(2020-07-18). A Constitutional Crisis in Portland. aclu.org 
I've been documenting violent and militarized police responses to protests in Portland for more than four years, but nothing prepared me for the unrestrained brutality I've witnessed and experienced in recent days. , , Night after night, since the police killing of George Floyd, people have been taking to the streets to demand an end to racist policing and a new vision of public safety for our community, one that protects the safety of our Black community members. Police in Portland, who have their own history of killings, have been meeting those demands with violent attempts to silence the protests. | On Jun…
(2020-07-18). ACLU Sues Trump Administration Over Use Of Secret Police In Portland. popularresistance.org The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon sued the Trump administration late Friday over its deployment of federal agents to Portland, where unidentified officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service have been detaining Black Lives Matter protesters without explanation and using indiscriminate force to crush demonstrations. | "This is a fight to save our democracy," Kelly Simon, interim legal director with the ACLU of Oregon, said in a statement. "Under the direction of the Trump administration, federal agents are terrorizing the community, risking lives, and bruta…
(2020-07-18). Monday 7/20: Bay Strike for Black Lives in Oakland. indybay.org Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster St, Oakland, CA 94609…
(2020-07-18). Artists Install Anti-Trump Living Statues Around DC. popularresistance.org Living statues were installed around Washington, D.C. on Friday depicting President Trump as a "destroyer of civil rights and liberties." | A group of artists known as the Trump Statue Initiative is behind the installations, including one that depicts Trump holding up a Bible while Black Lives Matters protesters are beaten and another showing him telling a masked child to "go back to school" while holding a golf club. | "The concept is that the history he's painting of himself right now, where his narcissistic or racist or self-serving moments abound, this is what he's leaving us with," filmmaker Bryan Buckley to…
(2020-07-18). 'White penises jeopardize your melanin': Boston BLM leader and Democrat organizer unleashes RACE MIXING tirade against opponent. rt.com 
A video of BLM campaigner Monica Cannon-Grant, who's been honored by Democrats in Boston, shows her unleashing a racist rant against a black Republican politician, telling her to shut up because she "rides white penises." | Cannon-Grant's work on the Black Lives Matter cause has seen her honored by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy, and even former presidential candidate
(2020-07-18). 'Jesus matters!' WATCH Christian activist dump paint on de Blasio's 'Black Lives Matter' mural in New York. rt.com 
Police dragged away Christian activist Bevelyn Beatty after she dumped a tin of paint on the 'Black Lives Matter' mural on New York's Fifth Avenue. All week, activists have been dropping paint on the controversial mural. | Beatty is a black, conservative, Christian activist, and is no stranger to controversy. She's taken to the streets in Seattle to
(2020-07-18). Mayor demands that Trump remove federal police from Portland. thecanary.co 
The mayor of Portland has demanded that US president Donald Trump remove federal law enforcement from the city. Black Lives Matter protests have taken place in the city for nearly two months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May.Federal agents in green camouflage uniforms have reportedly arrested and detained protesters in the city. This happened after they were sent solely to protect federal property. Portland mayor Ted Wheeler told reporters: Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city.Federal officers deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal rounds into a crowd…
(2020-07-18). Oregon Sues Federal Agencies Over Protest Enforcement. popularresistance.org The Oregon Department of Justice is suing several federal agencies for civil rights abuses, and state prosecutors will potentially pursue criminal charges against a federal officer who seriously injured a protester. | The federal lawsuit names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protective Service, agencies that have had a role in stepped-up force used against protesters since early July. The state filed the lawsuit late Friday night. | It lists defendants specifically as John Does 1-10 because the "identity of the of…
(2020-07-18). Rep. John Lewis, iconic civil rights leader, dead at 80. rt.com 
Longtime congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis has passed away at the age of 80 after a months-long battle with cancer, his family announced. | The Georgia Democrat, who served in Congress for more than three decades, was diagnosed in December with stage-four pancreatic cancer. "He dedicated his entire life to non-violent activism and was an outspoken advocate in the struggle for equal justice in America. He will be deeply missed," Lewis' family said in a statement announcing his death. | Lewis, a colleague of Martin Luther King Jr, was one of several keynote speakers at the 1963 March on Washington f…
(2020-07-18). Florida Senator Marco Rubio Lambasted for Honoring Memory of John Lewis With Wrong Photo. sputniknews.com US Democratic Representative John Lewis, a prominent civil rights advocate, died of cancer on Friday at the age of 80. Flags at the White House were lowered to half-mast in memory of the lawmaker, and President Donald Trump sent his condolences, receiving a wave of criticism for the comments.
