Monthly Archives: May 2020

2020-05-23: News Headlines

Birgit Sawitzki, Paul N Harden, Petra Reinke, Aurélie Moreau, James A Hutchinson, David S Game, Qizhi Tang, Eva C Guinan, Manuela Battaglia, William J Burlingham, Ian S D Roberts, Mathias Streitz, Régis Josien, Carsten A Bà∂ger, Cristiano Scottà , James F Markmann, Joanna L Hester, Karsten Juerchott, Cecile Braudeau, Ben James, Laura Contreras-Ruiz, Jeroen B van der Net, Tobias Bergler, Rossana Caldara, William Petchey, Matthias Edinger, Nathalie Dupas, Michael Kapinsky, Ingrid Mutzbauer, Natalie M Otto, Robert àñllinger, Maria P Hernandez-Fuentes, Fadi Issa, Norbert Ahrens, Christoph Meyenberg, Sandra Karitzky, Ulrich Kunzendorf, Stuart J Knechtle, Josep Grinyó, Peter J Morris, Leslie Brent, Andrew Bushell, Laurence A Turka, Jeffrey A Bluestone, Robert I Lechler, Hans J Schlitt, Maria C Cuturi, Stephan Schlickeiser, Peter J Friend, Tewfik Miloud, Alexander Scheffold, Antonio Secchi, Kerry Crisalli, Sang-Mo Kang, Rachel Hilton, Bernhard Banas, Gilles Blancho, Hans-Dieter Volk, Giovanna Lombardi, Kathryn J Wood, Edward K Geissler (2020-05-23). [Articles] Regulatory cell therapy in kidney transplantation (The ONE Study): a harmonised design and analysis of seven non-randomised, single-arm, phase 1/2A trials. thelancet.com Regulatory cell therapy is achievable and safe in living-donor kidney transplant recipients, and is associated with fewer infectious complications, but similar rejection rates in the first year. Therefore, immune cell therapy is a potentially useful therapeutic approach in recipients of kidney transplant to minimise the burden of general immunosuppression.

Jeffery Robinson (2020-05-22). America, It Is Time to Talk About Reparations. aclu.org We are two months away from the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved people arriving in what would become the United States of America. It is time to renew the public discussion about reparations to descendants of Africans who were enslaved as our country was forming and growing rich. , , First as colonies and then as a nation, America has existed longer with slavery (1619-1865: 246 years) than without it (1865-2019: 154 years). And the reality of the institution of enslaving people is not the "good food and a decent place to live" narrative of Bill O'Reilly on Fox News and others who minimize the horror of…

V.P. Franklin (2020-05-22). Georgetown Students Demonstrate How Reparations Can Be Made to African-American Students. aclu.org This spring, something extraordinary and worthy of imitation occurred on Georgetown University's campus in Washington, D.C., , On April 11, two-thirds of the undergraduate student body who took part in a referendum

Jamal Rich (2020-05-22). From 'Free Angela Davis' to #NoNewJailsDC: Organizing against incarceration across generations. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) D.C. Chapter and the Claudia Jones School for Political Education, based in Washington, D.C., came together online on the evening of May 18 to co-host an event regarding the twin ideas of freeing political prisoners and prison abolition. The event featured elders from the Communist Party USA who were …

Chauncey K. Robinson (2020-05-22). 'Mossville: When Great Trees Fall' exposes environmental and racial terror of capitalism. peoplesworld.org "When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile. We breathe, briefly. Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity." — Maya Angelou A piece of American history, showcasing the perseverance of a people despite centuries of oppression and enslavement, is on the verge of being lost forever due to greed, negligence, and …

