, In Peace Talks with Taliban, U.S. Floats Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal, Somalia: At Least 15 Dead in Twin Suicide Bombings, North Korea Disputes Trump's Account of Why Kim-Trump Summit Failed, Immigrant Groups Cite "Alarming Increase" in Babies Jailed by ICE, House Approves Bill to Extend Gun Purchase Waiting Period, Lawmakers Seek Interview of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, Virginia's First Lady A…
(2019-03-01). UNF SDS wins campaign demands. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL – On February 19 the University of North Florida Students for a Democratic Society (UNF SDS) held a rally speaking out against Trump's Declaration of a National Emergency to fund his racist, xenophobic border wall. About 30 students attended despite the chilly rain. Several speakers addressed the protesters about the importance of organizing on campus and opposing Trump's backwards policies. | After the speeches, students from UNF SDS marched across campus to the university president's office and occupied it until the administration met with SDS to discuss the students' demands. SDS dem…
(2019-03-01). Other People's Money, Other People's Blood: Which Trump Do We Fight? counterpunch.org Former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's incendiary testimony to the House Congressional Oversight Committee on 27 February, calling the president "a racist, a con-man and a cheat," highlighted not for the first time the contradiction between condemnations of Trump as the unwanted, kitschy, proto-fascist, poisoned flower of American capitalism — a "legitimate businessman" and global More
(2019-03-01). 'Most entertaining war of all time'? Daily Show host slammed for joke about India/Pakistan conflict. rt.com 
The Daily Show's Trevor Noah is being raked over the coals on Twitter for a joke he made about the threat of war between India and Pakistan. Was it racist? Insensitive? Not funny? Or are his viewers just "triggered?"
(2019-02-28). A Connecticut Bill Would Help Ensure That Re-Entry Doesn't Last a Lifetime for the Formerly Incarcerated. aclu.org Connecticut could be the first to make the formerly incarcerated a protected class under the state's antidiscrimination law. | This year, I moved from one city in Connecticut to a new one. On top of the usual stress of trying to find an affordable, comfortable place to live, I was burdened with extra anxiety. | Despite my success in the 12 years since being released from prison, I dreaded explaining my criminal record again. Weeks into my search, I revealed that part of my past to a potential landlord. When I did, that home's door was closed to me. | My experience is not unique. | Ninety-five percent of the milli…
(2019-02-28). In an Era of Religious Refusals, the Do No Harm Act Is an Essential Safeguard. aclu.org The bill would restore the original intent of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by making clear that it cannot be used to discriminate. | Earlier this year, the Trump administration granted a request from the state of South Carolina for an exception to a federal rule barring discrimination in federally funded child welfare programs. With its action, the administration allowed government-contracted and taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies in South Carolina to turn away would-b…
(2019-02-28). A Criminal in the Oval Office? Michael Cohen Accuses Trump of Lying, Racism & Illegal Activity. democracynow.org 
In an explosive 5-hour hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen accused his old boss of committing multiple criminal acts before and during his presidency. Cohen provided evidence that Trump had violated campaign finance laws by paying hush money to women, accused the Trump Foundation of committing fraud by using the tax-exempt organization for personal purposes, and said Trump lied when he said he couldn't release his tax returns because they were being audited. He also claimed that Trump had advance knowledge that WikiLeaks was preparing to publish a trove of e…
(2019-02-28). Salt Lake City says no to the 'National Emergency' to build wall. fightbacknews.org Salt Lake City, UT – 40 community members gathered on a cold Saturday afternoon, February 23, to protest Trump's declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border. People came out to denounce what is understood as a racist and anti-immigrant 'emergency' and border wall. They also came because of the anti-immigrant attacks that continue to happen in Salt Lake City. Police brutalize Black and brown people, family members continue to be deported and anti-immigrant white supremacist groups have started organizing on college campuses in the city. | Ella Mendoza, with the Nopalera Artist Collective, said t…
(2019-02-28). Darius James's Antic Satire of American Racism. thenation.com Darius James's Antic Satire of American Racism…
(2019-02-28). Can Sanders Win Black and Trump Voters? therealnews.com 
Our panel discusses how Sanders must walk a fine line between appealing to white Trump voters and dealing with systemic racism and reparations — with Jacqueline Luqman, Eugene Puryear, Norman Solomon, hosted by Paul Jay…
(2019-02-28). Grand Rapids Police caught lying. fightbacknews.org Grand Rapids, MI — The Grand Rapids Police Department was caught lying and covering up for Captain Curt VanderKooi this week. VanderKooi racially profiled an ex-Marine and contacted ICE to detain him in November 2018. The recent Grand Rapids police investigation claims VanderKooi contacted ICE out of concern for possible 'terrorism.' | However, Michigan ACLU lawyers and immigrant rights activists are pointing out that this is a blatant lie. The FBI is the agency that VanderKooi would contact, not Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Captain VanderKooi works with both and knows the difference. | The outrageo…
