(2019-05-10). We Are All Sandra Bland. counterpunch.org "People get used to anything. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. After a while, people just think oppression is the normal state of things. But to become free, you have to be acutely aware of being a slave." — Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography "For it is More
(2019-05-10). Chelsea Manning released, faces new imprisonment for refusing to testify against Assange. wsws.org Even before she was released on Thursday, Manning was served with a new subpoena to demand testimony before a different grand jury. She could be returned to jail as early as next week.
(2019-05-10). Chelsea Manning released after 2 months' detention, might be back in jail in 6 days. rt.com 
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has been released from a Virginia prison where she spent the last 62 days for refusing to testify on her 2010 leak of classified military files before a grand jury.
(2019-05-10). Chelsea Manning Released From Jail, But Fresh Subpoena Means 'She May Have Just Over a Week of Freedom'. commondreams.org "Chelsea will continue to refuse to answer questions, and will use every available legal defense to prove she has just cause for her refusal to give testimony," said Manning's legal team | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/chelsea_manning_1.jpg…
(2019-05-10). Chelsea Manning Has Just Been Released From Jail. theantimedia.com (ANTIWAR.COM) — Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has been released from jail on Thursday, following months in detention for "contempt" after she refused to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. The official reason is that the mandate of the grand jury in question has expired. This explanation is likely a bit of legal sleight of hand on the court's …
(2019-05-10). Chelsea Manning Released From Jail But Received Another Subpoena To Testify Before WikiLeaks Grand Jury. shadowproof.com Chelsea Manning was released from a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 9, but according to her defense attorneys, she received another subpoena to testify before the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks prior to her release. "Today marked the expiration of the term of the grand jury, and so, after 62…
(2019-05-10). Can Democracy Save America? counterpunch.org Homer, playwrights, eloquent political writers, historians and philosophers left comments, speeches and books about how Greeks governed themselves. In addition, thousands of inscriptions mention or describe persons, decisions, and institutions of political importance. Most of the surviving evidence, including that from ostracism, the ten-year banishment of politicians voters perceived dangerous, comes from Athens. Tradition has it More
(2019-05-10). Germany's far-right AfD exploits famous artwork to promote Islamophobia. wsws.org The use of the painting and its interpretation by the AfD is an amalgam of historical falsification, outright lies and racist agitation, which can quite rightly be compared with the techniques used by the Nazis.
(2019-05-10). WW commentary: When the state executes a white supremacist. workers.org 
Three white supremacists dragged James Byrd Jr., an African-American man, to his death in 1998 in Jasper, Texas, after they chained him to the back of their pickup truck. This lynching was one of the most horrific racist crimes in modern U.S. history and shocked people worldwide. Three men were . . . | Continue reading WW commentary: When the state executes a white supremacist at Workers.org
(2019-05-09). Colombia: FARC Party Demands Release of Jesus Santrich. plenglish.com Bogota, May 9 (Prensa Latina) Thirteen months after the incarceration on Thursday of the FARC leader Jesus Santrich, congress people from that political party demanded his release as a gesture of hope for peace in Colombia.
(2019-05-09). Wisconsin: The Perfect Place to Address America's Apartheid. progressive.org Behind the stats about incarceration rates, lies a basic structure of law that accommodates white people. What better place to host the 2020 Dem convention?
(2019-05-09). Judge reinstates sex abuse lawsuit against R. Kelly after lawyers claim he can't read summons. rt.com 
A judge has agreed to throw out a default judgement in the sex abuse case of disgraced R&B star R. Kelly after his lawyers argued that the singer snubbed a court appearance because he could not read the summons.
