(2019-10-25). Is Rikers Island Really Closing? Or is De Blasio Misrepresenting the NYC Council Vote? therealnews.com 
Eddie Conway spoke with organizer Albert Saint-Jean from Just Immigration about the impact of the NYC Council borough-based jail vote, about nonprofits that are funding more incarceration, and the misreporting of Rikers Jail closing.
(2019-10-25). Trump's Company Exploring Sale of Marquee Washington Hotel. truthdig.com 
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's company said Friday it is exploring the sale of its marquee Washington hotel, which has been at the center of nearly three years of ethics complaints and lawsuits accusing him of trying to profit off the presidency. | The Trump Organization says it will consider offers to buy it out of a 100-year lease of the building, partly to avoid criticism over conflicts of interest. The Trump International Hotel, which opened in late 2016 just before Trump was elected, has been a magnet for lobbyists and diplomats looking to gain favor with the administration. | "People are object…
(2019-10-25). Trump's Company Exploring Sale of Marquee Washington Hotel. truthdig.com WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's company said Friday it is exploring the sale of its landmark Washington hotel after nearly three years of ethics complaints and lawsuits accusing him of trying to profit off the presidency. | The Trump Organization says it will consider offers to buy out the 60-year lease on the Trump International Hotel, which since opening in late 2016 has become a magnet for lobbyists and diplomats looking to gain favor with the administration. | "People are objecting to us making so much money on the hotel and therefore we may be willing to sell," said Eric Trump, an executive vice…
(2019-10-25). Fire and Logging Myths. counterpunch.org 
MYTH: FUEL BUILD UP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LARGE BLAZES? A conventional narrative is that wildfires in the western U.S. are unprecedented and more extensive than in the past. This increase in fire acreage is attributed to "fuel build-up," presumed to be the result of successful fire suppression. However, such assertions lack context. Compared to the More
(2019-10-25). She Deserves Our Support: Betty McCollum Wants US to Stop Subsidizing Torture of Palestinian Children. counterpunch.org 
In December 2018, 17-year-old Palestinian teen, Ayham Sabah, was sentenced by an Israeli military court to 35 years in prison for his alleged role in a stabbing attack targeting an Israeli soldier in an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Sabah was only 14 years old when the alleged attack took place. Another alleged More
(2019-10-25). Trials and Tribulations with a Dead Press. counterpunch.org 
I have lived a life marked by many roles, some of them mutually exclusive. According to The Dallas Morning News, for instance, I'm an "investigative journalist whose prison sentence was derided by free press advocates", as well as an "Anonymous activist and award-winning journalist". Also according to the Dallas Morning News, I merely "describe[.. my]self More
(2019-10-25). AOC Grills Facebook's Zuckerberg on Lies in Political Ads. truthout.org This week, as Mark Zuckerberg says that politicians should be allowed to lie on Facebook, the social media giant's CEO was grilled for more than five hours by lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the company's policy of allowing politicians to lie in political advertisements, as well as its role in facilitating election interference and housing discrimination. We play highlights from New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ohio Congressmember Joyce Beatty, who asked Zuckerberg about Facebook's record on civil…
(2019-10-25). Video: Police officer fatally shoots unarmed teen in back of head. nationofchange.org The federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the boy's father alleges that Villalvazo used excessive and unlawful deadly force while committing assault and battery with negligence.
(2019-10-25). ACLU Demands Yuba Community College District Remove Anti-Transgender Health Care Exclusion. indybay.org YUBA COUNTY, October 22, 2019 – The ACLU of Northern California today sent a letter to Yuba Community College District and Tri-County Schools Insurance Group calling on them to immediately remove an illegal provision in the district's employee health care plans that discriminates against transgender people with a blanket-exclusion for gender-affirming care.
(2019-10-25). ACLU celebrates settlement ending unconstitutional efforts to silence pipeline protesters in South Dakota. nationofchange.org "Let this be a lesson to other states: If you criminalize protest, we will sue."
