2020-05-21: News Headlines

(2020-05-21). Witness at the prison gates, Karnes Family 'Detention' Center. workers.org May 16 car caravan protesting migrant family imprisonment at the Karnes County Residential Center — first immigrant detention facility in Texas to be licensed as a 'child care provider.' By BLS On May 16, I found the Karnes County Family Residential Center tucked away on a secluded road in Karnes . . . |

Eds. (2020-05-21). Engels was right, class society and women's oppression aren't inevitable or irreversible. mronline.org There is a view of human history which holds effectively that there is little difference in essentials between modern, capitalist society and the societies of the past.

Marcha Noticias (2020-05-21). Wallmapu: "The Mapuche political prisoners are not alone" peoplesdispatch.org The Mapuche community demands protection for political prisoners in the prisons of the Araucanía region of Chile after being exposed to the risk of COVID-19 due to lack of necessary care…

WSWS (2020-05-21). US government to file antitrust lawsuit against Google this summer. wsws.org The DOJ case will reportedly raise "concerns that Google uses its dominant search business to stifle competition."

WSWS (2020-05-21). Almost no US prisoners have been released since the beginning of the pandemic. wsws.org Despite highly publicized executive orders, only a handful of inmates have been released from jails and prisons across the US even as 100,000 inmates are projected to die from COVID-19.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-05-21). Benjamin Netanyahu to personally appear for trial in court. peoplesdispatch.org Netanyahu is indicted in seven cases, the trial for which will begin on May 24. If convicted, the Israeli prime minister will have to serve more than 10 years in prison…

Ben Norton (2020-05-20). New NYPD press officer co-wrote The Intercept Russiagate story that landed source in prison. thegrayzone.com The Intercept published a story that landed Reality Winner in prison, burning its third source. That article was co-authored by…

Janine Jackson (2020-05-20). 'Efforts to Make Voting More Difficult Are Magnified in a Pandemic' – CounterSpin interview with Ari Berman on voter suppression and the coronavirus. fair.org Janine Jackson interviewed Ari Berman about voter suppression and the coronavirus for the Media…

ACLU (2020-05-20). Celebrating 100 Episodes of "At Liberty" aclu.org This week, we're airing the

Mark Gruenberg (2020-05-20). Corporations using coronavirus excuse to get permanent immunity from workers' lawsuits. peoplesworld.org

Jay Stanley (2020-05-19). Technology and Liberties in the Fight Against Coronavirus. aclu.org There have been disease outbreaks throughout human history, but never one that has taken place in the era of high-tech tracking tools and "big data." , , Policymakers and technologists have proposed a number of ideas for leveraging such technologies to help suppress the spread of COVID-19. At the ACLU, we recognize the urgency of stemming the pandemic and re-opening America, and don't think we should immediately write off any tools that may offer public health benefits. But we shouldn't give up critical rights and freedoms unless a proposal is necessary, effective, and proportionate. We are particularly wary…

Ruth Anna Buffalo (2020-05-19). When a Two-Year Sentence Becomes a Death Sentence. aclu.org Andrea Circle Bear wasn't given a death sentence. , , She plead guilty last year to maintaining a drug-involved premises. She was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison. , , But shortly after being transferred from a jail in South Dakota to a federal prison in Texas, Circle Bear died of COVID-19 while in custody, just 28 days after giving birth via C-section while on a ventilator. The 30-year-old member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota was the first federally incarcerated woman to die from COVID-19. , , Just how did a pregnant woman serving time for a drug offense get sent to a crowded f…

Annika Stechemesser, Leonie Wenz, Anders Levermann (2020-05-19). [Commentary] Corona crisis fuels racially profiled hate in social media networks. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic has the world firmly in its grip with more than 2.5 million confirmed cases worldwide [1] and over 100 countries in full or partial lockdown [2] (as of April 24th, 2020). Although political leaders call for solidarity and people all over the world have started support initiatives, various incidents prove that the corona outbreak has also given rise to a series of discrimination and racist attacks against Chinese people and people with Asian looking features [3—5]. These attacks are not restricted to the physical space but pertain to social media networks as well.

Ed Sykes (2020-05-19). People had the perfect response to Tony Blair joining Tory calls for schools to reopen. thecanary.co Tony Blair has Tony Blair then: "There is evidence of weapons of mass destruction" | Tony Blair now: "There is evidence that it's safe to send children back to school" | It's amazing how they still have him on to give his opinion when the fucker should be rotting in jail | — Ben…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-05-19). UPDATED: Israeli Troops Abduct Several Palestinians in West Bank and Israel. imemc.org Updated: May 20 @ 0651 | The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) reported that Israeli forces detained 18 Palestinians from across the West Bank. | The following names are the Palestinian residents detained by Israeli forces; | 1.

Staff (2020-05-20). "Stay Alive, Stay at Home, Organize": Rev. Barber Sets June 20 for Poor People's Digital March on DC. democracynow.org We look at the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Black, Brown and poor communities, and the next steps officials should take, with Reverend William Barber, who is organizing an online Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C., on June 20. "We're not going to just die. We're going to stand up and fight back," says Rev. Barber. He also discusses voter suppression ahead of the November election.

