(2020-08-28). ACLU Demands Resignation of Top Cops in Kenosha for Racism & Brutal Response to Jacob Blake Protests. democracynow.org 
The ACLU of Wisconsin is calling for top Kenosha law enforcement officials to resign in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, who was left paralyzed below the waist after a white officer shot him in the back seven times. The shooting has sparked mass protests in Kenosha and around the U.S., bringing renewed attention to racism and violence in the Kenosha police force. A damning video of Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth has surfaced from a 2018 news conference, when he described Black people accused of shoplifting and crashing a stolen car as "garbage people that fill our communities that are a cancer t…
(2020-08-28). Under capitalism Black lives are adrift and vulnerable. peoplesworld.org 
It's true. Too often, in too many circumstances, for too long, the lives of Black people in the United States don't matter. Black people fill prisons; their children fill terrible schools; too many are poverty-stricken. But at issue here are the killings and the people left to die. Post-Civil War arrangements by which the victorious …
(2020-08-28). Bannon's arrest exposes fraud at the top. workers.org 
Stephen K. Bannon may be in big trouble. Or maybe not. Pals of the very rich rarely pay for their crimes. It is generally the poor who are held in jail — which can be a death sentence in this COVID-19 pandemic. Advertising for money for the "privately-funded" We Build . . . |
(2020-08-28). 'Violence & destruction do not save black lives, they destroy them': Widow of David Dorn, cop killed by looters, says at RNC. rt.com 
Ann Dorn, the widow of retired police officer David Dorn, shot to death in St. Louis amid violent protests, has urged the nation to "remember that every life is precious" while denouncing riots that cost her husband his life. | Dorn's widow — who like her late husband is a former St. Louis police officer — became one of the highlights of the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention, which culminated with US President Donald Trump accepting his party's nomination on Thursday night. | She spoke at length about the ordeal she went through on the night of June 2 when Dorn, who was tryin…
(2020-08-28). March on Washington commemorations expected to be attended by thousands. thecanary.co 
Civil rights advocates in the US will highlight police and vigilante violence against Black people at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.Thousands are expected at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic I Have A Dream address about racial equality.They are gathering after another shooting by a white police officer of a Black man — this time 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on 23 August — sparking days of protests and violence that left two dead."We've got to create a different consciousness and a different clim…
(2020-08-28). 100 Years and Counting: The Fight for Women's Suffrage Continues. aclu.org One hundred years ago this month, the
(2020-08-28). Communists allege discrimination in official commemoration of Slovak resistance. peoplesdispatch.org Slovak National Uprising Museum authorities have denied permission to the KSS, saying the 76th anniversary of the uprising will be held as an apolitical event. This is despite ruling party representatives being invited…
(2020-08-28). Trump and DeJoy's main objective: To incapacitate the US Postal Service. nationofchange.org What we need now is to see a plethora of other states joining in these lawsuits that are charging Trump and DeJoy with deliberate voter suppression.
(2020-08-27). "On a Hunting Spree": Wisc. Rep. David Bowen Says Cops Turned Blind Eye to White Militias in Kenosha. democracynow.org 
The police shooting of Jacob Blake has sparked massive protests across the country and in Kenosha, where a white teenager opened fire on Black Lives Matter protesters and killed two people. Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old self-declared militia member and avid Trump supporter, was apprehended in Antioch, Illinois, after fleeing Wisconsin. He has been charged with murder. Wisconsin state Representative David Bowen, who has attended racial justice protests in Kenosha, says he "witnessed firsthand" how freely organized white supremacists targeted protesters without interference from law enforcement, and accuses pol…
(2020-08-27). Netanyahu vs Gantz: Gaza Escalation as Reflection of Israel's Political Rivalry. dissidentvoice.org 
Only recently, the Palestinian group, Hamas, and Israel seemed close to reaching a prisoner exchange agreement, where Hamas would release several Israeli soldiers held in Gaza while Israel would set free an unspecified number of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons. Instead of the much-anticipated announcement of some kind of a deal, on August 10, …
(2020-08-27). Pro athletes stage historic strike for Black lives. peoplesworld.org 
There are moments when unexpected action transcends the political bullshit, drowning out the white noise of ignorance, apathy, and prejudice. Often, these moments follow tragedy. Crimes against humanity so awful, that it is impossible to look away unless you condone such action under the guise of "law and order." And when such racist ignorance is …
(2020-08-27). For some, homes and neighborhoods are now digital prisons. therealnews.com 
Authors Maya Schenwar and Vikki Law argue that many alternatives to incarceration follow the same model of oppression as physical prisons.
