(2019-12-11). Nazi Trump Declares Judaism a Nationality, Just Like Hitler. indybay.org In an effort to shut down dissent on college campuses to Israel's policies, Nazi Trump plans to sign an executive order this week declaring Judaism a religion or nationality, the latter being subject to the Civil Rights Act. Hitler did the same. See | www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-executive-order-anti-semitism-college_n_5df04c5ee4b0b75fb53426c3…
(2019-12-11). The Battle for Abortion Access Is In the States. aclu.org This past year has been a critical one in | the fight for reproductive freedom. For decades, politicians who want to | interfere with people's personal decisions about pregnancy have worked to push | abortion care out of reach. They've quietly passed 483 state abortion | restrictions since 2011 — including 59 new restrictions passed in 2019 alone. | And after Trump was able to put two new justices who are hostile to abortion | rights on the Supreme Court, politicians decided to go for broke. | Since Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation, | seven states have passed laws banning abortion from the earliest day…
(2019-12-11). Devin Nunes' Cow Has a First Amendment Right to Call Rep. Nunes a 'Treasonous Cowpoke'. aclu.org You might think that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the | Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, would be too busy to file baseless | defamation lawsuits against anonymous Twitter accounts. But you'd be wrong. | Last year, Rep. Nunes sued a number of people who were | mean to him online, including the Twitter parody accounts Devin Nunes' Mom and | Devin Nunes' Cow. Now, he's trying to unmask the Cow by subpoenaing the | author's identity from a local law firm. The ACLU and Public Citizen have filed
(2019-12-11). Detainee Zahran Continues Strike For 80th Day. imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Ahmad Zahran, 42, imprisoned by Israeli under repeatedly renewed arbitrary Administrative Detention orders without charges or trial, is ongoing with the hunger strike for the 80th consecutive day, despite his seriously deteriorating health condition. The PPS stated that the Israeli Prison Authority …
(2019-12-11). Exxon wins New York climate fraud lawsuit. nationofchange.org "Nothing in this opinion is intended to absolve ExxonMobil from responsibility for contributing to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gasses in the production of its fossil fuel products."
(2019-12-11). McKinsey's Monstrous Stint on Rikers Island. truthdig.com ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. | The report recounted that McKinsey had tested its new anti-violence strategy in what the firm called "Restart" housing units at Rikers. The results were striking. Violence had dropped more than 50% in the Restart facilities, the McKinsey partners wrote. | The number was bogus. Jail officials and McKinsey consultants had jointly rigged the Restart program in its earliest phase to all but guarantee there would be few viole…
(2019-12-11). Brazil's Senate Advances Bill That May Send Lula Back to Prison. telesurenglish.net Brazil's Senate took a step on Tuesday toward restoring mandatory imprisonment for convicts after they lose their first appeal, a move that could return former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to jail for corruption. | RELATED: | Brazil: Opposition Accuses Bolsonaro Before UN for Censorship | President Jair Bolsonaro attends a promotion ceremony for generals in Brasilia, Brazil, Dec. 9, 2019. | Photo: Reuters | The Senate's constitution and justice committee voted 22-…
(2019-12-11). Mexico's Ex-Head Of Public Security Took Bribes From Cartel. telesurenglish.net The former Mexican Head of Public Security was arrested in the United States this week after he was accused of conspiring to smuggle cocaine and accepting multi-million dollar bribes to protect jailed drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman of the Sinaloa cartel. | RELATED: | US, Canada, and Mexico Sign Trade Deal Again to Replace NAFTA | The U.S. Dep…
(2019-12-11). Let's talk about prison reform. indybay.org …
(2019-12-11). UK Politicians Are Cynically Using London Bridge Attack to Drum Up Votes. truthout.org A man recently released from prison on terrorism charges attended a conference on criminal legal reform in London and, wearing a fake explosive vest, stabbed fellow attendees, killing two people, Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones. Merritt was a course coordinator for Learning Together, an education program bringing students from outside prison walls inside them to learn alongside people who are incarcerated. Jones was a graduate…
