2020-09-08: News Headlines

Anthony Cartalucci (2020-09-08). Thailand's "Youth Protests" Made in USA. thealtworld.com US repeats "soft power" strategy targeting youths used to destroy North Africa and the Middle East amid the "Arab Spring" in 2011 to target China-friendly nations in Asia today. | Imagine the reaction if the Russian government funded programs and events for years inside the US to create youth groups indoctrinated in support of Moscow's interests — particularly in regards to voting in US elections and the shaping of the US government itself. | It would be considered up to and including an act of war, with Russian-funded organizations in the US dismantled, those involved jailed for sedition and even treason, a…

Tim Wheeler (2020-09-08). Rural America fights gun violence and Trump-backing thugs. peoplesworld.org SEQUIM, Wash. — Left and progressive forces in rural communities are fighting back against racist provocations in this election year, picketing in "Black Lives Matter" vigils on street corners, and at post offices in defense of the right to vote by mail. Small towns are a target because the right-wing extremists see rural America as …

Staff (2020-09-08). COVID-19 could be a death sentence for elderly prisoners. therealnews.com Members of the group Releasing Aging People in Prison talk about officials' refusal to release aging prisoners with violent offenses, although studies show the chances of someone reoffending as they age are minimal.

yenisafak (2020-09-08). US envoy meets new Taliban chief negotiator as Afghan peace talks near. yenisafak.com U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has held a meeting in Doha with the head of the new Taliban team due to open peace talks with a team representing the Afghan government, the Islamist insurgent group said on Tuesday.The negotiations, the result of an agreement between Washington and the Taliban, are to begin in Doha after the release of the last half-dozen or so of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.The Afghan negotiators had been expected to fly from Kabul to Doha this week, but are awaiting a signal from the Afghan government that the release – to which Western governments have objected – is going ahead.In Doha, the hea…

Fight Back (2020-09-08). UIC workers ready to strike. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – SEIU Local 73, which represents about 4000 workers at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) gave notice of their intent to strike September 3. Key demands of the workers include safety, pay and respect. 94 % of the members voted for the open-ended strike which is set to begin on September 14. | 1400 members of the Illinois Nurses Association at UIC have also voted to authorize a strike, which could begin as early as September 12. | The majority of UIC workers are Black or Latino who have faced a pattern of racist discrimination.

Saadi A. (2020-09-08). The Silence and Sorrow of Miscarriage. jamanetwork.com In this narrative medicine essay, a neurologist relates the story of her miscarriage while touring immigration detention centers in Texas documenting medical care and human rights violations and shares her deep sorrow for the women who lost children either by force or miscarriages while incarcerated.

Tanya Wadhwa (2020-09-08). Rafael Correa barred from contesting in the 2021 elections in Ecuador. peoplesdispatch.org The court of cassation of the National Court of Justice of Ecuador, on September 7, ratified the 8-year prison sentence against former president Rafael Correa and 15 other officials from his government in the "Bribes 2012-2016" case. The court also confirmed that Correa will be barred from electoral politics for the next 25 years. With the confirmation of the sentence, Correa is officially and definitively disqualified from contesting as a vice-presidential candidate in the 2021 general elections in Ecuador. | The former president, who is currently residing in Belgium, rejected the ruling through his Twitter acco…

No Justice Under Capitalism (2020-09-08). Sunday 9/13: Rise in Power – Recognizing Resistance San Quentin to Attica and Back Again. indybay.org Meet at Larkspur Ferry Terminal at 5: 30 pm, walk to San Quentin Prison West Gate at 6 pm.