(2019-05-09). No One Should be Forced to Give Birth Alone in a Jail Cell. aclu.org A mentally ill woman gave birth in a county jail in Florida. Incredibly, she is not the first. | At 3 a.m., inside her solitary jail cell in Broward County, Florida, Tammy Jackson began having contractions. It took hours for corrections officers to reach a doctor, who said he'd check on Jackson when he came into work…
(2019-05-09). Congress, Laws Suppressing Boycotts of Israel Are Unconstitutional. Sincerely, Three Federal Courts. aclu.org Congress has a constitutional duty to protect the rights of the American people, including the First Amendment right to participate in boycotts. | Congress just got yet another reminder that the First Amendment right to political boycotts is alive and well in the United States, and any legislative attempt to infringe on that right puts them squarely against the Constitution. | Last week a federal district court in Texas blocked as unconstitutional a state law that required government contractors to certify that they d…
(2019-05-09). Ex-US intelligence analyst charged with leaking top-secret drone war docs. rt.com 
In the latest chapter of the US' crackdown on whistleblowers, a 31-year-old intelligence contractor is facing charges for leaking 17 secret documents to an unnamed journalist, which could result in up to 50 years in prison.
(2019-05-09). Statement on the Indictment of Alleged Drone Strike Whistleblower. theintercept.com The Intercept does not comment on matters relating to the identity of anonymous sources. | In an indictment unsealed on May 9, the government alleges that documents on the U.S. drone program were leaked to a news organization. These documents detailed a secret, unaccountable process for targeting and killing people around the world, including U.S. citizens, through drone strikes. They are of vital public importance, and activity related to their disclosure is protected by the First Amendment. The alleged whistleblower faces up to 50 years in prison. No one has ever been held accountable for killing civilians in d…
(2019-05-09). After Judge's Ruling, Charlottesville May Be Stuck With Statues of Confederate Generals Lee, Jackson. splcenter.org A judge has ruled that a civil rights-era law forbidding the removal of "war memorials" applies to Confederate statues that became flashpoints during a deadly Virginia gathering of white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
(2019-05-09). 'Free Clarrie O'Shea': When unions broke the rules to change them. greenleft.org.au 
Fifty years ago, an industrial penal powers dispute provoked the biggest strike wave in Australia's post-war history. | On May 15, 1969, Clarrie O'Shea, Victorian secretary Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees' Association (ATMOEA), was jailed for refusing to pay fines imposed under the anti-union penal powers of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. | Over the next week, more than 1 million workers went on strike to demand freedom for O'Shea and the repeal of the penal powers. | Tribune, the newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia at the time, reported on May 21, 1969: "The long struggle…
(2019-05-09). Trump ratchets up anti-immigrant campaign. greenleft.org.au 
While much of the media continues to focus on the Mueller report and the squabbles between the White House and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, US President Donald Trump's real crimes are scarcely addressed or are ignored altogether. | This column will take up one of these crimes, Trump's intensification of his racist war on immigrants. He is not alone on this — the ultra-right throughout Europe and elsewhere have similar anti-immigrant policies. | In recent weeks Trump has appointed new officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
(2019-05-09). The Revelations of WikiLeaks: No. 2 —The Leak That 'Exposed the True Afghan War'. consortiumnews.com The Afghan Diaries set off a firestorm when it revealed the suppression of civilian casualty figures, the existence of an elite U.S.-led death squad, and the covert role of Pakistan in the conflict, as Elizabeth Vos reports. This is the second article in… Read more →
(2019-05-09). Anti-Racist Canada promotes Video by Anti-Palestinian, FOX News Filmmaker. dissidentvoice.org Why would Anti-Racist Canada (ARC) promote a video by a FOX News filmmaker who compares the Left to the KKK and claimed Swedish police refuse to go into immigrant neighbourhoods? Is it because the ARC collective is an example of people who fight racism except if it is anti-Palestinian? Recently, ARC retweeted long-time anti-Palestinian activist …
(2019-05-08). Lawsuit challenges massive overuse of solitary in Florida prisons. splcenter.org Admire Harvard has spent nearly 10 years locked up in solitary confinement in the Florida prison system.
