2020-06-22: News Headlines

Jill Richardson (2020-06-22). A Ridiculous Debate on Sexual Orientation, But a Welcome Ruling. counterpunch.org The Supreme Court just affirmed a right I thought I always had: not to be fired for my sexual orientation. The 6-3 ruling found that, under existing civil rights legislation against sex-based discrimination, it's illegal for employers to discriminate against their employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It feels ridiculous that this needed

Martin Hart-Landsberg (2020-06-22). Racism, COVID-19, and the fight for economic justice. mronline.org While the Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the United States were triggered by recent police murders of unarmed African Americans, they are also helping to encourage popular recognition that racism has a long history with punishing consequences for black people that extend beyond policing.

Gil Netter (2020-06-22). Connecticut uprisings are the seeds of a better world. peoplesworld.org NEW LONDON, Conn. — Black Lives Matter and racial justice rallies and marches have continued over several weeks across Southeastern Connecticut cities and towns. These events have involved people of all colors and ages in New London, Groton, Norwich, Mystic, East Lyme, Waterford, and Old Lyme. The events show people's concerns over police violence against …

Dave Leshtz (2020-06-22). Do Black Lives Matter in Iowa? thenation.com Do Black Lives Matter in Iowa?

Mesha Jefferson (2020-06-22). Protesting for Black Lives in Trump Country. counterpunch.org I grew up biracial in a small, conservative town. Still, after living for years in Austin, moving back to one was a culture shock — it felt like going back in time. For the last three years I've lived in Volusia County, Florida — home to Daytona Beach, many small towns and suburbs, and a

Liberation Staff (2020-06-22). ILWU shuts down 29 ports for Juneteenth, Movement for Black Lives. liberationnews.org The International Longshore and Warehouse Union made a significant intervention into the national uprising against racism by organizing the Juneteenth West Coast Port Shutdown on June 19, closing down 29 ports in the U.S. and Canada. This act of solidarity is in keeping with the union's long tradition of fighting racism and for working-class unity. …

Fight Back (2020-06-22). Fort Lauderdale community commemorates Juneteenth with rally and march. fightbacknews.org Fort Lauderdale, FL – About 400 members of the surrounding communities gathered in downtown Fort Lauderdale to commemorate Juneteenth and demand an end to police violence. The event was sponsored by several local organizations, including SEIU Local 32BJ, Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward, Broward Dream Defenders, and the New Florida Majority. The event began at 3 p.m. at Bubier Park, where those in attendance listened to speeches, chanted, and even danced. | The atmosphere was both festive and somber, joyful yet ripe with anger. As the protesters marked the holiday meant to celebrate the ending of slavery i…

Fiore Longo (2020-06-22). Do Black Lives Matter to Big Conservation Groups? counterpunch.org You are walking through the rainforest with your best friend. Sunlight sparkles through the leaves and the two of you are chatting and laughing. Birds tweet, monkeys hoot, and perhaps that was the sound of a forest elephant you heard in the distance. Suddenly you hear the crack of a rifle: your best friend collapses, crumpled, and you fall to your knees to catch them as their blood pours over your hands and stains your clothes.

Cathy Rojas (2020-06-22). Building multinational unity for Black lives. liberationnews.org On June 14, a Black Lives Matter protest began in Jackson Heights, the most diverse urban area in the world, ending in the immigrant neighborhood of Corona, the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in New York City. The protest had an explicitly theme of "Multinational Unity for Black Lives," and united the multinational, largely immigrant …

FRHKS (2020-06-22). WATCH: Heroes: A Conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King (of the Angola 3). indybay.org Heroes: A Conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King (of the Angola 3) is a short video being released at this time to highlight another dimension of the protests taking place around the world supporting Black Lives Matter and to draw attention to racism in criminal justice systems around the world.

R. Robertson (2020-06-22). BLM Demonstrators Calling for Racial Justice March on Facebook HQ. indybay.org On June 12, hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters demanded Facebook stop funding local police by marching on the social media giant's headquarters in Menlo Park.

