(2019-11-25). Blinded Palestinian Journalist Exposes Israel's Increasing Violence Against Media. mintpressnews.com 
2018 saw a 52 percent increase in the number of violations against Palestinian press, the majority of them comprised physical abuse, arrests or detentions, questioning, preventing coverage and shutting down websites and social media accounts.
(2019-11-25). Julian Assange Could Die in Prison, Doctors Warn. truthdig.com 
More than 60 doctors have written an open letter saying they fear Julian Assange's health is so bad that the WikiLeaks founder could die inside a top-security British jail. | The 48-year-old Australian is still fighting a US bid to extradite him from Britain on charges filed under the Espionage Act that could see him given a sentence of up to 17…
(2019-11-25). Noam Chomsky: Centrism Will Only Get Us Four More Years of Trump. truthdig.com 
Noam Chomsky is not here to reassure you. As Arctic ice melts, centrists in the Democratic Party actively hinder progress on "Medicare for All" and Republicans work equally hard on voter suppression, the activist, linguist and professor is sounding the alarm. | In an interview after last week's Democrat…
(2019-11-25). In Nicaragua, She Dodged Bullets. Now She's Stuck at the Border. aclu.org 
(Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) The sting of tear gas was still in Julia's eyes when she ran into a public park in the center of the Nicaraguan city of Estelí on June 20, 2018. Earlier that day, she'd wrapped her face in a blue-and-white bandanna — the colors of the Nicaraguan flag — and joined a student-led march against the government of President Daniel Ortega, whose proposed cuts to social benefits were sparking tense street demonstrations across the country. [Note: 'Julia' is a pseudonym; the ACLU is protecting her identity for her safety.] | As the students marched through the streets, paramilitary p…
(2019-11-25). An open letter from doctors: Julian Assange "could die in prison" wsws.org "Were such urgent assessment and treatment not to take place, we have real concerns, on the evidence currently available, that Mr Assange could die in prison."
(2019-11-25). Doctors demand "urgent" medical intervention to save Julian Assange's life. wsws.org More than 65 eminent medical doctors from the UK and around the world have issued an open letter calling for urgent action to protect the life of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder and journalist Julian Assange.
(2019-11-25). Clinical Psychologist Lissa Johnson on Julian Assange: "A maximum security prison is no place to treat a torture victim" wsws.org Australian clinical psychologist Lissa Johnson is a lead signatory to the open letter by medical doctors in defence of Julian Assange.
(2019-11-25). The Trump Administration is Unlawfully Detaining a U.S. Resident Without Charge. aclu.org Adham | Hassoun completed his criminal sentence and was set to be released from prison almost | three years ago. But the government — now claiming unprecedented and | unconstitutional powers under the USA Patriot Act — continues to hold Adham in | detention, indefinitely and without charge. | We're | in court to secure his freedom. | Adham | has called the United States home for 30 years. Born in Lebanon to Palestinian | refugees, Adham and his family — like many other refugees — suffered…
(2019-11-25). Civil Rights Groups Demand Stephen Miller's Removal As Trump's Senior Advisor. indybay.org On November 18, 2019, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and its affiliates sent a letter to the abomination in the White House known as President Donald J. Trump, demanding the removal of Trump's senior advisor Stephen Miller!
