(2020-06-02). Behind the Walls: Prisoner resistance roundup. workers.org 
Prisoners are acting to protect themselves and each other in the middle of the global pandemic as they protest inhuman cages across the country and across the world. In the brutal facilities of incarceration in the U.S. alone, there have been hundreds of recorded actions related to COVID-19 since late . . . |
(2020-06-02). Social Justice Is The Way To End Riots. therealnews.com 
Eddie Conway talks with Jacqueline Luqman about the myths surrounding peaceful protests, uprisings, economic oppression and capitalism, valuing property over people, and the country's founding on violence.
(2020-06-01). Cleveland car/pedestrian action demands prisoner release. workers.org 
Cleveland May 29 — Today a combination car/pedestrian protest in downtown Cleveland called for the Cuyahoga County Jail to release more prisoners and end "inhumane treatment." Similar actions have been taking place around Ohio, which has the highest COVID-19 prisoner death rate in the country. This demonstration was called by . . . |
(2020-06-01). CoronaShock: The greatest crisis in the history of capitalism. peoplesdispatch.org Vijay Prashad talks to Brasil de Fato on the nature of the crisis COVID-19 has brought, the obscene structural discrimination and loot that characterize capitalism, and the path before the Left during and after these times…
(2020-06-01). Black Lives Matter U.K.: London activists demand justice for George Floyd. peoplesworld.org 
LONDON—Hundreds of anti-racists gathered in London's Trafalgar Square Sunday to protest against the death of George Floyd, the Black man killed last week in Minneapolis by white police officers, who held him down while one pressed his knee into his neck as he cried: "I can't breathe." The demonstration was organized by Black Lives Matter. …
(2020-06-01). Federal Prisons Should Not be Death Chambers. counterpunch.org 
Double Ditch Indian Village overlooks the Missouri River in North Dakota, about an hour's drive north from where the Dakota Access Pipeline Water Protectors formed their prayer camps in 2016 on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. It's a historic site of a village where, from 1490 to 1785, members of the Mandan Tribe lived in
(2020-06-01). Activists demand end to illegal confinement of Sahrawi human rights defender. peoplesdispatch.org Moroccan authorities have kept prominent Sahrawi activist Mahfouda Lekfir illegally confined in her father's house after she was released on May 15 following six months of political detention…
(2020-06-01). Chalking and Walking Because Black Lives Matter. zcomm.org One of the many good things about the massive demonstration in Newark yesterday was the unity in action on the part of the predominantly Black and very multi-racial gathering…
(2020-06-01). Racism in the United States. globalresearch.ca If anyone needed another reminder that Black lives simply don't matter in the United States of America, the police in Minneapolis have clearly demonstrated that fact. | It will be a long time before I will forget the picture of Derek …
(2020-06-01). Palestinians Protest Israel's Medical Negligence of Cancer Patient Prisoner. imemc.org Dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip reportedly staged a demonstration, on Sunday, in protest of what they said Israeli maltreatment of a Palestinian prisoner held in Israeli jail. The protesters, representing many Islamic and national Palestinian political factions in the coastal enclave, showed solidarity with prisoner Kamal Abu Waer, …
(2020-06-01). Lawyers of George Floyd Family to Open UN Human Rights Case, Seek Sanctions Against US. mintpressnews.com If there ever was a clear cut case for human rights abuse, it is the ongoing and pervasive disregard for communities of color by the police and concomitant prison-judicial complex in America.
(2020-05-31). Palestinian Prisoner in Israeli Jail on 21st Day of Hunger Strike. imemc.org Palestinian prisoner, Sami Janazreh, 47, has embarked on the third hunger strike over the past four years of incarceration. According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, prisoner Janazreh from the al-Fawwar refugee camp, has been on hunger strike for 21 days consecutively, in protest of his Administrative Detention inside Israeli prison. …
(2020-05-30). Corrections Officers And Formerly Incarcerated People Protest Unsafe COVID-19 Conditions. therealnews.com 
Corrections officers joined prison abolitionists in a caravan rally protesting the lack of promised testing, PPE, and release of prisoners at four Maryland prisons.
