Daily Archives: 2019-11-05

2019-11-05: News Headlines

Tana Ganeva (2019-11-05). A Tragic Crash, but Was It Murder? truthdig.com Semi-pro football player Cedric Mitchell was driving to practice on June 7 when he says he lost consciousness. "I remember blacking out," the 35-year-old told Truthdig from the county jail in Twin Falls, Idaho, "and coming back to when somebody was taking me out of my truck." | Mitchell had been going 75 to 79 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone, according to police reports. His truck slammed into the back of Dwayne Steiner's 1997 Dodge Ram, throwing both cars into oncoming traffic, where they collided with more vehicles. Mitchell was airlifted to a hospital in Boise, while Steiner and his wife, Maryann, we…

RT (2019-11-05). 'First day of the rest of your life': World 'prison capital' Oklahoma frees over 500 inmates in largest commutation in US history. rt.com Hundreds of inmates have been released early from Oklahoma prisons, breaking the record for the largest prisoner commutation in US history. It is part of a reform effort in a state dubbed the world's "prison capital." | In a move approved by the state's Pardon and Parole Board (PPB) last week, some 462 inmates walked free from facilities across Oklahoma on Monday, where many met loved ones for tearful reunions. Another 65 prisoners are being held on detainers and are also slated for early release, leaving an estimated 28,000 still behind bars in the state. | OKLAHOMA COMMUTATION: Jessi Eades introduces her 3 m…

RT (2019-11-05). 'Radical Left Dems are killing our cities': Trump attacks New York leaders as hundreds of prisoners set for early release. rt.com US President Donald Trump has joined a chorus of opposition to moves by New York leaders which will see hundreds of inmates being released from prison as early as next month. | The controversial law doesn't officially come into force until 2020, but New York's state court system indicated in recent days that it will begin to release prisoners next month to avoid a glut of cases when January rolls around. | Also on rt.com | | No 'foreign intervention' needed: Mexico thanks Trump but rejects offer of 'help' with drug cartels after murder of US family | Ne…

Staff (2019-11-05). Julian Assange's Extradition Process Is 'A Charade'. therealnews.com Filmmaker John Pilger attended Julian Assange's last court hearing and observed not only that Assange is visibly suffering from prison mistreatment, but his defense is not being given a fair chance to make its case against his extradition to the US.

Thomas Knapp (2019-11-05). Messaging as Manslaughter. counterpunch.org In July of 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy killed himself in Fairhaven, Massachusetts by pumping carbon monoxide into the cab of his truck. In a bench trial, a judge convicted Roy's 17-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Carter, of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced her to 2 1/2 years in prison. In May of 2019, 22-year-old Alexander Urtula killed himself More

Eds. (2019-11-05). Unpacking the super exploitation of black women. mronline.org The situational systematic position of Black women, particularly in the US, has long been explained throughout the decades whether it has been called "triple oppression", "double jeopardy", or more notably, "intersectionality". | Source

Staff (2019-11-05). Protesters in Chile Have Been 'Murdered, Tortured, and Disappeared'. therealnews.com Chile's President Piñera says foreign intervention and a conspiracy are behind the recent protests. But protesters say what's happening is an explosion of long-contained rage against poverty, inequality, and oppression.

Todd Miller (2019-11-05). Why Climate Action Needs to Target the Border Industrial Complex. commondreams.org The survival of private prisons depends on keeping a consistent and increasing number of people incarcerated and today immigrants serve as this predatory industry's primary cash generators. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cages_0.jpeg

splcenter (2019-11-05). SPLC celebrates 30th anniversary of Civil Rights Memorial. splcenter.org The first African American elected mayor of Montgomery, Alabama — a city known as both the "Cradle of the Confederacy" and the "Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement" — urged those who gathered today to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Civil Rights Memorial to ask themselves how they can make an impact on the lives of others.

commondreams (2019-11-05). The Eshoo-Lofgren Online Privacy Act Recognizes That Privacy Rights Are Civil Rights. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Hatewatch Staff (2019-11-05). League of the South Resorts to Video Stunts as Membership Declines. splcenter.org The League of the South made a 25-second propaganda video over the weekend at the gravesite of a civil rights icon in an apparent attempt to attract members to its neo-Confederate ideology.

teleSUR (2019-11-05). Protesters Condemn Spanish Assault Ruling in Rape Case. telesurenglish.net Hundreds of people protested in Spain's capital Monday against a court ruling last week that cleared five men of gang-raping a 14-year-old girl and instead found them guilty of the lesser charge of sexual abuse. | RELATED: | Spain: Supreme Court Rules 'Wolf Pack' Case Is Rape | Barcelona's High Court sentenced the five on Thursday to 10 to 12 years in prison, saying the 2016 assault was not rape because the victim, who was drunk and unconscious, could neither "agree to (nor) oppose the sexual…