(2019-11-25). Peru Opposition Leader Accused of Graft Released From Jail. telesurenglish.net The Constitutional Court of Peru granted Monday a "habeas corpus" appeal to President of the Fuerza Popular (Popular Force) and opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, effectively nulling the preventive detention issued against her as part of the investigation for the alleged money laundering, criminal organization and obstruction of justice. | RELATED: | Peru: Judge in Keiko Case Ruled 'Partial' to State Prosecutors | With four votes in favor and three against, the judges approved the…
(2019-11-25). "Prison Gerrymandering" Could Inflate Population Counts During 2020 Census. truthout.org The South is home to several states with high rates of incarceration and criminal justice systems rooted in slavery and Jim Crow. People of color are disproportionately incarcerated across the region, as they are across the United States, and harsh sentencing laws have inflated the prison population exponentially over the past several decades. Though efforts to address mass incarceration have help…
(2019-11-25). Pope Francis Calls Nuclear Weapons Immoral as Catholic Activists Face Jail. truthout.org Over the weekend, Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the United States dropped the first atomic bombs in 1945, killing more than 200,000 people. Pope Francis said, "A world without nuclear weapons is possible and necessary." The leader of the Catholic Church met with survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and declared the possession of nuclear weapons to be immoral. The Pope's visit comes as a group of seven Catholic peace activists are awaiting sentencing for breaking in…
(2019-11-25). Oakland Raids Housing Justice Village: Being Houseless Is Not a Crime. indybay.org Last night, dozens of unhoused community members with The Village and East Oakland Collective placed their tents on the lawn of City Hall; demanding to be seen, heard and helped by city officials. Instead they were terrorized, brutalized, arrested and taken to Santa Rita Jail.
(2019-11-25). An Impeachment Hearings Libretto. counterpunch.org I have no doubt that House Democrats will vote articles of impeachment against Trump, just as I have no trouble imagining that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell will stage his own Netflix original and exonerate the president. So why plunge ahead to certain defeat in the Senate and give Trump an I-got-out-of-jail card in time for the election in 2020? | More
(2019-11-25). UAW Region 5 Director Vance Pearson resigns after embezzlement charges. wsws.org The resignation of Pearson follows last week's departure of union president Gary Jones and the explosive lawsuit by GM, which described the UAW as an "FCA-controlled enterprise."
(2019-11-25). Soldiers Abduct Three Palestinians In Hebron. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Monday at dawn, three Palestinians, including a former political prisoner, in Hebron governorate, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank. The Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers stormed and ransacked many homes and interrogated several Palestinians while …
(2019-11-25). Ex-CIA officer sentenced to 19 years in prison for conspiracy to commit espionage. nationofchange.org "Lee betrayed his own country for greed and put his former colleagues at risk."
(2019-11-25). Attacking Palestine's Future. "Omnipresent are the Prison Guard Towers, the Barbed Wire, the Israeli Soldiers" globalresearch.ca Traveling across Palestine, as I did to give lectures earlier this year, means following a perpetually fresh trail of repression. | Omnipresent are the prison guard towers, the barbed wire, the Israeli soldiers with their massive guns and the separation wall….
(2019-11-25). Police Raid Egypt's Last Independent News Outlet Mada Masr Amid "Increasingly Hostile" Media Climate. democracynow.org 
Egyptian security forces raided the office of Mada Masr, the country's last independent media outlet, and arrested three of its journalists this weekend. The raid began Sunday afternoon, when nine plainclothes security officers entered the Mada Masr office in Cairo, seizing phones and laptops and holding the staff in the building for more than three hours. They then arrested editor-in-chief Lina Attalah, managing editor Mohamed Hamama and reporter Rana Mamdouh. It came just a day after security forces arrested senior editor Shady Zalat at his home. All four journalists were released from detention Sunday night. T…
(2019-11-25). Pope Francis Calls Nuclear Weapons Immoral as Catholic Activists Face Jail For U.S. Nuke Base Action. democracynow.org 
Over the weekend, Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the United States dropped the first atomic bombs in 1945, killing more than 200,000 people. Pope Francis said, "A world without nuclear weapons is possible and necessary." The leader of the Cathoilc Church met with survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and declared the possession of nuclear weapons to be immoral. The Pope's visit comes as a group of seven Catholic peace activists are awaiting sentencing for breaking into the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia on April 4, 2018. The activists, known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7,…
(2019-11-25). Activists Confront CEO's "Disgusting" Use of Family's History at WWII Incarceration Camps to Justify Propping Up ICE's Migrant Detention. commondreams.org Japanese-American activists and their allies accused Jenni Nakamoto of turning "her back on her community and history." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/nakamoto-action-tsuru-18million-ice-contract.jpg …
(2019-11-25). Warning Julian Assange 'Could Die in Prison', 60+ Doctors Demand Immediate Medical Attention for WikiLeaks Founder. commondreams.org Following an urgent warning from the United Nations that Julian Assange's treatment in prison may amount to life-threatening torture, more than 60 doctors from around the world called on British officials to ensure the Wikileaks founder receives medical attention, at the risk that he may otherwise die in prison. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/free_assange.jpg …
(2019-11-24). Palestinian P.M. Visits Family of Seriously Ill Prisoner. imemc.org Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh said that the "issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will remain a top priority and it will be raised at international forums." | The Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported the P.M.
