(2020-03-15). Santa Cruz City Council Committee Advances Surveillance Oversight Ordinance. indybay.org SANTA CRUZ, March 12, 2020 — On Wednesday, the Santa Cruz Public Safety Committee voted to approve a Surveillance Technology Ordinance that would prevent the government from using any surveillance technology without public debate, clear use policies, and mechanisms of oversight and accountability. The law also prohibits government use of facial recognition, and in what would be a national first, bans government use of predictive policing technology as well.
(2020-03-15). Penelope Cruz Throws Her Weight Behind Johnny Depp in His Amber Heard Defamation Lawsuit – Report. sputniknews.com Cruz followed in the footsteps of actress Winona Ryder, Jack Sparrow's former fiancée, who likewise issued a declaration in light of the ongoing lawsuit saying that from her own experience, Amber Heard's charges are just "impossible to believe".
(2020-03-15). Indian State of Kerala Deploys Prisoners to Make Face Masks to Tackle Shortage Amid Coronavirus. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to mount in India, standing at 107. Until a few days ago, the Indian state of Kerala had the highest number of COVID-19 cases. With 31 confirmed coronavirus cases, the state of Maharashtra has now overtaken Kerala (22 cases) in terms of the total number of confirmed cases.
(2020-03-14). CIVIL RIGHTS MEMORIAL CENTER, SPLC OFFICES CLOSE. splcenter.org Our work continues…
(2020-03-14). Former City Council president indicted on fraud, bribery, and extortion charges. nationofchange.org If convicted of all charges, Tamaya Dennard could face a maximum sentence of 50 years in federal prison.
(2020-03-13). Soccer prez: "I resign…but the blatant sexism wasn't my fault." peoplesworld.org 
My, my, how quickly the mighty fall. Three days after the U.S. Soccer Federation sparked a massive backlash when its legal filings—in a gender discrimination lawsuit no less—argued: "male soccer players are more skilled than female soccer players," Carlos Cordeiro resigned as head of the organization. Cordeiro announced his resignation via Twitter Thursday night, apparently not even information …
(2020-03-13). Chelsea Manning showed 'moral strength' by choosing imprisonment over collaboration with US govt — Snowden. rt.com 
Chelsea Manning's decision to sit in jail rather than cooperate with the US government's prosecution of WikiLeaks is a testament to her character and unwavering principles, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has said. | Commenting on Manning's newly-won freedom, Snowden noted that the former Army analyst-turned-whistleblower had been "cast into a dungeon" by the United States for refusing to work with the government to criminalize the publication of classified materials. | They offered to let her out in exchange for collaboration, but she chose her principles instead. | For Snowden, Manning's unwillingness to ex…
(2020-03-13). Chelsea Manning Is Free From Jail, Faces Exorbitant Fines. dissidentvoice.org 
Manning speaking outside of the grand jury in Alexandria VA before being incarcerated Alexandria — Today, March 12, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia ended the grand jury of Julian Assange and Wikileaks in which Chelsea Manning refused to testify. As a result, US District Court Judge Anthony Trenga ordered the immediate release of Chelsea …
(2020-03-13). Headlines for March 13, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus Infections Around the Globe Reach 135,000 People, Nearly 5,000 Dead, U.S. Coronavirus Infections Rise to 1,650 as Actual Number Believed to Be Higher | , Dow Jones Plummets 10% in Biggest Drop Since 1987 | , Trump Administration Faces Backlash for Handling of Coronavirus Outbreak, Testing | , Brazilian President Bolsonaro's Aide Tests Positive for COVID-19 Days After Meeting with Trump, Philippines President Duterte Orders Lockdown in Manila Amid Coronavirus Pandemic | , Advocates Afraid of Deadly Coronavirus Outbreak in Immigration Jails Plagued by Medical Neglect, Democratic Presidential Debate Relo…
(2020-03-13). Abuse, Oppression and Murder: The PA Does Israel's Dirty Work in the West Bank. counterpunch.org Merely two weeks after Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, declared that the PA will suspend all 'security coordination' with Israel, Palestinian security forces in the West Bank killed unarmed teenager, Salah Zakareneh. Zakareneh is not the first and, sadly, will not be the last Palestinian to be killed by the PA security forces, which in
(2020-03-12). Elite Media Dismiss Voter Suppression on Grounds That It's 'Complicated'. fair.org 
Some voters—disproportionately black and brown ones—waited in line for several hours on Super Tuesday to cast their ballots in the Democratic primary, and media paid attention. But their love for a good visual doesn't always correspond with a love for connecting the dots, and so most of the coverage downplayed any suggestion that there might be voter suppression going on in 2020. The New York Times ( "Why Did It…