(2020-05-30). Secret memos confirm government role in the jailing of Ricky Tomlinson. thecanary.co On hearing the name Ricky Tomlinson, many people will think of Brookside or the Royle Family or the Ken Loach films Raining Stones and Riff Raff. Before that Tomlinson
(2020-05-29). Anthony Romero on Leading in a Time of Crisis. aclu.org 
Anthony Romero started his job as executive director of the ACLU just seven days before September 11, 2001, and he's been with us ever since. The subsequent "war on terror" presented new and widespread threats to civil rights and civil liberties. Now, he faces a new challenge: leading the ACLU during the COVID-19 pandemic. He joined the podcast this week to discuss how the ACLU is navigating the current moment., , "In moments of crisis, in moments of fear, civil liberties are often imperiled," Romero told our host, Emerson Sykes. The organization has had to "adjust to our understanding of what liberty and free…
(2020-05-29). Recidivism Will Only Decrease if Successful Reentry is Embraced as an Antidote for Mass Incarceration. aclu.org While there are many policies drafted and bills legislated, really the only components that comprise successful reentry to the community are skills, support, and shelter. Thinking about what I needed when I came home from prison looks much different now than it did 20 odd years ago. Back then, I thought serving my time in prison was my punishment; I didn't know I was facing a life sentence after leaving prison. And for many people reentering society after leaving incarceration, that's what reentry is — a life sentence., , When the corrections officer stopped by my bunk to tell me I was being paroled, my…
(2020-05-29). Maine's ISP Privacy Law Does Not Violate the First Amendment, Much as ISPs Would Like for It To. aclu.org Without many of us even realizing it, our use of the Internet reveals deeply private information about us, ranging from the contents of our communications to details about our finances, health, and exact location. This information — especially when aggregated — provides an intimate window into our personal lives and can reveal a great deal of personal, private information about us, like our health care needs and personal or political beliefs., , For each of us, there's at least one entity that can see perfectly through that window: our "broadband information access service" provider, more commonly…
(2020-05-29). President Trump has No Idea How Online Speech Works. aclu.org Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at bullying social media companies and online platforms into changing how they moderate content online. The order came the day after President Trump tweeted that Republicans feel that social media platforms silence conservative voices. And, notably, just days after Twitter's decision to place a fact-checking
(2020-06-01). Federal Judge Upholds Expanded Absentee Ballot Law in Virginia, Blocking Right-Wing Group's Attempt at Voter Suppression. commondreams.org Civil rights advocates applauded a victory for voting rights Monday after a federal judge denied a right-wing, pro-voter suppression group's request to restrict the use of absentee ballots in Virginia. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1211232916_1_1.jpg …
(2020-05-29). As Pandemic Epicenter Shifts to Latin America, Gov'ts Use COVID-19 as Pretext for Police Repression. democracynow.org 
As the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic shifts to Latin America, so too has the use of COVID-19 as a pretext for police repression. "We're seeing that COVID-19, like other pandemics before it, magnifies structural discrimination. And sadly, it's often the most marginalized that are the first targets," says Louise Tillotson, co-author of a new Amnesty International report on the abuse. We also go to San Salvador to speak with journalist Jorge Cuéllar.
(2020-06-01). Tuesday 6/9: My Vanishing Country: Bakari Sellers talks about memior on being son of civil rights hero. indybay.org Online via Livestream…
(2020-06-01). #CancelRent Movement Escalates Amid Growing National Unrest. indybay.org "We're at a Breaking Point: " #CancelRent Movement Escalates Amid Growing National Unrest, and Warns that Police Enforcement of Evictions Will Destroy More Black Lives!!!