(2019-11-23). Interviews with Alice Springs workers and youth about public meeting to defend Assange and Manning. wsws.org Popular support in Alice Springs for imprisoned journalist Julian Assange is matched by a deep distrust of government authorities and the major parliamentary parties.
(2019-11-23). GM bribery lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler fueling growing outrage among autoworkers over UAW corruption. wsws.org The lawsuit is part of a ruthless struggle over market share in the auto industry, under conditions of an accelerating global downturn and an escalation of the attack on autoworkers.
(2019-11-23). Over 1200 rally in Chicago at relaunch of National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – More than a 1200 joined together November 22, at the hall of the Chicago Teachers Union, to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The newly refounded Alliance will center its efforts on building the fight against police crimes and for community control of the police, and it will campaign for the release of political prisoners and the wrongfully convicted. | Longtime leaders of the Black liberation movement, Angela Davis and Frank Chapman, along with elected officials, trade unionists, and other progressive activists addressed the packed rally that opened the confere…
(2019-11-23). 'We're in America': Latin American group up in arms after Texas teacher tells student to 'speak English' in class. rt.com 
A substitute teacher temping at a school in a Texas border town has come under fire for telling a Hispanic student to "speak English," prompting a heated response from a civil rights group calling for the teacher's dismissal. | A video of the incident posted online by a local news outlet on Thursday shows the teacher — then subbing at the predominantly Latino Socorro High School, located just a few miles from the border with Mexico — arguing with a student about his phone. | "Speak English, we're in America. Give me your phone," the teacher, who has not been named in press reports, is heard saying in…
(2019-11-22). Meet the Tucson 12: Under Trump, Protesters Are Being Hit With Felony Riot Charges. theintercept.com 
Illustration: Hanna Barczyk for The Intercept | On the night of August 14, a small group of around 20 Tucson, Arizona-based activists and community members stood outside the Pima County Adult Detention Complex, making noise. They sang, they chanted, they banged drums and pans loud enough to reach the ears of those caged behind the facility's beige concrete walls. Standing on a sidewalk, some lit small, handheld fireworks; others held up a large banner bearing the famed prison abolitionist refrain, "Fire to the prisons." The message to those inside, as with most every noise demonstration held outside a prison:…
(2019-11-22). JFK: What the CIA Hides. counterpunch.org My own JFK questions involve George Joannides, a decorated undercover officer who served as branch chief in the Miami station in 1963. He ran psychological warfare operations against Cuba. In 2003, I sued the CIA for Joannides' files. The lawsuit ended 15 years later in July 2018, when Judge Brett Kavanaugh, in his last opinion before ascending to the Supreme Court, tossed my case. Kavanaugh declared the agency deserved "deference upon deference" in its handling of Freedom of Information Act requests about JFK files. More
(2019-11-22). U.N. Rapporteur: Julian Assange Has Faced Psychological Torture; He Should Not Be Extradited to U.S. democracynow.org 
This week Swedish prosecutors dropped an investigation into sexual assault allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, stemming from 2010. Assange, who has always denied the allegations, took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden on the charges. British authorities dragged him out of the Ecuadorian embassy in April and he has since been jailed in London's Belmarsh prison on charges related to skipping of bail in 2012, when he first entered the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over the now-dropped sexual assault charges. The United States…
(2019-11-22). "In Defense of Julian Assange": Why WikiLeaks Founder's Case Threatens Press Freedom. democracynow.org 
This week Swedish prosecutors dropped an investigation into sexual assault allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, stemming from 2010. Assange, who has always denied the allegations, took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden on the charges. British authorities dragged him out of the Ecuadorian embassy in April and he has since been jailed in London's Belmarsh prison on charges related to skipping of bail in 2012, when he first entered the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over the now-dropped sexual assault charges. The United States…
(2019-11-21). Congress Just Temporarily Extended the Government's Spying Powers. aclu.org Congress today temporarily extended the NSA's spying powers that time and again have been used to violate our rights. Disturbingly, this three-month extension was snuck into a broader funding bill, forcing members of Congress to choose between extending this program and causing a government shutdown. The extension is an unnecessary lifeline to spying programs that are plagued with compliance violations, have no proven intelligence value, and violate our rights. | Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, one of the spying | powers extended, the government believes it has the right to collect our | personal inform…
(2019-11-21). Thursday's Daily Brief: Deadly Syria violence, risks of working at sea, poor health in jail, concern over ISIL suspect, and her child. news.un.org A recap of Thursday's stories in brief: Syria's violence continues to strike children; governments must do more for human rights in business; poor health in Europe's prisons; rights experts' concern over Irish ISIL bride and her child in Turkey; Fishing workers face huge risks at sea.