(2020-03-12). The Government Has a Secret Plan to Track Everyone's Faces at Airports. We're Suing. aclu.org U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration are putting us on an extraordinarily dangerous path toward the normalization of face surveillance. But because key facts about this surveillance are still secret, the public lacks the information it needs to hold these agencies to account. We're
(2020-03-12). This Law Makes Voting Nearly Impossible for Native Americans in Montana. aclu.org Voting has never been easy for In a state where the majority of individuals vote | by mail, rural tribal communities often work with get-out-the-vote organizer…
(2020-03-12). PPS: "Israeli Soldiers Abduct Fifteen Palestinians In West Bank" imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday at dawn, fifteen Palestinians in several parts of the occupied West Bank, after the army invaded and violently searched many homes. The PPS stated that the soldiers invaded Sa'ir town, northeast of the southern West Bank city …
(2020-03-12). New IOF Crime in Nablus: Palestinian Child Killed and 14 Civilians Wounded including a Journalist. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre For Human Rights (PCHR): Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed on Wednesday, 11 March 2020, a Palestinian child and wounded 14 other civilians, including a journalist during its suppression of civilian gathering on al-'Arma Mountain, southeast Bita village, Nablus, Northern West Bank. Two of the wounded were deemed …
(2020-03-11). Chelsea Manning attempted suicide while in jail for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks — lawyers. rt.com 
Former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, jailed a year ago for refusing to testify before a federal jury investigating WikiLeaks, has attempted suicide ahead of a court hearing, her lawyers said. | Manning is in the hospital and recovering, Gizmodo reported on Wednesday citing the imprisoned activist's legal team. The 31-year-old reportedly used a sheet to hang herself inside the Alexandria Detention Center in Virginia, according to the Daily Mail. That report has not been officially confirmed. | Manning has been locked up since March 2019, when she refused to appear before the federal grand jury a…
(2020-03-11). Keep Calm and Carry on Voting: How to Vote By Mail During the Coronavirus Outbreak. aclu.org Coronavirus should not be a political issue, but with presidential primaries and the general election coming up, it could soon directly impact our politics. We should protect not only our health, but our civil liberties at this time — and one of those civil liberties is our fundamental right to vote. , , For many, the best way to vote while safeguarding your health during this time may be to vote by mail. It's easy to request an absentee ballot and there's still enough time to do so for most states with upcoming primaries. While some states limit who can vote absentee — for example, to people with…
(2020-03-11). Charter School Oversight Remains Weak. dissidentvoice.org 
In 2016, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called for a moratorium on new charter schools, citing many problems with these privatized schools, including poor performance, extensive waste, widespread segregation, and inadequate accountability. Oversight, transparency, accountability, and good governance have never been the strong suits of charter schools or charter school …
(2020-03-10). Immigrants in WA Detention Center Demand Protection from Coronavirus, Not Posters in English. democracynow.org 
As the world responds to the COVID-19 outbreak, we look at how the Trump administration's immigration policies may put everyone at risk. We go to Seattle, Washington, not far from the Life Care Center in the suburb of Kirkland, which was the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak. In nearby Tacoma, Washington, our guest says she saw posters in English only when she went to visit immigrants held in the Northwest Detention Center, which is run by private prison company GEO Group. We speak with Maru Mora-Villalpando, an activist and undocumented immigrant with the groups La Resistencia and Mijente, who issued a…
(2020-03-10). Prisons Worldwide Face Coronavirus Crisis: Overcrowding, Lack of Sanitation & Labor at Slave Wages. democracynow.org 
As Italy went on lockdown, nearly 30 prisons across the country broke into riots Sunday and Monday after visitation rights were suspended in response to the outbreak. In a prison in southern Italy, a riot left at least six incarcerated people dead and caused 50 people to escape. Prisoners have reportedly lit fires, charged guards and even escaped at multiple facilities. This comes as the United Nations confirmed that coronavirus had reached Iran's prisons, as the number of cases there continues to soar. Iran has temporarily freed some 70,000 prisoners in response to the coronavirus. And concerns are growing about…
(2020-03-10). Civil Rights Memorial Center closed through March. splcenter.org The Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC) in Montgomery, Alabama, is closed and will remain closed through the end of March 2020.