(2019-12-11). Battling anti-Semitism or shielding Israel? Trump signs executive order targeting 'discriminatory' boycotts & activism on campuses. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that he claims will help combat anti-Semitic discrimination based on "race, color, or national origin," as critics say it only shields the state of Israel from any criticism. | Citing the "rise of anti-Semitism" on college campuses and elsewhere, the move seeks to apply the 1964 Civil Rights Act to Jewish Americans, and calls on the government to find new ways to "use nondiscrimination authorities" to address the issue. | "This is our message to universities: if you want to accept the tremendous amount of federal dollars you get every year, you must rejec…
(2019-12-10). Who Spied on Julian Assange? globalresearch.ca The Julian Assange drama drags on. Though he continues to sit in a top security British prison awaiting developments in his expected extradition to the United States, the Spanish High Court has been given permission to interview him. Assange …
(2019-12-10). Self-Defense in the Civil Rights Movement: the Lessons of Birmingham, 1963. counterpunch.org Hope is the fuel upon which working-class movements for social change draw their core strength. But hope divorced from solid organizing leads no-where. So, if we are to continue to propel our class forward it is vital that we learn the full lessons of how our sweetest victories are seized from the hands of our More
(2019-12-10). The Voter Suppression Playbook Is Britain's Latest Toxic Import From the US. thenation.com The Voter Suppression Playbook Is Britain's Latest Toxic Import From the US…
(2019-12-10). Delays in Forced Sterilizations Case in Peru: 20 Years Open. telesurenglish.net The case involving alleged forced sterilizations performed in Peru during the 1990-2000 term of former President Alberto Fujimori suffered on Monday a new delay in the legal proceedings that have been under way for more than 20 years without any trial opened yet. | RELATED: | Peru Opposition Leader Accused of Graft Released From Jail | The court hearing was expecting Monday prosecutors to present their accusations against Fujimori and his former health ministers for crimes against…
(2019-12-10). Unions demand jailed Catalan leader support Spain's PSOE-Podemos government. wsws.org Spain's two largest trade unions are directly complicit with the attempt by Podemos and the Socialist Party to install a pro-austerity, police-state regime.
(2019-12-09). Under Attack by Trump, Immigrant Justice is Advancing in the States. aclu.org This year was another of devastating attacks on immigrants' rights | by the Trump administration. However, in both red and blue states, we fought | and won new measures that stymie Trump's deportation machine. These local wins, | though often overshadowed by the president's xenophobia, are powerful. Here are | some of the most surprising and significant of our 2019 immigrant justice victories | in the states. | In | Michigan, a former marine's arrest prompts police reform | Grand Rapids, Michigan police kept veteran and U.S. citizen Jilmar | Ramos-Gomez in immigration detention for 3 days — even though <...
(2019-12-09). Immigrants have been Denied Due Process for Years. In New England, that's about to Change. aclu.org One of the bedrock principles of our judicial | system is that the government can't just lock people up without showing why | it's necessary. | For noncitizens caught up in Trump's deportation | machine, though, that principle doesn't always apply. But now because of our | litigation in New England that's about to change. | Gilberto Pereira Brito was detained in March by ICE | — snatched from his wife and three children, all of whom are U.S. citizens — and | brought before an immigration judge for a bond hearing. To keep him in | detention, the government had to prove nothing, whereas Gilberto had…
(2019-12-09). Question for Kirbymoorside UK Hustings Meeting: Would you stand up for Julian Assange? dissidentvoice.org To those candidates who are putting themselves forward as MPs to become a voice within the UK Parliament — would you stand up for Julian Assange and for those who. in speaking truth, have the audacity to challenge the dialogue of power? I am disappointed that my question relating to the arbitrary detention of Julian …
(2019-12-09). The Government Has Taken At Least 1,100 Children From Their Parents Since Family Separations Officially Ended. theintercept.com Border Patrol agents, untrained in child welfare, decide that some parents are unfit to stay with their children based on brief interactions in detention.