Movement for Black Lives (2020-06-22). Saturday 6/20: #SixNineteen: M4BL Juneteenth Restream to Defend Black Lives (online). indybay.org

PCHR (2020-06-22). PCHR Follows with Concern Continued Detention of Citizens on Grounds of Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) follows with concern the continued summonsing and detention of several Fatah Movement activists and cadres by the Internal Security Services (ISS) on grounds of a protest and social media posts on the 14th anniversary of the internal Palestinian division between Fatah and Hamas movements. …

yenisafak (2020-06-22). Syrians confirm death of missing relatives by photos. yenisafak.com Hundreds of thousands of Syrians searching for their relatives have stepped up their efforts after the US adopted the Caesar Act, a law which imposes sanctions on the Syrian regime for war crimes.Families, who have long given up on ever finding their relatives, click on web links where photos of people killed in regime prisons are posted, in a desperate attempt to confirm the death of their loved ones.Imaduddin Rasit, the founding member of a France-based association monitoring Syrian casualties of war and prisoners, said more than 6,000 photos of people tortured to death were shared on the internet.The photos we…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-06-22). Voter suppression looms over the 2020 election. peoplesworld.org ATLANTA—You've heard or read about a wide range of ways the right wing is suppressing the votes of people it hates, but this takes the cake: Postage stamps, or lack of them, for absentee voters in the entire state of Georgia. It's as bad as having one polling place for a county with 767,000 people …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-22). Demonstrators in Tunisia demand freedom for George Abdallah and other revolutionaries in jail. peoplesdispatch.org Abdallah, a prominent Lebanese communist leader, has been languishing in a prison in France for the last 35 years. The demonstrations in Tunisian capital Tunis on Saturday were part of the International Week of Action between June 15-22…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-22). Algerian court sentences prominent Hirak activist to one year imprisonment. peoplesdispatch.org Amira Bouraoui, who has been convicted for her Facebook post, is part of the popular ongoing Hirak movement which calls for large-scale democratic reforms in Algeria…

_____ (2020-06-22). Atlanta Jail Task Force Recommends Razing Building, Creating Equity Center. popularresistance.org Nearly a year after its creation, the Atlanta City Jail task force has recommended closing the jail, demolishing the building and replacing it with a Center for Equity that would support Atlantans' needs. | The 26-page report was delivered to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on June 12, giving suggestions on how the city can change the institution and convert it into a space to serve Atlanta residents, particularly those from communities most affected by the criminal justice system. The report described a center "that will advance racial and economic equity, promote restorative justice, and invest in the well-b…

yenisafak (2020-06-22). Germany arrests suspected Assad regime torturer. yenisafak.com German police arrested a Syrian former secret service employee on suspicion of crimes against humanity, officials said on Monday. | Alaa M., who arrived in Germany as a refugee in 2015, was arrested in the central state of Hesse on Friday, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. | The suspect worked for the military intelligence as a doctor, and he was strongly suspected of torturing inmates in 2011 at an Assad regime prison in the city of Homs. | The prosecutors accused the Assad regime of using brutal force to suppress the political opposition, torturing and murdering many of them in prisons…

sputniknews (2020-06-22). New York Statue of Roosevelt to Be Removed as Museum Considers it 'Racist'. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City will be removed amid protests against racial discrimination in the United States, the museum said in a statement.

calvin deutschbein (2020-06-21). STEM workers join call to 'Strike for Black Lives'. workers.org On June 10, thousands of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educators and workers around the U.S. and worldwide organized the #ShutDownSTEM and #ShutDownAcademia one-day work stoppage in solidarity with the ongoing Black uprising. Grassroots Black gender-oppressed STEM organizers galvanized their co-workers to join in the nationwide call for #AStrikeForBlackLives. . . . |

yenisafak (2020-06-21). British police say Reading stabbing attack treated as terrorist act. yenisafak.com British police on Sunday said that a stabbing attack in a southern English town that left three people dead and another three injured was being treated as a terrorist attack but that there was no intelligence on any further attacks."This was an atrocity," Britain's top counter-terrorism officer, Neil Basu, said, adding that unarmed police officers had tackled the attacker.Basu said that counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation and that the attack is not linked to the Black Lives Matter protest in the same park in Reading a few hours before Saturday's attack.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-21). VIDEO: Anti-racism protests in the Netherlands. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 22 (MNA) — In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in the US that has fueled the Black Lives Matter movement around the globe, the Netherlands in recent weeks has seen protests across the country against police violence and racism.

