(2019-06-18). The Florida GOP's Assault on Democracy. thenation.com The Florida GOP's Assault on Democracy…
(2019-06-18). Democratic hopefuls roll out anti-poverty plans at Poor People's Campaign. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Hoping to gain activists and energize a large voting bloc, nine 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls — including one nobody's ever heard of — tackled the problems of the poor and voter suppression of black and brown people, among other topics, at a candidate forum here June 17. The eight-hour-long session, minus a dinner break, marked …
(2019-06-18). Parkland survivor Kyle Kashuv's 'racist posts' are 'those of a shooter' — Former Republican. rt.com 
Former GOP congressman David Jolly praised Harvard's decision to reverse Parkland survivor and gun rights advocate Kyle Kashuv's admission over years-old racist messages, saying they were exactly like those of a school shooter.
(2019-06-18). Online fundraiser launched to help cover Farage milkshake attacker's costs. thecanary.co An online fundraiser has been set up to help the man who threw a milkshake over Nigel Farage cover his compensation and court costs. | The GoFundMe page was set up to raise the £520 Paul Crowther has been ordered to pay, and within three hours had almost reached its target. | Should it exceed its target, the organiser said he and the 32-year-old defendant will put the surplus towards an anti-racism cause. | Organiser Graeme Rayner wrote: I set up this page for Paul Cr…
(2019-06-18). US and Canada Are Backing an Elite White Supremacist Minority in Venezuela. globalresearch.ca "Racism is one of the main engines and expressions of the current counter-revolution. In Venezuela the revolutionary struggle to end white supremacy and for self-determination is slow, and complicated by white elites, backed by US imperialism, and by the denial …
(2019-06-18). Legal Victory Strengthens LGBT Activists as Threat From Bolsonaro Looms. truthout.org On Thursday, June 13, after months of postponement, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court officially made homophobia and transphobia —— locally known as "LGBTphobia" —— a crime and outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In an eight to three ruling, the remaining judges of the Supreme Federal Court voted to criminalize LGBTphobia under existing anti-discrimination law…
(2019-06-18). Brazil: Odebrecht to Avoid Bankruptcy Through A Recovery Plan. telesurenglish.net The Brazilian construction conglomerate, Odebrecht (ODB), which has admitted to paying out about US$7.88 billion in bribes over the past 20 years to win public contracts in Latin American countries, requested to file for bankruptcy Monday before a Sao Paulo court. The measure would allow the corporation to negotiate "recovery plan" with its creditors with the hope to avoid a shutting its doors. | RELATED: | Another Senior Peruvian Politician Gets Jail For Corruption | Given the "e…
(2019-06-18). Brazil: Odebrecht to Avoid Bankruptcy Through Recovery Plan. telesurenglish.net The Brazilian construction conglomerate, Odebrecht (ODB), which has admitted to paying out about US$7.88 billion in bribes over the past 20 years to win public contracts in Latin American countries, requested to file for bankruptcy protection Monday before a Sao Paulo court. The measure would allow the corporation to negotiate "recovery plan" with its creditors with the hope to avoid a shutting its doors. | RELATED: | Another Senior Peruvian Politician Gets Jail For Corruption | G…
(2019-06-18). Six Years After Coup, Egypt's First Democratically Elected President Dies. truthout.org Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, 67, died Monday after collapsing while in a glass cage inside a Cairo courtroom. The Muslim Brotherhood leader was elected in 2012 in Egypt's first, and still only, democratic election. He was overthrown a year later in a military coup led by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Morsi's death comes as el-Sisi continues to jail tens of thousands of people in what the Associated Press has described as the heaviest crackdown on dissent in Egypt's modern history. In his final comments, Morsi insisted he was still Egypt's legitimate president. Morsi spent the la…
(2019-06-18). WikiLeaks' Vault7 CIA leaker tried to start 'information war' against govt — prosecutors. rt.com 
The ex-CIA leaker who gave WikiLeaks the 'Vault7' documents smuggled phones into a Manhattan jail with the intention of waging an "information war" against the US government and "finally revers[ing] US jingoism" from behind bars.