Richard D. Wolff (2020-05-22). An Old Story Again: Capitalism vs. Health and Safety. counterpunch.org The U.S. president recently ordered meatpacking employees back into workplaces plagued by coronavirus. He did not order the employers to make their slaughterhouses safe. GOP-proposed legislation exempts employers from lawsuits by employees sickened or killed by coronavirus infections at workplaces. The GOP is mostly silent about requiring employers to maintain safe or healthy workplaces. Employers

commondreams (2020-05-22). ACLU Asks Supreme Court to Deny Bureau of Prisons Request to Block Order That Will Save Lives. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Marwa Osman (2020-05-22). Palestine — Quds Day 2020: Marwa Osman. thealtworld.com TeleSur English- Political Commentator Dr. Marwa Osman joins Camila on From the Lebanon to discuss the history and significance of Quds Day and analyzes today's geopolitical context. Dr. Osman discusses the U.S. and Israeli regime's intensifying threats against the Palestinian people within the context of the "deal of the century" saying the 'deal' constitutes the imprisonment of Palestinians. Blockaded Palestine has much in common with other blockaded nations included Iran and Venezuela.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (2020-05-22). H.R. 40 Is Not a Symbolic Act. It's a Path to Restorative Justice. aclu.org For nearly three decades, my former colleague Rep. John Conyers of Michigan would introduce

commondreams (2020-05-22). ACLU and Partners Challenge Michigan Absentee Ballot Deadline. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Eunice Cho (2020-05-22). ICE's Lack of Transparency About COVID-19 in Detention Will Cost Lives. aclu.org Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) detention system was marked by its

Robert P. Alvarez (2020-05-22). A Simple Solution for the Coronavirus Crisis in Prisons. commondreams.org We've got over a million people in prison, nearly a million more in jail, and half a million in immigrant detention. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/mask.jpg

Peoples Dispatch (2020-05-22). Indian trade unions protest attack on workers' rights. peoplesdispatch.org Ten central trade unions in India issued a nationwide protest call against the changes being made to labour laws. On Friday, May 22, unions across the country took to the streets to stage demonstrations against the attack on workers' rights. The protestors were peaceful and followed physical distancing and other safety norms. Still, multiple instances of repression and detentions took place.

Eds. (2020-05-21). Engels was right, class society and women's oppression aren't inevitable or irreversible. mronline.org There is a view of human history which holds effectively that there is little difference in essentials between modern, capitalist society and the societies of the past.

Ellie Rushforth (2020-05-21). Abortion Rights are on the Line in New Mexico's Primary. aclu.org Abortion is still legal in all 50 states, but if the past year has taught us anything, there is no guarantee it will stay that way. Should Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, be overturned, several states — including New Mexico — still have abortion bans on the books that could go back into effect. In the case of New Mexico, a 1969 law that is mostly unenforceable could make abortion care a felony in almost every case. , , This old abortion ban would require patients — including survivors of rape and incest — at any stage of pregnancy to beg for permission t…

Kathleen Wong (2020-05-21). A Lesson From COVID-19: A History of Racism and Disease in Hawai'i. aclu.org As someone of Chinese descent who lives in the multicultural mixing pot that is Hawai'i, I find myself thinking about the fact that May is Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month, and how the opportunity to reflect on API heritage in the United States could not have come at a better time. In some ways, what's happening today with COVID-19 is history repeating itself. As the disease has spread, there has also been a rise in anti-Asian sentiment and xenophobic attacks on Asian people throughout the country. These attacks are provoked and encouraged by the dangerous and inaccurate rhetoric spewed by the…

David Cole (2020-05-21). The Absurd Attacks on the ACLU. aclu.org On May 19, the National Review editors condemned the ACLU's "absurd" lawsuit against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's new Title IX regulations, which govern sexual harassment and assault at schools that receive federal funding. They argue that we had sacrificed our principles by seeking to "weaken" due process standards. President Trump promptly retweeted it, though showed no evidence that he actually read it. But the National Review's criticism bears no relation to the lawsuit we actually filed. Our suit challenges provisions letting schools ignore serious claims of sexual harassment altogether. It does not…

news.un (2020-05-21). Danger awaits migrant children returned to Mexico and Central America during pandemic. news.un.org Migrant children forcibly returned from the United States to Mexico and Central America are facing danger and discrimination aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Ali Salam (2020-05-21). Former Prisoners, Minors among the 28 Palestinians Arrested by Israeli Forces. imemc.org Twenty eight Palestinian civilians were arrested by Israeli troops during large scale arrest campaigns, overnight Wednesday, while two Palestinians were reportedly shot and wounded by the Israeli army in Qalqilia, and the town of Beit Rima during those campaigns. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said that occupation forces arrested six …

Staff (2020-05-22). Third White Man Arrested for Murder in Ahmaud Arbery Shooting as DOJ Considers Hate Crime Charges. democracynow.org Authorities have arrested a third white man for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, this one charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump about how William Bryan filmed Arbery jogging down a narrow road in Brunswick, Georgia, in broad daylight, before he was confronted by two armed white men — retired police officer Gregory McMichael and his son Travis — who shot him three times. "This was never about any trespassing or burglary," Crump says. "This was always about profiling Ahmaud Arbery because of the color of his skin."