(2020-08-27). DOJ launches civil rights investigation into Jacob Blake shooting, urges 'everyone to act peacefully'. rt.com 
A federal civil rights investigation has been opened into the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The incident sparked protests that quickly escalated into riots in which two people were killed. | According to the Department of Justice, prosecutors from the US Attorney's Office and the Civil Rights Division will oversee the proceedings, with the investigation carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and involving Wisconsin's justice department, among other local authorities. | U.S. Department of Justice Confirms Federal Civil Rights Investigation Into Shooting of Mr. Ja…
(2020-08-27). Putin claims July detention of 33 Russian 'Wagner mercenaries' in Belarus was conspiracy orchestrated by Ukrainian & US spooks. rt.com 
Their arrest came as a surprise. Was Russia really using mercenary soldiers to overthrow the leader of its closest ally? Everyone knew relations between Moscow and Alexander Lukashenko were strained, but this seemed extreme. | That was the claim originally made when 33 members of the 'Wagner' Private Security Company were detained by the KGB in Belarus. State news agency Belta alleged that law enforcement sources said they'd received information about the arrival of more than 200 Russian militants on Belarusian territory to destabilize the situation during the country's fraught election campaign. | Read more…
(2020-08-27). Kenosha shooter charged with first-degree murder & attempted homicide, faces life in prison. rt.com 
The Illinois teen accused of shooting two people dead during chaotic unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin this week has been charged on six counts, including first-degree murder and attempted homicide. | Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was charged on Thursday after being taken into custody the day prior, suspected of killing two protesters in Kenosha and wounding a third on Tuesday night. | Also on rt.com | | In addition to first-degree intentiona…
(2020-08-27). Teenager arrested after two shot dead during Black Lives Matter protests. thecanary.co 
A white 17-year-old police admirer has been arrested over the killing of two people gunned down during a third night of protests in Wisconsin over the police shooting of Black man Jacob Blake.Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, was taken into custody on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide. Antioch is about 15 miles from Kenosha where protests have been taking place.Two people were shot dead on Tuesday night in the attack carried out by a young white man who was caught on mobile phone video opening fire in the middle of the street with a semi-automatic rifle.Police officers in riot gear line up agai…
(2020-08-27). Don't Call It a Boycott: NBA Players Are Inspiring a Strike Wave. progressive.org The Milwaukee Bucks refusal to play, and the wave of pro-athlete strikes they've inspired, has forced the message of Black Lives Matter into our living rooms.
(2020-08-27). TikTok files federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. wsws.org TikTok, the massively popular social media platform owned by China-based ByteDance, has filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Trump's executive order banning the app and forcing its sale to a US owner.
(2020-08-27). Abbi Samuels Letter to City Attorney Condotti Re: Police Harassment of Cooper D'Angelo. indybay.org Activist and ACLU Board member Abbi Samuels posted the following letter asking telling questions about the harassment of Cooper D'Angelo and her partner Russell on the sidewalk outside the Main Post Office last week.
(2020-08-27). Is Movement Journalism Needed During Reckoning Over Race And Inequality? popularresistance.org Last summer I found myself at the M.W. Stringer Grand Lodge in Jackson, Mississippi. Considered "the epicenter of the civil rights movement," the well-worn building was once the training site for the Freedom Riders and home to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. It seemed a fitting place to launch Freedomways, a journalism fellowship prioritizing women of color and LGBTQ+ people rooted in the American South and committed to doing reporting that advances justice.