RT (2020-06-21). Why were there empty seats at Trump's Tulsa rally? Parscale blames BLM protesters, but TikTok teens claim they did it. rt.com The crowd at President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma was lower than expected, with the campaign blaming the size on Black Lives Matter protesters, while TikTok users say they pulled off the prank. | Brad Parscale, the chairman of Trump's reelection campaign, built up anticipation for the rally by saying they had received more than one million ticket requests. When Saturday's event rolled around, however, the 19,000-seat capacity theater only contained around 6,000 people looking to see the president speak. Planned outdoor events for overflow crowds were nixed due to the low amount of people. | Empty…

RT (2020-06-21). Trump's Tulsa rally has low turnout, but Biden has none at all — and aids to both candidates stumble to explain it. rt.com Fox News' Chris Wallace has confronted advisers of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, grilling them on their presidential campaigns' failures. Neither of them seem to produce a good explanation besides campaign speeches. | Fox News Sunday turned out to be quite eventful, as its host faced campaign advisers for both of the presidential candidates. Wallace spoke with Trump's 2020 campaign spokeswoman, Mercedes Schlapp, about poor attendance of Saturday's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where whole sections of the arena were seen empty. | The spokeswoman blamed the poor turnout on Black Lives Matter protesters, who were…

Staff (2020-06-21). I'm Protesting for a World That Affirms My Black Son's Life Matters. truthout.org During a recent Black Lives Matter march in New York City, I got a text with a photo of my son. The screen showed an image of him in bed, smiling in that goofy, mischievous way he smiles. I pressed the phone to my chest, and then held it up. His face bobbed between protest signs. I protested for him. I want a world where his life matters. | He was born into danger. He is half Puerto Rican, half Black. When I looked at the phone, I saw his big eyes, so open to new experience, on the screen. As I marched,…

Movement for Black Lives (2020-06-21). Friday 6/19: #SixNineteen: M4BL Juneteenth Livestream to Defend Black Lives (online). indybay.org Online livestream…

Peter Maiden (2020-06-21). Street in Front of Fresno City Hall painted with "Black Lives Matter" indybay.org Over four hundred people came out to downtown Fresno June 18 to paint "Black Lives Matter" in twenty foot tall letters on P Street where it passes in front of City Hall.

RT (2020-06-21). 'You killed somebody in cold blood': Cop charged in George Floyd killing shamed in viral VIDEO as he goes to buy Oreos. rt.com J. Alexander Keung, one of the officers being charged in connection with the death of George Floyd, was accosted in a grocery store where he was casually buying "necessities" like Oreos, which began trending on Twitter. | Freed on $750,000 bail on Friday, Keung was spotted at a Cub Foods supermarket when one person decided to put him on film. | "What's your name?" the unidentified woman asks the 26-year-old former officer. He then confirms he is Keung and the woman says, "So you're out of prison, and you're comfortably shopping in Cub Foods, as if you didn't do anything." | Keung replies that he is getting "ne…

Candice Bernd (2020-06-21). 911 Services That Dispatch Mental Health Counselors, Not Cops, Gain Traction. zcomm.org "Abolition of police in the current moment that we're talking about, around defunding the police, does not get rid of other systems of oppression that people face"

Ali Salam (2020-06-21). Israeli Forces Arrest Fourteen Palestinians, Including Two Children. imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS), reported that Israeli forces detained fourteen Palestinians across the West Bank, on Saturday night and Sunday morning, nine of whom were abducted by Israeli police from Al-'Isawiya town in East Jerusalem. The nine abductees were identified as Hassan Yasser Darwish, 14, Muhammad Murad Dari, Omar …

_____ (2020-06-21). Why Has COVID-19 Not Led To More Humanitarian Releases? popularresistance.org Jalil Muntaqim, a Black Panther imprisoned since 1971, is one of thousands of elderly prisoners the United States has refused to free during the pandemic. | In 1971, two weeks shy of his twentieth birthday, Anthony Bottom, a young Black Panther, along with another Panther, Albert Nuh Washington, were arrested following a shootout with San Francisco police. The pair would be tried along with a third man, Herman Bell, for a separate attack: the May killing of two New York City police officers. They were convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years to life, the maximum penalty in New York at the time. The judge who…

sputniknews (2020-06-21). Video: Ex-Cop Charged With George Floyd's Murder Verbally Assaulted in Grocery. sputniknews.com J. Alexander Keung is one of the former police officers charged with the 25 May killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, Minneapolis. Keung was released from jail on a $750,000 bond on Friday.