Fight Back (2019-11-05). Defend DACA, Stop Trump & other Bigots. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by from the Legalization for All Network. | November 12, 2019 the Supreme Court will begin hearing oral-arguments to determine if the Trump attack on DACA is lawful. Trump filed a lawsuit to rescind DACA in 2017 after Ken Paxton Attorney General of Texas threatened to sue Trump. Paxton began with a coalition of 7 states countering DACA, but the 7 are now 10 — Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, Kansas, Mississippi, and Maine. Since then, DACA has been under attack. | Trump and the coalition of 10 states have…

Susan Price Testing (2019-11-05). Witnessing repression from a hotel window: A personal reflection on suppression of Chile protests. greenleft.org.au John EnglartIssue 1244 Chile 2019 Chile protests SantiagoNovember 5, 2019I am in Chile due to the United Nations Climate conference being originally hosted here in Santiago. Now I find myself an observer of the widespread social protest against the government, calling f…

Staff (2019-11-05). "Release My Mother": A Yale Student Fights to Halt Deportation of His Mother with Stage IV Cancer. democracynow.org Tania Romero, an undocumented mother from Honduras and survivor of stage IV cancer, is fighting to remain in the United States with her four children. Two months ago, Romero was imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the privately owned Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, interrupting her life-saving medical treatments. In mid-August, Romero was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction and arrested for not having a driver's license. Tania Romero's attorney requested a stay of deportation on humanitarian grounds because of her fragile health, but it was denied in September. Her son, Cristian…

Louise Melling (2019-11-05). Trump Wants to Allow Discrimination with Billions of Dollars of Federal Funding. aclu.org Last Friday, the Trump administration announced | an alarming new proposal that would strip away critical protections against discrimination | in grants funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. | Initially, we thought this proposal would serve to fulfill Trump's promise to give taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies a license to discriminate. This proposal does…

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-11-05). Homelessness a 'Symptom of Greed' by the Rich, Says Bernie Sanders, Not a Crime by the Poor. commondreams.org 2020 candidate weighs in on Las Vegas, Nevada ordinance that would fine or jail people for sleeping on streets | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/las_vegas_homelessness_0.jpg

Staff (2019-11-04). GOP Voter Suppression Campaign Continues in Georgia. therealnews.com The GOP barely won the Georgia statehouse despite their campaign of suppressing 1.4 million votes. Jacqueline Luqman talks to Anoa Changa about how a new round of voter registration purges is a continuation of the same campaign.

WSWS (2019-11-04). UN rapporteur Nils Melzer warns: Julian Assange may die in a British prison. wsws.org Melzer's statements confirm that the British government, acting on behalf of the US administration of President Donald Trump, is seeking nothing less than Assange's psychological and physical destruction.

IMEMC News & Agencies (2019-11-04). Samidoun's Charlotte Kates on By Any Means Necessary Radio on Heba al-Labadi, Khalida Jarrar and Samer Arbeed. imemc.org Samidoun's international coordinator Charlotte Kates joined Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon for an interview on "By Any Means Necessary Radio," a Sputnik News program, on 2 November 2019. The interview focused on the call for days of action to free Palestinian prisoners between 8-11 November, particularly highlighting the cases of Palestinian leftist, …

Jerry Lembcke, Tom Wilber (2019-11-04). Dateline Hoa Lo Prison, Hanoi: The Moratorium Days Against the War, 1969. counterpunch.org On November 26, 1969, Mrs. Trinh Thi Ngo, known to Americans as "Hanoi Hannah", read over Radio Hanoi an introduction to a tape provided from Hoa Lo prison, just a city block away: "Now listen to a US pilot captured over North Vietnam on the occasion of the [American] Thanksgiving Day." "To the Vietnam Moratorium More

IMEMC News (2019-11-04). Including One Woman, Israeli Soldiers Abduct Fifteen Palestinians In The West Bank. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, Monday, fifteen Palestinians, including one woman, from several parts of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has confirmed. The Hebron office of the PPS, in southern West Bank, said the soldiers stormed and ransacked many homes, and abducted Mousa al-'Amour and Hasan al-Hreini, from …

Kevin Powell (2019-11-02). American Graffiti: Church, Cancer, and 'Hate Faith'. progressive.org Spirituality is love. Religion, as often practiced now and through history, is a convenient partner of oppression, and can easily become what I call hate faith.

splcenter (2019-11-01). Civil Rights Memorial commemorates 30 years. splcenter.org Carolyn Wells Gee was in bed watching TV with her younger sister when she heard the shot that killed Medgar Evers.