(2020-05-31). Ocasio-Cortez: "If You Want to End Unrest, End the Conditions That Create It" truthout.org In a video message posted to Instagram on Saturday amidst days of nationwide protest in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota earlier this week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez issued a plea to anyone calling for the end of the "unrest" stirred by brutality and oppression to focus on the root causes of poverty, distrust, and violence in American society. | "If you are calling for an end to this unrest… but you are not calling for the end to the conditions that…
(2020-05-31). Another night of unrest in the US as Black Lives Matter protests continue. thecanary.co 
Protests over the killing of George Floyd and other police killings of Black people in the US grew on 30 May from New York to Tulsa to Los Angeles.The protests began in Minneapolis after a police officer killed Floyd by holding a knee to his neck until he stopped breathing. They've now gained momentum with another night of unrest after months of coronavirus lockdowns.National unrest: The unrest has since become a national phenomenon as protesters decry years of Black deaths at police hands. More than 1,300 people have been arrested in 16 cities since Thursday, with more than 500 of those happening in Los A…
(2020-06-01). 'Violence was taught to us, we're tired of racism & injustice': BLM protesters reveal grievances as riots rage in DC. rt.com 
While violence is counterproductive, it is "necessary" during the riots currently plaguing US cities, because people of color are fed up with stigma and racial bias, Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists told Ruptly video agency. | "I just want to be able to walk around every day and not feel like I'm going to get shot, just because I'm black," BLM protester Aryana Evan told Ruptly in the middle of large rallies blighting in the US capital for several days in a row. | "I am tired," Evan said, nearly bursting into tears. "All these black people, all these allies out here, all of these different faces, we are all t…
(2020-06-01). 'RADICAL LEFT' trying to seize power by controlling 'CLUELESS' Biden, Trump alleges. rt.com 
Far-left extremists are pulling the strings of Joe Biden's presidential campaign, and would be the real decision-makers in the Oval Office should he win, Donald Trump has suggested, adding that the former VP is "clueless." | "Sleepy Joe Biden's people are so Radical Left that they are working to get the Anarchists out of jail, and probably more. Joe doesn't know anything about it, he is clueless, but they will be the real power, not Joe. They will be calling the shots! Big tax increases for all, Plus!" read the somewhat jumbled message of the US president. | Sleepy Joe Biden's people are so Radical Left that t…
(2020-06-01). Unaccompanied children in Greece in fear, misery. yenisafak.com Hundreds of people have tweeted to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for unaccompanied migrant and refugee children to be freed from detention in Greece, as a watchdog's campaign continued since last April.In April, the Human Rights Watch initiated a campaign with the #FreeTheKids hashtag on social media, calling for Greek authorities to release the hundreds of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Greece and are now being locked up in police cells.While 17-year-old Kamrul from Bangladesh was detained by the Greek police for more than six weeks, 14-year-old Ibrahim from Somalia for almost three months.L…
(2020-06-01). First US Citizen Convicted For Protests At Nuclear Weapons Base In Germany. popularresistance.org A US Air Force veteran of the US war in Vietnam and two other nuclear weapons protesters were found guilty of trespassing and damage to property in Cochem District Court May 11, 2020, as a result of July 2018 protest action at Germany's Bàºchel Air Force Base, where the United States positions 20 of its nuclear bombs and where German pilots train to use them in possible attacks against Russia. There have been repeated arrests and detentions of US citizens during protests at the Bàºchel base since 2017, but no charges have been brought to trial until now. The judge sentenced all three to fines equivalent…
(2020-06-01). US Drone Assassinations Continue Despite German Effort To Restrict Them. popularresistance.org A year after a German court issued a ruling that would have dramatically restricted U.S. drone operations in accordance with international law, no substantive changes have taken place, as the lawsuit that led to the March 2019 ruling is still stuck in the appeals process. | The lawsuit, filed by Yemeni engineer Faisal bin Ali Jaber over the killing of two family members, alleges that the German government intentionally ignored U.S. forces' use of Ramstein Air Base, near Mannheim, as a vital data transfer point in drone assassinations. Those drone operations often kill civilians in areas where the United States ha…
(2020-06-01). White Supremacist Infiltration Of US Police Forces. popularresistance.org The term "systemic racism" does not mean that individuals who operate within the system are generally racists. Instead, it means the institutions we have in place produce racially disparate effects on minority populations. And, in that regard, there are well-documented empirical studies of systemic racism in law enforcement agencies—including the use of policies like stop and frisk and disparate rates of policing activities including traffic stops, searches of motorists during traffic stops, levels of respect shown during stops, misdemeanor arrests, marijuana arrests, use of SWAT teams, individuals jailed f…
(2020-05-29). More 'can and must be done' to eradicate caste-based discrimination in Nepal. news.un.org Shocked over the killing last weekend of five men in Nepal, who had planned to escort home one of their girlfriends from a higher caste, the UN human rights chief on Friday stressed that ending caste-based discrimination is "fundamental" to the overall sustainable development vision of leaving no one behind.