NAACP (2020-06-21). Friday 6/19: NAACP Juneteenth Black Family Reuinon & Virtual Town Hall (1pm & 3pm). indybay.org Online…

_____ (2020-06-21). Nuclear Rivals Clash in the Himalayas. strategic-culture.org Eric MARGOLIS | Last week, the world's most populous nations, India and China, both nuclear armed, clashed in the high Himalayan region of Ladakh. | At least 20 Indian troops died and 12 were reportedly taken prisoner before a cease-fire went into effect. So far, there were no reports of Chinese casualties. | Ladakh is one of the world's most remote, obscure and inhospitable places, a plateau averaging 4,200 meters altitude (about 14,000 feet) with frigid temperatures, scant oxygen, little rainfall, and howling winds. This bleak moonscape has long been called 'Little Tibet' because of its semi-nomadic ethnic Tibe…

_____ (2020-06-20). Oakland: Restraining Order Restricts Teargas, Flashbangs And Projectiles. popularresistance.org On June 18, 2020, at 1 pm, an Oakland judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Order to Show Cause against the Oakland Police Department. The order was filed by civil rights attorneys Dan Siegel and Walter Riley and National Lawyers Guild – San Francisco Bay Area attorney James Burch. | This initial victory is part of a larger lawsuit by the attorneys on behalf of two organizational plaintiffs, Anti Police-Terror Project and Community Ready Corps, and individual plaintiffs, Oakland Tech student Akil Riley and protestors Ian Mcdonnell, Nico Nada, Azize Ngo, and Jennifer Li on behalf of themselves and s…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-20). This Juneteenth, workers strike for black lives. peoplesdispatch.org This year on Juneteenth, all over the US, strikes were organized to mark the occasion. The biggest strike action was organized by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which stopped work for eight hours at all 29 ports of the West Coast of the US.

WSWS (2020-06-20). Johnson government mounts offensive against mass opposition to police violence and racism. wsws.org Home Secretary Priti Patel is linked with a Facebook group providing a platform for the far-right thugs who attacked Black Lives Matter protesters.

Fight Back (2020-06-20). Milwaukee: Community members mourn the death of Tallahassee activist Oluwatoyin Salau. fightbacknews.org Milwaukee, WI – On the evening of June 18, a vigil was held for Oluwatoyin "Toyin" Salau, a 19-year-old student and activist from Tallahassee, Florida. Oluwatoyin (who was displaced due to unjust living conditions) was abducted by a man, assaulted and murdered earlier this week. Toyin had been out at Black Lives Matter protests in Tallahassee every day, fighting for justice for Tony McDade and other victims of police crimes. | The vigil provided a space for people to gather, light candles and give offerings for Oluwatoyin's homegoing. There were many Black femmes, Black women, and Black non-men who spoke and shar…

Joanna Palmer (2020-06-20). [Comment] Framing health stories: Highlights 2020 photography competition open for submissions. thelancet.com The video and pictures of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, USA, as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck while he pleaded that he could not breathe, as well as photographs of subsequent anti-racism protests around the world, are some of the most powerful images this year. These pictures highlight the devastating impacts of structural racism and the deep inequities in our societies, and have given renewed urgency to the Black Lives Matter movement. This year has also brought moving and sometimes shocking photographs of health-care staff working in challenging conditions—too often…

Gloria Rubac (2020-06-20). Black Lives Matter in Bastrop, Texas. workers.org With the whole world exploding in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that is sweeping through large U.S. cities and small towns alike, Black Lives Matter may finally become a reality in Bastrop, Texas, for death row prisoner Rodney Reed. Outside court hearing for Rodney Reed, February 2015. WW . . . |

Fight Back (2020-06-20). NYC marches for Juneteenth. fightbacknews.org New York, NY – At noon, June 19, several hundred gathered outside of City Hall Park to celebrate, rally and march for Juneteenth. It was the first of several dozen actions happening throughout the boroughs and was called by the December 12th Movement. | Dozens upon dozens of the red, black and green flags were waving in the hands of protesters, as music played. The organizers ensured that protesters were wearing masks and kept social distance by lining them up to march. | This year's Juneteenth has reached mainstream levels of attention as the country enters its 22nd day of protesting for Black lives. As protes…

