2019-11-20: News Headlines

Minnie Bruce Pratt (2019-11-20). Palestinians resist Israeli renewed attack on Gaza. workers.org Israel began pounding the Palestinian area of Gaza on Nov. 12 with scores of air raids and artillery attacks. The assaults renewed an ongoing Israeli military campaign against Gaza that had been in a lull in recent months. Gaza has been described as the largest open-air prison in the world, . . . | Continue reading Palestinians resist Israeli renewed attack on Gaza at Workers.org

RT (2019-11-20). 'Death sentence for telling the truth': Fashion icon Joe Corré urges immediate action to prevent Assange's extradition to US. rt.com Julian Assange is being persecuted for speaking the truth, and the UK public must mobilize to shield him from the 'death sentence' awaiting him in the United States, activist and Agent Provocateur co-founder Joe Corré told RT. | The politically-active entrepreneur, and son of another fashion icon Vivienne Westwood, has been an outspoken advocate for Assange. The imprisoned Wikileaks chief is currently battling his extradition to the United States, where he faces 175 years in prison for obtaining and publishing secret documents. Recounting a recent visit he made to Belmarsh prison, Corré told Going Under…

RT (2019-11-20). The law is thrown out of the window in Assange's case, Roger Waters tells RT (VIDEO). rt.com Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has condemned Swedish prosecutors who yesterday dropped a rape investigation into WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, saying the whole thing was "a complete bogus set-up" from the beginning. | Rogers told RT that the statement from Swedish prosecutors claiming that the evidence against Assange had "weakened" since 2010 was a "mealy-mouthed bunch of bullsh*t" and that there was "no evidence to support the idea that [Assange] injured anybody." | It's partly because of this whole "set-up" that Assange is still suffering in London's Belmarsh Prison with no real process of law…

Andrew Moss (2019-11-20). Raising the Stakes in the Struggle Over Immigration Detention. counterpunch.org As the struggle for immigrant rights continues to be fought across America, new battlegrounds may come into view, then fade from public attention. For many months, our border drew intense scrutiny, as family separations shocked and horrified millions. Recently, the fate of DACA and 700,000 Dreamers moved back briefly into headlines, as the Supreme Court More

Brenda Norrell (2019-11-20). Backfire — LaNada War Jack's 'Native Resistance' chronicles Alcatraz to Standing Rock. indybay.org Dr. LaNada War Jack, Shoshone Bannock, released her new book this week in Berkeley, as the 50th Anniversary of Alcatraz events begin. The book, Native Resistance, an Intergenerational Fight for Survival and Life, chronicles Native American resistance from Alcatraz to Standing Rock, and the longstanding struggle for land rights and civil rights.

Staff (2019-11-20). On Universal Children's Day, It's Time to Stop Imprisoning Kids Everywhere. truthout.org Today, on Universal Children's Day, which marks the United Nations' adoption of both the Declaration and Convention on the Rights of the Child, our thoughts are with children who have been locked up in cages, their basic right to freedom taken away. | We learned recently that the U.S. held a record 70,000 children in immigrant detention in 2019, causing major physical and psychological trauma. As the public becomes more aware of the…

Staff (2019-11-20). The Spirit of the Indigenous Occupation of Alcatraz Lives On, 50 Years Later. truthout.org For most people, Alcatraz Island is nothing more than a San Francisco tourist destination — home to the infamous penitentiary and Al Capone's jail cell. But for Kris Longoria, who prefers to be known by her artist name, UrbanRezLife, Alcatraz Island is home. | From 1969 to 1971, when UrbanRezLife was eight years old, she and her family were among a group of nearly a hundred indigenous activists who occupied the island, protesting treaty violations and boldly demanding sovereignty. Eventu…

IMEMC News (2019-11-20). Soldiers Abduct Eight Palestinians in West Bank. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, eight Palestinians from several parts of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported. The PPS office in Hebron, in southern West Bank, said the soldiers invaded and ransacked several homes in the al-'Arroub refugee camp, north of the city, …

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-11-20). 'We Don't Believe in Locking Up Children. Do You?' Amnesty Billboards Condemn Trump's Mass Detention of Migrant Kids. commondreams.org "World Children's Day is a day for children, yet children in this very country are denied their freedom. The Trump administration has detained children for the act of seeking safety." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/children_amnesty.jpg

