(2020-01-01). In 2020, Let's Recognize Immigration as a Reproductive Justice Issue. truthout.org Nearly one year ago, in February 2019, a 24-year-old Honduran woman in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody went into premature labor while 27 weeks pregnant. The federal immigration agency failed to transport the woman to a hospital in a timely manner, and she gave birth to a stillborn at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Texas. Days after the news of this tragic story broke, I spoke to Nancy Cárdenas Peña…
(2020-01-01). UN Expert Describes Detention of Chelsea Manning as "Amounting to Torture" truthout.org United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer shared on social media Tuesday a letter he sent to the United States government last month expressing concerns that the continued detention of whistleblower Chelsea Manning amounts to torture. | The Geneva-based expert tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday: | #USGovt of 1 Nov 2019 explaining why continued detention of (2020-01-01). Palestinian administrative detainee Ahmad Zahran has been on hunger strike for 100 days. peoplesdispatch.org Israeli authorities had earlier committed to not renewing his period of administrative detention once it expired in October but failed to honor their promise. This led Ahmad Zahran to once again launch a hunger strike…
(2020-01-01). "3 Strikes, You're Out!" Strike 2: Impeachment. counterpunch.org The notion of "3 strikes" is based on the old baseball slogan, "3 strikes, you're out!" In 1994, the federal government, along with other law-enforcement entities, rechristened 3-strikes to cover habitual-offender laws, drastically increasing prison sentences — including mandatory life sentences — for people convicted of a third serious crime. In the age of Trump, "3 strikes" is More
(2020-01-01). In 2019, the Far Right Suffered Big Losses. But They Are Far From Defeated. truthout.org The U.S. far right continued to be very active in 2019. The good news is that, surveying their actions for the year, those far rightists outside of the GOP have had less growth and street presence than in 2018. Doxxing, lawsuits, a loss in interest from conservatives and state repression have all taken their toll. The far right's boom years of 2016 and 2017 are starting to fade away, but it remains an energized movement. The white nationalist wing was still far more active in 2019 than it was for…
(2020-01-01). Booked Up: the 20 Best Books of 2019. counterpunch.org Best Nonfiction Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration Rachel Elise Barkow (Belknap Press) Dirty Jokes and Bawdy Songs: the Uncensored Life of Gershon Legman Susan Davis (University of Illinois) Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance Nick Estes (Verso) Music: a More
(2020-01-01). India, Pakistan exchange lists of prisoners. yenisafak.com In a gesture of normalcy amid tensions between the two countries, Pakistan and India on Wednesday exchanged lists of civilian prisoners in their custody.Despite tensions over the divided Kashmir region and other issues, the lists were exchanged simultaneously in Islamabad and New Delhi under a 2008 pact between the two countries.Pakistan handed over a list of 282 Indian prisoners (55 civilians and 227 fishermen) languishing in Pakistani jails to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, said a statement from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.India, for its part, handed over a list of 267 Pakistan civilian prisoners and…
(2020-01-01). Sixteen inmates killed in fight in Mexican prison. yenisafak.com Sixteen inmates were killed and five more were wounded in a fight that broke out in a prison in the northern Mexican state of Zacatecas, the state government said in a statement Tuesday evening.Security will be boosted at prisons in the state after the incident in the Varonil prison, the government said.
(2019-12-31). Top 10 Events That Shaped North America in the 2010s. telesurenglish.net Over the course of the past decade, North America has experienced the rise of several social movements, such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, which have helped give voice to the voiceless and empower the oppressed. | While these movements helped bring necessary social change, the 2010s also witnessed the rise of the far-right under U.S. President Donald Trump, which has further divided people across the continent and world. | But as we look back at the 2010s, there are several events that have helped shape the present and the future of the continent. | 1) Whistleblowers (2010-Present) | Julian Assange and…
(2019-12-31). Headlines for December 31, 2019. democracynow.org Protests Rage Outside U.S. Embassy in Iraq After U.S. Airstrikes Kill 24, Hate Crime Charges Filed Against Suspect in Hanukkah Stabbing in NY, Texas Church Shooter Had Long Criminal History, NYT: Top Officials Failed to Convince Trump to Release Withheld Ukraine Aid, Death Toll from Crackdown on Protests in India Rises to 27, Five Kashmiri Political Leaders Released from Detention, Sudanese Court Sentences 29 to Death for Killing Teacher in Anti-Protest Crackdown, Thousands Flee to the Ocean to Escape Australia Wildfires, Former Nissan Head Flees Japan to Lebanon to Escape Trial on Financial Crimes, New York Sett…
(2019-12-31). Dallas dismissed from lawsuit over police officer killing her neighbor. nationofchange.org On December 23, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn dismissed the city of Dallas from the wrongful death lawsuit, leaving Guyger as the sole defendant in the suit.