RT (2020-06-20). 'Every human life is precious': Pence savaged after saying 'all lives matter' in interview. rt.com US Vice President Mike Pence has unleashed a wave of outrage and indignation on Twitter after saying "all lives matter" despite being repeatedly pressed to utter "black lives matter." Every life is important, he argued. | In a sit-down with a Philadelphia ABC affiliate on Friday, reporter Brian Taff nudged Pence several times to repeat the slogan — which doubles as the name for a movement dedicated to fighting police brutality and racism in the US — asking "Can you say those words?" | "In this nation… we cherish the ideal that all of us are created equal and endowed by our creator with certain inal…

sputniknews (2020-06-20). BLM Demonstrators in St Andrews Square Demand Removal of Melville Monument. sputniknews.com The United Kingdom has, alongside the US, become embroiled in controversy surrounding statues of historic figures involved in Britain's former slave trade. Black Lives Matter protesters in Scotland have centered disapproval toward the Melville Monument in Edinburgh's St Andrews Square.

sputniknews (2020-06-20). At Least Three People Dead, Three Injured in Reading Park Stabbing, Murder Investigation Launched. sputniknews.com UK's top officials such as PM Boris Johnson, Interior Minister Priti Patel and others reacted to the stabbing that occured in Forbury Gardens, Reading on Saturday, where earlier a Black Lives Matter protests took place. However, according to BBC, the organizers behind the protests said that the incident was not linked to the demonstrations.

RT (2020-06-20). 'A much dirtier game': Trump mulls making advertiser boycotts 'illegal'. rt.com US President Donald Trump wants to personally "get involved" with advertiser boycotts that have hit American conservative speakers and outlets amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests and make them illegal. | Trump touched upon the hot topic on Friday, speaking exclusively with the Daily Caller. The president accused activist groups calling for advertising boycotts of outlets they don't agree with of playing "a much dirtier game." | "A friend of mine bought a couple of conservative sites," Trump said. "And he said, anybody that advertises on the site is being harassed." | Trump added he perfectly understan…

RT (2020-06-20). Tulsa police remove protester in 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirt from Trump campaign rally for trespassing. rt.com A Black Lives Matter activist has been removed from Donald Trump's campaign event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While the protester claimed to have a ticket to the event, police said letting people in was up to the organizers' discretion. | A woman wearing a black T-shirt reading 'I Can't Breathe' was removed from the grounds of the rally on Saturday. | The woman was sitting on the ground when police officers approached her and asked her to leave, footage from the scene shows. The protester said she had a ticket for the rally, yet she was promptly cuffed and led away. | "Somebody has to do this." | A peaceful protester…

RT (2020-06-20). Reading attack: Police say 'no indication' BLM rally is linked to stabbing attack that killed 3. rt.com Three people were killed in a stabbing attack at Forbury Gardens, a park in the southern city of Reading, UK. Police have launched a murder investigation into the incident, which took place several hours after a BLM rally. | Police have confirmed that three people were killed, and three more suffered injuries in the attack, which unfolded around 7pm on Saturday evening local time, shortly after a Black Lives Matter rally wrapped up at the same site. | A 25-year-old local man was arrested at the scene and is facing murder charges. While there have been reports in local media, citing security sources, that the i…

RT (2020-06-20). 'THEY AIN'T NOTHING BUT DEVILS': Muhammad Ali's son says father would have HATED 'racist' BLM movement. rt.com Muhammad Ali's only biological son says his father would have despised the "racist" Black Lives Matter movement and endorsed all races, never singling "anyone out." | "My father would have said, 'They ain't nothing but devils.' My father said, 'all lives matter,'" Muhammad Ali Jr. told the New York Post. | The 47-year-old son of the legendary boxer, who is often noted as a cultural trailblazer for black Americans, did not stop at connecting his father to the "all lives matter" position. He also said Ali would have supported President Donald Trump — the late athlete endorsed both Democrat Jimmy Carter…

The Canary (2020-06-20). Washington DC protesters topple statue of Confederate general Albert Pike. thecanary.co Black Lives Matter protesters have toppled the only statue of a Confederate general in the US capital and set it on fire on Juneteenth — the day marking the end of slavery in the US. | Cheering demonstrators jumped up and down as the 11ft statue of Albert Pike, wrapped with chains, wobbled on its high granite pedestal before falling backwards. | Protesters then set a bonfire and stood around it in a circle as the statue burned, saying "No justice, no peace!" and "No racist police!". | Eyewitness accounts and videos posted on social media indicated that police were on the scene but did not intervene. | Donal…