(2019-10-25). Tallahassee activists 'Say her name' and demand justice for victims of police crimes. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL – On October 22, a lively group rallied in the streets of the historic Florida capital city, chanting "Say her name," "Black lives matter" and "Justice for Atatiana." The action was a part of the National Day Against Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. | The protest brought attention to a recent case of police brutality: that of 28-year-old African American Atatiana Jefferson, who was shot in her own home by Fort Worth, Texas police officer Aaron Dean. | Tallahassee Community Action Committee and Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society organized the protest…
(2019-10-25). ExxonMobil Faces Another Lawsuit: Massachusetts Sues for Climate Deception. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-10-25). Feds Launch Process to Protect Endangered West Coast Orcas From Vessel Disturbance. indybay.org Announcement Follows Lawsuit Over 'Whale Protection Zone' in Washington's Inland Waters…
(2019-10-25). New Trump administration rules increase water exports, imperil salmon. indybay.org "Last month on California Native American Day the governor vetoed legislation (SB 1) that could have helped the state protect our salmon from this plan," said Morning Star Gali, the Tribal Water Organizer from Save California Salmon. "This veto came just months after he apologized for the state's treatment of native people. We need more than lip service to California's Tribal people's and our declining salmon populations. Governor Newsom campaigned on fighting the Trump administration's environmental rollbacks. We need him to walk his talk and fight for our salmon by filing a lawsuit against this bad plan for Cal…
(2019-10-25). Germany: Humboldt University student parliament supports lawsuit against far-right Professor Baberowski. wsws.org The legal complaint is an important step in defending students' freedom of opinion in the face of an offensive by radical right-wing forces within the academic milieu.
(2019-10-25). House of Representatives approves making animal cruelty a federal offense. nationofchange.org Under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, a violator could face up to seven years in prison.
(2019-10-25). LGBTQ Issues Missing in Presidential Campaign Coverage. fair.org 
LGBTQ people—and trans people in particular—have been under attack since the day Donald Trump took office and removed all mentions of LGBTQ people from several federal websites. Trump reversed federal guidance for the protection of transgender students in schools, banned trans people from military service, and has worked to exclude LGBTQ people from a variety of nondiscrimination protections. (For a full list of his administration's anti-LGBTQ actions, see here.) Trans wome…
(2019-10-25). 'What an Unexpected, Unpleasant Situation for Students,' Says NAACP Leader Regarding Trump Visit to Historically Black College. commondreams.org Days after "lynching" comment, the president addresses a forum at Benedict College in South Carolina. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump-benedict-college.jpg …
(2019-10-25). "You Won't Take Down Lies or You Will?": AOC Grills Facebook's Zuckerberg on Lies in Political Ads. democracynow.org 
This week, as Facebook said it will not fact check political ads or hold politicians to its usual content standards, the social media giant's CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled for more than five hours by lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the company's policy of allowing politicians to lie in political advertisements, as well as its role in facilitating election interference and housing discrimination. We play highlights from New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ohio Congressmember Joyce Beatty, who asked Zuckerberg about Facebook's record on civil rights, which she called "appalling and disgusting." Bea…
(2019-10-24). 'Forgiveness and mercy' — for whom? workers.org 
The writer of the following letter is imprisoned in Massachusetts. As the month of October began, an extraordinary event was unfurling in a Texas courtroom. At least that's how the mainstream media was reporting it. However, for people of color and other oppressed individuals, this was a familiar scene. In . . . | Continue reading 'Forgiveness and mercy' — for whom? at Workers.org
(2019-10-24). Tesla driver burned to death because first responders couldn't open doors, lawsuit claims. rt.com 
A family is suing Tesla for the wrongful death of a man who suffocated and burned to death after he crashed his Model S, alleging that the car's hi-tech features trapped the victim in the vehicle. | First responders in south Florida allegedly couldn't reach Omar Awan, 48, because the vehicle's retractable door handles failed to "auto present" after he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a palm tree, at which point the car's lithium ion battery caught fire. | Awan had reportedly leased the Model S, which Tesla boasted had one of the highest safety ratings of any automobile tested at the time, because o…
(2019-10-24). Fired New York police officer implicated in death of Eric Garner sues to get job back at department. rt.com 