(2019-05-08). Remembering the Woman Who Renovated the House that RBG Built. aclu.org Lenora Lapidus led the ACLU's Women's Right Project for nearly two decades. She died on Sunday, May 5. | On the 50th anniversary of Selma's Bloody Sunday, one of the darkest stains in our nation's civil rights history, President Obama spoke with hope and confidence about Americans who were "unencumbered by what is, because you're ready to seize what ought to be." Lenora Lapidus lived her life by this principle. | Public servants come in many forms. They're elected officials, politicians, activists, lawyers, organizers, students, ordinary citizens, and steadfast patriots. Our beloved Lenora represen…
(2019-05-08). NAACP Statement on House Hearings Regarding Domestic Terrorism. naacp.org The NAACP, the nation's foremost civil rights organization, released the following statement in response to the House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on domestic terrorism today: "We welcome this vital and necessary hearing. The hatred and venom that has already harmed our nation needs to be addressed at the highest levels of government. Nothing is …
(2019-05-08). Cecile Richards: Georgia's New "Fetal Heartbeat" Bill Criminalizes Women Who Seek Abortions. democracynow.org 
Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed into law Tuesday a six-week abortion ban, or so-called "fetal heartbeat law" that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected—something that typically happens just six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women realize they're pregnant. It is now one of the country's most restrictive abortion laws. "It doesn't just make abortion illegal," says | Cecile Richards, former head of Planned Parenthood. "It basically would allow women to be convicted and either sentenced to death or to life imprisonment in Georgia." She notes the real medical crisis for w…
(2019-05-08). Turkey is Holding Thousands of Prisoners in Solitary Confinement Under Erdogan. theantimedia.com (TM) — Thousands of prisoners are being held in solitary confinement in Turkey under conditions so harsh that some prisoners consider dying by suicide, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported Tuesday. There are no official figures on the number of prisoners in solitary confinement or how many people die by suicide in prisons in Turkey, but observers told …
(2019-05-08). Chelsea Manning: Despite Heartbreak And Hardship, Cooperation With WikiLeaks Grand Jury Not An Option. shadowproof.com Editor's Note: The following declaration from Chelsea Manning was filed in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 6. It is part of her defense attorneys' ongoing efforts to free her from the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center. Shadowproof is republishing the statement to help bring further attention to what Manning has endured. | Throughout her declaration, Manning makes it abundantly clear she will never testify before the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. "I can either go to jail or betray my…
(2019-05-08). Supermajority: Cecile Richards Teams With Alicia Garza & Ai-jen Poo to Mobilize Women Voters in 2020. democracynow.org 
As the 2020 primary and general election season heats up, we speak with former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards about Supermajority, the new political action group she helped launch that aims to train a new generation of women activists to take on grassroots campaigns and electoral politics. "Women are the majority of voters … the volunteers, we're increasingly the donors, increasingly the candidates, and it's time for political equity," says Richards. "We want to build a multi-racial, intergenerational movement to increase women's power." Supermajority was co-founded by Black Lives Matter co-founde…
(2019-05-08). Saying 'No' to Immigrant Detention. progressive.org Private companies want to build new immigrant detention facilities, but communities around Chicago are stopping them in their tracks.
(2019-05-08). Support needed for prison reform activist Jock Palfreeman on hunger strike. greenleft.org.au 
Jock Palfreeman, an Australian serving a 20-year jail sentence in Bulgaria on trumped-up murder charges, has been on a hunger strike since April 21. | There has been little news about Palfreeman because the Bulgarian prison authorities have gone to great lengths to cut off any communication he had with the outside world. | While Palfreeman is no newcomer to protest, including in prison, the lack of information about his condition is worrying. His family have been able to get updates through his lawyer Kalin Angelov, who has received sporadic phone calls from Palfreeman. Angelov says the hunger strike is serious a…
(2019-05-07). Mistakenly Jailed Pretrial, an Ohio Mother Lost Her Job and Kids. aclu.org When you're incarcerated pretrial in America, it doesn't take long for life to fall apart. And that's without a conviction. | On April 11, Hamilton County police in Cincinnati, Ohio arrested Ashley Foster in a Target parking lot on charges of trafficking heroin. Foster was with her two young sons, one of whom…
(2019-05-07). Beyond Prisons: Abolition Is A Horizon feat. Sarah K. Tyson. shadowproof.com CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL VIOLENCE, CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE | Sarah K. Tyson joins Beyond Prisons for a conversation about her work as a philosopher, anti-violence advocate, and prison educator. | We explore the contradiction between anti-violence work and its reliance on the criminal punishment system, what it's like to do philosophy in prison, the importance of building relationships with people inside, and so much more. | Sarah Tyson is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Affiliated Faculty of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Colorado, Denver. | Her research focuses on questions of authority, histor…
(2019-05-07). Joe Biden's Son Hunter Is Invested in China's Mass Surveillance Program Used to Monitor Uyghur Muslims. democracynow.org 
As the United Nations accuses the Chinese government of setting up massive camps in the far-west Xinjiang province to imprison an unknown number of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims, Human Rights Watch reports that China is carrying out mass surveillance there using a mobile app that lets authorities monitor the Muslim population. We speak with investigative reporter Lee Fang about an unexpected investor in Chinese surveillance: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son. And we speak with Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson.
