(2019-10-29). Mass rally against jailing of Catalan nationalists in Barcelona. wsws.org Two weeks before the November 10 general elections in Spain, hundreds of thousands marched in Barcelona Saturday afternoon.
(2019-10-28). Accused of Treason and Imprisoned Without Trial: Journalist Kirill Vyshinsky Recounts His Harrowing Time in a Ukrainian Prison. mintpressnews.com 
Eva Bartlett sat down with recently released Ukrainian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky. Vyshinsky endured 15 months of appalling conditions in a Ukrainian prison after being falsely accused of treason.
(2019-10-28). John Conyers Carried the Civil Rights Movement Forward. thenation.com John Conyers Carried the Civil Rights Movement Forward…
(2019-10-28). I Went to Mexico to Meet Asylum-Seekers Trapped at the Border. This Is What I Saw. commondreams.org Asylum-seekers inside the Leona Vicario Federal shelter in Ciudad Juarez, October 9, 2019. (Photo: Guillermo Arias for the ACLU) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/asylum.jpeg …
(2019-10-28). 'We want to see change': Calls for national commissioner for AustralianIndigenous children. indybay.org Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are 17 times more likely to be in juvenile detention and 10 times more likely to be in out-of-home care in Australia. | More than 80 community groups are calling for a national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to help uncover systemic issues impacting Indigenous children.
(2019-10-28). ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi Killed? Trump's Dubious Announcement. "Fake Politics"? globalresearch.ca Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi allegedly headed ISIS, the jihadist group created and supported by the US and its imperial allies. | Years earlier, he was held in Camp Bucca, a US military prison in Iraq, later released, after which the ISIS terrorist …
(2019-10-28). Camp Bucca, Abu Ghraib and the Rise of Extremism in Iraq. commondreams.org Along with the abuses of prisoners in places like Camp Bucca, FOB Mercury, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo, U.S. warfare predictably led to the buildup of ISIS and Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi's commitment to "an eye for an eye." (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/prisons_0.jpeg …
(2019-10-28). Convicted Anti-Nuclear Activists Speak Out: "Pentagon Has Brainwashed People" truthout.org The seven Catholic peace activists who were convicted on October 24 for their symbolic protest against nuclear weapons at the Kings Bay Naval Base are now facing a two-to-three-month wait to hear their prison sentences. They could face more than 20 years in prison. | "Our own lives are uncertain regarding the possible length of prison sentences," defendant Martha Hennessy told Truthout in an exclusive interview. "But we rejoice in the fact that more scrutiny is being directed at the purpose of…
(2019-10-28). Duke Students Protest Speech by Tzipi Livni, Former Israeli Foreign Minister Accused of War Crimes. commondreams.org Tzipi Livni (pictured) is the former Israeli foreign minister who has been the subject of arrest warrants and a lawsuit in three countries for her alleged role in war crimes committed during the 2008-09 Cast Lead invasion of Gaza. (Photo: Stefano Montesi/Corbis via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-624340638.jpg …
(2019-10-28). California to train poll workers to be courteous to trans people in bid to woo LGTBQs to polls. rt.com 
Under a newly announced partnership with an LGBTQ group, California is to make sure that officials won't offend transgender people by being overly inquisitive if their names on voter rolls don't match their gender identity. | California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced earlier this week that the state would enlist help from the Equality California Institute, an LGTBQ civil rights group, in teaching poll workers what to do if a transgender person shows up to vote and their new identity does not match the one that is on record. | Announcing the partnership, Padilla argued that insensitive treatment of t…
(2019-10-28). 'Consent should be CONTINUOUS': Liberal professor implies not asking during sex is RAPE. rt.com 
For Georgetown Law professor Preston Mitchum, a long history of stamping all men as sexist is not egregious or woke enough. According to his implication, "most men" (especially heterosexuals) are also unknowingly rapists. | On his personal website, Mitchum describes himself as an "unapologetically Black and queer civil rights advocate, activist, writer, and professor." Although he graduated from Kent State University with a BA in Political Science, he seems to have recently taken up an interest in the psychology of sex and intimate relat…