(2019-11-21). If Prison Conditions Don't Improve, 'It Will Be Our Blood Running Through the Water'. thenation.com If Prison Conditions Don't Improve, 'It Will Be Our Blood Running Through the Water'
(2019-11-21). Inside Australia's refugee prison camp in PNG. greenleft.org.au 
refugee rights Chris SleeIssue 1246 Australia MelbourneNovember 21, 2019The Refugee Action Collective (RAC) Victoria held a forum on November 18 to discuss the situation facing asylum seekers in Bomana Immigration Centre, a detention centre attached to Bomana prison in…
(2019-11-21). Media continues its smear campaign against Lula. greenleft.org.au 
media lies Brian MierIssue 1246 Brazil stitch upNovember 21, 2019The Brazilian Supreme Court reversed a 2018 ruling on November 7, upholding the principle of innocent until proven guilty in the 1988 Constitution and declaring it illegal to jail defendants before their appeals' proces…
(2019-11-21). Assange's case 'a threat to free speech worldwide'. greenleft.org.au 
civil liberties Jim McIlroyIssue 1246 Australia Julian Assange SydneyNovember 21, 2019Jennifer Robinson, a lawyer for imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, believes the United States' applicatio…
(2019-11-20). The U.S. Government Tracked, Detained, and Interrogated Journalists. We're Suing on Their Behalf. aclu.org 
As part of a coordinated effort that undermined the freedom of the press, the U.S. government tracked, detained, and interrogated journalists who were reporting on conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border. Now, we're suing on their behalf to defend their First Amendment rights. | Together with the New York Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, we're representing five photojournalists who traveled to Mexico in late 2018 and early 2019 to document the experiences of people traveli…
(2019-11-19). Headlines for November 19, 2019. democracynow.org U.S. Claims Israeli Settlements Are Not Illegal Under International Law, Four Witnesses Slated to Testify in Public Impeachment Hearings, U.N. Condemns U.S. for World's Highest Rate of Children in Detention, Political Crisis in Bolivia Continues After Military Pressure Ousts Evo Morales, American Professor Freed in Prisoner Swap in Afghanistan, 1,000 Students Arrested in Police Siege of Hong Kong University, Coal Mine Blast in China Kills 15; Pipeline Explosion in Bangladesh Kills 7, Deforestation of Brazilian Amazon Skyrocketed Since Bolsonaro's Election, Syracuse Suspends All Fraternity Activities After String…
(2019-11-18). Students Told They Would Be Better Off 'If They Had Jesus in Their Life'. aclu.org 
The ACLU and the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against the Smith County School System for violating the separation of church and state on Monday. According to the lawsuit, four students who are atheists have had to contend with school officials promoting Christianity through official prayers, Bible distributions, religious posters, and even a giant cross painted in one of the school's athletic facilities. | We asked our three high school clients in this case — Harleigh, | Leyna and Pyper — to tell us about their e…
(2019-11-18). Don't Suppress Votes of New Citizens. progressive.org A new kind of voter suppression is being perpetrated by the federal government and flying largely under the radar: a multi-faceted effort to prevent legal immigrants from becoming citizens in time to vote.