(2019-12-31). Assange Said, "I'm slowly dying here" dissidentvoice.org WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims he's 'slowly dying' in a UK jail and is often tranquilized and kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. He made the disturbing revelations in a phone call to his friend Vaughan Smith on Christmas Eve. | Read more: on.rt.com/a85u
(2019-12-31). UN Expert Calls Detention of Chelsea Manning 'Open-Ended, Progressively Severe, Coercive Measure Amounting to Torture'. commondreams.org United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer shared on social media Tuesday a letter he sent to the United States government last month expressing concerns that the continued detention of whistleblower Chelsea Manning amounts to torture. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/chelsea_manning_0_0.jpg …
(2019-12-31). Uber-Postmates Lawsuit Targeting New California Labor Law Decried as 'Greedy Scheme' Against Workers. commondreams.org Pro-labor state lawmakers in California derided the ride-sharing and delivery app companies Uber and Postmates as "greedy" on Tuesday after the corporations filed a federal lawsuit to block the state's new law protecting freelancers from taking effect. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/uber_mansion_0.jpg …
(2019-12-30). Make a resolution to build Fight Back! in 2020. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN — As we see a rising tide of struggle in this country and across the globe, the newspaper Fight Back! is expanding its reach and capacity. Each day, 365 times a year, we provide cutting edge coverage and analyses of the people's struggle against exploitation and oppression, with the perspective of ending capitalism and replacing it with socialism — a system where political power is in the hands of the working class. | Be it in the fight of striking copper miners in Arizona, protests against Trump, the conference to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression,…
(2019-12-30). Israel Detained 5,500 Palestinians in 2019, Including 889 Children. imemc.org Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested more than 5,500 Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory during 2019; among them were 889 children and at least 128 women, the Palestine News Network reported. The Palestinian Prisoners and Human Rights Institutions issued a fact sheet, on Monday, stating that the number of Palestinian …
(2019-12-30). Israeli Soldiers Abduct Thirteen Palestinians in Hebron, Ramallah And Tulkarem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Monday at dawn, thirteen Palestinians, including two children, from their homes in the West Bank governorates of Hebron, Ramallah, and Tulkarem, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported. The PPS said several army jeeps invaded the al-'Arroub refugee camp, north of the southern West Bank city …
(2019-12-30). Palestinian PM: Israel Decision to Withhold Tax Revenues "Brings us Back to Square One of the Crisis" imemc.org Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh said today that the Israeli cabinet's decision to deduct additional amounts from the Palestinian tax revenues amounting to 150 million shekels ($43 million), under the pretext of making payments to the families of the prisoners and those killed by Israel, "brings us back to square …
(2019-12-30). All West Virginia prison guard trainees pictured giving NAZI salute on viral photo SACKED after review. rt.com 
Three staff members and all of the West Virginia corrections cadets, who posed for a photo making a hand gesture resembling a Nazi salute, have been sacked after an inquiry found the class instructor encouraged the practice. | All 34 would-be prison guards and three West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Academy employees have been fired after an in-depth investigation into the viral photo showing the trainees giving a Nazi salute in a class photo accompanied by the words "HAIL BYRD!" | "As I said from the beginning, I condemn the photo of Basic Training Class 18 in the strongest possible ter…
(2019-12-28). Your technology is mine! Doctor sues Apple over Apple Watch heart rate monitoring method. rt.com 
The technology that an Apple Watch uses to detect heartbeat irregularities violates a patent held by a New York University cardiologist, he has alleged in a lawsuit filed against the tech giant. | Dr. Joseph Wiesel asked a federal court in Brooklyn to order Apple to pay damages, claiming the company is violating his rights "with knowledge and understanding". | According to court papers, Dr. Wiesel invented a method and device for detecting atrial fibrillation, using photoplethysmography to "assess w…
(2019-12-28). US military contractors sued for funding terrorism in Afghanistan with 'protection' payments to Taliban. rt.com 
Bribes paid by international military contractors in Afghanistan were used by the Taliban to fund attacks on companies that didn't make the payments, according to a lawsuit filed by families of those injured or killed as a result. | "Large corporations that had lucrative businesses in Afghanistan" paid off the Taliban through a series of subcontractors, bribing the Afghan militants in order to save money on security, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday in federal court by the families of 143 US soldiers and contractors injured and killed during the longest war in American history. The 288-page civil suit …
(2019-12-28). Prison gave me a greater will to fight. zcomm.org Interview on the reality that Brazil is experiencing and the social protests that have occurred in several Latin American countries…
(2019-12-27). Pro-Coup Venezuelan Soldiers Who Fled to the US Now Locked Up in ICE Detention Center. mintpressnews.com 
In an ironic twist worthy of an Alanis Morissette song, participants in U.S.-backed coup are now in an ICE detention camp.