(2019-06-18). Mohamed Morsi: Six Years After Coup, Egypt's First Democratically Elected President Dies in Court. democracynow.org 
Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, 67, died Monday after collapsing while in a glass cage inside a Cairo courtroom. The Muslim Brotherhood leader was elected in 2012 in Egypt's first, and still only, democratic election. He was overthrown a year later in a military coup led by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Morsi's death comes as el-Sisi continues to jail tens of thousands of people in what the Associated Press has described as the heaviest crackdown on dissent in Egypt's modern history. In his final comments, Morsi insisted he was still Egypt's legitimate president. Morsi spent the last…
(2019-06-18). AOC says 'fascist' Trump running 'concentration camps' on border. rt.com 
Firebrand Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised some eyebrows when she said that immigrant detention centers on the southern US border are "concentration camps," while calling President Donald Trump a "fascist."
(2019-06-18). Julian Assange Indictment "Criminalizes the News Gathering Process," Says Pentagon Papers Lawyer. democracynow.org 
A London judge has ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to appear before a court in February 2020 to face a full extradition hearing. Prosecutors in the U.S. have indicted Assange on 18 counts, including 17 violations of the Espionage Act. This is the first-ever case of a journalist or publisher being indicted under the World War I-era law. Assange said that his life was "effectively at stake" if the U.K. honors a U.S. request for his extradition. Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in London's Belmarsh Prison for skipping bail in 2012. We speak with James Goodale, former general counsel of The Ne…
(2019-06-18). Egypt's former president Morsi buried in Cairo. cgtn.com 
Egypt's former president Mohammed Morsi was buried early Tuesday morning under heavy security a day after his dramatic collapse and death inside a Cairo courtroom. | Deposed President Mohamed Mursi greets his lawyers and people from behind bars at a court wearing the red uniform of a prisoner sentenced to death, during his court appearance with Muslim Brotherhood members on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, June 21, 2015. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh /File Photo | Abdul-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud a member of Morsi's defense team said he was buried at a cemetery in the Cairo's eastern district of Nasr City. | This was despit…
(2019-06-18). Shrewsbury 24 flying picket Terry Renshaw: "Only the power of the working class, not the official courts, is going to provide any perspective for freeing Julian Assange." wsws.org The former building worker explains, "To defend class war prisoners like Julian Assange, the perspective has got to be to raise the awareness and mobilise the masses."
(2019-06-18). Julian Assange Indictment "Criminalizes the News Gathering Process" truthout.org A London judge has ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to appear before a court in February 2020 to face a full extradition hearing. Prosecutors in the U.S. have indicted Assange on 18 counts, including 17 violations of the Espionage Act. This is the first-ever case of a journalist or publisher being indicted under the World War I-era law. Assange said that his life was "effectively at stake" if the U.K. honors a U.S. request for his extradition. Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in London's Belmarsh Prison for skipping bail in 2012. We speak with James Goodale, former general counsel of The…
(2019-06-18). Morsi, Egypt's freely elected and imprisoned president, killed by regime. peoplesworld.org 
After six years of solitary confinement at a secret prison, Egypt's legitimate president, Mohamed Morsi, died yesterday after the latest in a string of judges ignored pleas to deal with his failing health. He has suffered from numerous medical conditions including heart failure and diabetes for years and has had not received necessary medical attention …
(2019-06-18). Charles E. Ruthenberg: The first leader of the Communist Party USA. peoplesworld.org 
At the time of his death in 1927, he was lauded as "one of the most indicted and imprisoned workers" in the history of the American labor movement. Yet today, few know the name Charles Emil Ruthenberg. When he passed away suddenly at the age of 44, he cheated a Michigan prison of its next …
(2019-06-18). Behind the Syrian network for human rights: how an opposition front group became Western media's go-to monitor. mronline.org 
Top media outlets turn to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) for figures on deaths and detentions, never noting the group's seamless connection to Syria's opposition, the support it receives from states that waged war on the country, or its open lobbying for US military intervention. | Source
(2019-06-17). Lawsuit Seeks Info on Trump Administration Eliminating Environmental Grades. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-06-17). The Dark Side of Brexit: Britain's Ethnic Minorities Are Facing More and More Violence. counterpunch.org Pictures of Daniel Ezzedine show him to be a fresh-faced 17-year-old with a warm cheerful smile. His parents are Lebanese but he was brought up in Germany where he had just left school. His teachers brought him to celebrate his graduation on a trip to Canterbury, where he was assaulted and beaten half to death by a gang of youths in what local people are convinced was a racist attack. More
(2019-06-17). Climate crisis and the 2020 elections. nationofchange.org Trump and his party must be defeated | : | There are so many things wrong with Donald Trump that one hardly knows where to begin. He is a racist, habitual liar, tax evader, cruel cager of infants, misogynist, narcissist, bully, violator of numerous laws, both national and international, a friend of rich oligarchs and enemy of the poor, to mention only a few of his faults. He has made the United States resemble Germany, Italy or Spain in the 1930's, when fascism was on the rise. | However, most importantly for the future of human civilization and the biosphere, Trump has denied the reality of the climat…
(2019-06-17). A 'Poor People's Moral Budget' because 'everybody has the right to live'. nationofchange.org This week another new budget proposal was released. This time it didn't come from campaigning politicians or corrupt administrations but rather from two groups — the Poor People's Campaign and the Institute for Policy Studies — in an effort to show the people of the United States how to "invest in life." | The 'Poor People's Moral Budget' demands a "comprehensive response to the systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and war economy plaguing our country today." It includes seven sections that detail…
(2019-06-17). Behind the Syrian Network for Human Rights: How an Opposition Front Group Became Western Media's Go-To Monitor. mintpressnews.com 
Top media outlets turn to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) for figures on deaths and detentions, never noting the group's seamless connection to Syria's opposition, the support it receives from states that waged war on the country, or its open lobbying for US military intervention.