Nozomi Hayase (2019-11-20). The Prosecution of Julian Assange Calls for the Public's Defense of Free Speech. commondreams.org The US government has been waging a war against the First Amendment. Assange has become a political prisoner of this war. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2019-11-20_at_1.40.32_pm_0.png

Kim Petersen (2019-11-19). Saving Julian Assange is Saving Ourselves. dissidentvoice.org The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner issued a statement based on special-rapporteur-on-torture Nils Melzer's fact-finding mission into the incarceration of WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange. The facts were a scathing indictment of those nations behind the targeting of Assange. 'The evidence is overwhelming and clear,' the expert said. 'Mr. Assange …

teleSUR (2019-11-19). Trump's Child Separation Policy Violates Int'l Law: UN Expert. telesurenglish.net Over 100,000 children are being held in migration-related detention in the United States, including unaccompanied infants, and others separated from their parents before detention, said a UN expert in Geneva on Monday. | RELATED: | US Gov't To Allow Systematic DNA Samples on Arrested Migrants | "Of course, separating children—as was d…

WSWS (2019-11-19). United States has the highest child detention rate in the world. wsws.org A UN report released Monday finds that the United States leads the world in depriving children of liberty, particularly through immigration detention.

John Steppling (2019-11-19). Baby Shark Coup. counterpunch.org "I also write from time to time, and if any sweet breath fills my soul, it's the light of memory … Oh the memory in prison! How it gets here and falls upon the heart, which it oils with melancholy already so decomposed … In short, I don't know what these people will do. We More

Nauman Sadiq (2019-11-19). Release of Western Hostages and Prospects of Peace in Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca Three Taliban commanders have been released today, on Tuesday, by the Afghan government as part of a prisoner swap involving two Western hostages. Reportedly, the militant leaders, including senior Taliban leader Anas Haqqani, had landed in Qatar, which hosts the …

Staff (2019-11-19). Headlines for November 19, 2019. democracynow.org U.S. Claims Israeli Settlements Are Not Illegal Under International Law, Four Witnesses Slated to Testify in Public Impeachment Hearings, U.N. Condemns U.S. for World's Highest Rate of Children in Detention, Political Crisis in Bolivia Continues After Military Pressure Ousts Evo Morales, American Professor Freed in Prisoner Swap in Afghanistan, 1,000 Students Arrested in Police Siege of Hong Kong University, Coal Mine Blast in China Kills 15; Pipeline Explosion in Bangladesh Kills 7, Deforestation of Brazilian Amazon Skyrocketed Since Bolsonaro's Election, Syracuse Suspends All Fraternity Activities After String…

Heather L. Weaver (2019-11-18). Students Told They Would Be Better Off 'If They Had Jesus in Their Life'. aclu.org The ACLU and the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against the Smith County School System for violating the separation of church and state on Monday. According to the lawsuit, four students who are atheists have had to contend with school officials promoting Christianity through official prayers, Bible distributions, religious posters, and even a giant cross painted in one of the school's athletic facilities. | We asked our three high school clients in this case — Harleigh, | Leyna and Pyper — to tell us about their e…

Terri Gerstein (2019-11-18). Don't Suppress Votes of New Citizens. progressive.org A new kind of voter suppression is being perpetrated by the federal government and flying largely under the radar: a multi-faceted effort to prevent legal immigrants from becoming citizens in time to vote.

Ezekiel Edwards (2019-11-18). An Arizona Sheriff Deputy's Abuse of a Quadruple Amputee Teen Highlights a Policing Culture That Must Change. aclu.org Inhumane. Cruel. Abusive. What other words could possibly describe a Pima County, Arizona Sheriff Deputy placing a 15-year-old quadruple amputee who posed no threat into a headlock and then pinning him to the ground at a group home? What if the Deputy then screamed at another teenager videotaping the abuse and yelled at him repeatedly "shut the hell up" and, "Am I your bitch?" before slamming the teenager's head into the wall while handcuffed? | This is not another example…

United Nations (2019-11-18). Monday's Daily Brief: Progress and pitfalls in child rights, millions of Afghans acutely food insecure, Middle East nuclear-free zone, social media and child detention. un.org A recap of Monday's stories in brief: Uneven child rights progress; over 10 million Afghans severely food insecure; Middle East nuclear weapons conference gets underway; Social media posts increasing child detention cases; UN and partners commit to universal health.