(2019-12-09). Arizona educators, progressives confront ALEC summit and Betsy DeVos. fightbacknews.org Tucson, AZ – On December 4, a coalition of union educators, immigrant rights, police crimes, and climate change activists confronted the agenda of corporations like UPS and energy industry giants and billionaires like Charles Koch and Sheldon Achelson. At its height the crowd numbered around 200 with signs reading: "ALEC: Oligarchy in progress" and "Privatization, criminalization, incarceration, climate change, imperialism: #ALECisBehindIt." | The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a notorious organization of hardcore conservatives, was holding its States and Nation Policy Summit in Arizona. ALEC hoste…
(2019-12-09). An Australian Tourist, a Bulgarian Prison, and a Recording Session. dissidentvoice.org Bulgaria, it appears, is a captured state. I'll get to that in a minute. I first heard about Jock Palfreeman, an Australian serving a lengthy prison sentence in Bulgaria, through a fellow Australian. The context was a message from my friend Kamala that was straightforward, to the effect of, "would you write a song about …
(2019-12-09). Three Ways the "Fairness for All Act" Doesn't Protect LGBTQ People from Discrimination. aclu.org On Friday, Congressman Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and | several of his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives introduced | the so-called "Fairness for All Act." The bill is being described by its | supporters as a compromise that protects both LGBTQ people and religious | liberty. | In reality, the bill facilitates the Trump | administration's ongoing efforts to give a greenlight to those who would turn | LGBTQ people away from jobs, health care, housing, even taxpayer-funded | programs, simply because of who they are. The bill also weakens some | longstanding protections in federal and state laws…
(2019-12-08). Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Reinstates Angela Davis' Award. bdsmovement.net 
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Reinstates Angela Davis' Award: In the NewsThe organization faced backlash and internal dissension after previously rescinding the honor—a decision Davis and allies attributed to the racial justice activist's support for Palestinians' rights and BDS. | Right To BoycottJanuary 25, 2019 | By: | | COLORLINES
(2019-12-07). US government drops case against Max Blumenthal after jailing journalist on false charges. thegrayzone.com As the mysterious disappearance of Secret Service records and complete absence of evidence supporting its case came to light, the…
(2019-12-05). A Border Officer Told Me I Couldn't Opt Out of the Face Recognition Scan. They Were Wrong. aclu.org 
"Look at the camera," a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) | officer told me as I approached the primary inspection point at the Paso del | Norte port of entry. | "Is that the face recognition technology?" I asked. "If so, I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | "I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | On the evening of November 25, 2019, I crossed from Mexico into the United States. Signs in the port noted the new use of face recognition technology and United States citizens' option to "undergo alternative procedures." After handing over my U.S. passport card, and despite my repeated protests…
(2019-12-05). 'It's This Culture of Secrecy That's Pervading the Courts' – CounterSpin interview with Melissa Goodman on the PATRIOT Act. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed the ACLU's Melissa Goodman about the PATRIOT Act for the September 30, 2005, episode of CounterSpin—a conversation that was reaired on the November 29, 2019, show. This is a lightly edited transcript of the rebroadcast. | Media…
(2019-12-04). Immigrant rights activists protest ICE detention at Sherburne County commissioners' meeting. fightbacknews.org Elk River, MN – Immigrant rights activists mobilized to the Sherburne County commissioners' meeting at 9: 00 in the morning Tuesday, December 3 in Elk River, a town of around 20,000 people an hour northwest of Minneapolis. They held signs throughout the meeting, and several of them spoke passionately during the public comment section of the agenda, appealing to the commissioners to stop participating in and profiting from immigrant detention in the Sherburne County Jail. | The Sherburne County Jail has a contract for 300 beds to detain immigrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it the la…
(2019-12-04). SPLC lawsuit seeks to restore Mississippi citizens' right to vote. splcenter.org When they were children, Herman Parker and his three sisters went to their grandparents' house every election day.
(2019-12-03). Congress Must Act to Protect the Right to Vote. aclu.org Update 12/06/19: The House passed the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would update the Voting Rights Act for the first time since it was last reauthorized in 2006. | Read the ACLU's report to Congress on the importance of restoring the Voting Rights Act. | This week, the House is expected to vote on H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019. The bill would help ensure racial barriers to voting are removed from elections across the country. Passing the VRAA will advance needed protections for people whose right to vote is under attack based…
(2019-12-02). Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities. splcenter.org …
(2019-11-21). After parole, Alabama man gets life back on track, helps others. splcenter.org Chris "Champ" Napier started speaking to students and at-risk youth about his experience in prison before he knew he would ever regain his freedom.
(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.