(2019-06-17). Headlines for June 17, 2019. democracynow.org More Mass Protests in Hong Kong as Activist Joshua Wong Freed from Prison, Iran Closes In on Uranium Stockpile Limit as U.S. Ratchets Up Tensions, 6-Year-Old Migrant Girl from India Dies in Arizona Desert on Way to Seek Asylum, Youngest Separated Migrant Was 4-Month-Old Baby, ICE Quarantines 5,000+ Migrants After Exposure to Mumps, Electrical Grid Failure Causes Massive Blackout in South America, Trump Lashes Out After NYT Report on U.S. Incursions into Russian Cyberspace, India Imposes Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods, Ex-First Lady Leads Presidential Vote Tally in Contested Guatemala Election, Sudanese Ex-Lead…
(2019-06-17). Drugs deaths linked to people facing considerable adversity, study finds. thecanary.co The majority of drugs deaths occur among people who have experienced considerable adversity in their lives, often from a young age, research has found. | In a report focused on drug deaths in Tayside last year, published by the local health board, 62 out of 78 people (79.5%) who died as a result of using drugs were recorded as having experienced at least one adverse event during their lifetime. | The study also found that just under half (46.1%) of the total number of drug death casualties had been in prison or had been on remand at least once in adulthood. | A majority of those who died from drug consumption wer…
(2019-06-17). The Coming Show Trial of Julian Assange. truthdig.com LONDON—On Friday morning I was in a small courtroom at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. Julian Assange, held in Belmarsh Prison and dressed in a pale-blue prison shirt, appeared on a video screen directly in front of me. Assange, his gray hair and beard neatly trimmed, slipped on heavy, dark-frame glasses at the start of the proceedings. He listened intently as Ben Brandon, the prosecutor, seated at a narrow wooden table, listed the crimes he allegedly had committed and called for his extradition to the United States to face charges that could result in a sentence of 175 years. The charges include…
(2019-06-17). Trump Offered to Suspend Sanctions While Negotiating with Iran, Khamenei Rejected the Offer: More Attacks Expected. globalresearch.ca Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo conveyed a message from US President Donald Trump to the Iranian leadership, asking the release of 5 US prisoners and inviting Iran to sit around a negotiation table, adding "he [Donald Trump] would be ready …
(2019-06-17). Chicago Police Killing of Laquan McDonald Exposed a System Built on Lies. truthout.org The documentary 16 Shots examines the 2014 murder of African-American teenager Laquan McDonald in Chicago and the attempt by the city's police department to cover up the events. McDonald, who was 17, was shot 16 times by former police officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was found guilty in 2018 of second-degree murder and sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for McDonald's murder. He was also found guilty on 16 counts of aggravated battery — one count for each of the 16 bullets he fired at McDonald. The film is screening on Showtime. We speak with Rick Rowley, director of 16 Shots. | TRANSCR…
(2019-06-17). "16 Shots": Chicago Police Killing of Laquan McDonald Exposed a System Built on Lies. democracynow.org 
The documentary "16 Shots" examines the 2014 murder of African-American teenager Laquan McDonald in Chicago and the attempt by the city's police department to cover up the events. McDonald, who was 17, was shot 16 times by former police officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was found guilty in 2018 of second-degree murder and sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for McDonald's murder. He was also found guilty on 16 counts of aggravated battery—one count for each of the 16 bullets he fired at McDonald. The film is screening on Showtime. We speak with Rick Rowley, director of "16 Shots."