Sit. Walk. Listen (2020-09-08). Sunday 9/13: Sit. Walk. Listen. Because Black Lives Matter. indybay.org Frank H. Ogawa Plaza (14th Street/Broadway) | Oakland, CA…

What Happened to Free Speech? (2020-09-08). Arrests at Labor Day GG Bridge Protest for Workers and BLM. indybay.org Last week Trump supporters held a rally on the Golden Gate Bridge. At that event, police were seen fist bumping with Trumpers. Fast forward to Labor Day and a workers' rights and Black Lives Matter protest at the same location. Protesters were greeted with a show of force by the California Highway Patrol inordinate to the number of demonstrators who were there for the cause of justice.

yenisafak (2020-09-08). Tension mounts at Israeli prison after detainee's death. yenisafak.com Tension escalated inside Israel's Ofer prison on Tuesday following the death of a Palestinian detainee a few months before his release.According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPC), prison guards stormed two sections inside the prison and transferred many detainees to solitary confinement.It said that detainees were tortured by prison guards and their belongings were damaged."The situation is difficult and complicated inside the prison," PPC head Qadora Fares told Anadolu Agency.Last week, Palestinian detainee Daoud al-Khatib, 45, died inside the prison's section 20, a few months before he completes his 18-…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-08). Saudi court revises sentence of convicts in Jamal Khashoggi murder case. peoplesdispatch.org The eight unidentified convicts in the Jamal Khashoggi murder case will spend between seven and 20 years in jail. Agnes Callamard, UN's special rapporteur, welcomed the commuting of death sentences but called the judgement a parody of justice…

Peter Oborne (2020-09-07). Julian Assange: Future Generations of Journalists Will Not Forgive Us if We Do Not Fight Extradition. globalresearch.ca Let's imagine a foreign dissident was being held in London's Belmarsh Prison charged with supposed espionage offences by the Chinese authorities. | And that his real offence was revealing crimes committed by the Chinese Communist Party — including publishing video footage …

Lisa Newcomb, staff writer (2020-09-07). 'This is Not Normal': Human Rights, Press Freedom Advocates Denied Remote Access to Assange Hearing. commondreams.org The WikiLeaks founder, who exposed U.S. war crimes, faces up to 175 years in prison if the U.K. agrees to extradite Assange. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/getty-assange_protestors.jpg

Max Blumenthal (2020-09-07). 'Green' billionaires behind professional activist network that led suppression of 'Planet of the Humans' documentary. thegrayzone.com The Michael Moore-produced 'Planet of the Humans' faced a coordinated suppression campaign led by professional climate activists backed by the same 'green' billionaires, Wall Street investors, industry insiders and family foundations skewered in the film. By Max Blumenthal "We must take control of our environmental movement and our future from billionaires and their permanent war …

_____ (2020-09-07). On Contact: Chevron Vs Donziger. popularresistance.org On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Steven Donziger about the reach of corporate power. Donziger battled corporate oil giant Chevron over environmental pollution and destruction in Ecuador and won a settlement of $9.5 billion for indigenous communities. Since then, Chevron has waged a campaign against Donziger to try and destroy him economically, professionally and personally. He is on trial in federal court in New York on September 9 for contempt charges, which could send him to jail for six months.

Staff (2020-09-07). Cornel West & Ben Jealous on Whether Progressives Can Push Joe Biden Leftward If He Defeats Trump. democracynow.org In a Democracy Now! special, Harvard professor Cornel West and Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way and former president of the NAACP, discuss the 2020 DNC, Joe Biden's vow to fight systemic racism and "overcome this season of darkness in America," the historic nomination of Kamala Harris as his partner on the ticket, and how the convention was a showcase for a broad anti-Trump coalition, including prominent Republican figures given plum speaking slots, but few voices from the party's insurgent left wing. "At this moment, with the decline and fall of the American empire, it looks as if the system…

Susie Day (2020-09-07). Shut Up, History: Paul Coates and Eddie Conway Are Talking. counterpunch.org Awhile back, a friend and I were talking about History and rebellions, and I lamented how the 1871 Paris Commune had failed. My friend, a self-avowed psychic, said, "Yes, history records very few total victories over oppression. That's because, on this worldly plane, most things are not supposed to work out. It's all about the

