Trump's Executive Order Is No Favor to US Jews. Just Look at Algeria
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-12
This week President Trump signed an executive order explicitly naming Jews as a protected class under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VI does not currently include religion status as a protected identity. This significant change carves out the protection of Jews as separate and different from the protection of all other religious groups in the Uni…
truthout.org/articles/trumps-executive-order-is-no-favor-to-u-s-jews-just-look-at-algeria/

The 2020 Election Promises Record Turnout
Bobby Hoffman | aclu.org | 2019-12-12
Due to high levels of enthusiasm and interest, election experts are predicting record-setting turnout rates in the upcoming 2020 election. In anticipation of this historic election, the ACLU, volunteers, and supporters of voting rights across the country have been advocating for state legislatures to adopt policies that improve registration, the voting process, and ensure that more citizens are eligible to participate. | This year, no state made greater improvements to the registrati…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/the-2020-election-promises-record-turnout

Army Abducts A Woman, Invade Many Homes, Near Jerusalem
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-12
Israeli soldiers abducted, Wednesday, a Palestinian woman from Beit Doqqo village, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem; her detention comes just a few days after the soldiers abducted her husband. Local sources in Beit Doqqo said the soldiers abducted Zakiyya Ali Hussein, 30, when she headed to an interrogation center after …
imemc.org/article/army-abducts-a-woman-invade-many-homes-near-jerusalem/

Environmental Activists Target Exxon's Lead Attorney in Climate Liability Case, a Prominent Democratic Donor
Rachel M. Cohen | theintercept.com | 2019-12-12
Ted Wells Jr., who defended Exxon against a lawsuit by New York's attorney general, has given half a million dollars to Democrats in recent decades.
theintercept.com/2019/12/12/exxon-climate-lawsuit-democratic-donor/

How the Prosecution of Animal Rights Activists As Terrorists Foretold Today's Criminalization of Dissent
Natasha Lennard | theintercept.com | 2019-12-12
A new documentary "The Animal People" tells the story of the SHAC 7, who were sentenced to prison on terrorism charges over their protest activity.
theintercept.com/2019/12/12/animal-people-documentary-shac-protest-terrorism/

Devin Nunes' Cow Has a First Amendment Right to Call Rep. Nunes a 'Treasonous Cowpoke'
Brian Hauss | aclu.org | 2019-12-11
You might think that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the | Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, would be too busy to file baseless | defamation lawsuits against anonymous Twitter accounts. But you'd be wrong. | Last year, Rep. Nunes sued a number of people who were | mean to him online, including the Twitter parody accounts Devin Nunes' Mom and | Devin Nunes' Cow. Now, he's trying to unmask the Cow by subpoenaing the | author's identity from a local law firm. The ACLU and Public Citizen have filed…
aclu.org/news/free-speech/devin-nunes-cow-has-a-first-amendment-right-to-call-rep-nunes-a-treasonous-cowpoke

The Battle for Abortion Access Is In the States
Jessica Arons | aclu.org | 2019-12-11
This past year has been a critical one in | the fight for reproductive freedom. For decades, politicians who want to | interfere with people's personal decisions about pregnancy have worked to push | abortion care out of reach. They've quietly passed 483 state abortion | restrictions since 2011 — including 59 new restrictions passed in 2019 alone. | And after Trump was able to put two new justices who are hostile to abortion | rights on the Supreme Court, politicians decided to go for broke. | Since Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation, | seven states have passed laws banning abortion from the earliest day…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/the-battle-for-abortion-access-is-in-the-states

Detainee Zahran Continues Strike For 80th Day
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-11
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Ahmad Zahran, 42, imprisoned by Israeli under repeatedly renewed arbitrary Administrative Detention orders without charges or trial, is ongoing with the hunger strike for the 80th consecutive day, despite his seriously deteriorating health condition. The PPS stated that the Israeli Prison Authority …
imemc.org/article/detainee-zahran-continues-strike-for-80th-day/