(2019-10-27). Lula Turns 74 in Prison over Unjust Convictions. telesurenglish.net The former president and leader of the Workers' Party (PT) of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva turned 74 on Sunday, October 27, as he serves multiple prison sentences over corruption charges that were based on shaky evidence in an unfair trial. | Lula was born in 1945, in the city of Garanhung, in the state of Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil and at the age of seven, he migrated, with his family, to the state of Sao Paulo, city of Guarujá, in search of work opportunities. He started working at 12 years of age in different activities, such as shoeshiner and a mail person. At age 14 he entered a metallurgical…
(2019-10-27). Long live the struggle of the working class and peoples of Chile! fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating following Oct. 24 statement from the Provisional Committee of International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) – Latin America and the Caribbean. | Since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, there has never been an attack against the Chilean people like the one that President Sebastián Piñera has unleashed against the massive protests of the working class and peoples in that country. More than 18 dead, hundreds of disappeared, over 1500 political prisoners across Chile: these are the results of the repression by the armed forces and carabineros who took control of the count…
(2019-10-27). Israel: Palestinian-Jordanian Hunger Striker Moved to Hospital. telesurenglish.net Palestinian-Jordanian prisoner Heba Al-Labadi who has been on hunger strike for over a month was transferred Thursday to a hospital in Haifa, Israel after her health condition intensely deteriorated, according to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry. | RELATED: | Israel Prevents UN Special Rapporteur from Traveling to Palestine | Sufyan Al-Qudah the ministry's spokesman said Al-Labadi was moved to the hospital to receive the necessary treatment and returned to prison on the same…
(2019-10-27). Former Rep. John Conyers, Who Served in Congress for 53 Years, Dies at 90. commondreams.org "He never once wavered in fighting for jobs, justice, and peace. We always knew where he stood on issues of equality and civil rights in the fight for the people." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/john-conyers.jpg …
(2019-10-26). 'It was very hard to bear': Maria Butina recalls how US media smeared her on TV & prison guards gathered to watch it. rt.com 
Shortly after landing in Moscow, Maria Butina was quizzed about her ordeal in US jail. The gun activist said one of the toughest things to do was to watch a smear campaign against her on American TV. | Butina, who spent more than a year in a US jail- including in solitary confinement – for failing to properly register as a foreign agent, finally landed in Moscow on Saturday. | "At first, they didn't show me the news at all. I think I just couldn't have handled it. Especially, in the first days when I was in prison in Washington," she told RT in a brief exclusive interview while en-route from Sheremetyevo airpo…
(2019-10-26). Police attack protesters amid fresh unrest over jailed Catalan leaders. thecanary.co 
Police attacked protesters in Catalonia after a massive rally in Barcelona against the imprisonment of nine separatist leaders for their roles in what was seen as an illegal 2017 secession bid.The flare-up came after a week of tense calm without major incidents following six days when Catalonia was rocked by riots each night after the October 14 supreme court verdict that found 12 Catalan leaders guilty of sedition and other crimes.Violent clashes led to 500 people, including some police, being injured and around 200 arrests.The rally has been held in support of nine jailed Catalan leaders (AP)Hundreds of protest…
(2019-10-26). 'Prison is a prison': Amanda Knox 'wins Twitter' after tackling Lady Gaga on fame metaphor. rt.com 
Lady Gaga might have been hoping to drum up a bit of public sympathy about life under the intense spotlight of fame, but her attempt to compare it to imprisonment was not appreciated by one person who would know: Amanda Knox.
(2019-10-26). Trident Is the Crime. dissidentvoice.org 
On October 24, following a three-day trial in Brunswick, GA, seven Catholic Workers who acted to disarm a nuclear submarine base were convicted on three felony counts and one misdemeanor. The defendants face 20 years in prison, yet they emerged from their trial seeming quite ready for next steps in their ongoing witness. Steve Kelly, …
(2019-10-25). Is Rikers Island Really Closing? Or is De Blasio Misrepresenting the NYC Council Vote? therealnews.com 
Eddie Conway spoke with organizer Albert Saint-Jean from Just Immigration about the impact of the NYC Council borough-based jail vote, about nonprofits that are funding more incarceration, and the misreporting of Rikers Jail closing.
