(2019-10-14). Johnson's first Queen's Speech dominated by crime Bills. thecanary.co A 'crime crackdown' dominated the first Queen's Speech of Boris Johnson's premiership. | With the prime minister pushing for a snap general election the legislative programme presented at the State Opening of Parliament is being seen as a bid by Johnson to set out his campaign agenda. | As well as law and order issues, immigration and the environment were also major elements of the programme, which had already been extensively trailed. | The package of 26 Bills includes seven relating to crime and justice. | These include legislation to keep serious criminals in prison for longer, impose tougher sentences on fore…
(2019-10-14). M.I.A. visits Julian Assange in prison: "It's about truth—and that's something people have to uphold and fight for" wsws.org Speaking at a press conference outside Belmarsh late Saturday afternoon, M.I.A.—Sri Lankan-born Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam—condemned Assange's tormentors, indicting the US and UK governments, the courts and the corporate media.
(2019-10-14). Spain Court Sentences 9 Catalan Leaders to 13 Years in Jail. telesurenglish.net Spain's Supreme Court Monday sentenced nine Catalan independence leaders to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition over their role in a failed independence bid, triggering protests across the region. | RELATED: | Catalans Call for Independence on 2nd Anniversary of Referendum | Three other defendants, who were also on trial for their involvement in the October 2017 referendum held in spite of a ban and a short-lived independence declaration, were found guilty only of…
(2019-10-14). Lula Receives Human Rights Prize from Prison. globalresearch.ca The AFL-CIO Lula's decades of struggle for the advancement of workers' rights, the strengthening of Brazilian democracy and their struggle for greater equality and justice in the world. | Just a few hours before this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner was …
(2019-10-14). Turkey Claims Kurds Allowed IS Group Prisoners to Escape. telesurenglish.net Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar Monday accused Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters of emptying a jail holding Islamic State group prisoners in a part of Syria where Ankara is mounting an offensive, and that the prisoners there had been abducted. | RELATED: | Syrian Kurds Announce Deal with Damascus to Challenge Turkey | Turkey launched a cross-border operation against the YPG militia in northeastern Syria last week, after U.S. President Donald Trump decided to withdraw forces from tw…
(2019-10-14). Majority of Democrats in Early Voting States 'Think Donald Trump Belongs in Prison, Not the Oval Office,' Poll Shows. commondreams.org The survey found majority of likely 2020 Democratic primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina agree that "Trump should not only be impeached, but also imprisoned." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_impeachment.jpg …
(2019-10-14). Tampa Bay demands Supreme Court uphold LGBT job rights. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On October 7 and 8, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied against the lack of federal job protections for LGBT workers. On October 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) began discussions on three cases that relate to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against job discrimination on the basis of "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin," in order to decide whether sexual orientation and gender identity are also protected under Title VII. Tampa Bay SDS held two rallies in response to this, as a part of a National SDS call to action. SDS demanded that…
(2019-10-14). Doctors Demand Trump Close 'Inherently Immoral' Immigrant Detention Centers Ahead of Mass Protest on Capitol Hill. commondreams.org Doctors on Monday called on President Donald Trump to close the hundreds of detention centers where tens of thousands of immigrants are being held currently, many for months on end. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-9787825282_0_0.png …
(2019-10-13). Jeremy Corbyn slams the Tories for trying to rig election results with voter ID checks. thecanary.co 
The government recently announced plans to introduce ID checks at polling stations ahead of the next general election. The move is said to be an attempt to "safeguard against electoral fraud". | However, only allowing people with photo ID to vote will have a massive impact. It may well block the poorest and most vulnerable people from voting. | Voter suppression and election rigging: | The number of people likely to be affe…
(2019-10-12). Six months since the brutal arrest of WikiLeaks' publisher Julian Assange. wsws.org While Assange is subjected to what amounts to torture in a British prison, the war criminals he has done so much to expose walk free.
(2019-10-12). An Aperspectival View of the Culture War. dissidentvoice.org 
Each stage in the history of the civil rights movement has had a specific theme and focus. In the 19th century it was race and gender, in the 20th it was race, gender, gay, bi, trans, queer, in the 21st it is all of them +. One could say that these are ideas whose time …
(2019-10-11). Under capitalism, even water is a tool of oppression. mronline.org 
All life depends on water. It covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface, makes up 60 percent of our bodies and literally falls from the sky. It's abundant and indispensable. But under capitalism, even water is a tool of social domination. | Source
(2019-10-11). Montgomery, Alabama has first Black mayor in its two-century history. peoplesworld.org 
(2019-10-11). Houthis Vow Retaliation As Saudi Naval Blockade Sparks Fresh Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen. mintpressnews.com 
Saudi Arabia has stepped up its seizure and detention of ships carrying food and fuel into Yemen, sparking shortages that experts warn will push the country's civilians into even more dire straits.
(2019-10-11). Chicago actors Theo Germaine and Daniel Kyri push boundaries of queer representation. peoplesworld.org 
Friday, Oct. 11, marks the annual recognition of National Coming Out Day. First observed in 1988, the day is dedicated to raising awareness of civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. With the current administration occupying the White House threatening to strip away LGBTQ rights, being "visible" remains an inherently political …
(2019-10-11). The Stanford Sexual Assault Case Made Her "Emily Doe." In New Memoir, Chanel Miller Tells Her Story. democracynow.org 
We spend the hour with author Chanel Miller speaking about her recently published remarkable memoir, "Know My Name." The book chronicles how Miller reclaimed her name, her story and her life after being sexually assaulted by Brock Turner, a member of the Stanford University swim team, in 2015. At the time, she was known as "Emily Doe." The case gained national prominence when a California judge sentence Turner to just six months in a county jail after he was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault. He ended up spending only three months locked up. The sentencing sparked outrage. Voters in California la…
(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.