_____ (2020-09-07). For Some, Homes And Neighborhoods Are Now Digital Prisons. popularresistance.org Eddie Conway: Welcome to this episode of Rattling The Bars. I'm Eddie Conway, your host, coming to you from Baltimore. Recently, there has been a new book out by two authors that has done extensive work in the prison system. The book is, Prisons By Any Other Name, and it was written by Maya Schenwar and Vicky Law. They're going to join me today to kind of explain what's in the book. Basically they're challenging the idea that alternative to incarceration is better and represents some kind of reform.

Ken Hanly (2020-09-07). Owners of Oil Tankers Seized by the US File Lawsuits. globalresearch.ca The US unilaterally imposes its own sanctions universally as much as it can becoming the self-appointed global policeman. Many countries obey because of the financial and military power of the US. | *** | US must prove oil is from Iran and …

WSWS (2020-09-07). DSA member in Spokane, Washington detained by unidentified officers before police violence protest. wsws.org Jeremy Logan was snatched by five plainclothes police officers, and held in jail for over a day, where federal agents attempted to interrogate him, before being released.

Sierra Club (2020-09-07). Friday 9/11: Green Friday: Ken Brower on "The Sierra Club and Point Reyes National Seashore" indybay.org virtual | To register go to: | act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q0000020SiDAAU&mapLinkHref=

Melanie Gin (2020-09-07). Monday 9/7: Sit. Walk. Listen. Because Black Lives Matter. indybay.org Frank H. Ogawa Plaza (14th Street/Broadway) in Oakland, CA…

Staff (2020-09-07). Corporations Must Reckon With Their Spin of Black Lives Matter. truthout.org In a virtual town hall in June, Coca-Cola's Chairman and CEO James Quincy said: "Diversity and inclusion are among our greatest strengths … We must put our resources and energy toward helping end the cycle of systemic racism." Dow Chemical's Chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling similarly committed to being an "ally" helping overcome "systemic oppression." And Johnson & Johnson's Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky stated, "unequivocally that racism in any form is unacceptable." These three proclamations echo others penned by Fortune…

Staff (2020-09-07). Labor Must Make Defense of Black Lives Its Own Imperative. truthout.org Black trade unionists across the U.S. are calling on the labor movement to defend Black Lives Matter protesters and to fight racism in their own ranks. The attacks by police and increasingly violent armed racist militias evoke the memory of many such violent incidents against Black people in earlier periods, from slavery to segregation to the civil rights era. | For Labor Day 2020, Truthout reached out to Christopher Silvera, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 808 in Long Island City, NY; Elise Bryant, exec…

yenisafak (2020-09-07). Papua New Guinea: Cop falls asleep, prisoners flee home. yenisafak.com At least 31 prisoners escaped jail in Papua New Guinea last week, according to local reports on Monday.Senior police official Peter Guinness said the officer on guard had allegedly fallen asleep while intoxicated, allowing detainees remanded in custody to flee Lae Central police station last Wednesday, The National daily reported.The guard was suspended after the prisoners reportedly took his keys while he was unconscious."As a young policeman serving [before] in Lae, I have never experienced such," Guinness said. Guinness added that after the guard was tried in court, authorities would submit a recommendation fo…

yenisafak (2020-09-07). S.Africa announces gender based violence law. yenisafak.com South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday the country will tighten laws on gender based violence and sexual offences which have been widespread in the rainbow nation.Writing in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said people were angry that many perpetrators of gender based violence and sexual offences are exploiting legal loopholes to avoid imprisonment.He said citizens are frustrated that sentencing is often not proportionate to the crimes committed against women and children."The three amendment Bills are designed to fill the gaps that allow some perpetrators of these crimes to evade justice and to give…

teleSUR, ce-JF (2020-09-07). Same-sex Partnerships Now Legal in the Cayman Islands. telesurenglish.net Same-sex partnerships in the Cayman Islands are legal as of Friday after Governor Martyn Roper approved the law for the British Overseas territory. | RELATED: | "Today we will end the discrimination being suffered by Caymanians and others on our islands whilst protecting the institution of marriage," said Roper. | In his statement, the governor said that the move was in line with instructions from the U.K. government ministers to use his re…