(2019-10-25). Trials and Tribulations with a Dead Press. counterpunch.org 
I have lived a life marked by many roles, some of them mutually exclusive. According to The Dallas Morning News, for instance, I'm an "investigative journalist whose prison sentence was derided by free press advocates", as well as an "Anonymous activist and award-winning journalist". Also according to the Dallas Morning News, I merely "describe[.. my]self More
(2019-10-25). She Deserves Our Support: Betty McCollum Wants US to Stop Subsidizing Torture of Palestinian Children. counterpunch.org 
In December 2018, 17-year-old Palestinian teen, Ayham Sabah, was sentenced by an Israeli military court to 35 years in prison for his alleged role in a stabbing attack targeting an Israeli soldier in an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Sabah was only 14 years old when the alleged attack took place. Another alleged More
(2019-10-25). Tallahassee activists 'Say her name' and demand justice for victims of police crimes. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL – On October 22, a lively group rallied in the streets of the historic Florida capital city, chanting "Say her name," "Black lives matter" and "Justice for Atatiana." The action was a part of the National Day Against Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. | The protest brought attention to a recent case of police brutality: that of 28-year-old African American Atatiana Jefferson, who was shot in her own home by Fort Worth, Texas police officer Aaron Dean. | Tallahassee Community Action Committee and Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society organized the protest…
(2019-10-25). Weekend Read: If your vote didn't matter, they wouldn't fight so hard to block it. splcenter.org At the intersection of race and politics in the United States lies voter suppression — the array of laws and election practices intended to make it harder for people of color to vote.
(2019-10-25). "You Won't Take Down Lies or You Will?": AOC Grills Facebook's Zuckerberg on Lies in Political Ads. democracynow.org 
This week, as Facebook said it will not fact check political ads or hold politicians to its usual content standards, the social media giant's CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled for more than five hours by lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the company's policy of allowing politicians to lie in political advertisements, as well as its role in facilitating election interference and housing discrimination. We play highlights from New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ohio Congressmember Joyce Beatty, who asked Zuckerberg about Facebook's record on civil rights, which she called "appalling and disgusting." Bea…
(2019-10-25). LGBTQ Issues Missing in Presidential Campaign Coverage. fair.org 
LGBTQ people—and trans people in particular—have been under attack since the day Donald Trump took office and removed all mentions of LGBTQ people from several federal websites. Trump reversed federal guidance for the protection of transgender students in schools, banned trans people from military service, and has worked to exclude LGBTQ people from a variety of nondiscrimination protections. (For a full list of his administration's anti-LGBTQ actions, see here.) Trans wome…
(2019-10-24). Barcelona, Catalonia: Massive general strike demands 'Free political prisoners'. workers.org 
Marinelli writes often for Prensaobrera.com on Catalonia. This article was published Oct. 19 on redroja.org and translated by John Catalinotto. Some background on the events is included in a Note at the end of the article. Oct. 18 — More than a half-million people overflowed the streets of Barcelona today, . . . | Continue reading Barcelona, Catalonia: Massive general strike demands 'Free political prisoners' at Workers.org
(2019-10-24). Death row families lead march to end executions. workers.org 
Supporters of death row prisoner Rodney Reed. Lydia Garza and 16 family members drove in a rented van almost seven hours from the Rio Grande Valley to the Texas Capitol here on Saturday, Oct. 19, without even stopping to eat. It was so they could stand up for her innocent . . . | Continue reading Death row families lead march to end executions at Workers.org
(2019-10-24). 'Forgiveness and mercy' — for whom? workers.org 
The writer of the following letter is imprisoned in Massachusetts. As the month of October began, an extraordinary event was unfurling in a Texas courtroom. At least that's how the mainstream media was reporting it. However, for people of color and other oppressed individuals, this was a familiar scene. In . . . | Continue reading 'Forgiveness and mercy' — for whom? at Workers.org
(2019-10-24). I Went to Mexico to Meet Asylum-Seekers Trapped at the Border. This Is What I Saw. aclu.org 