(2020-03-10). San Diego Police Stop Black People at a Rate 219 Percent Higher Than White People. aclu.org "They did what human beings looking for | freedom, throughout history, have often done. They left." | These | are the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson in her book, "The | Warmth of Other Suns." The book | follows the story of three Black Southerners and their journey escaping racial | violence — a sharecropper's wife who | left Mississippi in the 1930s for Chicago, an agricultural | worker who left Florida for New York City in the 1940s, and a doctor who left Louisiana in the early 1950s. | Their | journey was part of the Great Migration that occurred between 1916 and 1970,…
(2020-03-06). Are Our Prisons and Jails Ready for COVID-19? aclu.org The | country and the world face a public health emergency in the new coronavirus | causing COVID-19. The media is filled with concerns about how we will respond. | Will we close schools? Cancel sporting events and other large gatherings? Work | from home? Avoid public transportation? | But | little has been said about one of the most vulnerable sectors of our | population: the people in our prisons and jails. Although people often think of | prisons and jails as closed environments, they are not. Medical staff, correctional | staff, and visitors come from the community into the facilities every day and | then…
(2020-03-05). Trump is Sending Special Forces-style Agents into Pro-Immigrant Cities. aclu.org As part of its governments that choose not to collaborate with Immigration and Customs | Enforcement (ICE), Trump administration officials have confirmed plans for two new tactics in their anti-immigrant | agenda. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will deploy Border Patrol's | special forces-style unit, known as BORTAC, and other Customs and Border | Protection (CBP) agents — dressed in plainclothes [m…
(2020-03-03). TRAP Laws are the Threat to Abortion Rights You Don't Know About. aclu.org This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case | that will have wide-reaching consequences for reproductive freedom and abortion | rights in America. It's the first time the Court has weighed those rights since | gaining a new conservative majority with the appointments of Justices Neil | Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And the stakes are high. | The case that the court will | hear, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, | is being argued by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CCR), and it involves a | law in Louisiana known as a "TRAP" — Targeted Restriction on Abortion | Providers. The detai…
(2020-03-02). Extradition of Assange Would Set a Dangerous Precedent. zcomm.org The Trump administration is seeking extradition of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to the United States for trial on charges carrying 175 years in prison…
(2020-02-28). Carol Anderson on Voter Suppression. fair.org Media…
(2020-02-26). As Alabama primary nears, voter suppression is alive and well. splcenter.org All across this country, the right to vote is under attack. But with your support, we're fighting back in Southern courts and state legislatures with a newly formed team of legal, policy, and grassroots advocates.
(2020-02-21). Weekend Read: SPLC files civil rights complaints as asylum seekers wage hunger strikes. splcenter.org …
(2020-02-04). Biden Threatens Lawsuit to Halt Release of Real Iowa Caucus Results. theantimedia.com American democracy—ain't it grand?>