Staff (2020-05-19). Headlines for May 19, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Claims He Is Taking Hydroxychloroquine Despite FDA Warnings, Navajo Nation Has Highest Coronavirus Infection Rate in the U.S., 60-Year-Old Burmese Refugee Becomes Eighth COVID-19 Victim at Colorado Meat Plant, 74-Year-Old Man at California ICE Prison Dies of Suicide, Trump Attacks WHO as U.S. and China Trade Barbs over Pandemic Response, Early COVID Vaccine Trials Show Positive Results, Outbreak at Refugee Center in Germany Infects at Least 70 people, France and Germany Propose 500 Billion-Euro Coronavirus Assistance Fund for EU, Sà£o Paulo's Hospitals "Near Collapse" as Brazil Becomes Third Most Infe…

Refuse Fascism Bay Area (2020-05-21). As the Death Toll Rises, We Demand: Trump/Pence Out Now! indybay.org Refuse Fascism in the SF Bay Area is carrying out a series of actions in response to the dangerous situation we are in. We will deliver body bags to the Federal Building in San Francisco (on Seventh St.) on May 27 protest escalating deaths in prisons and detention camps, and we will do freeway bannering on May 20, with banners saying "Trump=Fascism=Death" and "Trump Pence Out Now" along with other actions. These will be protests that support and preserve social distancing.

Center for Biological Diversity (2020-05-21). California Proposes Regulations to Prevent Whale Entanglements in Crab Gear. indybay.org SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 15, 2020 — California state officials released a proposed rule today to reduce the number of endangered whales and sea turtles that get entangled in commercial Dungeness crab gear. The Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) was prompted by steep annual increases in reported whale entanglements and a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Dan Bacher (2020-05-21). Lawsuit by Three Groups Challenges Contracts Imperiling Delta, Fish. indybay.org Such diversions "reduce freshwater flows through the Delta causing and worsening harmful algal blooms (HABs) which threaten the public health of those drinking, fishing in, or swimming in, Delta waters, or inhaling the air near Delta waters," the complaint states…

Staff (2020-05-20). Reverend Barber Organizes "Poor People's Digital March on DC" for June 20. truthout.org We look at the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Black, Brown and poor communities, and the next steps officials should take, with Reverend William Barber, who is organizing an online Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C., on June 20. "We're not going to just die. We're going to stand up and fight back," says Rev. Barber. He also discusses voter suppression ahead of the November election. | TRANSCRIPT: | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be…

RT (2020-05-21). French care homes face manslaughter investigation: Victims' lawyer tells RT details of 'scandal amid epidemic'. rt.com Relatives of elderly people who didn't survive the Covid-19 epidemic in France's care homes want management to be held accountable for what they say was inaction and a cover-up that saw their loved ones die, their lawyer told RT. | Several French retirees, some as old as 89 and 96, died in nursing homes in March and April, amidst the coronavirus epidemic that is still raging in France. | Now, their families have filed a lawsuit against the care facilities, accusing their staff of being appallingly slow to test and safeguard the elderly, lawyer Fabien Arakelian, who represents the plaintiffs, said on RT. | Thei…

RT (2020-05-21). 'I can't wait to prosecute': Lawyers for NFL duo clash over armed robbery charges & 'bullsh*t tweets about $70k dice game'. rt.com New York Giants star Deandre Baker, who handed himself in after allegedly stealing $12,000 in cash and watches last week, is at the center of a new lawsuit against co-defendant and player Quinton Dunbar over a tweet from a party. | Patrick Patel, who is one of the representatives defending Baker against four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault, has reacted furiously to a photo and text message posted on Twitter by a lawyer for Seahawks cornerback Dunbar, claiming that Baker has been falsely framed. | The tweet, which appeared to show the organizer of the party bragging…

RT (2020-05-21). Prison for buying bitcoin? Proposed law could see Russians serving time for using cryptocurrencies. rt.com Politicians in Russia have suggested punishment of up to 2 million rubles and seven years in jail for the illegal use of digital assets and currencies. Some say the proposed law amounts to a total ban on cryptocurrencies. | Members of the State Duma, Russia's parliament, are in the process of creating legislation that would introduce criminal liability for using digital financial assets and currencies. | Under the new law, Russians could be penalized for any use of cryptocurrency, from full-blown operations like owning an exchange or mining farm, to smaller transactions, such as buying bitcoin with a Russian b…

yenisafak (2020-05-21). US: FedEx to rehire two black employees after viral video. yenisafak.com American cargo company FedEx said early Thursday it offers reemployment to two African-American workers who were fired after sharing a confrontation video with a white costumer."We are aware of the incident in GA [Georgia] that led to the release of two drivers employed by a service provider. We're offering employment while investigating to ensure an appropriate outcome," it said on Twitter.The company added that it takes allegations of "discrimination, retaliation, or improper employment actions" seriously.A driver of FedEx shared the video on Twitter Wednesday, which went viral within hours, saying he and a co-…