Staff (2019-10-31). The Unchecked Growth of Policing Makes Everyone a Criminal, Even Children. therealnews.com Despite a nationwide drop in crime the number of cops continues to grow. In this episode of The Police Accountability Report we examine some of the consequences of that growth and how it leads to unnecessary arrests and increased incarceration…

Alexa Kolbi-Molinas (2019-10-31). Abortion is Legal in All 50 States, and We Intend to Keep It That Way. aclu.org On | Tuesday, a federal court issued a decision in our challenge to Alabama's | near-total ban on abortion blocking the law from taking effect. The decision | comes on the heels of similar rulings blocking abortion bans in Arkansas, | Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah. In other words, the ACLU has an | undefeated, 7-0 record challenging state abortion bans in court. None of the state abortion bans passed | earlier this year will be permitted to take effect. Abortion is — and will | remain — legal in all 50 states. | The | Alabama ban, like all the others, is the anti-abortion movement's t…

Kade Crockford (2019-10-31). The FBI is Tracking Our Faces in Secret. We're Suing. aclu.org Many of us wear masks on Halloween for fun. But what about a world in which we have to wear a mask every single day to protect our privacy from the government's oppressive eye? | Face | recognition surveillance technology has already made that frightening world a | reality in Hong Kong, and it's quickly becoming a scary | possibility in the United States. | The FBI is currently collecting data about our faces, irises, walking patterns, and voices, permitting the government to pervasively identif…

Jeffery Robinson (2019-10-31). Why Have a Forum on Reparations in Charleston and Why Now? aclu.org This year marks 400 years since enslaved, kidnapped people were purchased by the forefathers and — mothers of America. Are the events that began 400 years ago connected to today? William Faulkner wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." | On June 19, 2019, the National African American Reparations | Commission (NAARC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held | a forum on H.R. 40 in the historic Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, | D.C. As a follow up to that…

Staff (2019-10-31). As Rich Hire Private Firefighters, Housekeepers Go to Work in Fire Zone & Prisoners Fight CA Blazes. democracynow.org As climate-fueled fires rage across California, we look at how the blazes are disproportionately affecting some of the state's most vulnerable communities. As a growing number of wealthy homeowners hire private firefighters to protect their properties for up to $3,000 per day, domestic workers and gardeners who tend to some of the most opulent homes in Los Angeles attended work despite the Getty Fire evacuation order earlier this week. Many of their employers failed to even tell them not to come in. Meanwhile, of the more than 4,000 firefighters currently working across the state, at least 700 are California pris…

Alleen Brown (2019-10-31). From Climate Denial to "Green" Petroleum: Massachusetts Accuses Exxon Mobil of Deceptive Messaging. theintercept.com Exxon Mobil's relationship with the New York Times is a case study in how the fossil fuel industry's climate denialism has evolved over the past 20 years. Beginning in the 1970s, Exxon Mobil published an "advertorial" every Thursday on the New York Times editorial page. The quarter-page, essay-style ads were designed to mimic a Times op-ed. Starting in the 1980s, doubt about the seriousness of human-driven climate change was a repeated theme. The ads came with titles including "Apocalypse no," "Reset the alarm," "Less heat, more light on climate change," and "Climate change: a degree of uncertainty." | According…

Alice Speri (2019-10-30). The Presidential Town Hall on Mass Incarceration Was a Historic Moment and a Missed Opportunity. theintercept.com Collectively, the men and women in the room had hundreds of years of prison experience. The presidential town hall, the first ever to be hosted by formerly incarcerated people, was a unique opportunity for candidates to speak about the criminal justice system with those who know firsthand its devastating failures. But only three candidates showed up — and while the conversation delved into questions rarely tackled on the campaign trail, some of the candidates' answers left those in the audience disappointed. | The e…

Staff (2019-10-30). Chesa Boudin, Son of 1960s Radicals, Runs for San Francisco DA on Criminal Justice Reform Platform. democracynow.org Chesa Boudin is running for San Francisco district attorney as the latest candidate in a wave of decarceral prosecutors running for office across the United States. Bernie Sanders and other leading progressives have endorsed Boudin, who is a public defender and the child of Weather Underground activists Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert. His parents were imprisoned when Boudin was a toddler. These experiences have given him a first-hand view of "how broken our criminal justice system is," he says. "My earliest memories are going through steel gates and metal detectors just to see my parents, just to give them a hug.