John Steppling (2019-11-18). Baby Shark Coup. dissidentvoice.org I also write from time to time, and if any sweet breath fills my soul, it's the light of memory … Oh the memory in prison! How it gets here and falls upon the heart, which it oils with melancholy already so decomposed … In short, I don't know what these people will do. We …

Staff (2019-11-18). After Texas Court Blocks Execution, Rodney Reed Has a Chance to Prove His Innocence in 1996 Murder. democracynow.org In a stunning decision handed down Friday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner who was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for a murder he says he did not commit. The appeals court ordered a review of the case to examine claims of prosecutorial misconduct. Millions of people around the country had joined Reed's cause in recent weeks amid mounting evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. In 1998, an all-white jury sentenced Reed to die for Stites's murder after his DNA…

United Nations (2019-11-18). Anti-terror measures against youngsters' online posts 'linked to spike in child detention globally'. un.org More than 5.4 million children are detained around the world, rights experts said on Monday, highlighting "aggressive" State counterterrorism measures for the spike in youngsters held for alleged links with armed conflict or national security concerns based on their social media posts.

Fight Back (2019-11-17). Protesters demand end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. fightbacknews.org NY, New York – On the evening of November 15, over 150 people gathered on 42nd and Broadway to demand that Israel, backed by the United States government, stop the murder and occupation of Palestinians. | The emergency rally was called by several different organizations in New York City in response to Israel murdering 34 people, including eight children in Gaza. The organizations were Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, CODEPINK: Women For Peace, Labor for Palestine, Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, NY4Palestine, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, American Muslims for Palesti…

Elise Swain (2019-11-15). The Coup That Ousted Bolivia's Evo Morales Is Another Setback for Latin American Socialism. theintercept.com A socialist president from Bolivia is sent into exile as another member of the Latin American left is freed from prison in Brazil.

Twyla Carter (2019-11-15). The Size of Your Wallet Should Never Determine Your Freedom. aclu.org Lea Allison is a 30-year-old Alamance County | resident and mother to a 6-year-old daughter. She has been living with | relatives because she cannot afford to live on her own, but was about to start | a new job that she hoped would provide her and her daughter with financial | stability. | Lea's plans came to an abrupt halt when she was arrested and locked in an Alamance County, North Carolina jail on a $3,500 bond. Although she has not been found guilty of a crime, she will remain behind bars because she cannot afford to pay for her freedom. Instead of starting her new job, Lea is sitting in the Alamance Coun…

Candice Francis (2019-11-15). Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California. aclu.org This is a cross-post from the ACLU of Northern California. | There is a story we tell ourselves about being American. Much of it is a lie. Two dates that students throughout the country are required to memorize to inform an American identity are 1492, when Columbus supposedly "discovered" America, and 1776, when the United States claimed sovereignty from England and through the Declaration of Independence declared: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." If we're honest, we'll admit that the "all men" in that catchphrase didn't include African Americans, Native Americans, and…

Kate Ruane (2019-11-15). Whistleblowers Are Public Servants. We Must Protect Them. aclu.org President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke on the phone. The president insists the call was " perfect." Others are concerned that, during the call, the president intimated he would withhold financial aid appropriated to Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president agreed to investigate former-Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of the president. | How do we even know about any of this? A…

Staff (2019-11-15). Justice for Rodney Reed: Millions Urge Texas to Halt Execution Amid New Evidence of His Innocence. democracynow.org The Supreme Court considers Friday whether to take up the case of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner in Texas who is scheduled to be executed in less than a week for a murder he says he did not commit. On Thursday, Reed's family braved the cold to camp outside the Supreme Court for a vigil asking the justices to help halt the execution. Millions of people around the country have joined their cause in recent weeks amid mounting evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. In 1998, an all-white jury sentenced Reed to die for Stites's…

Staff (2019-11-15). "This Is My Home": Meet the Lead Plaintiff in the Supreme Court Case to Save DACA. democracynow.org On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from three lawsuits demanding the Trump administration preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The Obama-era program has granted protection from deportation and a work permit to at least 700,000 undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children. The court's conservative majority appeared poised to side with President Trump in ending the program, while some of the court's liberal justices seemed skeptical of Trump's efforts. In September 2017, the Trump administration announced it planned to terminate DACA, arguing the program…