(2019-05-07). As Countries Seek Trade With China, Imprisoned Uyghur Muslim Community Has Become "Collateral Damage" democracynow.org 
China's top trade negotiator is traveling to Washington this week as tension over trade intensifies between the two nations. President Trump is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Chinese imports after the U.S. accused China of backtracking on trade commitments. Talks are expected to resume on Thursday, but the Trump administration is facing criticism for refusing to address China's human rights record as part of the negotiations. The United Nations and a number of human rights groups have accused the Chinese government of setting up massive camps in the far-west Xinjiang province to hold an u…
(2019-05-07). Headlines for May 7, 2019. democracynow.org Reuters Reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo Released from Burmese Prison, 500+ Ex-Prosecutors: Trump Would Be Charged with Obstruction If He Weren't President, House Dems to Vote on Holding AG Barr in Contempt Over Mueller Report, Treasury Misses Deadline To Hand Over Trump's Tax Returns, Russia Warns Against Military Intervention in Venezuela, Pompeo: Reduction of Arctic Sea Ice Opens Up "Opportunities for Trade", Turkey Scraps Istanbul Election Results After Ruling AKP Candidate Loses, Syria: Air Raids Destroy Hospitals, Kill at Least 17 Civilians, Panama Elects Centrist Laurentino Cortizo in Close Presidential R…
(2019-05-07). After Florida Re-enfranchises 1.4 Million, Republicans Push New "Poll Tax" For Formerly Incarcerated. democracynow.org 
Civil rights groups are decrying what they say is a new poll tax after the Florida Senate passed a bill Friday that would require formerly incarcerated people with felony convictions to repay all fines and fees to courts before their voting rights are restored. This comes six months after voters in Florida approved a measure to restore voting rights to 1.4 million people with nonviolent felonies who have fully completed their sentences, overturning a Jim Crow-era law aimed at keeping African Americans from voting. Nearly 65 percent of voters approved the constitutional amendment to re-enfranchise people with form…
(2019-05-07). Ecuador's Crackdown on Abortion Is Putting Women in Jail. thenation.com Ecuador's Crackdown on Abortion Is Putting Women in Jail…
(2019-05-07). Air Pollution Crisis Exposes More Environmental Racism in Illinois. theintercept.com 
Wendy Abrams has used her wealth to help protect the environment and public health. She's the founder of a public art exhibit meant to raise awareness on climate change, serves on the board of the Waterkeeper Alliance, and has been on the boards of the NRDC Action Fund and the Environmental Defense Fund's National Council. She helped found the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chica…
(2019-05-06). Nationalism blinds Québecers to Oppression at Home and Abroad. dissidentvoice.org To protect its culture Québec has decided veiled women shouldn't be allowed to teach. But the crucifix adorning the National Assembly can stay, as well as a large cross atop the highest point in Montréal, not to mention the streets named after Catholic saints. The government has decided laàØcité (secularism) should be pursued on the …
(2019-05-06). The Use of Solitary Confinement in Virginia Is Inhumane and Unlawful. aclu.org Instead of keeping its word to courts and reforming its use of solitary, the VA Dept. of Corrections built two massive super maximum-security prisons. | William Thorpe has spent nearly 24 straight years in solitary confinement in Virginia prisons stuck in a cell about half of the size of a parking space for more than 22 hours a day, every day, with no outside light and almost no human contact. | In his nearly two and a half decades in solitary, Thorpe has seen changes in leadership at the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) and attempts to reform how solitary confinement is used in our state prisons. | The…
(2019-05-06). Asylum Officers Are Being Replaced By CBP Agents. aclu.org Having a CBP officer conduct a credible fear interview is like having an arresting police officer also sit as the judge. | Last week, President Trump issued a memorandum outlining his latest wishlist of ways to undermine the integrity of our nation's asylum system. Among them was a direction to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to change how it conducts credible fear interviews, the threshold screening interview given to thousands of asylum…
(2019-05-06). NAACP Opposes Michael Park's Nomination to Second Circuit, Says Failure to Support Brown V. Board is Disqualifying. naacp.org Today, the NAACP announced its opposition to the nomination of Michael Park to the U.S Circuit Court for the Second Circuit. The Senate will vote on Mr. Park's nomination later this week. Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, made the following statement: "Next week, we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Supreme Court's seminal decision in …
(2019-05-06). Federal judge orders reforms to prevent suicides in Alabama prisons. splcenter.org Nearly two years after a federal judge deemed mental health care for Alabama's prisoners "horrendously inadequate," the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is again the subject of a scathing court order in the SPLC's long-running Eighth Amendment case against the department.