Staff (2019-10-29). Tribute To A Persistent Progressive — Rep. John Conyers. therealnews.com Jacqueline Luqman pays tribute to John Conyers, the longest-serving Black Democrat in Congress and co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, died over the weekend at age 90. His political career spanned more than 50 years, and included a remarkable legacy of civil rights activism, challenging the expanding US military global footprint, and consistent support for…

Staff (2019-10-29). Quebec Government Apologizes to Indigenous Peoples for 'Systemic Discrimination'. therealnews.com Marie-Claude Lacroix, two-row wampum liaison of the Kanienkehaka Traditional Council, says Quebec continues to treat indigenous peoples disrespectfully.

Eva Bartlett (2019-10-28). Accused of Treason and Imprisoned Without Trial: Journalist Kirill Vyshinsky Recounts His Harrowing Time in a Ukrainian Prison. mintpressnews.com Eva Bartlett sat down with recently released Ukrainian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky. Vyshinsky endured 15 months of appalling conditions in a Ukrainian prison after being falsely accused of treason.

splcenter (2019-10-25). Weekend Read: If your vote didn't matter, they wouldn't fight so hard to block it. splcenter.org At the intersection of race and politics in the United States lies voter suppression — the array of laws and election practices intended to make it harder for people of color to vote.

Ashoka Mukpo (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,…

Somil Trivedi (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…

Kathryn Casteel (2019-10-23). 'No rehabilitation,' just oppression, behind bars in Alabama. splcenter.org

Lindsey Kaley (2019-10-18). Patients' Needs, Not Personal Beliefs, Come First in Health Care. aclu.org From the | start, the Trump administration has issued one regulation after another that uses | religion to deny people — particularly pregnant people, people with low-incomes, | and LGBTQ people — health care access and coverage. Today, we are asking | a federal district court in New York to strike down one of the most pernicious | of these regulations: the refusal of care rule. | The refusal | of care rule, issued by the Department of Health | and Human Services (…

Esteban Guevara (2019-10-16). Newark protesters: Democratic Party machine an accomplice in Trump's war on immigrants. liberationnews.org Protesters gathered in Newark, New Jersey for a rally and 3-mile march up to the detention center organized by the Resist the Deportation Machine Network on Oct. 12 to demand the closure of the ICE concentration camp in Essex county.

Liberation Staff (2019-10-15). Leonard Peltier subjected to unjust lockdown in prison: Write to the warden now! liberationnews.org The Party for Socialism and Liberation urges its supporters to write the warden to demand an end to this brutal lockdown.

Will Tucker (2019-10-11). Creative writing class in prison was 'light' in the darkness. splcenter.org

Hatewatch Staff (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.

2019-11-05: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Julian Assange's Extradition Process Is 'A Charade'
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-11-05
Filmmaker John Pilger attended Julian Assange's last court hearing and observed not only that Assange is visibly suffering from prison mistreatment, but his defense is not being given a fair chance to make its case against his extradition to the US.
therealnews.com/stories/julian-assange-extradition-process-charade

Why Climate Action Needs to Target the Border Industrial Complex
Todd Miller | commondreams.org | 2019-11-05
The survival of private prisons depends on keeping a consistent and increasing number of people incarcerated and today immigrants serve as this predatory industry's primary cash generators. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cages_0.jpeg
commondreams.org/views/2019/11/05/why-climate-action-needs-target-border-industrial-complex?cd-origin=rss

SPLC celebrates 30th anniversary of Civil Rights Memorial
splcenter.org | 2019-11-05
The first African American elected mayor of Montgomery, Alabama — a city known as both the "Cradle of the Confederacy" and the "Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement" — urged those who gathered today to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Civil Rights Memorial to ask themselves how they can make an impact on the lives of others.
splcenter.org/news/2019/11/05/splc-celebrates-30th-anniversary-civil-rights-memorial

League of the South Resorts to Video Stunts as Membership Declines
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2019-11-05
The League of the South made a 25-second propaganda video over the weekend at the gravesite of a civil rights icon in an apparent attempt to attract members to its neo-Confederate ideology.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/05/league-south-resorts-video-stunts-membership-declines

The Eshoo-Lofgren Online Privacy Act Recognizes That Privacy Rights Are Civil Rights
commondreams.org | 2019-11-05
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2019/11/05/eshoo-lofgren-online-privacy-act-recognizes-privacy-rights-are-civil-rights?cd-origin=rss

A Tragic Crash, but Was It Murder?
Tana Ganeva | truthdig.com | 2019-11-05
Semi-pro football player Cedric Mitchell was driving to practice on June 7 when he says he lost consciousness. "I remember blacking out," the 35-year-old told Truthdig from the county jail in Twin Falls, Idaho, "and coming back to when somebody was taking me out of my truck." | Mitchell had been going 75 to 79 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone, according to police reports. His truck slammed into the back of Dwayne Steiner's 1997 Dodge Ram, throwing both cars into oncoming traffic, where they collided with more vehicles. Mitchell was airlifted to a hospital in Boise, while Steiner and his wife, Maryann, we…
truthdig.com/articles/a-tragic-crash-but-was-it-murder/