(2020-07-18). Wave of Condemnation Hits Trump as He Tweets Condolences Over Death of Dem. Rep. John Lewis. sputniknews.com Democratic House Representative John Lewis was a civil rights leader awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and famous for playing a key role in ending legalized racial segregation in the United States. He was a part of the "Big Six" – a group of prominent civil rights leaders behind Washington's 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom.
(2020-07-18). Civil rights icon John Lewis dies aged 80. thecanary.co 
Civil rights hero John Lewis has died aged 80. It was Lewis's bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 that helped galvanise opposition to racial segregation,House speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed Lewis's passing late on Friday 17 July. She called the veteran politician "one of the greatest heroes of American history". Both Democrats and Republicans sent Lewis tributes when he announced in December 2019 that he had advanced pancreatic cancer.Civil rights activist: Lewis was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists. This was a group led by Martin Luther King Jr that had the…
(2020-07-18). Michigan teen sent to juvenile detention for failing to do her homework. wsws.org Amid the chaotic transition to online learning during the pandemic, a teenage girl has been taken into criminal custody for "failure to submit any schoolwork."
(2020-07-18). Thousands join fresh rally in Russia's Khabarovsk over arrested governor Furgal (PHOTOS, VIDEO). rt.com 
An unsanctioned large-scale rally has taken place in Khabarovsk, the largest city in Russia's Far East. Crowds again took to the streets of downtown to protest the detention of Governor Sergey Furgal on contract-murder charges. | Furgal, a highly popular local politician and member of Russia's Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of orchestrating the murder of business rivals back in the 2000s. Shortly after he was detained and transferred to Moscow to face official charges, several massive rallies rocked Khabarovsk, a city of more than 600,000 people. | This Saturday, p…
(2020-07-18). 1978: Ernest Mandel — Rosa Luxemburg and political economy. mronline.org 
The Accumulation of Capital was published in 1913, and it was probably only after completing her magnum opus that Luxemburg resumed writing her Introduction to Political Economy. Interrupted once again, now by the outbreak of war, she continued to work on the Introduction during her stay in prison in Wronke, in the German province of …
(2020-07-18). Dem off the deep end? Former DNC chairman Dean calls for ARREST & JAIL TIME for DHS chief amid Portland riots. rt.com 
In the competition among prominent Democrats to see who can show the most outrage over the role of federal law enforcement in trying to help quell anarchist riots in Portland, former party chairman Howard Dean may be the winner. | After Oregon's largest city was subjected to its 50th straight night of violent unrest, Dean focused his ire on acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Chad Wolf. "This guy needs to be arrested, prosecuted and, if convicted, imprisoned for a very long time," Dean tweeted on Saturday. | This guy needs to be arrested, prosecuted, and if convicted, imprisoned for a very long…
(2020-07-18). Oregon attorney general files lawsuit against federal agencies amid reports that officers 'kidnapped' Portland protesters. rt.com 
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is taking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other agencies to court, after accusing federal officers of detaining Portland demonstrators without probable cause. | Rosenblum announced on Friday night that the Oregon Department of Justice had filed a lawsuit in federal court against the DHS, US Marshals Service, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Federal Protection Service. The suit claims federal law enforcement agencies have been wrongfully seizing protesters and seeks a temporary restraining order which would prohibit them from using such tactic…
(2020-07-18). Leader of radical black-only militia NFAC 'believes in violence' & wants a real-life Wakanda for every black person in America. rt.com 
NFAC, the masked, armed black militia that recently marched through a park in Georgia, deems violence and killing an acceptable response to oppression. Their end goal is to break away from the US as their own black-only nation. | The NFAC (Not F*cking Around Coalition) grabbed plenty of attention on social media with a high-profile public debut on July 4. The sight of an all-black militia, clutching rifles and handguns, marching in the heartland of the Ku Klux Klan at Stone Mountain caused plenty of ripples. | But very little is known about them, despite a frenzy of speculation. It's not even clear when they w…
(2020-07-18). SEP candidates respond to California state officials in ballot access lawsuit. indybay.org Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz respond to California officials who would have Socialist Equality Party (SEP) signature gatherers run a deadly COVID-19 "minefield" to gain them ballot access in November. In federal court they argued that putting the signature gatherers and the public at risk during the pandemic is unconstitutional and unacceptable.