Two weeks ago, I traveled to northern Mexico along with Mexican photographer Guillermo Arias to meet with asylum-seekers who've been trapped at the southern U.S. border by Trump Administration policies. Neither of us was prepared for what we saw there. | We visited two cities — Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros — to track down people who had been placed into the deceptively misnamed "Migrant Protection Protocols" that have slammed America's door shut to people fleeing persecution and violence in their home countries. Before we arrived, we wondered whether the stories we'd read of kidnappings, assaults,…
(2019-10-24). Why is Missouri So Afraid of Finding out Whether Lamar Johnson is Innocent of Murder? aclu.org In 1994, the St. Louis | Circuit Attorney's Office committed gross prosecutorial misconduct in order to convict Lamar Johnson of murder. | They knowingly presented perjured testimony, fabricated facts to negate | Johnson's strongly corroborated alibi, and buried the fact that a prime witness | against him was a paid jailhouse informant. Twenty-five years later, that same | Circuit Attorney's Office, now led by Kim Gardner, is doing everything it can | to get Johnson a new trial so the truth can vind…
(2019-10-24). Ending Endless War: Andrew Bacevich on How Reckless Use of U.S. Military Power Caused Today's Crisis. democracynow.org 
President Trump has announced sanctions will be lifted on Turkey as a ceasefire remains in place in northern Syria, where Turkey invaded earlier this month after Trump withdrew U.S. troops. On Tuesday Turkey reached an agreement with Russia that would force Syrian Kurdish forces to retreat from a wide swath of the Syrian-Turkish border. The United Nations is reporting Turkey's offensive in northern Syria has displaced over 176,000 people, including nearly 80,000 children. The Turkish assault also led to a number of former ISIS fighters escaping from jail in northern Syria. We speak with Andrew Bacevich, co-founde…
(2019-10-24). Headlines for October 24, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Lifts Sanctions on Turkey, Citing Ceasefire Agreement, Republican Lawmakers Disrupt Closed-Door Impeachment Hearing, Trump's Lawyer Argues the President Can't Be Prosecuted for Murder, Death Toll in Chile Protests Rises to 18 as Human Rights Groups Allege Torture, Spain Removes Remains of Francisco Franco from National Mausoleum, Julian Assange Appears Frail and Confused in London Court Hearing, 39 Bodies Found in Tractor-Trailer in Southeast England, Honduran Woman's Lawsuit Claims Years of Sexual Assault by ICE Agent, Immigrant Worker Injured in New Orleans Hotel Collapse Arrested by ICE, California Utili…
(2019-10-24). Murdoch University seeks to silence whistleblowing academic. greenleft.org.au 
civil rights Pedro AlvarezIssue 1242 Australia Murdoch University PerthOctober 24, 2019Murdoch University is facing widespread criticism for its decision to seek potentially millions in compensation…
(2019-10-23). Betty McCollum Is Pushing Congress to Stop Subsidizing the Torture of Palestinian Children. mintpressnews.com 
"The legislation I am introducing is expressly intended to end U.S. support and funding for Israel's systematic military detention, interrogation, abuse, torture, and prosecution of Palestinian children." – Betty McCollum…
(2019-10-22). Minnesota: Patriotic Chinese students oppose turmoil in Hong Kong. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On October 18, the five-starred flag of the People's Republic of China fluttered in the wind, as a group of patriotic Chinese international students marched in opposition to a reactionary demonstration billed as the "Liberty for Hong Kong March." | The reactionaries made their way through the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus "in solidarity with Hong Kong people against oppression on democracy and human rights." Many of the 'liberators' wore black, and the leaders of the demonstration donned yellow armbands and face masks. Their demonstration coincided with the House of Representatives…
(2019-10-22). The Charter-to-Prison Pipeline. progressive.org The charter system that often paints itself as a better option for black parents does not acknowledge the harm rigid disciplinary policies can impose on black students.
(2019-10-22). Race for Profit: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on How Banks & Real Estate Biz Undermined Black Homeowners. democracynow.org 
Recent U.S. census data reveals the homeownership rate for African Americans has fallen to its lowest level since before the civil rights movement. In the second quarter of this year, the rate fell to just 40% — the lowest level since 1950. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's new book, "Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Home Ownership," examines the roots of this crisis. The book has just come out and has been longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award. From Philadelphia, we speak with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an assistant professor at Princeton University.