Messaging as Manslaughter
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2019-11-05
In July of 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy killed himself in Fairhaven, Massachusetts by pumping carbon monoxide into the cab of his truck. In a bench trial, a judge convicted Roy's 17-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Carter, of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced her to 2 1/2 years in prison. In May of 2019, 22-year-old Alexander Urtula killed himself…
counterpunch.org/2019/11/05/messaging-as-manslaughter/

Protesters Condemn Spanish Assault Ruling in Rape Case
telesurenglish.net | 2019-11-05
Hundreds of people protested in Spain's capital Monday against a court ruling last week that cleared five men of gang-raping a 14-year-old girl and instead found them guilty of the lesser charge of sexual abuse. | RELATED: | Spain: Supreme Court Rules 'Wolf Pack' Case Is Rape | Barcelona's High Court sentenced the five on Thursday to 10 to 12 years in prison, saying the 2016 assault was not rape because the victim, who was drunk and unconscious, could neither "agree to (nor) oppose the sexual…
telesurenglish.net/news/Its-Not-Abuse-Its-Rape-Protesters-Condemn-Spanish-Assault-Ruling-20191105-0009.html

'Radical Left Dems are killing our cities': Trump attacks New York leaders as hundreds of prisoners set for early release
rt.com | 2019-11-05
US President Donald Trump has joined a chorus of opposition to moves by New York leaders which will see hundreds of inmates being released from prison as early as next month. | The controversial law doesn't officially come into force until 2020, but New York's state court system indicated in recent days that it will begin to release prisoners next month to avoid a glut of cases when January rolls around. | Also on rt.com | | No 'foreign intervention' needed: Mexico thanks Trump but rejects offer of 'help' with drug cartels after murder of US family | Ne…
rt.com/usa/472687-trump-dems-killing-cities-new-york/

'First day of the rest of your life': World 'prison capital' Oklahoma frees over 500 inmates in largest commutation in US history
rt.com | 2019-11-05
Hundreds of inmates have been released early from Oklahoma prisons, breaking the record for the largest prisoner commutation in US history. It is part of a reform effort in a state dubbed the world's "prison capital." | In a move approved by the state's Pardon and Parole Board (PPB) last week, some 462 inmates walked free from facilities across Oklahoma on Monday, where many met loved ones for tearful reunions. Another 65 prisoners are being held on detainers and are also slated for early release, leaving an estimated 28,000 still behind bars in the state. | OKLAHOMA COMMUTATION: Jessi Eades introduces her 3 m…
rt.com/usa/472617-oklahoma-prisoner-commute-biggest-history/

Unpacking the super exploitation of black women
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-11-05
The situational systematic position of Black women, particularly in the US, has long been explained throughout the decades whether it has been called "triple oppression", "double jeopardy", or more notably, "intersectionality". | Source…
mronline.org/2019/11/05/unpacking-the-super-exploitation-of-black-women/

Protesters in Chile Have Been 'Murdered, Tortured, and Disappeared'
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-11-05
Chile's President Piñera says foreign intervention and a conspiracy are behind the recent protests. But protesters say what's happening is an explosion of long-contained rage against poverty, inequality, and oppression.
therealnews.com/stories/chile-protesters-murdered-tortured-disappeared

Defend DACA, Stop Trump & other Bigots
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-11-05
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by from the Legalization for All Network. | November 12, 2019 the Supreme Court will begin hearing oral-arguments to determine if the Trump attack on DACA is lawful. Trump filed a lawsuit to rescind DACA in 2017 after Ken Paxton Attorney General of Texas threatened to sue Trump. Paxton began with a coalition of 7 states countering DACA, but the 7 are now 10 — Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, Kansas, Mississippi, and Maine. Since then, DACA has been under attack. | Trump and the coalition of 10 states have…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/11/5/defend-daca-stop-trump-other-bigots

Witnessing repression from a hotel window: A personal reflection on suppression of Chile protests
Susan Price Testing | greenleft.org.au | 2019-11-05
John EnglartIssue 1244 Chile 2019 Chile protests SantiagoNovember 5, 2019I am in Chile due to the United Nations Climate conference being originally hosted here in Santiago. Now I find myself an observer of the widespread social protest against the government, calling f…
greenleft.org.au/content/witnessing-repression-hotel-window-personal-reflection-suppression-chile-protests