(2020-07-18). A grim week on federal death row: Three men sent to their deaths in Terre Haute, Indiana. wsws.org Dustin Lee Honken was the third prisoner executed in five days after a 17-year de facto moratorium on the gruesome practice at the federal level.
(2020-07-18). Trade Unionists Back Campaign To Free Assange. popularresistance.org In Birmingham, Plymouth, and Newcastle trades councils have voted to join the campaign to halt the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States where he could face 175 years in jail. | In recent weeks the three metropolitan trades councils, which are attended by delegates from all the local unions, have voted overwhelmingly to support Assange. | Even in Plymouth where a similar motion was defeated last year the National Union of Journalists' inspired resolution sailed through last week. | Both Birmingham and Plymouth meetings invited a speaker from the Don't Extradite Assange campaign to a…
(2020-07-18). Hard Times: 'It's Like They're Trying To Kill Us'. popularresistance.org American prisoners are incarcerated for years, often decades, often a majority of his or her life. Many prisoners serving more than a couple years are transferred from one prison to another, often multiple times, throughout their sentences. For this story, I spoke to three long-term Alabama prisoners about their experiences being transferred to a different prison mid-sentence or waking up to learn their friends have been transferred — including in the middle of a pandemic — and tried to square them with official policy. | Linda Mays, Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) Communications Director, sa…
(2020-07-18). US government executes third prisoner after 17-year hiatus. yenisafak.com The U.S. Department of Justice executed a convicted murderer on Friday in the third federal execution within a week after a 17-year hiatus, according to a reporter serving as a media witness.Dustin Lee Honken, 52, was a dealer in illegal methamphetamine when he and his girlfriend murdered five people in Iowa in 1993, including two girls aged 10 and 6. He was convicted in 2004.Honken was pronounced dead at 4: 36 p.m. EDT at the Justice Department's execution chamber at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, the media witness said.
(2020-07-17). Students, Colleges, and Universities Win Against the Trump Administration's Latest Anti-Immigrant Attack. aclu.org After a week of chaos, international students were able to relax after the Trump administration agreed to rescind its latest attack on immigrants: an attempt to ban international students whose classes would be entirely online this fall. The administration has normalized chaos, fear, and trauma over the last few years, beginning with airports all over the country during the Muslim ban and tearing children apart from their parents to attempting to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status programs. In the last several months, the administration has repeatedly used the p…
(2020-07-17). Padma Lakshmi on Immigration, Food, and Authorship. aclu.org 
Recently, we've seen a reckoning in the culinary world around the whitewashing and co-opting of ethnic food. The industry has long been controlled by a limited number of people — many of them white — who have authored and then profited from the foods we eat and the stories we share. But the tide is turning. And our guest for this episode, Padma Lakshmi, is part of that movement., , You've likely seen her tasting and critiquing some of the best chefs in the U.S. on Top Chef, sharing her favorite recipes across social media and advocating for immigrants rights and women's rights. Pa…
(2020-07-17). While Trump Protects His Cronies, Governors can Use That Same Power to Protect the Most Vulnerable. aclu.org Since Roger Stone's commutation first made news, politicians on both sides of the aisle have been
(2020-07-17). We cannot have the police viewing the people as the enemy. peoplesworld.org 
After the Black Lives Matter uprisings in May and June, which were prompted by the racist police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the slaying of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, few people in the world are unaware of the intensity of systemic racism in the U.S. From top to bottom, systemic racism dominates the …
(2020-07-17). Monday 7/20: San Francisco City Hall Strike for Black Lives. indybay.org San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102…