Tanya Wallace-Gobern (2020-09-07). This Labor Day, 'Black Lives Matter' Means Justice for Black Workers. commondreams.org In 2012, members of the Chicago Teachers Union rocked the city with their historic strike. (Credit: flickr/cc/Sarah-Ji) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cunninghamcook_ctpf_wall_street_850_593_1.jpg

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-09-07). 'Despicable and Shameless': Outrage Over Duterte Pardon of US Marine who Murdered Trans Woman in Philippines. commondreams.org Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was found guilty of homicide and sentenced in December 2015 to 10 years in prison for strangling and drowning 26-year-old Jennifer Laude to death in an Olangapo hotel. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/laude.jpg

Tanya Wallace-Gobern (2020-09-06). This Labor Day, 'Black Lives Matter' Must Mean Justice for Black Workers. progressive.org The economy was failing Black workers before the pandemic—and now, even as many are deemed essential, they're being treated as disposable.

Tanya Wallace-Gobern (2020-09-06). This Labor Day, 'Black Lives Matter' Means Justice for Black Workers. progressive.org The economy was failing Black workers before the pandemic—and now, even as many are deemed essential, they're being treated as disposable.

Fight Back (2020-09-06). Tallahassee protesters jailed after demonstration against grand jury decision that lets killer cops off hook. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL — The Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) took to the streets, September 5, in response to a grand jury decision, released the day before, that exonerated Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) officers in three murders of Black men thus far in 2020. The grand jury found that TPD's use of force was 'justified' in the shooting deaths of Mychael Johnson in March and Wilbon Woodard and Tony McDade in separate incidents in May. | The protest included a march and car caravan through downtown Tallahassee, ending at the Historic Florida State Capitol, demanding legal action against the offic…

El Cerrito Progressives (2020-09-06). Tuesday 9/8: Caravan for Black Lives Matter – El Cerrito. indybay.org El Cerrito Plaza BART n/e Parking lot at the corner of Richmond St. and Central Ave.

Staff (2020-09-06). Incarcerated People Are Challenging Deadly Pandemic Conditions in Prisons. truthout.org On April 10, Esther Arias made a video call to her son and asked him to Arias wanted the larger public to know about how the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, was handling COVID. One woman, she said, had tested positive three times — but remained in the housing unit. Four other women had been placed in quarantine, then onto her housing unit, she said. | In March, Attorne…

_____ (2020-09-05). Washington State Police Target Black March Organizers With Arrests. popularresistance.org On Friday morning the Washington State Patrol (WSP) arrested nine people on suspicion of disorderly conduct during a protest that shut down the southbound lanes of I-5, congested Seattle streets, and backed up traffic to Bellevue. | Marchers say they block traffic to disrupt people living their day-to-day lives, and to bring the Black Lives Matter protest to where those people are. | Last week Morning Marchers shut down the Ballard Bridge. Yesterday, they shut down the southbound lanes on State Route Highway 99.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-05). Palestinian prisoner Daud Al-Khatib dies after 18 years in Israeli jail. peoplesdispatch.org Daud Al-Khatib died a few months ahead of his release. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society alleged that al-Khatib was not given proper medical care by the prison authorities…

news.un (2020-09-05). End secret detention of rights defender, independent experts urge Pakistani authorities. news.un.org Independent UN rights experts have called on the Government of Pakistan to end the secret detention of a human rights defender, who has not been heard from in more than nine months.