Staff (2020-05-22). FBI Says It Will Investigate Breonna Taylor Shooting Death as Police Chief Announces Retirement. democracynow.org We speak with Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old aspiring nurse who was shot to death by police inside her own apartment. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department that details how police shot Taylor at least eight times after they burst into her apartment, unannounced, with a search warrant. The man police were looking for did not live in Taylor's apartment and was reportedly already detained by police when officers arrived at Taylor's residence on the night of March 13. At the time of her killing, Taylor had been working as an e…

Staff (2020-05-22). FBI Says It Will Investigate Breonna Taylor Shooting Death. truthout.org We speak with Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old aspiring nurse who was shot to death by police inside her own apartment. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department that details how police shot Taylor at least eight times after they burst into her apartment, unannounced, with a search warrant. The man police were looking for did not live in Taylor's apartment and was reportedly already detained by police when officers arrived at Ta…

RT (2020-05-23). 'Rhetorical hyperbole' and NOT FACT: Court rejects OAN suit over MSNBC host Rachel Maddow's claim about 'Russian propaganda'. rt.com A US judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit by One America News Network against MSNBC over Rachel Maddow's claims that OAN was "literally" Russian propaganda, ruling that her segment was merely "an opinion" and "exaggeration."
| A US judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit by One America News Network against MSNBC over Rachel Maddow's claims that OAN was "literally" Russian propaganda, ruling that her segment was merely "an opinion" and "exaggeration." | OAN sued the liberal talk show ho…

2020-05-22: News Headlines

Birgit Sawitzki, Paul N Harden, Petra Reinke, Aurélie Moreau, James A Hutchinson, David S Game, Qizhi Tang, Eva C Guinan, Manuela Battaglia, William J Burlingham, Ian S D Roberts, Mathias Streitz, Régis Josien, Carsten A Bà∂ger, Cristiano Scottà , James F Markmann, Joanna L Hester, Karsten Juerchott, Cecile Braudeau, Ben James, Laura Contreras-Ruiz, Jeroen B van der Net, Tobias Bergler, Rossana Caldara, William Petchey, Matthias Edinger, Nathalie Dupas, Michael Kapinsky, Ingrid Mutzbauer, Natalie M Otto, Robert àñllinger, Maria P Hernandez-Fuentes, Fadi Issa, Norbert Ahrens, Christoph Meyenberg, Sandra Karitzky, Ulrich Kunzendorf, Stuart J Knechtle, Josep Grinyó, Peter J Morris, Leslie Brent, Andrew Bushell, Laurence A Turka, Jeffrey A Bluestone, Robert I Lechler, Hans J Schlitt, Maria C Cuturi, Stephan Schlickeiser, Peter J Friend, Tewfik Miloud, Alexander Scheffold, Antonio Secchi, Kerry Crisalli, Sang-Mo Kang, Rachel Hilton, Bernhard Banas, Gilles Blancho, Hans-Dieter Volk, Giovanna Lombardi, Kathryn J Wood, Edward K Geissler (2020-05-23). [Articles] Regulatory cell therapy in kidney transplantation (The ONE Study): a harmonised design and analysis of seven non-randomised, single-arm, phase 1/2A trials. thelancet.com Regulatory cell therapy is achievable and safe in living-donor kidney transplant recipients, and is associated with fewer infectious complications, but similar rejection rates in the first year. Therefore, immune cell therapy is a potentially useful therapeutic approach in recipients of kidney transplant to minimise the burden of general immunosuppression.