(2020-07-17). No-fly zone: Pentagon effectively bans Confederate, LGBT and BLM flags from DoD property. rt.com 
The Pentagon has effectively banned the Confederate flag at US military sites around the world, without explicitly saying so, in a new policy unveiled on Friday. | A Department of Defense The LGBT pride flag and Black Lives Matter banners are also absent from the list of acceptable emblems. | A draft version of the policy repor…
(2020-07-17). 'You have the biggest nose I've ever seen': Black Portland cop details racist abuse dished out by white BLM protesters. rt.com 
Portland police officer Jakhary Jackson has detailed the stunning abuse he has faced during Black Lives Matter protests and blasted the "hypocritical" demonstrations for having fewer minorities than the police they're fighting. | In a wide ranging discussion Officer Jackson laid out some of his experiences on the frontline of the civil unrest which has unfolded in the city for nearly two months. | The cop reveals that he has been violently attacked with explosive devices, white protesters have hurled racist abuse at him and protesters routinely label white officers racists "without even knowing anything about…
(2020-07-17). Two arrested after Black Lives Matter mural near Trump Tower in NYC vandalized for second time this week (VIDEO). rt.com 
At least two people were arrested after vandalizing a Black Lives Matter mural near Trump Tower in New York City, prompting a heavy police response and a face-off with activists in the mural's second defacing in a matter of days. | A group of some 10 people gathered around the art installation in New York City's Midtown on Friday — a massive street painting of the words "Black Lives Matter" — splashing blue paint across part of the mural. The incident was captured in footage shared to social media. | One of those reportedly taken into custody wore a shirt with the words "All Lives Matter" and donned…
(2020-07-17). 'You've the biggest nose I've ever seen': Black Portland cop details racist abuse dished out by white BLM protesters. rt.com Portland police officer Jakhary Jackson has detailed the stunning abuse he has faced during Black Lives Matter protests and blasted the "hypocritical" demonstrations for having fewer minorities than the police they're fighting. | In a wide ranging discussion Officer Jackson laid out some of his experiences on the frontline of the civil unrest which has unfolded in the city for nearly two months. | The cop reveals that he has been violently attacked with explosive devices, white protesters have hurled racist abuse at him and protesters routinely label white officers racists "without even knowing anything about…
(2020-07-17). "My Appetite is Justice": mother launches hunger strike after son's death in presence of police officers. liberationnews.org 
On July 4, Dannielle Brown brought a rocking chair and a stool to Freedom Corner, the location of a monument in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh marking the spot where major civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s took place. She sat down in her rocking chair and would not leave or eat, beginning a …
(2020-07-17). Wednesday 7/22: History of Alcatraz & Mass Incarceration In America Today. indybay.org Online…
(2020-07-17). Mumia Abu-Jamal: 'A rogue nation?'— a commentary. workers.org 
This slightly edited commentary from July 8 by political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is available at prisonradio.org/media/audio/mumia. Several days ago, the European Union announced that Americans were not welcome to visit any of the 28 member countries of the EU. Why? Because of the explosive expansion of the coronavirus among U.S. . . . |
(2020-07-17). Indian poet and activist Varavara Rao shifted from prison to hospital due to deteriorating health. mronline.org 
The health of the 79-year-old poet has deteriorated alarmingly over the past few weeks. He has been in prison since late 2018 in the Elgar Parishad case which critics say is aimed at silencing dissent in India.
(2020-07-17). History and Black Consciousness: The Political Culture of Black America. mronline.org 
Many people from divergent ethnic backgrounds, speaking various languages, and possessing different cultures now share a common experience of inequality in the United States. Yet there is an absence of unity among these constituencies, in part because their leaders are imprisoned ideologically and theoretically by the assumptions and realities of the past.