"Release My Mother": A Yale Student Fights to Halt Deportation of His Mother with Stage IV Cancer
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-11-05
Tania Romero, an undocumented mother from Honduras and survivor of stage IV cancer, is fighting to remain in the United States with her four children. Two months ago, Romero was imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the privately owned Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, interrupting her life-saving medical treatments. In mid-August, Romero was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction and arrested for not having a driver's license. Tania Romero's attorney requested a stay of deportation on humanitarian grounds because of her fragile health, but it was denied in September. Her son, Cristian…
www.democracynow.org/2019/11/5/cancer_patient_tania_romero_ice_detention

Trump Wants to Allow Discrimination with Billions of Dollars of Federal Funding
Louise Melling | aclu.org | 2019-11-05
Last Friday, the Trump administration announced | an alarming new proposal that would strip away critical protections against discrimination | in grants funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. | Initially, we thought this proposal would serve to fulfill Trump's promise to give taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies a license to discriminate. This proposal does…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/trump-wants-to-allow-discrimination-with-billions-of-dollars-of-federal-funding

Homelessness a 'Symptom of Greed' by the Rich, Says Bernie Sanders, Not a Crime by the Poor
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-11-05
2020 candidate weighs in on Las Vegas, Nevada ordinance that would fine or jail people for sleeping on streets | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/las_vegas_homelessness_0.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2019/11/05/homelessness-symptom-greed-rich-says-bernie-sanders-not-crime-poor?cd-origin=rss

UN rapporteur Nils Melzer warns: Julian Assange may die in a British prison
wsws.org | 2019-11-04
Melzer's statements confirm that the British government, acting on behalf of the US administration of President Donald Trump, is seeking nothing less than Assange's psychological and physical destruction.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/11/04/pers-n04.html

Samidoun's Charlotte Kates on By Any Means Necessary Radio on Heba al-Labadi, Khalida Jarrar and Samer Arbeed
IMEMC News & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-11-04
Samidoun's international coordinator Charlotte Kates joined Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon for an interview on "By Any Means Necessary Radio," a Sputnik News program, on 2 November 2019. The interview focused on the call for days of action to free Palestinian prisoners between 8-11 November, particularly highlighting the cases of Palestinian leftist, …
imemc.org/article/samidouns-charlotte-kates-on-by-any-means-necessary-radio-on-heba-al-labadi-khalida-jarrar-and-samer-arbeed/

Dateline Hoa Lo Prison, Hanoi: The Moratorium Days Against the War, 1969
Jerry Lembcke, Tom Wilber | counterpunch.org | 2019-11-04
On November 26, 1969, Mrs. Trinh Thi Ngo, known to Americans as "Hanoi Hannah", read over Radio Hanoi an introduction to a tape provided from Hoa Lo prison, just a city block away: "Now listen to a US pilot captured over North Vietnam on the occasion of the [American] Thanksgiving Day."
counterpunch.org/2019/11/04/dateline-hoa-lo-prison-hanoi-the-moratorium-days-against-the-war-1969/

Including One Woman, Israeli Soldiers Abduct Fifteen Palestinians In The West Bank
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-11-04
Israeli soldiers abducted, Monday, fifteen Palestinians, including one woman, from several parts of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has confirmed. The Hebron office of the PPS, in southern West Bank, said the soldiers stormed and ransacked many homes, and abducted Mousa al-'Amour and Hasan al-Hreini, from …
imemc.org/article/including-one-woman-israeli-soldiers-abduct-fifteen-palestinians-in-the-west-bank/

GOP Voter Suppression Campaign Continues in Georgia
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-11-04
The GOP barely won the Georgia statehouse despite their campaign of suppressing 1.4 million votes. Jacqueline Luqman talks to Anoa Changa about how a new round of voter registration purges is a continuation of the same campaign.
therealnews.com/stories/gop-voter-suppression-georgia-registration

American Graffiti: Church, Cancer, and 'Hate Faith'
Kevin Powell | progressive.org | 2019-11-02
Spirituality is love. Religion, as often practiced now and through history, is a convenient partner of oppression, and can easily become what I call hate faith.
progressive.org/dispatches/american-graffiti-church-cancer-hate-faith-powell-191102/

Civil Rights Memorial commemorates 30 years
splcenter.org | 2019-11-01
Carolyn Wells Gee was in bed watching TV with her younger sister when she heard the shot that killed Medgar Evers.
splcenter.org/news/2019/11/01/civil-rights-memorial-commemorates-30-years