(2019-06-17). Patrick Gaspard to Receive Prestigious NAACP Spingarn Medal. naacp.org 
BALTIMORE — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation's foremost civil rights organization, has announced that Ambassador Patrick Gaspard will be awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal on July 24, 2019, during the 110th NAACP Annual Convention, taking place in Detroit, Michigan. The award recognizes Gaspard's lifelong commitment to equality and …
(2019-06-17). Selected Articles: Trump and the Taiwan Gambit. globalresearch.ca Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …
(2019-06-17). What's Trending: Black News Weekly. naacp.org 
The New York Times: This Empty Lot Is Worth Millions. It's Also an African-American Burial Ground. The owner of a plot of land in Queens wants to sell it or develop it. Others want to memorialize one of the city's first communities for former and freed slaves. Blackpress USA: Rep. Waters Works …
(2019-06-14). Ola Bini Was Friends with Julian Assange. He Has Spent Two Months in Jail Without Charge in Ecuador. democracynow.org 
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared before a magistrates' court in London Friday, saying his life was "effectively at stake" if the U.K. honors an extradition request from the United States, where he faces 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act. Meanwhile, a friend of Assange's, Swedish programmer and data privacy activist Ola Bini, is still in prison in Ecuador, after being arrested April 11, the same day Assange was forcibly taken by British authorities from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and has been jailed ever since without charges. We speak with Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institut…
(2019-06-14). Behind the Syrian Network for Human Rights: How an opposition front group became Western media's go-to monitor. thegrayzone.com Top media outlets turn to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) for figures on deaths and detentions, never noting…
(2019-06-14). "Advocate": Israeli Attorney Lea Tsemel Reflects on Defending Palestinians Who Resist Occupation. democracynow.org 
Attorney Lea Tsemel has defended Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli courts for nearly half a century, insisting on their humanity and their right to a fair trial. Her work has earned her the scorn and reprobation of many Israelis, as well as death threats. A staunch critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Tsemel has long argued that Palestinians who carry out politically motivated violence are freedom fighters, not "terrorists." In 1999, Tsemel won a landmark case in the Israeli Supreme Court, making it illegal for Israeli officials to torture detained Palestinians during interrogations. The docume…
(2019-06-14). Millions of Brazilians Join General Strike and Protests Against President's Austerity Reforms. therealnews.com 
In what has become the largest mobilization against Brazil's right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, millions of Brazilians joined in the general strike, shutting down schools, banks, and public transportation. They are demanding a halt of the pension reform and the release of imprisoned ex-president Lula da Silva. Mike Fox reports from Brazil…
(2019-06-14). Get woke, go broke: Oberlin College hit with $44 MILLION penalty for accusing local bakery of racism. rt.com 
An Ohio jury awarded a local bakery $33 million in punitive damages, on top of $11 million in compensation, because college officials were involved in student protests that accused the store of racism in a shoplifting incident.
