(2019-11-01). 'We must not look away' — call to end 'horrific' detention of young people with learning disabilities. thecanary.co 
Mental health legislation must be overhauled to stop the "horrific" and inappropriate detention of young people with autism or learning disabilities, MPs have said.The human rights of many young people are being breached in mental health hospitals, causing their lives to be "needlessly blighted" and their families to suffer, a new report found.Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights said it has "lost confidence that the system is doing what it says it is doing and the regulator's method of checking is not working".It is calling for the criteria for detention under the Mental Health Act to be narrowed to prot…
(2019-11-01). Civil Rights Memorial commemorates 30 years. splcenter.org Carolyn Wells Gee was in bed watching TV with her younger sister when she heard the shot that killed Medgar Evers.
(2019-11-01). Monsanto Wins $7.7 Billion Lawsuit in Brazil, But Farmers Continue to Fight. truthout.org A Brazilian appeals court has decided in favor of Monsanto, the global agribusiness conglomerate, in a landmark class-action lawsuit filed by Brazilian farmers' unions. | The court's nine justices unanimously ruled on Oct. 9 that farmers cannot save seeds for replanting if the seeds are harvested from Monsanto's patented Ro…
(2019-11-01). Monsanto Wins $7.7b Lawsuit in Brazil — but Farmers' Fight to Stop Its 'Amoral' Royalty System Will Continue. globalresearch.ca A Brazilian appeals court has decided in favor of Monsanto, the global agribusiness conglomerate, in a landmark class-action lawsuit filed by Brazilian farmers' unions. | The court's nine justices unanimously ruled on Oct. 9 that farmers cannot save seeds for replanting …
(2019-11-01). Medical Care for Trans Women in Illinois Prisons Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment. truthout.org When recent news reports revealed that a number of Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) staff maintained a private Facebook group they used to dehumanize, taunt and degrade transgender prisoners and people of color, we were not surprised. For years, we have fought alongside people imprisoned in Illinois to reveal the brutal truth about life in the state's prisons…
(2019-11-01). Santa Rita Jail Strike! indybay.org Prisoners Stage One-day Hungerstrike and Work Stoppage Within Santa Rita Jail to Protest Filthy Conditions, Price Gouging and Abuse…
(2019-11-01). South Carolina Prisoners Appeal to the UN for Relief From Torturous Conditions. truthout.org Can you imagine living without sunlight? Many of us experience seasonal affective (SAD) disorder in the winter months, causing symptoms ranging from depression and lethargy to thoughts of suicide. SAD can also exacerbate the symptoms of some mental illnesses, like bipolar disorder. But while grey skies may be depressing, or even hazardous to our health, most of us can't fathom what it would be like to go over a year without sunlight. | For prisoners in South Carolina's Level 3 prisons, this…
(2019-11-01). Life Without Parole Sentences Rob Taxpayers and Pervert Justice. counterpunch.org Hundreds from across Pennsylvania rallied inside the Rotunda of the Capitol here recently to offer a solution for resolving an enormously expensive problem in state law that plagues the state's prison system That expensive problem arises from Pennsylvania's Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentences that keep inmates in prison until they die. Every year Pennsylvania's prison More
(2019-11-01). Body of Deceased Inmate was in Jail Cell for More Than 24 Hours Before Santa Cruz Sheriffs Noticed. indybay.org Deceased inmate German Carrillo was in a cell at the Santa Cruz County Main Jail for over 24 hours before correctional officers discovered his body, according to a press release issued on October 30 by the Sheriff's Office. The press release states that Carrillo was found deceased in his cell at around 11 a.m. on October 14, and that their forensic pathologist and detectives have determined Carrillo was strangled sometime between midnight and the early morning of October 13.