(2019-12-27). "Bedlam": Film Shows How Decades of Healthcare Underfunding Made Jails "De Facto Mental Asylums" democracynow.org 
Are prisons and jails America's "new asylums"? A new documentary looks at how a disproportionate number of underserved people facing mental health challenges have been swept into the criminal justice system, where they lack adequate treatment. Nearly 15% of men and more than 30% of women in jails have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. For many of them, jail is their first point of entry into mental health treatment. The documentary "Bedlam" was filmed over five years in Los Angeles County's overwhelmed and vastly under-resourced Emergency Psychiatry Services, a…
(2019-12-27). William Barr's Police-Fueled War on Civil Rights. thenation.com 
The attorney general's obsession with protecting the police is a throwback to the crackdown on protesters in the 1960s.
(2019-12-27). Wikileaks Still Holding Powerful to Account as Founder Julian Assange "Slowly Dies" in Prison. mintpressnews.com Julian Assange is dying inside Belmarsh Prison in London. Those are his own words, relayed through English journalist Vaughan Smith, who revealed that the Wikileaks founder called him on Christmas Eve to share his greetings. Smith also divulged that Assange told him he is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours per day and is often sedated. | His treatment has elicited protests around the world, from journalists, news organizations, human rights groups and celebrities. Last week a group of Australian doctors asked Foreign Minister Marise Pay…
(2019-12-27). Headlines for December 27, 2019. democracynow.org In Confidential Videos, Navy SEALs Say Gallagher Was "Toxic" & "Freaking Evil", Hospitals & Health Clinics Shuttered by Heavy Bombing in Idlib, Syria, Japan to Deploy Destroyer to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions in Gulf of Oman, Nigerian-American Journalist Omoyele Sowore Released from Prison, In India, Protests Rage Against "Anti-Muslim" Citizenship Law, Netanyahu Staves Off Party Leadership Challenge Ahead of General Election, Mexico to Bring Complaint Against Bolivia's Interim Government to ICJ, Congolese Asylum Seeker Died in Border Patrol Custody on Christmas Day, Los Angeles Prosecutors Consider Filing Cri…
(2019-12-26). Headlines for December 26, 2019. democracynow.org Murkowski "Disturbed" by McConnell's "Coordination" with White House for Impeachment Trial, Trump Attacks Windmills with a Series of False Claims, The Intercept: Bloomberg Used Prison Labor to Make 2020 Campaign Calls, Thousands of Syrian Civilians Flee Government Offensive in Idlib, 35 Civilians Killed in Attack in Burkina Faso, China Calls on U.S. to Take "Concrete Steps" Toward Peace with North Korea, At Least 21 Killed as Typhoon Phanfone Slams into the Philippines, U.S. Ambassador to Zambia Recalled After Criticizing Criminalization of Homosexuality, Evo Morales Vows to Return to Bolivia by Next Christmas, H…
(2019-12-24). Across the Country Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Apart Families and Communities. aclu.org During the holiday season, in the picturesque town of Petoskey, | Michigan, Kimiko Uyeda, and her son Marshall celebrate with an annual tradition | of selecting a new ornament to add to | their tree. Year after year, Kimko and Marshall add to their collection | of ornaments as a part of their tradition. | For years, however, they were separated from one another and | unable to enjoy this holiday tradition together. It all began in 2013 when Kimko was arrested for | filing what the local sheriff believed to be a false police report. Because of | broken sentencing laws, the prosecutor in the case was able to add…
(2019-12-20). Samsung boss sent to prison for union busting. peoplesworld.org 
There are roughly 7,111 languages spoken around the world. As we close out 2019 and enter 2020, that number will increase (or decrease) as we continue to understand, grasp, and document what constitutes a spoken or written language. In any case, and in any language, we can all agree: Union busting is disgusting. And, unlike …
(2019-12-20). Public housing residents sue NYC over slum conditions. liberationnews.org 
In addition to demanding repairs, residents involved in this lawsuit are demanding full public funding for NYCHA.