(2019-06-13). "Pose" Star Indya Moore Demands Justice for Killed Trans Women: "We Are All Worthy of Safety" democracynow.org 
Transgender actor and model Indya Moore addressed a crowd of protesters gathered in New York City's Foley Square Monday to demand justice for Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. "We are worthy of legal aid, liberty, justice, resources. And we are worthy of life. We are worthy of love," Moore told the crowd. "If the sight of us using our bodies, our voices and our defiance to protest this oppress…
(2019-06-13). Justice for Layleen Polanco: Community Demands Answers After Trans Black Latinx Woman Died at Rikers. democracynow.org 
Outrage is mounting over the death of Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. Her family, friends and transgender rights activists are now demanding answers for the conditions that led to the 27-year-old's death. The city says the cause of death has not yet been determined. Polanco was held in a unit for transgender women while jailed at Rikers, but a week before her death she was transferred to so-…
(2019-06-13). No More Deaths: Mistrial Declared After Jury Refuses to Convict Scott Warren for Aiding Migrants. democracynow.org 
In Tucson, Arizona, a jury has refused to convict humanitarian activist Scott Warren, who faced up to 20 years in prison for providing water, food, clean clothes and beds to two undocumented migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. Warren's trial ended Tuesday in a mistrial after a deadlocked jury was unable to deliver a verdict. Eight jurors thought Warren was not guilty; four thought he was guilty. A status hearing is scheduled for July 2. Prosecutors have declined to comment on whether they would seek a retrial against Warren. We speak with Ryan Devereaux, a staff reporter at The Intercept who…
(2019-06-12). Secret Files Show How Brazil's Elites Jailed Former President Lula and Cleared the Way for Bolsonaro. democracynow.org 
A political crisis is growing in Brazil after The Intercept revealed that the judge who helped jail former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likely aided federal prosecutors in their corruption case in an attempt to prevent Lula's Workers' Party from winning the presidency. Leaked cellphone messages among Brazilian law enforcement officials and other data obtained by The Intercept point to an ongoing collaboration between Judge Sérgio Moro and the prosecutors investigating a sweeping corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash. Lula was considered a favorite in the lead-up to the 2018 presidential…
(2019-06-12). Overcrowding, Rotten Food & Nooses: DHS Watchdog Confirms Horrific Conditions at Immigrant Jails. democracynow.org 
We look at horrific conditions for some 52,000 immigrants held in for-profit jails around the country. At least 24 immigrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, and at least four more died shortly after being released. Now Homeland Security's own inspector general has revealed how detained immigrants are subjected to rotten food, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and broken and overflowing toilets. This comes as a separate report recently documented "dangerous overcrowding" at a Border Patrol processing facility in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, the Trump administ…
(2019-06-12). Headlines for June 12, 2019. democracynow.org Police Crack Down on Second Wave of Hong Kong Mass Protests, Trial Against Humanitarian Activist Scott Warren Ends in Hung Jury, House Votes to Sue Trump Admin over AG Barr and Don McGahn Subpoenas, DOJ Advises Trump to Block Possible Contempt Motions Against Wilbur Ross and Barr over 2020 Census, Donald Trump Jr. Testifies Before Senate, Mass Arrests in Russia After Protests over Detention of Journalist, Reports of Injuries After Houthi Missile Hits Saudi Airport, Sudanese Protesters and Military Gov't to Resume Talks After Bloody Crackdown, Botswana Decriminalizes Homosexuality, DHS Secretary Testifies to Congr…
(2019-06-11). Tennessee Republicans Take Voter Suppression a Step Further. progressive.org The new law is already having a chilling effect on voting rights groups' work to register voters in underrepresented communities.
(2019-06-11). Gov. Jay Inslee on Climate Refugees, Tax Breaks for Boeing & Why He Feels Trump Is a Racist. democracynow.org 
We speak with Washington Governor Jay Inslee about his bid for the 2020 presidency, immigration and the military-industrial complex. Inslee has also vowed to allow in a record number of refugees and to end President Trump's Muslim travel ban. In 2017, Washington became the first state to file a lawsuit to challenge Trump's initial travel ban.
(2019-06-11). Bernie Sanders Calls for Brazil's Judiciary to Release Lula in Wake of Corruption Exposure. theintercept.com Sanders is responding to The Intercept's exposé on Operation Car Wash, an anti-corruption probe that landed the former Brazilian president in prison.
(2019-06-10). Rev. William Barber: Racist Gerrymandering Created a GOP Stronghold in the South. We Must Fight Back. democracynow.org 
Longtime civil rights leader Rev. Dr. William Barber joins us to respond to his conviction Thursday for trespassing during a 2017 protest against gerrymandering and attacks on healthcare at the North Carolina Legislature. Barber had refused to leave the General Assembly as ordered, after he organized a sit-in at the legislative building when Republican leaders refused to meet with him about concerns with voter ID requirements and redistricting plans that would weaken the power of the black vote. "We must start connecting systemic racism, most seen through systemic voter suppression and gerrymandering, poverty, th…
(2019-06-09). Exclusive: Leaked Chats Between Brazilian Judge and Prosecutor Who Imprisoned Lula Reveal Prohibited Collaboration and Doubts Over Evidence. theintercept.com 
Judge Sergio Moro repeatedly counseled prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol via Telegram during more than two years of Operation Car Wash.
(2019-06-07). Weekend Read: The Changing Demographics of Mass Incarceration. splcenter.org After decades of constructing a system of mass incarceration, it appears that our nation is beginning to turn the tide.