(2019-02-28). Mexico: AMLO's government expands controversial preventive detention laws. greenleft.org.au 
Mexico's new left-wing government has tripled the list of crimes that carry automatic pre-trial detention, in what President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) says is a crackdown on corruption. Human rights groups, however, have warned the move may end up funnelling more innocent people into Mexico's already strained penal system. | On February 19, the Chamber of Deputies, approved an expansion of the constitution's controversial Article 19, which allows for the automatic "preventive detention" of individuals accused of crimes such as homicide, human trafficking, rape and any violent offence committed with a fir…
(2019-02-28). Italy: Government institutionalises hatred and racism. greenleft.org.au 
It has now become clearer than ever: the Italian government coalition operates at the behest of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini and his party's racist and reactionary policies. | Since the Five Star Movement (M5S) and Salvini's far-right League (formerly the Northern League) formed a coalition government League's support has soared. In less than a year since the March 2018 general elections, their support has grown from 17 percent to 33 percent, according to the latest polls. | In the same period, support for the M5S decreased from 32 percent to 22 percent. | These figures show League'
(2019-02-28). Canadian Company Profits from Apartheid Israeli Railway. therealnews.com 
Jonathan Kuttab discusses the lawsuit against the Canadian company Bombardier, which is building an illegal railway through occupied and confiscated Palestinian land in the West Bank, violating international law…
(2019-02-27). North Carolinians Voted to End Cooperation With Trump's Deportation Force. ICE Retaliated. aclu.org The federal agency stepped up raids after sheriffs stopped notifying it about the immigration status of people arrested. | President Trump's Department of Homeland Security frequently claims to be motivated by a dedication to law and order, but its immigration enforcement tactics are often directly contrary to local communities' legal and electoral choices. | Recent raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in North Carolina were a failed attempt to achieve by force what was soundly rejected at the ballot box last November: Trump's anti-immigrant agenda. ICE targeted places and people based on democ…
(2019-02-27). It's Time to Make Sure Our Kids Are No Longer Bound, Shackled, or Locked Away When They're at School. aclu.org Congress is finally holding a hearing on the use of restraints and seclusion in our schools. | In 1998, teachers in West Virginia strapped a 4-year-old autistic girl with cerebral palsy to a wooden chair. Why? She was being "uncooperative" because she needed to use the bathroom. The girl suffered bruises and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. | In 2003, school officials in Michigan held a 15-year-old autistic boy in a face-down restraint for an hour after he had a seizure and lost control of his extremities. He died without receiving medical attention. | These are just two of many barbaric s…
(2019-02-27). Trump Threatens Havana With a New Embargo. consortiumnews.com Opening the litigation floodgates would harm U.S. companies and punish the Cuban people even more, writes Marjorie Cohn. By Marjorie Cohn Truthout The Trump administration is threatening to unleash a flood of lawsuits involving Cuba, which no U.S. president has ever… Read more →
(2019-02-27). dream hampton on Making "Surviving R. Kelly" & the Grassroots Activists That Helped Bring Him Down. democracynow.org 
R. Kelly was released from jail in Chicago on Monday, three days after he was arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. The charges involve four women and girls, three of whom were under the age of 17 at the time of the alleged crimes. A judge set bail at a million dollars and forced the singer to surrender his passport. Almost immediately after he posted bond and pleaded not guilty on Monday, Kelly was spotted at a McDonald's in downtown Chicago—a spot his accusers say he used to frequent to prey on young girls. Kelly has been accused of abuse, predatory behavior and pedoph…
(2019-02-27). Frank Chapman speaks in Minneapolis about Black liberation and socialism. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On February 20, Freedom Road Socialist Organization hosted Black liberation leader Frank Chapman. Over 50 people attended the event. | In a program entitled "The Radical History of the Black Freedom Movement," the talk began with an explanation of how capitalism was "consciously dependent," as Chapman put it, on slavery. However, Chapman insisted that an honest portrayal of Black history could not focus only upon enslavement and oppression. | "The first thing we got right was the day we started to fight," Chapman exclaimed. He furthered the point by explaining: "If you talk about slavery, you ha…
(2019-02-27). NAACP President's Response to Michael Cohen's Testimony Before the House Oversight Committee. naacp.org BALTIMORE — NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson issued the following statement regarding Michael Cohen's testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. Donald Trump has been showing us his true colors for decades. Trump's presidency and entire career has …
(2019-02-27). Lula: Brazil 'Cannot Submit to US Imperialism' in Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com In a letter penned from prison, former president Lula Da Silva says that the U.S. and Brazil shouldn't intervene in Venezuela. He also criticized the U.S. blockade as a 'dirty trick'.