Abortion is Legal in All 50 States, and We Intend to Keep It That Way
Alexa Kolbi-Molinas | aclu.org | 2019-10-31
On | Tuesday, a federal court issued a decision in our challenge to Alabama's | near-total ban on abortion blocking the law from taking effect. The decision | comes on the heels of similar rulings blocking abortion bans in Arkansas, | Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah. In other words, the ACLU has an | undefeated, 7-0 record challenging state abortion bans in court. None of the state abortion bans passed | earlier this year will be permitted to take effect. Abortion is — and will | remain — legal in all 50 states. | The | Alabama ban, like all the others, is the anti-abortion movement's t…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/abortion-is-legal-in-all-50-states-and-we-intend-to-keep-it-that-way

The FBI is Tracking Our Faces in Secret. We're Suing
Kade Crockford | aclu.org | 2019-10-31
Many of us wear masks on Halloween for fun. But what about a world in which we have to wear a mask every single day to protect our privacy from the government's oppressive eye? | Face | recognition surveillance technology has already made that frightening world a | reality in Hong Kong, and it's quickly becoming a scary | possibility in the United States. | The FBI is currently collecting data about our faces, irises, walking patterns, and voices, permitting the government to pervasively identif…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/the-fbi-is-tracking-our-faces-in-secret-were-suing

Why Have a Forum on Reparations in Charleston and Why Now?
Jeffery Robinson | aclu.org | 2019-10-31
This year marks 400 years since enslaved, kidnapped people were purchased by the forefathers and — mothers of America. Are the events that began 400 years ago connected to today? William Faulkner wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." | On June 19, 2019, the National African American Reparations | Commission (NAARC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held | a forum on H.R. 40 in the historic Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, | D.C. As a follow up to that…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/why-have-a-forum-on-reparations-in-charleston-and-why-now

The Unchecked Growth of Policing Makes Everyone a Criminal, Even Children
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-10-31
Despite a nationwide drop in crime the number of cops continues to grow. In this episode of The Police Accountability Report we examine some of the consequences of that growth and how it leads to unnecessary arrests and increased incarceration…
therealnews.com/stories/unchecked-growth-policing-makes-everyone-criminal-even-children

From Climate Denial to "Green" Petroleum: Massachusetts Accuses Exxon Mobil of Deceptive Messaging
Alleen Brown | theintercept.com | 2019-10-31
Exxon Mobil's relationship with the New York Times is a case study in how the fossil fuel industry's climate denialism has evolved over the past 20 years. Beginning in the 1970s, Exxon Mobil published an "advertorial" every Thursday on the New York Times editorial page. The quarter-page, essay-style ads were designed to mimic a Times op-ed. Starting in the 1980s, doubt about the seriousness of human-driven climate change was a repeated theme. The ads came with titles including "Apocalypse no," "Reset the alarm," "Less heat, more light on climate change," and "Climate change: a degree of uncertainty." | According…
theintercept.com/2019/10/31/exxon-mobil-massachusetts-climate-change-lawsuit-greenwashing/

As Rich Hire Private Firefighters, Housekeepers Go to Work in Fire Zone & Prisoners Fight CA Blazes
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-10-31
As climate-fueled fires rage across California, we look at how the blazes are disproportionately affecting some of the state's most vulnerable communities. As a growing number of wealthy homeowners hire private firefighters to protect their properties for up to $3,000 per day, domestic workers and gardeners who tend to some of the most opulent homes in Los Angeles attended work despite the Getty Fire evacuation order earlier this week. Many of their employers failed to even tell them not to come in. Meanwhile, of the more than 4,000 firefighters currently working across the state, at least 700 are California pris…
www.democracynow.org/2019/10/31/california_fires_domestic_workers_prisoner_firefighters

The Presidential Town Hall on Mass Incarceration Was a Historic Moment and a Missed Opportunity
Alice Speri | theintercept.com | 2019-10-30
Collectively, the men and women in the room had hundreds of years of prison experience. The presidential town hall, the first ever to be hosted by formerly incarcerated people, was a unique opportunity for candidates to speak about the criminal justice system with those who know firsthand its devastating failures. But only three candidates showed up — and while the conversation delved into questions rarely tackled on the campaign trail, some of the candidates' answers left those in the audience disappointed. | The e…
theintercept.com/2019/10/30/criminal-justice-town-hall-democratic-candidates/

Chesa Boudin, Son of 1960s Radicals, Runs for San Francisco DA on Criminal Justice Reform Platform
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-10-30
Chesa Boudin is running for San Francisco district attorney as the latest candidate in a wave of decarceral prosecutors running for office across the United States. Bernie Sanders and other leading progressives have endorsed Boudin, who is a public defender and the child of Weather Underground activists Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert. His parents were imprisoned when Boudin was a toddler. These experiences have given him a first-hand view of "how broken our criminal justice system is," he says. "My earliest memories are going through steel gates and metal detectors just to see my parents, just to give them a hug.
www.democracynow.org/2019/10/30/chesa_boudin_san_francisco_district_attorney