Richard D. Wolff (2020-05-22). An Old Story Again: Capitalism vs. Health and Safety. counterpunch.org The U.S. president recently ordered meatpacking employees back into workplaces plagued by coronavirus. He did not order the employers to make their slaughterhouses safe. GOP-proposed legislation exempts employers from lawsuits by employees sickened or killed by coronavirus infections at workplaces. The GOP is mostly silent about requiring employers to maintain safe or healthy workplaces. Employers

commondreams (2020-05-22). ACLU Asks Supreme Court to Deny Bureau of Prisons Request to Block Order That Will Save Lives. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-05-22). ACLU and Partners Challenge Michigan Absentee Ballot Deadline. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-05-22). Indian trade unions protest attack on workers' rights. peoplesdispatch.org Ten central trade unions in India issued a nationwide protest call against the changes being made to labour laws. On Friday, May 22, unions across the country took to the streets to stage demonstrations against the attack on workers' rights. The protestors were peaceful and followed physical distancing and other safety norms. Still, multiple instances of repression and detentions took place.

Robert P. Alvarez (2020-05-22). A Simple Solution for the Coronavirus Crisis in Prisons. commondreams.org We've got over a million people in prison, nearly a million more in jail, and half a million in immigrant detention. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/mask.jpg

WSWS (2020-05-22). Third man charged in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. wsws.org William Bryan, who recorded video of Arbery being shot and killed by Travis McMichael in February, was arrested Thursday and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Eds. (2020-05-21). Engels was right, class society and women's oppression aren't inevitable or irreversible. mronline.org There is a view of human history which holds effectively that there is little difference in essentials between modern, capitalist society and the societies of the past.

Marcha Noticias (2020-05-21). Wallmapu: "The Mapuche political prisoners are not alone" peoplesdispatch.org The Mapuche community demands protection for political prisoners in the prisons of the Araucanía region of Chile after being exposed to the risk of COVID-19 due to lack of necessary care…

Ted Kelly (2020-05-21). Bolivian prisoners protest/ 'We want to live!'. workers.org Incarcerated workers at the largest prison in Bolivia staged a mass uprising on May 11, demanding freedom and protesting dangerous conditions exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rebels chanted, "We want to live!" and "This is not a riot, this is a fight for life!" Police mounted a repressive presence . . . |

Ellie Rushforth (2020-05-21). Abortion Rights are on the Line in New Mexico's Primary. aclu.org Abortion is still legal in all 50 states, but if the past year has taught us anything, there is no guarantee it will stay that way. Should Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, be overturned, several states — including New Mexico — still have abortion bans on the books that could go back into effect. In the case of New Mexico, a 1969 law that is mostly unenforceable could make abortion care a felony in almost every case. , , This old abortion ban would require patients — including survivors of rape and incest — at any stage of pregnancy to beg for permission t…

Kathleen Wong (2020-05-21). A Lesson From COVID-19: A History of Racism and Disease in Hawai'i. aclu.org As someone of Chinese descent who lives in the multicultural mixing pot that is Hawai'i, I find myself thinking about the fact that May is Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month, and how the opportunity to reflect on API heritage in the United States could not have come at a better time. In some ways, what's happening today with COVID-19 is history repeating itself. As the disease has spread, there has also been a rise in anti-Asian sentiment and xenophobic attacks on Asian people throughout the country. These attacks are provoked and encouraged by the dangerous and inaccurate rhetoric spewed by the…

David Cole (2020-05-21). The Absurd Attacks on the ACLU. aclu.org On May 19, the National Review editors condemned the ACLU's "absurd" lawsuit against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's new Title IX regulations, which govern sexual harassment and assault at schools that receive federal funding. They argue that we had sacrificed our principles by seeking to "weaken" due process standards. President Trump promptly retweeted it, though showed no evidence that he actually read it. But the National Review's criticism bears no relation to the lawsuit we actually filed. Our suit challenges provisions letting schools ignore serious claims of sexual harassment altogether. It does not…

news.un (2020-05-21). Danger awaits migrant children returned to Mexico and Central America during pandemic. news.un.org Migrant children forcibly returned from the United States to Mexico and Central America are facing danger and discrimination aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Peoples Dispatch (2020-05-21). Benjamin Netanyahu to personally appear for trial in court. peoplesdispatch.org Netanyahu is indicted in seven cases, the trial for which will begin on May 24. If convicted, the Israeli prime minister will have to serve more than 10 years in prison…