(2019-11-01). Republicans Can't Break With Trump While They Invest in Voter Suppression. truthout.org The first formal vote in the House impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump took place Thursday, and fell nearly universally along party lines: The House of Representatives voted 232-196 in favor of a resolution laying out the rules for the inquiry going forward, with only one Republican voting "Aye" and two Democrats voting "No." | Justin Amash, the Michigan Independent and former fire-b…
(2019-11-01). Julian Assange's Life Is at Risk, Says United Nations Expert, Condemning Detention After Exposing War Crimes. commondreams.org "He continues to be detained under oppressive conditions of isolation and surveillance, not justified by his detention status," special rapporteur Nils Melzer said of Assange. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/un-expert-julian-assange-life-risk.jpg …
(2019-10-31). Former Juul executive alleges e-cig behemoth resold EXPIRED products & knowingly shipped 1 million TAINTED pods. rt.com 
Embattled e-cig giant Juul, now facing multiple lawsuits over health issues allegedly linked to vaping, has received a new blow from a former top employee, who accused the company of knowingly selling expired and tainted products. | The new lawsuit against the firm was filed by its former senior vice president of global finance, Siddharth Breja, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday. | The lawsuit alleges that former Juul CEO, Kevin Burns — who stepped down in September — ran t…
(2019-10-31). Starbucks fired manager 'because she was white,' lawsuit claims in wake of infamous Philadelphia store arrest of 2 black men. rt.com 
A former regional manager has sued Starbucks for racial discrimination, claiming she was fired because she was white after two black men were arrested for "trespassing" at a Philadelphia location she oversaw. | Shannon Phillips, a 13-year Starbucks employee, has sued the chain, alleging she was fired for being white after video of a seemingly racially-biased arrest at one of the stores she managed went viral and triggered mass outrage against the coffee behemoth. If she was not white, Phillips charged in the suit filed in the US District Court of New Jersey earlier this week, she would still have her job, havi…
(2019-10-31). The Unchecked Growth of Policing Makes Everyone a Criminal, Even Children. therealnews.com 
Despite a nationwide drop in crime the number of cops continues to grow. In this episode of The Police Accountability Report we examine some of the consequences of that growth and how it leads to unnecessary arrests and increased incarceration…
(2019-10-31). Violence in UK prisons continues to soar as self-harming hits new high. thecanary.co 
Self-harm incidents in jails have hit a record high, official figures show. There were 60,594 incidents of self-harm in the 12 months to June, up 22% from the same period in the previous year.The number of assaults shot up 5% to 34,112 in the year ending in June, in comparison to the same period the year before.The latest quarter showed numbers falling slightly by 1% when there were 8,360 incidents.Attacks on staff have jumped up 10% from the previous 12 months, with 10,424 assaults recorded, with the number of assaults increasing by 3% to 2,617 in the latest quarter, according to the figures from the Ministry of…
(2019-10-31). Activists To Pressure Facebook After Twitter Bans Political Ads. telesurenglish.net Twitter's ban of paid political adverts may not have much impact on the campaign for the presidency, it does heighten pressure on rival Facebook over its policy of not fact-checking ads from politicians. | RELATED: | AOC Grills Facebook's Zuckerberg Over 'Far-right Dinner Parties' | Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton said on…
(2019-10-31). Why Have a Forum on Reparations in Charleston and Why Now? aclu.org This year marks 400 years since enslaved, kidnapped people were purchased by the forefathers and — mothers of America. Are the events that began 400 years ago connected to today? William Faulkner wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." | On June 19, 2019, the National African American Reparations | Commission (NAARC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held | a forum on H.R. 40 in the historic Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, | D.C. As a follow up to that…
(2019-10-31). Abortion is Legal in All 50 States, and We Intend to Keep It That Way. aclu.org On | Tuesday, a federal court issued a decision in our challenge to Alabama's | near-total ban on abortion blocking the law from taking effect. The decision | comes on the heels of similar rulings blocking abortion bans in Arkansas, | Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah. In other words, the ACLU has an | undefeated, 7-0 record challenging state abortion bans in court. None of the state abortion bans passed | earlier this year will be permitted to take effect. Abortion is — and will | remain — legal in all 50 states. | The | Alabama ban, like all the others, is the anti-abortion movement's t…
(2019-10-31). The FBI is Tracking Our Faces in Secret. We're Suing. aclu.org Many of us wear masks on Halloween for fun. But what about a world in which we have to wear a mask every single day to protect our privacy from the government's oppressive eye? | Face | recognition surveillance technology has already made that frightening world a | reality in Hong Kong, and it's quickly becoming a scary | possibility in the United States. | The FBI is currently collecting data about our faces, irises, walking patterns, and voices, permitting the government to pervasively identif…
(2019-10-31). Palestinian Woman Prisoner on Hunger Strike for 35 Days Moved to Hospital. imemc.org According to +972 Magazine, Palestinian and Israeli activists launched a viral campaign on Sunday demanding the release of a Jordanian citizen who has been on hunger strike for the past month after being imprisoned by Israel without trial since August. Hiba al-Labadi, a 24-year-old Palestinian-Jordanian national, was detained by Israeli …
(2019-10-31). Soldiers Abduct Twelve Palestinians In West Bank. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday at dawn, twelve Palestinians, including a former Legislative Council member, from their homes, in several parts of the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers invaded and ransacked dozens of homes across the West Bank, before abducting the twelve …