(2020-08-27). Wisconsin Rep.: White Supremacists Targeted Protesters Without Cop Interference. truthout.org Image Credit: Julio Rosas/townhall.com | The police shooting of Jacob Blake has sparked massive protests across the country and in Kenosha, where a white teenager opened fire on Black Lives Matter protesters and killed two people. Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old self-declared militia member and avid Trump supporter, was apprehended in Antioch, Illinois, after fleeing Wisconsin. He has been charged with murder. Wisconsin state Representative David Bowen, who has attended racial justice protest…
(2020-08-27). ACLU Calls for Immediate Resignation of Kenosha Police Chief and Kenosha County Sheriff for Failed Response To Attempted Murder of Jacob Blake. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-08-27). ACLU Demands Immediate Resignation of Kenosha Police Chief, Sheriff, and Mayor. commondreams.org The actions of the city's top law enforcement officials, said the group, "uphold and defend white supremacy, while demonizing people who were murdered for exercising their first amendment rights and speaking out against police violence." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/kenosha_sheriff_resign.jpg …
(2020-08-27). Free Press and Allies File Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Executive Order Against Social-Media Companies. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-08-26). Reminder: The US Empire Tortures Journalists And Whistleblowers. thealtworld.com Julian Assange's partner Stella Moris was able to visit him with their children at Belmarsh prison for the first time since March of this year, and reports that his physical condition has deteriorated noticeably since that time. | "He was wearing a yellow armband to indicate his level of prisoner status, and you could see how thin his arms were," Moris "Moris said her partner is still suffering from a frozen shoulder, and had recently sprained h…
(2020-08-26). Two Shot Dead in Kenosha as Armed Militias Confront BLM Protests over Police Shooting of Jacob Blake. democracynow.org 
Protests continue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where police shot an unarmed Black man in the back seven times as he was getting into his car, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Jacob Blake was reportedly breaking up a fight before police shot him, and the shooting was witnessed by his three young children. On Tuesday, the situation escalated further when at least one white gunman opened fire on a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters. Two people were killed, and a third was injured, as police continued a violent crackdown on protesters demanding justice for Blake. We speak with Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Ma…
(2020-08-26). Headlines for August 26, 2020. democracynow.org Two Killed as White Militia Member Fires on Black Lives Matter Protesters in Kenosha, WI, Family of Jacob Blake Demands Arrest of Officers Who Shot Him in the Back, Black Lives Matter Protesters Shot At While Marching in Pennsylvania, Republican National Convention Speakers Continue to Flout Hatch Act Ethics Laws, CDC Quietly Drops Test Recommendation for Asymptomatic People Exposed to COVID-19, Far-Right Militia Leader Ammon Bundy Arrested at Idaho State Capitol, Argentina Posts Record Coronavirus Toll; COVID-19 Resurgent in Europe, Hurricane Laura Could Become Category 4 Storm Ahead of Gulf Coast Landfall, Leba…
(2020-08-26). Over 40 Protests Across The UK On #StopArmingIsrael Day Of Action. popularresistance.org Hundreds have taken to the streets in dozens of towns and cities to call for an end to the UK's complicity in Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people, on the 6 year anniversary of the end of Israel's aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. The protests come as Israel has conducted a renewed bombardment of Gaza, which remains under a crippling land, air and sea blockade. | The 2014 attack killed over 2,200 Palestinians in 51 days, nearly a quarter of whom were children. The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict found credible allegations that Israel committed war crimes throu…
(2020-08-26). Netanyahu vs. Gantz: Gaza escalation reflects Israel's political rivalry. peoplesworld.org 
Only recently, the Palestinian group, Hamas, and Israel seemed close to reaching a prisoner exchange agreement, where Hamas would release several Israeli soldiers held in Gaza while Israel would set free an unspecified number of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons. Instead of the much-anticipated announcement of some kind of a deal, on August 10 …
(2020-08-26). Racist, misogynist jail system: Deaths of women prisoners in Georgia. workers.org 
Cobb County Jail Complex near Atlanta. Atlanta, GA — Two people incarcerated in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center have died within the past two months — both women. The massive jail is about 20 minutes outside of Atlanta. An imprisoned woman, whose name and cause of death have not . . . |
(2020-08-26). Prisoners face wildfires and COVID-19. workers.org 
Family and supporters of prisoners at Aug. 2 demonstration at San Quentin protest the spread of COVID inside and the refusal by state authorities to release large numbers of prisoners. California is burning as the result of countless dangerous wildfires. People are being forced to evacuate their homes. But one . . . |
(2020-08-26). Thousands demand new trial for Imam Jamil Al-Amin. workers.org 