(2020-05-28). We're Working to Safeguard Our Democracy and Our Health. aclu.org 
No one should have to choose between their health and their vote, but during the Wisconsin primary, an estimated
(2020-05-28). Headlines for May 28, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 100,000, Minneapolis Erupts in Flames as Protesters Rage Against Police Killing of George Floyd, China Tightens Grip on Hong Kong with New National Security Law, House of Representatives Holds First-Ever Remote Vote Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Protesters Surround Sing Sing Prison Demanding Release of Prisoners at Risk of COVID-19, Researchers: 6 Feet of Social Distancing Might Not Be Enough to Stop Coronavirus Spread, Doctors Without Borders Warns of Spike in Coronavirus Cases Among Florida Farmworkers, Brazilian Police Raid Fake News Network Linked to Son of Far-Right President, A…
(2020-05-28). We're Taking Clearview AI to Court to End its Privacy-Destroying Face Surveillance Activities. aclu.org For several years, a little-known start-up based in New York has been amassing a database of billions of our faceprints — unique biometric identifiers akin to a fingerprint or DNA profile — drawn from personal photos on our social media accounts and elsewhere online. The company has captured these faceprints in secret, without our knowledge, much less our consent, using everything from casual selfies to photos of birthday parties, college graduations, weddings, and so much more., , Unbeknownst to the public, this company has offered up this massive faceprint database to private companies, police,…
(2020-05-28). Federal Prison 'Should Not Be a Death Sentence'. progressive.org Advocates press for the release of Native inmates due to COVID-19.
(2020-05-27). Sanitation Workers Striking For PPE And Pay Replaced By Prison Labor. therealnews.com 
Dr. Talitha LeFlouria talks with TRNN about the New Orleans sanitation strike where workers were fired and replaced by prison labor from nearby Livingston Parish, and the historical roots of the exploitation of prison labor.
(2020-05-27). "Horrifying Neglect": COVID-19 Deaths in ICE Custody Spark New Calls for Mass Release of Prisoners. democracynow.org 
Calls are growing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release people from detention during the pandemic, as two people have died from COVID-19 while in custody. We speak with The Intercept's Ryan Devereaux, who reported on how Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia, held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, suffered horrifying neglect before he passed away. We are also joined by Erika Andiola with RAICES Action. "None of those folks — especially people who migrated seeking asylum — they did not do anything to deserve a life sentence in a detention center," Andiola notes.