Battling anti-Semitism or shielding Israel? Trump signs executive order targeting 'discriminatory' boycotts & activism on campuses
rt.com | 2019-12-11
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that he claims will help combat anti-Semitic discrimination based on "race, color, or national origin," as critics say it only shields the state of Israel from any criticism. | Citing the "rise of anti-Semitism" on college campuses and elsewhere, the move seeks to apply the 1964 Civil Rights Act to Jewish Americans, and calls on the government to find new ways to "use nondiscrimination authorities" to address the issue. | "This is our message to universities: if you want to accept the tremendous amount of federal dollars you get every year, you must rejec…
rt.com/usa/475640-trump-judaism-nationality-anti-semitism/

Immigrants have been Denied Due Process for Years. In New England, that's about to Change
Matthew Segal | aclu.org | 2019-12-09
One of the bedrock principles of our judicial | system is that the government can't just lock people up without showing why | it's necessary. | For noncitizens caught up in Trump's deportation | machine, though, that principle doesn't always apply. But now because of our | litigation in New England that's about to change. | Gilberto Pereira Brito was detained in March by ICE | — snatched from his wife and three children, all of whom are U.S. citizens — and | brought before an immigration judge for a bond hearing. To keep him in | detention, the government had to prove nothing, whereas Gilberto had…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/immigrants-have-been-denied-due-process-for-years-in-new-england-thats-about-to-change

Under Attack by Trump, Immigrant Justice is Advancing in the States
Naureen Shah | aclu.org | 2019-12-09
This year was another of devastating attacks on immigrants' rights | by the Trump administration. However, in both red and blue states, we fought | and won new measures that stymie Trump's deportation machine. These local wins, | though often overshadowed by the president's xenophobia, are powerful. Here are | some of the most surprising and significant of our 2019 immigrant justice victories | in the states. | In | Michigan, a former marine's arrest prompts police reform | Grand Rapids, Michigan police kept veteran and U.S. citizen Jilmar | Ramos-Gomez in immigration detention for 3 days — even though
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/under-attack-by-trump-immigrant-justice-is-advancing-in-the-states

Question for Kirbymoorside UK Hustings Meeting: Would you stand up for Julian Assange?
Heather Stroud | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-09
To those candidates who are putting themselves forward as MPs to become a voice within the UK Parliament — would you stand up for Julian Assange and for those who. in speaking truth, have the audacity to challenge the dialogue of power? I am disappointed that my question relating to the arbitrary detention of Julian …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/question-for-kirbymoorside-uk-hustings-meeting-would-you-stand-up-for-julian-assange99425/

The Government Has Taken At Least 1,100 Children From Their Parents Since Family Separations Officially Ended
John Washington | theintercept.com | 2019-12-09
Border Patrol agents, untrained in child welfare, decide that some parents are unfit to stay with their children based on brief interactions in detention.
theintercept.com/2019/12/09/family-separation-policy-lawsuit/

Arizona educators, progressives confront ALEC summit and Betsy DeVos
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-09
Tucson, AZ – On December 4, a coalition of union educators, immigrant rights, police crimes, and climate change activists confronted the agenda of corporations like UPS and energy industry giants and billionaires like Charles Koch and Sheldon Achelson. At its height the crowd numbered around 200 with signs reading: "ALEC: Oligarchy in progress" and "Privatization, criminalization, incarceration, climate change, imperialism: #ALECisBehindIt." | The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a notorious organization of hardcore conservatives, was holding its States and Nation Policy Summit in Arizona. ALEC hoste…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/8/arizona-educators-progressives-confront-alec-summit-and-betsy-devos

An Australian Tourist, a Bulgarian Prison, and a Recording Session
David Rovics | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-09
Bulgaria, it appears, is a captured state. I'll get to that in a minute. I first heard about Jock Palfreeman, an Australian serving a lengthy prison sentence in Bulgaria, through a fellow Australian. The context was a message from my friend Kamala that was straightforward, to the effect of, "would you write a song about …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/an-australian-tourist-a-bulgarian-prison-and-a-recording-session/