Jamil Al-Amin Imam Jamil Al-Amin, now in a U.S. prison serving 35 years to life and formerly known as H. Rap Brown, is one of the best-known Black liberation fighters of the 1960s and 1970s. He served as chair of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), a youth-led organization that bravely . . . |
(2020-08-26). The USA: Global Leader in Election Interference Abroad and Now at Home. counterpunch.org 
Putin's impact on the election is modest compared to the damage that Trump and Republican legislators throughout the country can inflict. Voter suppression remains a huge problem, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in 2013 to weaken the Voting Rights Act. The campaign against mail-in voting is creating uncertainty and cynicism throughout the country as is Trump's constant ravings about vote by mail causing a fraudulent election.
(2020-08-26). Progressive Twitter icon Shaun King threatens to DOX Kenosha cops after openly supporting violent riots. rt.com 
Prominent social activist Shaun King has threatened to indiscriminately publish the names of police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin if the city refuses to identify the cop who shot a black man, Jacob Blake. | Twitter users expressed disgust and reported King for harassment after the prominent Black Lives Matter advocate said he would begin targeting members of the Kenosha police force, regardless of whether they were involved in Sunday's shooting. | "If you do not name the officer who brutally shot Jacob Blake on Sunday, we will simply begin naming officers from your department who may or may not be him," King…
(2020-08-26). Fire officers, arrest shooter, don't trust 'anybody that's white': Jacob Blake's family makes demands in emotional presser. rt.com 
Jacob Blake's shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin is part of a pattern of racial oppression of African-Americans and the police involved need to be punished, his family told reporters after two days of violent protests in the city. | "I don't have confidence in anybody that is white that is doing an investigation about a black young man that was shot seven times in his back," Blake's father, Jacob Blake Senior, said on Tuesday afternoon. | His remarks came moments after Benjamin Crump — an attorney representing the family, who has been involved in other Black Lives Matter cases — argued that "we can't hav…
(2020-08-26). 'Boogaloo white supremacist' or upstanding citizen? What we know about the alleged Kenosha shooter. rt.com Two fatal shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin are being blamed on a "white supremacist" member of the "boogaloo boys" who was "looking for trouble." Amid the smoke and rubble of Kenosha, the truth is unclear. | Black Lives Matter rioters took to the streets of Kenosha again on Tuesday night, for the third night of looting and arson since police shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake, a black man, on Sunday. This time, the rioters were met by armed citizens who took to the streets and rooftops to defend their property. | With the situation tense, it wasn't long before violence broke out. Video footage shared on social medi…
(2020-08-26). DOJ orders New York & other states that sent Covid-19 patients into nursing homes to turn over records. rt.com 
The US Justice Department is mulling civil rights investigations of four Democrat-run states whose governors forced elder care homes to take in Covid-19 patients, potentially contributing to thousands of deaths. | The governments of New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have been ordered to turn over Covid-19 data to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division as the agency weighs whether to pursue the probes, according to a statement released on Wednesday. Investigations would be launched under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), a law meant to protect the rights of those…
(2020-08-26). Belarus detains more people as protests demanding leader's resignation continue. thecanary.co 
Police in Belarus have detained more than 50 people across the country during protests demanding the resignation of its authoritarian leader.The renewed crackdown on protesters, who have been taking to the streets for over two weeks, comes as authorities crank up pressure on the opposition, jailing several activists, summoning others for questioning and selectively ordering dozens of demonstrators to appear in court.Belarus's Interior Ministry said 51 protesters were detained on 25 August at rallies that spanned across several cities.According to the Viasna human rights group, 15 people were detained in Minsk, th…
(2020-08-26). ACLU Comment on Trump Administration Petition To Supreme Court for Permission To Force Unnecessary Travel for Abortion Care During Pandemic. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-08-26). US Media Can't Think How to Fight Fires Without $1-an-Hour Prison Labor. zcomm.org Trained firefighters being good enough to work for nearly nothing, but ineligible to get real jobs, would seem to represent an even bigger irony — and a more important story — than California having to spend a few million dollars extra to fight two crises at once…
(2020-08-26). The Republican convention: Four nights of fascist filth begin. indybay.org While the Democratic Party is running the 2020 election with the same strategy as 2016, Trump has a program—the forcible suppression of social contradictions using fascist methods.