_____ (2020-09-05). Report: Georgia Wrongfully Purged 200,000 Voters. popularresistance.org A seven-year investigation of voter suppression in Georgia has found that the state likely removed 200,000 voters from its rolls who were, in fact, eligible to vote. The voters whose registrations were removed were also overwhelmingly concentrated in the counties comprising the Atlanta Metro area, according to initial findings released on Wednesday. | Conducted by the Palast Investigative Fund, which specializes in data journalism, and released by the ACLU of Georgia, the report reviewed more than 300,000 registered voters whom the state had purged from its rolls.

Raphael Satter (2020-09-05). U.S. court: Mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was illegal. zcomm.org "Today's ruling is a victory for our privacy rights," the ACLU said in a statement, saying it "makes plain that the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records violated the Constitution."

El Cerrito Progressives (2020-09-05). Tuesday 9/8: Caravan for Black LIves Matter- El Cerrito. indybay.org El Cerrito Plaza BART n/e Parking lot at the corner of Richmond St. and Central Ave.

sputniknews (2020-09-05). New York Blue Lives Matter Founder Claims Mayor And Governor 'Pit Officers Against The Community'. sputniknews.com New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to cut $1 billion from the budget of the city's police department amid Black Lives Matter protests, while New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo wants 4,000 cops to police social distancing in restaurants.

Staff (2020-09-05). Trump Admin Faces Injunction for Trying to End 2020 Census Counting Prematurely. truthout.org Civil rights organizations and local governments in California late Friday filed a request in a San Jose federal court for an emergency nationwide injunction against the Trump administration's effort to end 2020 Census counting prematurely—a move critics warn is a blatant effort by the president and his Republican allies to "sabotage" the once-in-a-decade count for long-term political advantage. | "Trump seeks to sabotage the #2020Census by TERMINATING critical door knocking operatio…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-09-05). Civil Rights Groups Request Emergency Injuction to Stop Trump 'Sabotage' of 2020 Census. commondreams.org "Fighting a pandemic is already a high hurdle to clear in obtaining an accurate count. It's outrageous that we must also fight against an administration seeking to skew our population numbers." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/was2968494_0_0.jpg

WSWS (2020-09-04). German court sentences members of leftist Turkish party to prison. wsws.org The verdict sends the message that anyone who is left-wing and/or opposes a regime allied with Germany can be imprisoned for years.

Paul Street (2020-09-04). Trump Knows What He's Doing — He Needs to Go Now. counterpunch.org This is an actual statement from the President of the United States in a recent interview with his fellow far-right white nationalist Laura Ingraham of Fatherland (FOX) News: "Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization…The first time I ever heard of Black Lives Matter, I said, 'That's a terrible name.' It's so discriminatory. It's bad for Black people. It's bad for everybody."

Staff (2020-09-04). 108 inmates test positive for COVID-19 in 'trailer jail'. therealnews.com The jail was only reporting 78 active cases, but this number doesn't include people who were already released or those who's test results have not come in yet, so the real number is likely much higher.

Saul Foster (2020-09-04). Killing in Kenosha: 'Blue Lives' terror comes of age. mronline.org The killing of two Black Lives Matter protesters by a vigilante represents a new departure for violent reaction, argues Wisconsin activists Michael Billeaux.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-09-04). Biden's platform for workers: Labor law-breakers to jail. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON —A $15 federal minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, no trade pacts like the job-losing old NAFTA, support for public schools and teachers, repeal of so-called "Right To Work" laws. And enacting the Protect the Right to Organize Act with a twist: Real tough penalties for labor law-breakers, including "criminal penalties" for repeat …

Ted Kelly (2020-09-04). Prison-industrial complex: Harvard students demand divestment. workers.org A student-led organization called the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign is fighting to dismantle the prison-industrial complex, starting with their own school's administration. Research has exposed that portions of Harvard University's $39 billion endowment are invested in the notorious prison profiteers GEO Group and Core Civic. The website of the campaign, . . . |