(2019-10-10). The Actual Laws Trump Has Broken, Just With the Ukraine and China Affairs, Could Land Him 10 Years in Prison. theintercept.com Take 18 U.S. Code ß 872: "Extortion by officers or employees of the United States." Or 18 U.S. Code ß 610: "Coercion of political activity."
(2019-10-10). The Supreme Court Needs to Protect Trans People from Discrimination. progressive.org "I wasn't hired because I am trans. And in more than half the country—twenty-nine states, in fact —that's perfectly legal."
(2019-10-10). SCOTUS Deeply Divided on LGBTQ Rights. therealnews.com 
The Justices heard cases that would broaden sex discrimination under Civil Rights Act to include Gays, Lesbians and Transgender citizens.
(2019-10-10). Trump impeachment inquiry reveals deep ruling class divisions. greenleft.org.au 
US politics Barry SheppardIssue 1240 United States Donald Trump impeachmentOctober 10, 2019The House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into United States President Donald Trump was launched by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24 an…
(2019-10-09). Reaction to Jock Palfreeman's illegal detention continues to grow. greenleft.org.au 
civil rights Pip HinmanIssue 1240 Bulgaria political prisoner paroleOctober 9, 2019On October 7, three Bulgarian judges from the Supreme Court of Cassation decided they would need up to two months to review…
(2019-10-09). Divided Supreme Court Hears Landmark LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Case. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in three cases that will determine whether LGBTQ people can be fired from their jobs due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Among the court's conservative justices, only Neil Gorsuch appeared open to prohibiting such workplace discrimination. One of the cases centers on a transgender woman from Michigan named Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home in 2013. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the three cases by early next summer. We speak to James Esseks, director of the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, who attended Tu…
(2019-10-09). Headlines for October 9, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Won't Cooperate with Impeachment Probe, Prompting Constitutional Crisis, Turkish Attack on Kurds in Syria Imminent After U.S. Steps Aside, Afghanistan Claims al-Qaeda Leader Died in U.S.-Led Attack That Killed 40 Civilians, Trump Admin Planning Withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty, Wife of U.S. Diplomat Claims Immunity After Crash That Killed Motorcyclist, Supreme Court Hears Arguments in LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Cases, 800,000 Californians Face Blackouts as PG&E Cuts Power Amid Wildfire Fears, Steven Reed Elected First Black Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, NBC Producer Says Matt Lauer Raped Her in 2014, U…
(2019-10-09). Julián Castro Backs Impeachment Effort & Condemns Trump's "Betrayal" of Kurds in Northern Syria. democracynow.org 
Turkey's government says its troops are prepared for an imminent assault on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, after President Trump ordered U.S. troops to fall back from their positions on the Turkish-Syrian border. Kurdish fighters said they're bracing for a "humanitarian catastrophe." This follows warnings that former Kurdish allies of the U.S. who feel betrayed by President Trump will abandon thousands of prisoners captured during the U.S.-backed war against ISIS over the past two years. We speak to former housing secretary and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro, who says Trump's move is a…
(2019-10-07). "We Have to Mass Mobilize": Laverne Cox & Chase Strangio Sound the Alarm on Major LGBTQ SCOTUS Cases. democracynow.org 
At the start of its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in three cases to determine whether LGBTQ people can be fired from their jobs due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of sex, as well as race, color, national origin and religion, but the Trump administration claims the law does not cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The cases mark the first time the Supreme Court will rule on LGBTQ rights since conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh re…
(2019-10-04). Headlines for October 4, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Publicly Calls on Ukraine and China to Investigate the Bidens, Trump Discussed Campaign Rivals in June Call with China's Xi Jinping, FEC Chair: Illegal for Candidates to Solicit Foreign Help in U.S. Elections, Messages Detail How U.S. Officials Pressured Ukraine on Trump's Behalf, IRS Whistleblower: Treasury Official Tried to Interfere with Trump or Pence Tax Audit, Trump Administration to Collect DNA of All Immigrants Jailed in U.S., Iraq Death Toll at 44 as Violent Repression of Protests Continues, Honduran President Denies Narcotrafficking Ties as His Brother Faces U.S. Trial, Protests Rock Ecuador as IM…
(2019-09-23). Opportunity Costs: Community corrections program offers a roadmap for client success. splcenter.org Positive client outcomes indicate promising investment for fiscally sound prison alternatives, rather than prison construction.
(2019-09-18). Join the Global Climate Strike. Oppose Israel's climate apartheid. bdsmovement.net 
Join the Global Climate Strike. Oppose Israel's climate apartheid.: Action AlertTell multinational corporations to stop investing in fossil fuels and in Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people. | Economic BoycottSeptember 19, 2019 | By: | | Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)
(2019-09-18). Safe For Whom? How the MSD Commission is putting Florida's Children in Danger. splcenter.org The commission appointed by politicians to study school safety in Florida after the mass shooting in Parkland in 2018 has recommended—without evidence to support them—measures that place children at greater risk of being shot or wrongfully arrested; put children's privacy and liberty in jeopardy and strip them of civil rights; create school environments that are more tense, anxiety-provoking, and traumatic; breed distrust between students and faculty; and absorb funds needed for programs that have actually been proven to make schools safer for all students. | Lacking needed expertise and diversity, th…