The NYPD officer who killed Eric Garner (a suspect accused of selling loose cigarettes) with a chokehold in 2014 and was later fired for lying about the incident has filed a lawsuit in hopes of being re-hired. | Ex-officer Daniel Pantaleo brought the suit on Wednesday, arguing his termination was "arbitrary and capricious," after a disciplinary hearing in June determined his use of a chokehold maneuver prohibited by his department was "reckless" and recommended he be fired. | Under New York's civil code, which gives public employees means of redress for government rulings, Pantaleo has the right to appeal his…
(2019-10-24). I Went to Mexico to Meet Asylum-Seekers Trapped at the Border. This Is What I Saw. aclu.org 
Two weeks ago, I traveled to northern Mexico along with Mexican photographer Guillermo Arias to meet with asylum-seekers who've been trapped at the southern U.S. border by Trump Administration policies. Neither of us was prepared for what we saw there. | We visited two cities — Ciudad Juarez and Matamoros — to track down people who had been placed into the deceptively misnamed "Migrant Protection Protocols" that have slammed America's door shut to people fleeing persecution and violence in their home countries. Before we arrived, we wondered whether the stories we'd read of kidnappings, assaults,…
(2019-10-24). Death row families lead march to end executions. workers.org 
Supporters of death row prisoner Rodney Reed. Lydia Garza and 16 family members drove in a rented van almost seven hours from the Rio Grande Valley to the Texas Capitol here on Saturday, Oct. 19, without even stopping to eat. It was so they could stand up for her innocent . . . | Continue reading Death row families lead march to end executions at Workers.org
(2019-10-24). Barcelona, Catalonia: Massive general strike demands 'Free political prisoners'. workers.org 
Marinelli writes often for Prensaobrera.com on Catalonia. This article was published Oct. 19 on redroja.org and translated by John Catalinotto. Some background on the events is included in a Note at the end of the article. Oct. 18 — More than a half-million people overflowed the streets of Barcelona today, . . . | Continue reading Barcelona, Catalonia: Massive general strike demands 'Free political prisoners' at Workers.org
(2019-10-24). Why is Missouri So Afraid of Finding out Whether Lamar Johnson is Innocent of Murder? aclu.org In 1994, the St. Louis | Circuit Attorney's Office committed gross prosecutorial misconduct in order to convict Lamar Johnson of murder. | They knowingly presented perjured testimony, fabricated facts to negate | Johnson's strongly corroborated alibi, and buried the fact that a prime witness | against him was a paid jailhouse informant. Twenty-five years later, that same | Circuit Attorney's Office, now led by Kim Gardner, is doing everything it can | to get Johnson a new trial so the truth can vind…
(2019-10-24). South Dakota Governor Drops Anti-Protest Laws in Settlement Agreement With ACLU. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-10-24). New Trump administration rules increase water exports, imperil salmon. indybay.org "Last month on California Native American Day the governor vetoed legislation (SB 1) that could have helped the state protect our salmon from this plan," said Morning Star Gali, the Tribal Water Organizer from Save California Salmon. "This veto came just months after he apologized for the state's treatment of native people. We need more than lip service to California's Tribal people's and our declining salmon populations. Governor Newsom campaigned on fighting the Trump administration's environmental rollbacks. We need him to walk his talk and fight for our salmon by filing a lawsuit against this bad plan for Cal…
(2019-10-24). ACLU Celebrates Settlement Ending Unconstitutional Efforts to Silence Pipeline Protesters in South Dakota. commondreams.org The ACLU and environmental activists celebrated Thursday after reaching a settlement agreement with South Dakota's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and state Attorney General Jason Ravnesborg to end what critics called "their unconstitutional attempts to silence pipeline protestors." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/keystone_xl_trump_0.jpg …
(2019-10-24). Selected Articles: 5G Cell Phone Radiation is Not Safe. 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 …
(2019-10-24). Murdoch University seeks to silence whistleblowing academic. greenleft.org.au 
civil rights Pedro AlvarezIssue 1242 Australia Murdoch University PerthOctober 24, 2019Murdoch University is facing widespread criticism for its decision to seek potentially millions in compensation…
(2019-10-24). Ending Endless War: Andrew Bacevich on How Reckless Use of U.S. Military Power Caused Today's Crisis. democracynow.org 
President Trump has announced sanctions will be lifted on Turkey as a ceasefire remains in place in northern Syria, where Turkey invaded earlier this month after Trump withdrew U.S. troops. On Tuesday Turkey reached an agreement with Russia that would force Syrian Kurdish forces to retreat from a wide swath of the Syrian-Turkish border. The United Nations is reporting Turkey's offensive in northern Syria has displaced over 176,000 people, including nearly 80,000 children. The Turkish assault also led to a number of former ISIS fighters escaping from jail in northern Syria. We speak with Andrew Bacevich, co-founde…