Tribute To A Persistent Progressive — Rep. John Conyers
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-10-29
Jacqueline Luqman pays tribute to John Conyers, the longest-serving Black Democrat in Congress and co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, died over the weekend at age 90. His political career spanned more than 50 years, and included a remarkable legacy of civil rights activism, challenging the expanding US military global footprint, and consistent support for…
therealnews.com/stories/tribute-persistent-progressiev-john-conyers

Quebec Government Apologizes to Indigenous Peoples for 'Systemic Discrimination'
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-10-29
Marie-Claude Lacroix, two-row wampum liaison of the Kanienkehaka Traditional Council, says Quebec continues to treat indigenous peoples disrespectfully.
therealnews.com/stories/quebec-apologizes-indigenous-peoples-systemic-discrimination

Accused of Treason and Imprisoned Without Trial: Journalist Kirill Vyshinsky Recounts His Harrowing Time in a Ukrainian Prison
Eva Bartlett | mintpressnews.com | 2019-10-28
Eva Bartlett sat down with recently released Ukrainian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky. Vyshinsky endured 15 months of appalling conditions in a Ukrainian prison after being falsely accused of treason.
mintpressnews.com/interview-journalist-kirill-vyshinsky-ukrainian-prison/262498/

Weekend Read: If your vote didn't matter, they wouldn't fight so hard to block it
splcenter.org | 2019-10-25
At the intersection of race and politics in the United States lies voter suppression — the array of laws and election practices intended to make it harder for people of color to vote.
splcenter.org/news/2019/10/26/weekend-read-if-your-vote-didnt-matter-they-wouldnt-fight-so-hard-block-it

I Went to Mexico to Meet Asylum-Seekers Trapped at the Border. This Is What I Saw
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2019-10-24
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,…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/i-went-to-mexico-to-meet-asylum-seekers-trapped-at-the-border-this-is-what-i-saw

Why is Missouri So Afraid of Finding out Whether Lamar Johnson is Innocent of Murder?
Somil Trivedi | aclu.org | 2019-10-24
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…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/why-is-missouri-so-afraid-of-finding-out-whether-lamar-johnson-is-innocent-of-murder

'No rehabilitation,' just oppression, behind bars in Alabama
Kathryn Casteel | splcenter.org | 2019-10-23
splcenter.org/news/2019/10/29/no-rehabilitation-just-oppression-behind-bars-alabama

San Diego protest demands closure of migrant concentration camps
San Diego PSL | liberationnews.org | 2019-10-21
"The detention of migrants and refugees seeking asylum is a direct result of U.S. imperialism."
liberationnews.org/san-diego-protest-demands-closure-of-migrant-concentration-camps/

Patients' Needs, Not Personal Beliefs, Come First in Health Care
Lindsey Kaley | aclu.org | 2019-10-18
From the | start, the Trump administration has issued one regulation after another that uses | religion to deny people — particularly pregnant people, people with low-incomes, | and LGBTQ people — health care access and coverage. Today, we are asking | a federal district court in New York to strike down one of the most pernicious | of these regulations: the refusal of care rule. | The refusal | of care rule, issued by the Department of Health | and Human Services (…
aclu.org/news/religious-liberty/patients-needs-not-personal-beliefs-come-first-in-health-care

Newark protesters: Democratic Party machine an accomplice in Trump's war on immigrants
Esteban Guevara | liberationnews.org | 2019-10-16
Protesters gathered in Newark, New Jersey for a rally and 3-mile march up to the detention center organized by the Resist the Deportation Machine Network on Oct. 12 to demand the closure of the ICE concentration camp in Essex county.
liberationnews.org/newark-protesters-democratic-party-machine-an-accomplice-in-trumps-war-on-immigrants/

Leonard Peltier subjected to unjust lockdown in prison: Write to the warden now!
Liberation Staff | liberationnews.org | 2019-10-15
The Party for Socialism and Liberation urges its supporters to write the warden to demand an end to this brutal lockdown.
liberationnews.org/leonard-peltier-subjected-to-unjust-lockdown-in-prison-write-to-the-warden-now/

Creative writing class in prison was 'light' in the darkness
Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2019-10-11
splcenter.org/news/2019/10/15/creative-writing-class-prison-was-light-darkness

White Supremacist William Fears to Get Five Years in Prison
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2019-10-10
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.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/10/11/white-supremacist-william-fears-get-five-years-prison