Fred_F (2019-11-15). Disruptive protests don't justify police violence. greenleft.org.au civil rights Sue BoltonIssue 1245 Australia police MelbourneNovember 15, 2019It is unusual for the Police Union or Victoria Police chiefs to condemn the actions of any officer. But they have been forced to crit…

Meagan Burrows (2019-11-14). Trump Administration Forgoes Petition to Supreme Court in Jane Doe Case. aclu.org For more | than two years, the ACLU has been fighting a Trump administration policy that | prevents unaccompanied immigrant minors in federal care from accessing | abortion. We had previously won in the lower court, securing a preliminary block on | the policy. And last week, the Trump administration chose not to challenge that | ruling and ask the Supreme Court to review the case—a real victory in our fight | for justice for the Janes. | We first filed | the case in Octobe…

Jay Stanley (2019-11-14). Three Common Privacy Misconceptions That Companies Love. aclu.org A significant number of Americans hold significant misconceptions about their privacy, according to opinion research — misconceptions that privacy-invading companies love. That's according to research on American understandings of privacy carried out over the past couple decades by the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, lead by Prof. Joseph Turow, whom I recently heard give a talk summarizing these studies. | Misconceptio…

Ramzy Baroud (2019-11-13). The Real Reasons Behind Israel's Arrest of Two Jordanian Nationals. mintpressnews.com The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi'ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships at the hands of their Israeli jailers. | Despite the jubilant return of the two prisoners, celebrated in Jordan, Palestine and throughout the Arab world, several compelling questions remain unanswered: why were they held in the first place? Why were they released and what ca…

Hugh Handeyside (2019-11-13). Federal Court Rules That Border Officers Can't Arbitrarily Search Our Electronic Devices. aclu.org In a major victory for privacy rights, a federal court | has held that the federal government's suspicionless searches of smartphones, laptops, | and other electronic devices at airports or other U.S. ports of entry are | unconstitutional. The ruling in our | case is a recognition that the Constitution protects us even at the border, | and that traveling to or from the United States doesn't mean we give the g…

Hatewatch Staff and Brett Barrouquere (2019-11-13). Neo-Nazi Group NSM Faces New Upheaval After James Hart Stern's Death. splcenter.org The leadership of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM) has been thrown into chaos again following the death of self-described civil rights activist James Hart Stern.

Taylor Pendergrass (2019-11-13). Oklahomans Just Made History — and They Can Do it Again. aclu.org Last | week in Oklahoma, the largest single-day mass | commutation of prison sentences in U.S. history took place. When all is said and | done, nearly 600 people will be released from prison. This may seem like a | surprise coming from a state that's also home to the highest per-capita | incarceration rate in the nation. But these commutations follow the | will of the people: 58 percent of Oklahomans made clear at th…

Fred_F (2019-11-12). Black deaths in the custody of the settler colonial state must end. greenleft.org.au Indigenous rights Paul GregoireIssue 1245 AustraliaNovember 12, 2019Key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody assert that in dealing with First Nations peoples, the criminal justice system should apply both arrest and imprisonment as sanctions of "last resort". Sparked by suspicious deaths like t…

Will Tucker (2019-11-07). After a hard-won sentence reduction, Huntsville man's court debt is another obstacle to freedom. splcenter.org Fresh out of prison after nearly 23 years, Archie "Jody" Hamlett appeared at his mother's door in Huntsville, Ala., one fall day in 2017.

Hatewatch Staff (2019-11-05). League of the South Resorts to Video Stunts as Membership Declines. splcenter.org The League of the South made a 25-second propaganda video over the weekend at the memorial of a civil rights icon in an apparent attempt to attract members to its neo-Confederate ideology.

splcenter (2019-11-05). SPLC celebrates 30th anniversary of Civil Rights Memorial. splcenter.org The first African American elected mayor of Montgomery, Alabama — a city known as both the "Cradle of the Confederacy" and the "Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement" — urged those who gathered today to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Civil Rights Memorial to ask themselves how they can make an impact on the lives of others.

splcenter (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.