(2020-07-17). News about life behind the walls. workers.org 
Cruel and unusual: Lack of air conditioning exacerbates medical conditions Across the hottest places in the U.S., caged humans often face unbearable and sometimes lethal conditions behind the walls where air conditioning is not provided. The Prison Policy Initiative has found that famously hot states lack universal air conditioning in . . . |
(2020-07-17). Palestinian prisoner with cancer who tested positive for COVID-19 is in critical condition. peoplesdispatch.org Kamal Abu Wa'ar, who suffers from throat cancer, was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week. He is currently in the Assaf Harofeh medical center and in a critical condition according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society…
(2020-07-17). Indian political prisoners, Varavara Rao and G.N. Saibaba face grave health risks. peoplesdispatch.org 79-year-old Varavara Rao has contracted COVID-19 and G.N. Saibaba, who is 90% disabled, is in a prison where a large number of cases have been reported.
(2020-07-17). US Carries Out Third Federal Execution in Nearly 20 Years, Bureau of Prisons Says. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States carried out its third federal execution in nearly 20 years by executing Dustin Lee Honken, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a press release.
(2020-07-17). Turkey distributes hygiene kits in Tanzania. yenisafak.com Turkey's state-run aid agency distributed hygiene kits to thousands of prisoners in Tanzania amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, the agency said in a statement on Friday.The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) dispatched the aid to assist the African nation.Sophia Mjema, district governor of Ilala, thanked TIKA for not forgetting prisoners and supporting the community health care.Tanzania has so far reported 509 coronavirus cases, 183 recoveries and 21 fatalities, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.The global pandemic has claimed over 590,600 lives in 188 countries…
(2020-07-16). ACLU Statement on the Execution of Wes Purkey. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-16). Lawsuit claims Washington, DC police participated in June raid on Lafayette Square protest. wsws.org The latest amendments to the lawsuit filed by the ACLU implicate the Democratic administration of DC Mayor Bowser in the June 1 assault ordered by President Trump.
(2020-07-16). How Latin American Activists Are Harnessing the Black Lives Matter Movement. progressive.org Protests have surged in Colombia and throughout Latin America following the police murders of George Floyd and an Afro-Colombian man.
(2020-07-16). How Protester Occupations Can Succeed. counterpunch.org Nationwide demonstrations, mobilized around the Black Lives Matter movement's response to the killing of George Floyd, were held in all fifty states and in 5,000 cities. Rallies were held in public squares and larger cities saw their freeways and bridges blocked. Only a few cities ( Richmond, Va.; Philadelphia; Oakland, CA, and New York City
(2020-07-16). The Best VP Choice for Biden When It Comes to Fighting for Black Lives Isn't Black—It's Elizabeth Warren. commondreams.org Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks during an event to introduce Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All Act of 2017 on Capitol Hill on Sept. 13, 2017. (Photo: Yuri Gripas/Reuters) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/hands_across_america_medicare_for_all_0.jpg …
(2020-07-16). Monday 7/20: Nationwide Strike for Black Lives. indybay.org Nationwide car caravans, rallies, and protest actions…
(2020-07-16). Saying 'pro-life' is racist and should be banned, says Rolling Stone writer. rt.com 
Staying woke on what's acceptable and what's racist is an ongoing process of shifting standards, as a Rolling Stone writer proved with the latest addition to terms that have surprisingly been branded as bigotry: "pro-life." | Jamil Smith, a senior writer who covers "the intersection of politics and identity" for the magazine, opined on Twitter Wednesday that the term "pro-life" deserves to be banished along with other recently outlawed characters and words. A wave of racial sensitivity brought on by the Black Lives Matter protest movement has already brought down decades-old consumer products brands such as Un…
(2020-07-16). Sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester removed from Colston plinth. thecanary.co 
A sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester erected on the plinth where a statue of slave trader Edward Colston used to stand has been removed.Artist Marc Quinn created the life-size black resin and steel piece of Jen Reid after seeing a photo of her standing on the empty plinth following the toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol.The sculpture, A Surge Of Power (Jen Reid) 2020, was installed shortly before 4.30am on 15 July by Quinn's team without the knowledge or consent of Bristol City Council. | This morning we removed the sculpture. It will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to ou…