(2019-12-20). A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box. aclu.org When Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) reintroduced the Fair Chance Act earlier this year, he | said: "This bill would give individuals who are reentering society from prison | a fair chance at truly achieving the American dream." The Fair Chance Act would | ban the box that employers use to ask about arrest and conviction history on | job applications. It also requires that federal agencies and contr…
(2019-12-20). Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year. aclu.org 
It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories—from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead—what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…
(2019-12-19). FBI Surveillance of Trump Aide Reflects Flaws in Secretive FISA System That Mostly Targets Muslims. democracynow.org 
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Wednesday the FBI should have considered halting its surveillance of Trump's campaign aide Carter Page months before it did, after it was revealed that accusations against him may not be credible. Horowitz made the comments while testifying to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, saying the FBI used false information to obtain approval to wiretap Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and raising wider concerns about the agency's use of surveillance. He testified a day after the highly secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Co…
(2019-12-19). 10 LGBTQ Moments that Defined 2019. aclu.org 
1. Aimee Stephens goes to the Supreme Court: | In October, the Supreme Court heard its first trans civil rights case ever. The case was brought by our client Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home solely for being transgender. That's sex discrimination and it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. | We have yet to see whether the Supreme Court will uphold the civil rights of trans people. But no matter what, history has already been made. | "I'll never forget the feeling of coming out of the Supreme Court and seeing a crowd of trans people and allies chanting to Aim…
(2019-12-18). A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing. aclu.org U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…
(2019-12-18). A Little-Known Privacy Battle Is Being Waged Over Encrypting the Nuts and Bolts of the Internet. aclu.org An important fight is brewing over the nuts and bolts of the | Internet that has significant implications for the privacy and security of all Internet | users. The fight has already pitted Google and Cloudflare against American | telecommunications companies, which are lobbying | Congress | to complain about the search giant. The fight is complicated, but at its core | are questions about c…
(2019-12-18). A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court. aclu.org For 30 years, I have | worked in reproductive health care. In my current role as Chief Operating | Officer of carafem, a nonprofit with a national network of health centers, I | know the difference compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health care | makes in the lives of our clients. I have witnessed the personal impact when | people who have the legal right to have a child or to have an abortion are denied | those rights due to outrageous societal barriers. Abortion providers are used | to opposition, but we've never experienced the kind of explicit targeting we | received from politicians in the city…
(2019-12-17). US Venezuelan embassy protectors denied right to fair trial. thegrayzone.com Four US activists protecting Venezuela's embassy in Washington, DC face prison time after the Trump administration illegally arrested them. And now…
(2019-12-17). It's Clear: In Oklahoma Cash Bail is Being Used as Ransom to Keep People Who Are Poor Behind Bars. aclu.org Imagine you are one of the 4,000 people arrested every year in Canadian County, Oklahoma, a county with less than 200,000 people. Maybe the police find marijuana in your car during a traffic stop, maybe the police have mistaken you for someone else, or perhaps you can't afford the $40 per month you owe the court from a different charge. | After you're arrested, things will go one of two ways. You may | spend an hour or two in the jail for booking and then go home until your court | date. Or, you might sit in jail for weeks or months until your court date, | eating substandard food and sleeping on a linoleum fl…
(2019-12-16). He spent 36 years in prison because he stole $100 in cash and $4 in food stamps. Now Willie Parker is free. splcenter.org It was pouring rain the day Willie Parker left William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 36 years in prison.
(2019-12-13). Weekend Read: Amid Alabama's prison crisis, the voices of the people living through it should be heard. splcenter.org For years, Alabama's prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.
(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.
(2019-12-02). Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities. splcenter.org …
(2019-12-02). Civil Rights Are on the Chopping Block in New Supreme Court Term. zcomm.org Hello, A very small proportion of ZNet content is available only to Sustainers. You can become a sustainer for a small repeating donation – monthly or yearly via the links for Sustaining, or Donating, available on the top page of ZNet.
(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.
(2019-10-24). Julian Assange's Extradition Case is a Show Trial. zcomm.org Interview on the lack of mainstream media coverage of Julian's persecution, his health and conditions in Belmarsh prison, CIA spying on Julian Assange and more…