(2020-05-18). Philadelphia: #FreeBlackMamas demand prisoner release. workers.org 
Philadelphia Protesters, led by currently and formerly incarcerated women, trans and non gender-binary people, held a rally on May 15 in a city park next to Riverside Correctional Facility to demand the release of people held in Philadelphia jails and an end to unjust cash bail. The action featured speeches . . . |
(2020-05-18). Israeli Military Court Extends Detention of a Palestinian Teen Boy. imemc.org The Israeli military court of Salem, near Jenin city in the West Bank, ordered on Monday, the extension of the detention of Palestinian teenager, Qasem Abu Baker, 17, from the Palestinian village of Y'abad, south of Jenin city. The mother of Qasem, told media outlets that Monday's extension is the …
(2020-05-18). Coronavirus 'Immunity Passports' are not the Answer. aclu.org As governments the world over seek ways to jumpstart economic activity, one proposal is a so-called "immunity passport" that would allow certain people who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies to return to work before others. We at the ACLU have serious concerns about the adoption of any such proposal, because of its potential to harm public health, incentivize economically-vulnerable people to risk their health by contracting COVID-19, exacerbate racial and economic disparities, and lead to a new health surveillance infrastructure that endangers privacy rights. , , An immunity passport system is fundamentall…
(2020-05-18). Egyptian journalist arrested while interviewing jailed activist's mother, released on bail hours later. peoplesdispatch.org Lina Attalah, the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian independent news outlet Mada Masr, was arrested while speaking to Laila Soueif, the mother of political prisoner Alaa Abdel Fattah…
(2020-05-16). Revolutionary Boiling Point, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Still mad at China's brutal authoritarian government for imprisoning Julian Assange after his journalism exposed Chinese war crimes. | ~ | Arresting people for future crimes is called "pre-crime", and it's the stuff of dystopian horror fiction. | Violently dominating an entire planet because another country might hurt yours in the future is called "US foreign policy", and it's the stuff of mainstream news punditry. | ~ | Saying a US politician is bad on foreign policy but good on domestic policy is a bit like saying "Yeah my boyfriend murders hitchhikers, but he cooks." | ~ | Dominant revolutionary thought…
(2020-05-16). Israeli Courts Extend Detention of 47 Palestinian Prisoners. imemc.org Two Israeli military courts reportedly extended, on Saturday, the detention of 47 Palestinian prisoners. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said, early this morning, that the Israeli military courts of Ofer and Salem, extended the detention of 47 Palestinian prisoners, under some pretexts. The PPS noted that the courts' decisions …
(2020-05-16). Are We Up Against the Wall Yet, Alma Mater? dissidentvoice.org If all values are system values, what do we make of trending lawsuits filed by students against their college campuses? Is it something like the demand of an air traveler who gets downgraded from first class to coach? The analogy seems to have merit. At least it reminds us of flying. Campuses have about five …
(2020-05-16). Rashid Johnson: 'Prison has always served a particular political function'. workers.org Remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in sponsored by Mobilization4Mumia and held in honor of the 66th birthday of political prisoner and revolutionary Mumia Abu-Jamal, incarcerated for 39 years by the U.S. state. Kevin Rashid Johnson, currently incarcerated in the Pendleton Correctional Facility . . . |
(2020-05-16). Sekou Odinga: 'The right to struggle by any and all means'. workers.org These slightly edited remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in sponsored by Mobilization4Mumia and held in honor of the 66th birthday of political prisoner and revolutionary Mumia Abu-Jamal, incarcerated for 39 years by the U.S. state. By Sekou Odinga I'm a representative of . . . |
(2020-05-16). Marc Lamont Hill: 'Outside the logic of the prison' on Mumia's birthday. workers.org By Marc Lamont Hill These slightly edited remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in sponsored by Mobilization4Mumia and held in honor of the 66th birthday of political prisoner and revolutionary Mumia Abu-Jamal, incarcerated for 39 years by the U.S. state. Marc Lamont Hill . . . |
(2020-05-15). DeRay McKesson on the Threat to Protesters' Rights. aclu.org Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, protests have erupted across the country. Some are related to the virus: Protestors in Ohio and Michigan took to the streets and state capitols to call for an end to their governors' stay-at-home orders. Others are calling out an ongoing injustice: the killing, often at the hands of the state, of Black Americans. Now, the rights of participants in protests across the spectrum could be at stake unless the Supreme Court weighs in on an important decision., , In this episode of At Liberty, we speak with DeRay McKesson, an activist at the center of an important ACLU…
(2020-05-15). How a teenager in the '60s South became a Communist. peoplesworld.org 
Once upon a time, and sadly, not so long ago in the grand scheme of history, a young high schooler in Virginia spent his summer, the summer of 1964, watching the Civil Rights Movement play out before his eyes. Little did this student, Scott Marshall, know how life-changing that first Freedom Summer would turn out …
(2020-05-15). The Secretive Police Commission The Justice Department Doesn't Want You To Notice. therealnews.com 
PAR learns about life under lockdown with COVID-19 from a guest just released from 10 months of incarceration, and examines the secretive police commission created by Attorney General Barr.