(2019-10-21). Kings Bay Plowshares 7: Trial Begins for Liz McAlister & Others for Breaking Into Nuke Sub Base. democracynow.org 
Seven Catholic peace activists are going on trial in Georgia today for breaking into the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base on April 4, 2018. The activists, who are known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The activists entered the base armed with just hammers, crime scene tape, baby bottles containing their own blood and an indictment charging the U.S. government with crimes against peace. Over the past four decades activists in the Plowshares movement have taken part in about 100 similar actions at nuclear arms facilities, beginning in 1980 at the General Electric nuclear mis…
(2019-10-20). Longest-held Puerto Rican political prisoner sends support to Venezuela. thegrayzone.com Puerto Rico's longest-held political prisoner, Oscar López Rivera, who was incarcerated in the US for 36 years, sent a message…
(2019-10-18). Why is the Trump Administration Trying to Tear This 26-Year-Old DACA Recipient Away From Her Child? aclu.org 
Anahi Jaquez —Estrada is scared. As soon as Monday, she may be deported to a country she hardly knows: away from her 8-year-old daughter and her husband, both of whom are United States citizens. She has lived in the U.S. almost her entire life and is in the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident. Her story is at once exceptionally tragic and a paradigmatic example of how our immigration legal system is failing — and tearing families apart. | I met Anahi in late July at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention site in Aurora, Colorado, where she has spent the last year and a…
(2019-10-18). Unveiling a State-by-State Plan to End our Mass Incarceration Crisis. aclu.org The United States locks up more of its people than | any other nation in the world. A whopping 2.2 million people are living behind | bars in this country on any given day. Our national incarceration rate is four | times that of Australia, five times that of the United Kingdom, and six times that | of Canada. | This uniquely American problem is not one crisis | — rather, mass incarceration is a series of state-based catastrophes, each one | different from the next. While much attention was paid | to the federal reforms passed last year through the First Step Act, of | the 2.2 million people locked up on…
(2019-10-18). Sentenced to Life in Prison as a Teen, How Cyntoia Brown Survived Sex Trafficking & Won Her Freedom. democracynow.org 
At the age of 16, she was arrested for killing a man who had picked her up for sex, after she had been forced into sexual slavery as a child. She was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder for shooting the man who bought her for sex when she feared for her life. Today Cyntoia Brown-Long joins us to share her experience, what has happened in the 15 years she was incarcerated, and how she won her release. In an incredible development, after a years-long campaign to win her freedom, Cyntoia was granted clemency in January after former Tennessee Governor Bill Ha…
(2019-10-18). Patients' Needs, Not Personal Beliefs, Come First in Health Care. aclu.org From the | start, the Trump administration has issued one regulation after another that uses | religion to deny people — particularly pregnant people, people with low-incomes, | and LGBTQ people — health care access and coverage. Today, we are asking | a federal district court in New York to strike down one of the most pernicious | of these regulations: the refusal of care rule. | The refusal | of care rule, issued by the Department of Health | and Human Services (…
(2019-10-17). Nebraskans Aim to End Predatory Lending with a Ballot Proposal to Slash Payday Interest Rates. aclu.org Nebraskans | for Responsible Lending announced this week that they will begin gathering | signatures to reduce the amount that payday lenders may charge to a maximum | annual interest rate of 36 percent. For loans with higher rates made in | violation of this rate cap, the payday lenders would be banned from collecting | principal, interest, or other charges. | Currently, | payday lenders in Nebraska, also known as delayed deposit lenders, can charge | predatory rates with an average annual percentage rate (APR) of 404 percent and | in some cases as high as 461 percent. To put this in context, this means | fa…
(2019-10-16). Trump Cabinet Officials Double Down on Religious Favoritism. aclu.org 
Last Friday was a banner day for religious favoritism in the Trump administration. | In | Nashville, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a "speech" that was — for | all intents and purposes — a Christian sermon. Addressing an association of | Christian counselors, Secretary Pompeo discussed how to be a good Christian | leader, quoting scripture and urging audience members to conduct themselves in | accordance with his interpretation of biblical tenets. He also commandeered | State Department resources to advertise his sermon in advance, broadcast it live, | and disseminate a video of it after…
(2019-10-16). Newark protesters: Democratic Party machine an accomplice in Trump's war on immigrants. liberationnews.org 
Protesters gathered in Newark, New Jersey for a rally and 3-mile march up to the detention center organized by the Resist the Deportation Machine Network on Oct. 12 to demand the closure of the ICE concentration camp in Essex county.
(2019-10-15). Leonard Peltier subjected to unjust lockdown in prison: Write to the warden now! liberationnews.org 
The Party for Socialism and Liberation urges its supporters to write the warden to demand an end to this brutal lockdown.
(2019-10-11). Creative writing class in prison was 'light' in the darkness. splcenter.org …
(2019-10-10). White Supremacist William Fears to Get Five Years in Prison. splcenter.org William Henry Fears IV, an avowed racist with a lengthy criminal record, has agreed to a plea deal of five years for choking his former girlfriend.