Three Ways the "Fairness for All Act" Doesn't Protect LGBTQ People from Discrimination
Ian S. Thompson | aclu.org | 2019-12-09
On Friday, Congressman Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and | several of his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives introduced | the so-called "Fairness for All Act." The bill is being described by its | supporters as a compromise that protects both LGBTQ people and religious | liberty. | In reality, the bill facilitates the Trump | administration's ongoing efforts to give a greenlight to those who would turn | LGBTQ people away from jobs, health care, housing, even taxpayer-funded | programs, simply because of who they are. The bill also weakens some | longstanding protections in federal and state laws…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/three-ways-the-fairness-for-all-act-doesnt-protect-lgbtq-people-from-discrimination

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Reinstates Angela Davis' Award
patrick | bdsmovement.net | 2019-12-08
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Reinstates Angela Davis' Award: In the NewsThe organization faced backlash and internal dissension after previously rescinding the honor–a decision Davis and allies attributed to the racial justice activist's support for Palestinians' rights and BDS. | Right To BoycottJanuary 25, 2019 | By: | | COLORLINES …
bdsmovement.net/news/birmingham-civil-rights-institute-reinstates-angela-davis-award

US government drops case against Max Blumenthal after jailing journalist on false charges
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-07
As the mysterious disappearance of Secret Service records and complete absence of evidence supporting its case came to light, the…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/07/us-government-dropped-charges-max-blumenthal-arrest/

A Border Officer Told Me I Couldn't Opt Out of the Face Recognition Scan. They Were Wrong
Shaw Drake | aclu.org | 2019-12-05
"Look at the camera," a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) | officer told me as I approached the primary inspection point at the Paso del | Norte port of entry. | "Is that the face recognition technology?" I asked. "If so, I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | "I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | On the evening of November 25, 2019, I crossed from Mexico into the United States. Signs in the port noted the new use of face recognition technology and United States citizens' option to "undergo alternative procedures." After handing over my U.S. passport card, and despite my repeated protests…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/a-border-officer-told-me-i-couldnt-opt-out-of-the-face-recognition-scan-they-were-wrong

'It's This Culture of Secrecy That's Pervading the Courts' – CounterSpin interview with Melissa Goodman on the PATRIOT Act
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2019-12-05
Janine Jackson interviewed the ACLU's Melissa Goodman about the PATRIOT Act for the September 30, 2005, episode of CounterSpin–a conversation that was reaired on the November 29, 2019, show. This is a lightly edited transcript of the rebroadcast. | Media…
fair.org/home/its-this-culture-of-secrecy-thats-pervading-the-courts/

Immigrant rights activists protest ICE detention at Sherburne County commissioners' meeting
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-04
Elk River, MN – Immigrant rights activists mobilized to the Sherburne County commissioners' meeting at 9: 00 in the morning Tuesday, December 3 in Elk River, a town of around 20,000 people an hour northwest of Minneapolis. They held signs throughout the meeting, and several of them spoke passionately during the public comment section of the agenda, appealing to the commissioners to stop participating in and profiting from immigrant detention in the Sherburne County Jail. | The Sherburne County Jail has a contract for 300 beds to detain immigrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it the la…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/4/immigrant-rights-activists-protest-ice-detention-sherburne-county-commissioners-meeting

SPLC lawsuit seeks to restore Mississippi citizens' right to vote
splcenter.org | 2019-12-04
When they were children, Herman Parker and his three sisters went to their grandparents' house every election day.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/04/splc-lawsuit-seeks-restore-mississippi-citizens-right-vote

Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities
splcenter.org | 2019-12-02
splcenter.org/20191209/prison-any-other-name-report-south-florida-detention-facilities

After parole, Alabama man gets life back on track, helps others
Kathryn Casteel | splcenter.org | 2019-11-21
Chris "Champ" Napier started speaking to students and at-risk youth about his experience in prison before he knew he would ever regain his freedom.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/03/after-parole-alabama-man-gets-life-back-track-helps-others

Neo-Nazi Group NSM Faces New Upheaval After James Hart Stern's Death
Hatewatch Staff and Brett Barrouquere | splcenter.org | 2019-11-13
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.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/13/neo-nazi-group-nsm-faces-new-upheaval-after-james-hart-sterns-death