(2020-05-15). Ari Berman on Voter Suppression and Coronavirus. fair.org 
Media…
(2020-05-15). Andrea Circle Bear and six centuries of genocide. workers.org 
Andrea Circle Bear, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation near Eagle Butte, S.D., was the 29th federal inmate to die due to the coronavirus in Bureau of Prisons custody. She was sentenced to serve 26 months. Circle Bear was being held at Tripp County Jail in South Dakota up until . . . |
(2020-05-15). Political Prisoners Teach-In: 'We got out because of the people'. workers.org 
These slightly edited remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in sponsored by Mobilization4Mumia and held in honor of the 66th birthday of political prisoner and revolutionary Mumia Abu-Jamal, incarcerated for 39 years by the U.S. state. By Janet Africa On the Move! Happy . . . |
(2020-05-15). Lancaster, Penn. mobilizes to save prisoners' lives amid COVID outbreak. liberationnews.org 
Members of Party for Socialism and Liberation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania recently initiated a campaign to demand action to protect the lives of incarcerated people.
(2020-05-15). PDF download of May 14 issue. workers.org 
Download entire 12-page PDF here. Justice for Ahmaud Arbery. Kent State and Jackson State. Also: COVID‚Äë19: capitalism's end stage; workers resist. Editorial: Changing narrative in Michigan. World: China, Vietnam, Haiti, Ecuador. Tear down prisons: victory in PA; San Quentin caravan; No cages for migrants; Global prisons & white supremacy; Solidarity . . . |
(2020-05-15). In Spain, demands for ensuring safety of Basque political prisoners. peoplesdispatch.org Patxi Ruiz, a political prisoner belonging to the Basque ethnicity in Spain, started a hunger strike in the Murcia II prison where he is being held to protest harassment and threats by the jail authorities…
(2020-05-15). Israeli Troops Detain 5 Palestinians, Including a Minor and Former Prisoner. imemc.org Israeli forces, on Thursday evening, detained five Palestinians from the northern districts of Nablus and Qalqilia, in the occupied West Bank. Local Fatah official, Munir Gaghoub, stated that Israeli troops abducted three Palestinians, including a former prisoner, seized a vehicle at the entrance of Beita town, south of the city …
(2020-05-14). In Fear of Falling Behind and Privacy Invasions, Students Demand Action on Remote Learning. aclu.org 
Mia's high school peers are completing class assignments from their school parking lot because they, like many families in their rural Maryland community, lack access to internet at home. Delina, a high school junior from Arizona, has to wait until all her younger siblings finish their schoolwork using the one computer at home before she can use it to start hers. One student from New Jersey fears that the lack of privacy protections for students using remote learning technology puts their mom at increased risk of deportation. , , This is the reality of education in America during the COVID-19 crisis, accordin…
(2020-05-14). Israel Strips Financial Aid From Palestinian Prisoners, Leaving Them To Face COVID-19 Alone. therealnews.com 
Calls and visits are denied to many of Israel's Palestinian prisoners, leaving their fate in the pandemic unknown.
(2020-05-18). Detainees call for their release from Mantra prison. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-05-15). Jailing people who use Covid-19 as bioweapon would be 'discrimination.' So better lock up everyone instead? rt.com 
Accidentally spreading Covid-19 is wanting grandma dead, say opponents of ending lockdowns. Yet activists now worry that proposed laws to punish those who threaten to spread it deliberately would discriminate against minorities. | A Florida man spat and coughed on a police officer responding to a domestic violence call, and faces up to five years in prison on a federal charge of biological weapons hoax (he was negative for Covid-19). Another man in Texas, who falsely claimed on Facebook that he paid someone to spread the virus at local grocery stores, was charged with the same thing. A Michigan man who wiped h…
(2020-05-18). Santa Cruz Needs Community Control of Surveillance. indybay.org Santa Cruz has a community control of surveillance law in front of the City Council. We need transparency, advanced notice and joint decisionmaking about pervasive surveillance everywhere. Sign the petition (from ACLU) action.aclu.org/petition/cn-santa-cruz-surveillance-petition…
(2020-05-18). AquAlliance files lawsuit against water transfers from Sacramento River watershed. indybay.org The lawsuit states, "These water transfers would drain both surface and groundwater resources from the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds, imposing significant and irreversible threats to the people and sensitive species that rely on these water resources and associated aquatic and riparian habitats."