(2019-10-24). Headlines for October 24, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Lifts Sanctions on Turkey, Citing Ceasefire Agreement, Republican Lawmakers Disrupt Closed-Door Impeachment Hearing, Trump's Lawyer Argues the President Can't Be Prosecuted for Murder, Death Toll in Chile Protests Rises to 18 as Human Rights Groups Allege Torture, Spain Removes Remains of Francisco Franco from National Mausoleum, Julian Assange Appears Frail and Confused in London Court Hearing, 39 Bodies Found in Tractor-Trailer in Southeast England, Honduran Woman's Lawsuit Claims Years of Sexual Assault by ICE Agent, Immigrant Worker Injured in New Orleans Hotel Collapse Arrested by ICE, California Utili…
(2019-10-23). Betty McCollum Is Pushing Congress to Stop Subsidizing the Torture of Palestinian Children. mintpressnews.com 
"The legislation I am introducing is expressly intended to end U.S. support and funding for Israel's systematic military detention, interrogation, abuse, torture, and prosecution of Palestinian children." – Betty McCollum…
(2019-10-23). Chile Protests: Military Officer Detained for Alleged Homicide. telesurenglish.net The Chilean National Prosecutor's Office reported Tuesday the indictment and preventive detention of a military officer over the charge of the homicide of a protester on Sunday during a protest in the northern city of Coquimbo. | RELATED: | Abuses and Police Violence in Chile, Live on Social Networks | The Ministry of the Interior and Public Security said in a statement that the victim is one of 15 people killed since the protests started in the South American country on Oct. 18.
(2019-10-23). She Deserves Our Support: Betty McCollum Wants US to Stop Subsidizing Torture of Palestinian Children. dissidentvoice.org In December 2018, 17-year-old Palestinian teen, Ayham Sabah, was sentenced by an Israeli military court to 35 years in prison for his alleged role in a stabbing attack targeting an Israeli soldier in an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Sabah was only 14 years old when the alleged attack took place. Another alleged attacker, Omar …
(2019-10-22). Trump and the Retreat of the American Empire. counterpunch.org 
In days gone by, I used to compare the Trump presidency with the Arab dictatorships. He took preposterous pleasure in the company of Egypt's Sisi (60,000 political prisoners) and his inane ramblings had much in common with those of Muammar Gaddafi, who also "authored" a book he never wrote but whom Trump never met (albeit that Tony Blair and Gaddafi kissed each other on the cheek). But over the past week, I've begun to realise that the crackpot in the White House has much more in common with ancient Rome. More
(2019-10-22). A Presidential Town Hall on Mass Incarceration — Who Will Show Up? theintercept.com A group of formerly incarcerated men and women will moderate a presidential town hall for the first time ever next week, questioning candidates about their positions on the U.S. justice system before an audience made up exclusively of people with firsthand experience of the country's prisons and jails. | The event, to be held on October 28 at the Eastern State Penitentiary, a historic former prison in Philadelphia, aims to put questions of mass incarceration, broken courts, and racist policing at the forefront of the debate in an election season that has largely seen them eclipsed by other issues. So far, only Se…
(2019-10-22). Minnesota: Patriotic Chinese students oppose turmoil in Hong Kong. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On October 18, the five-starred flag of the People's Republic of China fluttered in the wind, as a group of patriotic Chinese international students marched in opposition to a reactionary demonstration billed as the "Liberty for Hong Kong March." | The reactionaries made their way through the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus "in solidarity with Hong Kong people against oppression on democracy and human rights." Many of the 'liberators' wore black, and the leaders of the demonstration donned yellow armbands and face masks. Their demonstration coincided with the House of Representatives…
(2019-10-22). Minnesota: Patriotic Chinese students oppose turmoil in Hong Kong. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On October 18, the five-starred flag of the People's Republic of China fluttered in the wind, as a group of patriotic Chinese international students marched in opposition to a reactionary demonstration billed as the "Liberty for Hong Kong March." | The reactionaries made their way through the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus "in solidarity with Hong Kong people against oppression on democracy and human rights." Many of the 'liberators' wore black, and the leaders of the demonstration donned yellow armbands and face masks. Their demonstration coincided with the House of Representatives…
(2019-10-22). Bernie Sanders Pledges to End Practice of Prosecuting Whistleblowers Under the Espionage Act. theintercept.com As president, Bernie Sanders would end the practice of using the controversial Espionage Act to prosecute government whistleblowers, the Vermont senator told The Intercept in an interview on Saturday ahead of a major rally in New York. | The century-old law had largely gone out of fashion until it was deployed heavily by the Obama administration, which prosecuted eight people accused of leaking to the media under the Espionage Act, more than all previous presidents combined. Pr…
(2019-10-22). The Charter-to-Prison Pipeline. progressive.org The charter system that often paints itself as a better option for black parents does not acknowledge the harm rigid disciplinary policies can impose on black students.