Ali Salam (2020-05-21). Former Prisoners, Minors among the 28 Palestinians Arrested by Israeli Forces. imemc.org Twenty eight Palestinian civilians were arrested by Israeli troops during large scale arrest campaigns, overnight Wednesday, while two Palestinians were reportedly shot and wounded by the Israeli army in Qalqilia, and the town of Beit Rima during those campaigns. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said that occupation forces arrested six …

Ben Norton (2020-05-20). New NYPD press officer co-wrote The Intercept Russiagate story that landed source in prison. thegrayzone.com The Intercept published a story that landed Reality Winner in prison, burning its third source. That article was co-authored by…

ACLU (2020-05-20). Celebrating 100 Episodes of "At Liberty" aclu.org This week, we're airing the

CounterSpin (2020-05-15). Ari Berman on Voter Suppression and Coronavirus. fair.org Media…

Tyler Durden (2020-02-04). Biden Threatens Lawsuit to Halt Release of Real Iowa Caucus Results. theantimedia.com American democracy—ain't it grand?>

Staff (2020-05-22). Third White Man Arrested for Murder in Ahmaud Arbery Shooting as DOJ Considers Hate Crime Charges. democracynow.org Authorities have arrested a third white man for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, this one charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump about how William Bryan filmed Arbery jogging down a narrow road in Brunswick, Georgia, in broad daylight, before he was confronted by two armed white men — retired police officer Gregory McMichael and his son Travis — who shot him three times. "This was never about any trespassing or burglary," Crump says. "This was always about profiling Ahmaud Arbery because of the color of his skin."

Staff (2020-05-22). FBI Says It Will Investigate Breonna Taylor Shooting Death as Police Chief Announces Retirement. democracynow.org We speak with Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old aspiring nurse who was shot to death by police inside her own apartment. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department that details how police shot Taylor at least eight times after they burst into her apartment, unannounced, with a search warrant. The man police were looking for did not live in Taylor's apartment and was reportedly already detained by police when officers arrived at Taylor's residence on the night of March 13. At the time of her killing, Taylor had been working as an e…

Staff (2020-05-20). "Stay Alive, Stay at Home, Organize": Rev. Barber Sets June 20 for Poor People's Digital March on DC. democracynow.org We look at the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Black, Brown and poor communities, and the next steps officials should take, with Reverend William Barber, who is organizing an online Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C., on June 20. "We're not going to just die. We're going to stand up and fight back," says Rev. Barber. He also discusses voter suppression ahead of the November election.

Dan Bacher (2020-05-22). Lawsuit by Three Groups Challenges Contracts Imperiling Delta, Fish. indybay.org Such diversions "reduce freshwater flows through the Delta causing and worsening harmful algal blooms (HABs) which threaten the public health of those drinking, fishing in, or swimming in, Delta waters, or inhaling the air near Delta waters," the complaint states…

RT (2020-05-22). Khashoggi family announces PARDON for slain journalist's killers as Muslims mark the end of Ramadan fest. rt.com The family of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has declared "forgiveness" for his killers, extending pardons to the accused, who faced execution in Saudi Arabia, as Muslims gear to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan. | One of the Washington Post columnist's two sons, Salah Khashoggi, announced amnesty for the murderers in a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday. Five men were sentenced to death in the case last year in a Saudi court, while three others were given 24 years in prison for their role in the murder plot. | Sons of Jamal Khashoggi say they have decided to pardon the killers of their father -…

Ali Salam (2020-05-21). Israeli Prison Moves Palestinian Prisoner on Hunger Strike to Solitary Confinement. imemc.org Israeli Prison Service (IPS), on Wednesday, transferred Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike, to solitary confinement, the Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. The Palestine Prisoners' Society (PPS) said that the IPS transferred Palestinian prisoner, Sami Janazreh, who began a hunger strike ten days ago, in opposition to being placed under administrative …