(2020-05-18). Rally At Tesla: Jail Musk! Workers Health & Safety First & Lives Over Profit. indybay.org Tesla North Gate | Industrial Dr & Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538 | www.google.com/maps/place/Tesla+factory/@37.4845369,-121.9355029,4163m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x808fc7348cf1502f: 0x86cfbef39088e346!8m2!3d37.5039468!4d-121.9622337?hl=en…
(2020-05-18). Worldwide Webinar: Civil Society Response to COVID-19 in Prisons & Jails Globally. indybay.org Online via zoom…
(2020-05-18). Jail Tesla Billionaire Elon Musk & Defend Health & Safety: Workers Speak Out At Tesla. indybay.org Workers spoke out against the bullying and intimidation of billionaire Elon Musk who has started his Tesla factory violating a shelter in place law. He challenged the Fremont police and Governor Newsom to arrest him but they are allowing him to open without any CA-OSHA inspections. Newsom has continued the destruction of CA-OSHA and there are less than 200 inspectors for the 18 million workers in California and only 1 doctor and 1 nurse at CA. OSHA.
(2020-05-18). El Chapo's Top Enforcer Found Dead Weeks After Release on Parole From US Prison – Report. sputniknews.com The hitman's probation officer discovered that he was gone when he came to routinely visit the convicted drug trafficker after he had been released following a six-year prison stint.
(2020-05-14). Bay Area car caravan: Stop state executions by COVID-19! liberationnews.org 
More than 80 cars drove around San Quentin prison in Marin County, California on Sat. May .
(2020-05-14). DeVos is Rolling Back Protections for Sexual Harassment and Assault Survivors in Schools. We're Suing to Put a Stop to It. aclu.org By the time a student graduates from college — particularly if they are a woman, LGBTQ, a person of color, or have a disability — the odds are high that they have experienced sexual harassment and assault.
(2020-05-14). There Is Only One Way to Prevent Mass Deaths in Prisons: Let Them Out. thenation.com There Is Only One Way to Prevent Mass Deaths in Prisons: Let Them Out…
(2020-05-14). Prisons Are Using the Pandemic to Impose Lockdowns. progressive.org Advocates say the extreme restrictions on movement are punitive and dangerous.
(2020-05-13). Milwaukee: Cop involved in the death of Joel Acevedo has yet to be charged with a crime. fightbacknews.org Milwaukee, WI – Three weeks ago, on the morning of April 19, an off-duty Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) officer named Michael Mattioli was arrested for beating someone into an unresponsive state at a party hosted at his, the cop's, house on Milwaukee's South Side. Mattioli was booked at Milwaukee County Jail on tentative charges of first-degree reckless injury and strangulation. He was released on April 23 after posting the $50,000 cash bail. Mattioli was placed on administrative duties and formally suspended by MPD after his arrest. He has a court date set for June 10. | The victim, Joel Acevedo, died of the…
(2020-05-12). During COVID-19 Crisis, We Must Prioritize the Release of Pregnant People. aclu.org 
This piece was first published on
(2020-05-12). "Losing the Fabric of the City": COVID-19 Took Chicago Black Lives First & Exposed Structural Racism. democracynow.org 
We look at the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate toll on African Americans through the story of Chicago's first 100 recorded deaths. A report by ProPublica found that 70 of the first 100 people to die were African American. Black people account for 30% of Chicago's population and 72% of COVID-19 deaths. We speak with ProPublica reporter Adriana Gallardo, who contributed to the report "COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn't Have To." She says the story paints a picture of "sophisticated structural racism" in Chicago.