(2019-10-31). Tense Calm in Panama After Violent Street Clashes. telesurenglish.net Panama City woke up on Thursday in a tense calm following the violent clashes taking place Wednesday evening between hundreds of protesters and the Police, which left an indeterminate number of detainees, while the government was silent so far. | RELATED: | Panama: Over 40 Arrested in Rally Against Constitutional Reform | Lacking an official report, a list of at least 47 prisoners was posted on social media, some of them denounced the policemen's abuses in videos filmed before…
(2019-10-31). As Rich Hire Private Firefighters, Housekeepers Go to Work in Fire Zone & Prisoners Fight CA Blazes. democracynow.org 
As climate-fueled fires rage across California, we look at how the blazes are disproportionately affecting some of the state's most vulnerable communities. As a growing number of wealthy homeowners hire private firefighters to protect their properties for up to $3,000 per day, domestic workers and gardeners who tend to some of the most opulent homes in Los Angeles attended work despite the Getty Fire evacuation order earlier this week. Many of their employers failed to even tell them not to come in. Meanwhile, of the more than 4,000 firefighters currently working across the state, at least 700 are California pris…
(2019-10-31). From Climate Denial to "Green" Petroleum: Massachusetts Accuses Exxon Mobil of Deceptive Messaging. theintercept.com 
Exxon Mobil's relationship with the New York Times is a case study in how the fossil fuel industry's climate denialism has evolved over the past 20 years. Beginning in the 1970s, Exxon Mobil published an "advertorial" every Thursday on the New York Times editorial page. The quarter-page, essay-style ads were designed to mimic a Times op-ed. Starting in the 1980s, doubt about the seriousness of human-driven climate change was a repeated theme. The ads came with titles including "Apocalypse no," "Reset the alarm," "Less heat, more light on climate change," and "Climate change: a degree of uncertainty." | According…
(2019-10-30). The Presidential Town Hall on Mass Incarceration Was a Historic Moment and a Missed Opportunity. theintercept.com 
Collectively, the men and women in the room had hundreds of years of prison experience. The presidential town hall, the first ever to be hosted by formerly incarcerated people, was a unique opportunity for candidates to speak about the criminal justice system with those who know firsthand its devastating failures. But only three candidates showed up — and while the conversation delved into questions rarely tackled on the campaign trail, some of the candidates' answers left those in the audience disappointed. | The e…
(2019-10-30). Chesa Boudin, Son of 1960s Radicals, Runs for San Francisco DA on Criminal Justice Reform Platform. democracynow.org 
Chesa Boudin is running for San Francisco district attorney as the latest candidate in a wave of decarceral prosecutors running for office across the United States. Bernie Sanders and other leading progressives have endorsed Boudin, who is a public defender and the child of Weather Underground activists Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert. His parents were imprisoned when Boudin was a toddler. These experiences have given him a first-hand view of "how broken our criminal justice system is," he says. "My earliest memories are going through steel gates and metal detectors just to see my parents, just to give them a hug.
(2019-10-30). Spain: Communist groups defend imprisoned Catalan leaders. workers.org 
Below is a joint declaration in response to the sentences of 9-to-13 years each issued following the "trial" of nine Catalan political leaders and the massive protest in Catalonia on Oct. 18, endorsed by four communist groups that organize throughout the multinational Spanish state. Although pro-capitalist parties lead the Catalan . . . | Continue reading Spain: Communist groups defend imprisoned Catalan leaders at Workers.org
(2019-10-29). Tribute To A Persistent Progressive — Rep. John Conyers. therealnews.com 
Jacqueline Luqman pays tribute to John Conyers, the longest-serving Black Democrat in Congress and co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, died over the weekend at age 90. His political career spanned more than 50 years, and included a remarkable legacy of civil rights activism, challenging the expanding US military global footprint, and consistent support for…
(2019-10-29). Quebec Government Apologizes to Indigenous Peoples for 'Systemic Discrimination'. therealnews.com 
Marie-Claude Lacroix, two-row wampum liaison of the Kanienkehaka Traditional Council, says Quebec continues to treat indigenous peoples disrespectfully.
(2019-10-29). The FBI Spends a Lot of Time Spying on Black Americans. theintercept.com 
The FBI has come under intense criticism after a 2017 leak exposed that its counterterrorism division had invented a new, unfounded domestic terrorism category it called " black identity extremism." Since then, legislators have pressured the bureau's leadership to be more transparent about its investigation of black activists, and a number of civil rights groups have filed publ…
(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). Monday's Daily Brief: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, gender gap in Latin America, Syria talks in Geneva, human rights in Egypt, the future of digital telecommunications. un.org A recap of Monday's top stories: 'Multi-generational tragedy' in Israel and Palestine demands viable two-State solution; gender gap persists in Latin America's workforce; Syria envoy urges prisoner release ahead of talks in Geneva; Egypt urged to end repression of protesters and rights defenders; future of digital communications discussed at world conference.
(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…
(2019-10-25). 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). 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). 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…
(2019-10-25). "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…
(2019-10-24). 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…
(2019-10-23). 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…
(2019-10-23). 'No rehabilitation,' just oppression, behind bars in Alabama. splcenter.org …
(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.
(2019-10-20). 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). 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). 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 (…
(2019-10-16). 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.