(2019-11-18). An Arizona Sheriff Deputy's Abuse of a Quadruple Amputee Teen Highlights a Policing Culture That Must Change. aclu.org Inhumane. Cruel. Abusive. What other words could possibly describe a Pima County, Arizona Sheriff Deputy placing a 15-year-old quadruple amputee who posed no threat into a headlock and then pinning him to the ground at a group home? What if the Deputy then screamed at another teenager videotaping the abuse and yelled at him repeatedly "shut the hell up" and, "Am I your bitch?" before slamming the teenager's head into the wall while handcuffed? | This is not another example…
(2019-11-18). After Texas Court Blocks Execution, Rodney Reed Has a Chance to Prove His Innocence in 1996 Murder. democracynow.org 
In a stunning decision handed down Friday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner who was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday for a murder he says he did not commit. The appeals court ordered a review of the case to examine claims of prosecutorial misconduct. Millions of people around the country had joined Reed's cause in recent weeks amid mounting evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. In 1998, an all-white jury sentenced Reed to die for Stites's murder after his DNA…
(2019-11-17). Protesters demand end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. fightbacknews.org NY, New York – On the evening of November 15, over 150 people gathered on 42nd and Broadway to demand that Israel, backed by the United States government, stop the murder and occupation of Palestinians. | The emergency rally was called by several different organizations in New York City in response to Israel murdering 34 people, including eight children in Gaza. The organizations were Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, CODEPINK: Women For Peace, Labor for Palestine, Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, NY4Palestine, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, American Muslims for Palesti…
(2019-11-15). The Size of Your Wallet Should Never Determine Your Freedom. aclu.org Lea Allison is a 30-year-old Alamance County | resident and mother to a 6-year-old daughter. She has been living with | relatives because she cannot afford to live on her own, but was about to start | a new job that she hoped would provide her and her daughter with financial | stability. | Lea's plans came to an abrupt halt when she was arrested and locked in an Alamance County, North Carolina jail on a $3,500 bond. Although she has not been found guilty of a crime, she will remain behind bars because she cannot afford to pay for her freedom. Instead of starting her new job, Lea is sitting in the Alamance Coun…
(2019-11-15). Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California. aclu.org This is a cross-post from the ACLU of Northern California. | There is a story we tell ourselves about being American. Much of it is a lie. Two dates that students throughout the country are required to memorize to inform an American identity are 1492, when Columbus supposedly "discovered" America, and 1776, when the United States claimed sovereignty from England and through the Declaration of Independence declared: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." If we're honest, we'll admit that the "all men" in that catchphrase didn't include African Americans, Native Americans, and…
(2019-11-15). Whistleblowers Are Public Servants. We Must Protect Them. aclu.org President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke on the phone. The president insists the call was " perfect." Others are concerned that, during the call, the president intimated he would withhold financial aid appropriated to Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president agreed to investigate former-Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of the president. | How do we even know about any of this? A…
(2019-11-14). Trump Administration Forgoes Petition to Supreme Court in Jane Doe Case. aclu.org For more | than two years, the ACLU has been fighting a Trump administration policy that | prevents unaccompanied immigrant minors in federal care from accessing | abortion. We had previously won in the lower court, securing a preliminary block on | the policy. And last week, the Trump administration chose not to challenge that | ruling and ask the Supreme Court to review the case—a real victory in our fight | for justice for the Janes. | We first filed | the case in Octobe…
(2019-11-13). Neo-Nazi Group NSM Faces New Upheaval After James Hart Stern's Death. splcenter.org The leadership of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM) has been thrown into chaos again following the death of self-described civil rights activist James Hart Stern.
(2019-11-07). After a hard-won sentence reduction, Huntsville man's court debt is another obstacle to freedom. splcenter.org Fresh out of prison after nearly 23 years, Archie "Jody" Hamlett appeared at his mother's door in Huntsville, Ala., one fall day in 2017.