(2019-10-22). Race for Profit: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on How Banks & Real Estate Biz Undermined Black Homeowners. democracynow.org 
Recent U.S. census data reveals the homeownership rate for African Americans has fallen to its lowest level since before the civil rights movement. In the second quarter of this year, the rate fell to just 40% — the lowest level since 1950. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's new book, "Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Home Ownership," examines the roots of this crisis. The book has just come out and has been longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award. From Philadelphia, we speak with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an assistant professor at Princeton University.
(2019-10-21). Kings Bay Plowshares 7: Trial Begins for Liz McAlister & Others for Breaking Into Nuke Sub Base. democracynow.org 
Seven Catholic peace activists are going on trial in Georgia today for breaking into the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base on April 4, 2018. The activists, who are known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The activists entered the base armed with just hammers, crime scene tape, baby bottles containing their own blood and an indictment charging the U.S. government with crimes against peace. Over the past four decades activists in the Plowshares movement have taken part in about 100 similar actions at nuclear arms facilities, beginning in 1980 at the General Electric nuclear mis…
(2019-10-20). Longest-held Puerto Rican political prisoner sends support to Venezuela. thegrayzone.com Puerto Rico's longest-held political prisoner, Oscar López Rivera, who was incarcerated in the US for 36 years, sent a message…
(2019-10-19). News and resources: Catalonia's struggle for self-determination. greenleft.org.au 
international solidarity Dick NicholsIssue 1241 Catalonia BarcelonaOctober 19, 2019After the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced nine political and social Catalan leaders on October 14 to a total of 99.5 years jail for organising the October 1, 2017 independence…
(2019-10-18). Why is the Trump Administration Trying to Tear This 26-Year-Old DACA Recipient Away From Her Child? aclu.org 
Anahi Jaquez —Estrada is scared. As soon as Monday, she may be deported to a country she hardly knows: away from her 8-year-old daughter and her husband, both of whom are United States citizens. She has lived in the U.S. almost her entire life and is in the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident. Her story is at once exceptionally tragic and a paradigmatic example of how our immigration legal system is failing — and tearing families apart. | I met Anahi in late July at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention site in Aurora, Colorado, where she has spent the last year and a…
(2019-10-18). NYC Council Votes to Build More Jails, Continue Mass Incarceration. therealnews.com 
Eddie Conway speaks with No New Jails organizer Pilar Maschi ahead of the NYC Council jail vote about what grassroots activists can do to continue the fight to keep new jails out of New York City.
(2019-10-18). Spain Sentences Catalan Leaders in Contradictory Ruling. therealnews.com 
Police and protesters clash in Barcelona for a fourth consecutive day over a problematic, contradictory 9-13 year prison sentence for Catalan independence leaders.
(2019-10-18). Unveiling a State-by-State Plan to End our Mass Incarceration Crisis. aclu.org The United States locks up more of its people than | any other nation in the world. A whopping 2.2 million people are living behind | bars in this country on any given day. Our national incarceration rate is four | times that of Australia, five times that of the United Kingdom, and six times that | of Canada. | This uniquely American problem is not one crisis | — rather, mass incarceration is a series of state-based catastrophes, each one | different from the next. While much attention was paid | to the federal reforms passed last year through the First Step Act, of | the 2.2 million people locked up on…