(2020-05-27). ICE Records Confirm that Immigration Enforcement Agencies are Using Invasive Cell Phone Surveillance Devices. aclu.org For years, immigration enforcement agencies have been using invasive cell phone surveillance technology known as Stingrays in near-total secrecy. To find out more, the ACLU and New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, and now we've forced the agencies to turn over documents revealing new details about the agencies' practices. Today, we are publishing
(2020-05-27). The FDA is Making Needless COVID-19 Risks a Condition of Abortion and Miscarriage Care. We're Suing. aclu.org The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe and upended normal life. In the four months since the first U.S. case was reported, more than 1.5 million people have been infected and 100,000 people have died in the United States. To mitigate risk, public health authorities tell us to get our
(2020-05-26). Reparations — Has the Time Finally Come? aclu.org 
During a lull one afternoon when I was a high school student selling Black Panther Party newspapers on the streets of downtown Washington, D.C., in 1971, I sat down on the curb and opened the tabloid to the 10-point program, ""We believe that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules … promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor…
(2020-05-26). Grassroots Organizers Continue To Move The Needle For Change Despite Little Fanfare. therealnews.com 
Activists like Cameron Miles, Vonya Quarles, Erica Smith, and Amber Rose-Howard discuss organizing tactics that work in the continued fight for social justice and prison abolition.
(2020-05-26). Headlines for May 26, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Nears 100,000 Deaths from COVID-19 as Trump Shuns Face Masks, Goes After Democrats on Twitter, Trump Threatens to Pull RNC Out of North Carolina If Dem Governor Refuses to Allow Packed Crowds, Second Immigrant in ICE Jail Dies from COVID-19, U.S. to Deport Haitian Death Squad Leader and COVID-Positive Haitians Amid Pandemic, U.S. Restricts Travel from Brazil as It Becomes Second Most Infected Country, South American Nations Experience Mounting Cases as New Epicenter of the Pandemic, Boris Johnson Faces Pressure over Reopening Country and Lockdown-Flouting Adviser, WHO Suspends Tests of Hydroxychloroquine as…
(2020-05-26). Encampment to 'Free Them All' Outside GEO ICE Detention Center. unicornriot.ninja Aurora, CO — An encampment outside the GEO Group's ICE detention facility in Colorado sprung up on Saturday evening, May 23, with the demand: free them all. The camp-out is in direct response to an announcement by the Tri-County Health Department on May 21 stating…
(2020-05-25). For Betty Riddle, Amendment 4 Win Makes Her A Part of Society, Not Apart. aclu.org 
Betty Riddle made sure she was first in line to vote in the Florida primary this year. At age 62, it was her first time voting. "It was one of the greatest moments of my life," she told the ACLU. Her family made her a T-shirt just for the occasion, which read first in line, first time voting. | As a Floridian, Betty was subject to one of the nation's harshest felony disenfranchisement laws. Before
(2020-05-25). Gross Violations Found in DOC Review of Inmate's Death at Beltrami County Jail. unicornriot.ninja Bemidji, MN — "Pervasive" policy failures leading to "regular and gross violation[s] of Minnesota jail standards" were found in a second review of the death of 27-year-old Hardel Sherrell in Beltrami County Jail. The findings of the re-review were detailed in a May 15 letter…
(2020-05-23). Correction Officers And Inmate Advocates Prepare For Action At Jessup Prison. therealnews.com 
Corrections officers and prison abolitionists will join together Saturday to protest the lack of PPE and testing, and the need for parole, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2020-05-22). Third White Man Arrested for Murder in Ahmaud Arbery Shooting as DOJ Considers Hate Crime Charges. democracynow.org 
Authorities have arrested a third white man for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, this one charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump about how William Bryan filmed Arbery jogging down a narrow road in Brunswick, Georgia, in broad daylight, before he was confronted by two armed white men — retired police officer Gregory McMichael and his son Travis — who shot him three times. "This was never about any trespassing or burglary," Crump says. "This was always about profiling Ahmaud Arbery because of the color of his skin."
(2020-05-22). FBI Says It Will Investigate Breonna Taylor Shooting Death as Police Chief Announces Retirement. democracynow.org 
We speak with Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old aspiring nurse who was shot to death by police inside her own apartment. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department that details how police shot Taylor at least eight times after they burst into her apartment, unannounced, with a search warrant. The man police were looking for did not live in Taylor's apartment and was reportedly already detained by police when officers arrived at Taylor's residence on the night of March 13. At the time of her killing, Taylor had been working as an e…
(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…
(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.