(2019-05-06). Headlines for May 6, 2019. democracynow.org Gaza: Ceasefire Reached After Intense Fighting Kills 25 Palestinians and 4 Israelis, U.N. Report: 1 Million Species at Risk of Extinction, Trump Nominates Obama-Era Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan to Head ICE, Ex-WH Chief of Staff John Kelly Joins Board of U.S.'s Largest Jailer of Migrant Children, John Bolton: U.S. Deploying Warships to Send "Message" to Iran, North Korea Tests Missiles As Trump Admin Affirms Nuclear Deal Still on Track, U.N. Warns 40% of North Koreans in Need of Food Assistance, Colombia: Renowned Activist Francia Márquez Escapes Attack by Gunmen, Afghanistan: Taliban Raid Security HQ, Killing…
(2019-05-04). Students march against University of Georgia's historical and present-day racism. liberationnews.org 
In November 2015, the expansion and reconstruction of Baldwin Hall came to a temporary halt when the University of Georgia uncovered the remains of former slaves.
(2019-05-03). Mass. Judge Refuses to Halt Pro-Palestinian Event at UMass Featuring Roger Waters & Linda Sarsour. democracynow.org 
"Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights." That's the title of an event set to take place Saturday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After three anonymous UMass students filed a lawsuit to stop the event, a judge ruled Thursday the event can proceed, saying, "There's nothing that comes even close to a threat of harm or incitement to violence or lawlessness." We get an update from Sut Jhally, event organizer and professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts, and Rachel Weber, attorney and member Jewish Voice for Peace, Western Massachusetts chapt…
(2019-05-03). Roger Waters on Palestine: "You Have to Stand Up for People's Human Rights All Over the World" democracynow.org 
After a judge ruled a panel can move forward Saturday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on "Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights," we speak with one of the event's scheduled participants: Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, one of the most popular rock bands of all time. He says he welcomes the lawsuit that challenged the event, because "what it does is it serves to shine a light on the predicament of the Palestinian people."
(2019-05-03). What Officer Noor's Conviction Says About Racism in America. aclu.org For the first time, Minnesota convicted a police officer for killing someone. That he was Black and the woman he shot was white must not be ignored. | On Tuesday, April 30, a Minnesota jury convicted police officer Mohamed Noor of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing Justine Damond, a white Australian woman. Damond had called 9-1-1 to report a possible sexual assault near her apartment and then approached Noor's squad car when he and his partner responded to the call. Noor killed Damond, and he deserved to be found guilty. His decision to shoot and kill an unarmed person wit…
(2019-05-03). NAACP Files Suit Challenging Restrictive Tennessee Voter Registration Law. naacp.org NASHVILLE, TN — The NAACP, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, pro bono firm Hogan Lovells US LLP, Memphis-based firm Burch, Porter, & Johnson PLLC, Bromberg Law LLC, and community practitioner Daniel Ayoade Yoon filed suit today challenging Tennessee's new third-party registration law. The complaint alleges that the law, which imposes burdensome requirements …
(2019-05-03). Climate Change legislation passes the US House. naacp.org H.R. 9, which was authored by Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL), who is also the Chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, would prohibit the U.S. from withdrawing from the accord and also would require the administration to develop a plan for the U.S. to meet its voluntary commitments under the Paris Agreement. …