(2019-02-27). Not Even Prison Walls Can Silence Duterte's Nemesis. thenation.com Not Even Prison Walls Can Silence Duterte's Nemesis…
(2019-02-27). Muslim Immigrants Sue ICE for Getting in the Way of Religious Observance. theintercept.com Muslim immigrants detained at a Florida jail made more than 20 requests — orally and in writing — for religious accommodation throughout last year. Their asks were simple: They wanted their meals to be religiously compliant, to be able to make their five daily prayers without obstruction, and to have access to basic items like prayer rugs and copies of the Quran. | The officials at the Glades County Detention Center, which doubles as an immigration detention center, ignored or denied those requests, according to five Muslim men at the facility. | Now, they're suing. On Wednesday, the men, all of whom…
(2019-02-27). Patty Hearst and the SLA's militarist disaster. greenleft.org.au 
American Heiress: The Kidnapping, Crimes & Trial of Patty Hearst
| Jeffrey Toobin
| Profile Books, 2017, 371 pages | "Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people." With this hyperbolic declaration by "General Field Marshall" Cinque M'tume (the nom-de-plume of a Black prison escapee), the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) introduced itself to the American people in the early 1970s. | It derived its mysterious name from contrasting the "symbiosis" of a harmonious socialist society to the "parasitism" of a capitalist elite. | The political catch-phrase, and the military pretension of it…
(2019-02-27). Sanders and Systemic Racism: Did he Answer the Critics? therealnews.com 
In the CNN Town Hall, Bernie Sanders acknowledged he could have been stronger in his approach to racial inequities; he was asked if he supported reparations for descendants of African slaves — a discussion with Jacqueline Luqman, Eugene Puryear, Norman Solomon, hosted by Paul Jay…
(2019-02-26). Prosecutors Have the Power to Stop Bad Roadside Drug Tests From Ruining People's Lives. aclu.org Local prosecutors can play a pivotal role in preventing flawed roadside tests from jeopardizing innocent people's liberty. | Three years ago on New Year's Eve, Dasha Fincher was arrested in Monroe County, Georgia, after the deputies performed an on-the-spot test of a bag of blue substance that they found in the car in which she was a passenger. The suspicious stuff in the bag came up positive for methamphetamines. After her arrest, the judge in her case set bail at $1…
(2019-02-26). Texas Is Planning an Execution Based on Fraudulent Testimony. aclu.org Two of Texas's unreliable "future danger" experts have been discredited, but Billy Wayne Coble may be executed this week based on their faulty claims. | Billy Wayne Coble was convicted of a Texas triple homicide in 1989. On Thursday, he is scheduled for execution., , A former ACLU client, Coble's story was not a happy one before he found himself on death row. He was a Vietnam veteran who had been raised by a mother who was institutionalized for mental illness and by a father debilitated by alcoholism. But if Coble's execution goes forward, he wi…
(2019-02-26). What Does Alabama's Attorney General Have to Hide in the Police Killing of EJ Bradford? aclu.org Steve Marshall sows community distrust as he withholds evidence he relied on to decide a local cop was "justified" in killing an innocent Black man. | In Alabama, a family is still grieving after local police killed their son on Thanksgiving night after a gunman opened fire at a mall. But several months after the incident, the Alabama attorney general is still keeping the Bradfords, and the region's Black community, in the dark about critical details of what happened that night. The Bradfords and the community still don't know the identity of the Hoover Police Department officer who fired the fatal shots and the…