(2020-05-12). Dallas County Officials are Leaving Vulnerable People to Catch COVID-19 in Jail. aclu.org Wykivia and Ideare Bailey were taking every precaution. Worried for their asthmatic daughter due to the spread of COVID-19, the couple was meticulous in cleaning, sanitizing, and social distancing to reduce every possible threat. However, when Ideare was arrested for property theft and booked into the Dallas County Jail on April 6, there was no way to adhere to those precautions. Held in a crowded intake room, he could not maintain six feet of distance from other people. Forced to live in a dormitory with 60 other people — for meals, downtime, sleeping, bathing, everything — Mr. Bailey knew that he…
(2020-05-12). President Trump's Assault On Inspectors General Threatens Our Civil Liberties. aclu.org One recent Friday night, President Trump quietly nominated a replacement inspector general (IG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). But this was no ordinary nomination. If confirmed by the Senate, it will force out the acting IG after her office released a
(2020-05-11). Headlines for May 11, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Cases Mount as States Reopen Economies, NY Investigating Deaths of at Least 3 Children Linked to COVID-19, Bronx Hospital Investigating Nurse Who Shared Video of Medical Staff Speaking Out About Lack of PPE, Cheyenne River Sioux Defies South Dakota Order to Remove Coronavirus Checkpoints, Another COVID-19 Case Confirmed at White House as Barack Obama Blasts Trump's "Chaotic" Response, Hunger-Striking Immigrant Women Released from California Prison, U.S. Continues to Deport Haitian Immigrants, Including Those with COVID-19 Infections, WSJ: Trump Planning to Ban H-1B Visas, Three Prisoners Die at Chino Fac…
(2020-05-11). SPLC fights to keep children out of juvenile detention, other confined settings during pandemic. splcenter.org …
(2020-05-11). Our Privacy is on the Clock. aclu.org This piece originally appeared in
(2020-05-11). We Also Face a Pandemic of Racism. progressive.org COVID-19 sheds light on America's systemic oppression of people of color.
(2020-05-11). Doctors Speak Out About COVID 19 & The Violent Suppression Of Your Rights. thelastamericanvagabond.com The only question, is whether We The People have the courage to stand for what we know to be right, or if we will allow ourselves to be scared into passively accepting the "new normal," a locked down controlled society that was prepped for, planned out, and designed years ago. I for one, will never …
(2020-05-09). Women In Prisons Say They're Being Punished For Speaking Out About COVID-19 Risks. therealnews.com 
Women say they're being punished for contacting people outside about their living conditions. Activists are planning an action May 23 at Jessup Correctional Facility in response.
(2020-05-08). "A Lynch Mob": After Months of Inaction, 2 White Men Are Charged with Murder of Ahmaud Arbery in GA. democracynow.org 
The two white men caught on camera shooting and killing Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old African American man, were arrested and charged Thursday with murder. The arrests came two days after video of the attack in February was shared with the public, sparking widespread outrage. Today would have been Arbery's 26th birthday. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Arbery family and formerly represented Trayvon Martin.
(2020-05-08). Headlines for May 8, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Pass 75,000 as Trump Sidelines Top Medical Experts, Trump to Be Tested for Coronavirus Daily After Valet Tests Positive, Vigil at White House Honors 88 Who Died from "Trump's Abhorrent Failure to Protect Nurses", U.S. Unemployment Claims Soar to 33.3 Million Amid Pandemic | , Democrats Promise "Rooseveltian" Coronavirus Relief Bill | , Mitch McConnell Prioritizes Judicial Confirmations as Senate Returns Amid Pandemic | , Data Shows 35 of 40 People Arrested in NY for Social Distancing Violations Are Black | , Texas Stops Jailing Lockdown Violators; Nebraska Ends Reporting on Meat Plant COVI…
(2020-05-08). HIGH-FREQUENCY failure of combination antiretroviral therapy in paediatric HIV infection is associated with unmet maternal needs causing maternal NON-ADHERENCE. thelancet.com The success of early infant testing and cART initiation strategies is severely limited by subsequent cART non-adherence in HIV-infected children. Although there are practical challenges to administering paediatric cART formulations, these are overcome by mothers who themselves are cART-adherent. These findings point to the ongoing obligation to address the unmet needs of the mothers. Eliminating the particular barriers preventing adequate treatment for these vulnerable women and infants need to be prioritised in order to achieve durable suppression of viraemia on cART, let alone HIV cure/remission, in HIV-infecte…
(2020-05-07). Women In Prison Need More Than Cuomo's Order To Help Against COVID-19. therealnews.com 
Incarcerated women still face inadequate testing and an inability to self-isolate, and few will be helped by Cuomo's announcement releasing pregnant and elderly women.
(2020-05-07). How being a passenger almost put a man behind bars for life in Alabama. splcenter.org When Roberto Cruz dozed off in the passenger seat of a blue Jeep Cherokee on June 23, 2003, he had no idea that he'd end up in Alabama, let alone sentenced to life without parole in a prison there.