(2020-08-26). Overfunding The Military Drives Climate Crisis And White Supremacist Culture. popularresistance.org As the U.S. now approaches the third month since protests erupted following the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless Black Americans calls to defund and abolish the police are resonating throughout public consciousness. While the Black Lives Matter movement rightfully pushes for the defunding and abolition of a white supremacist institution, it must be recognized that another institution — U.S. militarism — is also an overfunded structure responsible for violence, oppression, and white supremacy.
(2020-08-26). Doctors Decry 'Less Lethal' Police Munitions. popularresistance.org A group of doctors from the Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, Austin penned a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine to warn of the dangers of police's less-lethal munitions used to subdue Black Lives Matter protesters after treating several patients with severe injuries. | The Associated Press (AP) reports that 12 doctors from Dell Seton said Austin police used bean bag rounds in place of actual bullets to control the protests, but the bean bags still resulted in injuries like bleeding in the brain and a skull fracture.
(2020-08-26). RNC Gave Prime Time to Vigilantes. The Next Day a Gunman Shot BLM Protesters. truthout.org The opening night of this week's Republican National Convention (RNC) prominently featured a speech by Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the wealthy white couple who illegally brandished firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis, Missouri. | Then, just one day after the McCloskeys' RNC speech, a white gunman killed two people and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. | Police have arrested Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Illinois resident, for first-deg…
(2020-08-26). Protesters rounded up in Belarus; Nobel-winning writer due for questioning. yenisafak.com Belarusian police have rounded up dozens of protesters heading home from peaceful demonstrations, rights groups said on Wednesday, after days in which the authorities exercised comparative restraint towards mass anti-government rallies.The country's most celebrated writer, Nobel Prize-winner Svetlana Alexievich, was expected to appear for questioning later on Wednesday in a criminal investigation into an opposition council, two of whose leaders were jailed this week.President Alexander Lukashenko has faced more than two weeks of mass demonstrations against his 26-year rule since an election which his opponents sa…
(2020-08-26). Biden | campaign says China's treatment of Uighur Muslims is 'genocide'. yenisafak.com A spokesperson for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden issued a statement on Tuesday referring to China's oppression of Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang province as a "genocide," according to the U.S. publication
(2020-08-26). 'Kenosha Doesn't Need to See a Repeat of Portland,' Warns ACLU After Trump Orders Federal Agents to Wisconsin. commondreams.org "Sending federal law enforcement to Kenosha will only make matters worse. We don't need more police, we need to end police violence." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/federal_law_enforcement.jpg …
(2020-08-26). Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Calls for U.S. Department of Justice Hate Crime Investigation. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-08-26). Lawsuit Seeks to Restore Protection for Wolves, Grizzly Bears on Alaska's National Preserves. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-08-25). "A Human Tragedy": Wildfires Reveal California's Reliance on Incarcerated Firefighters. democracynow.org 
As climate-fueled wildfires engulf California, tens of thousands of firefighters have been deployed across the state to combat the blazes amid a record heat wave and deadly pandemic. We look at how more than 1,300 incarcerated firefighters — who are annually deployed to the frontlines in California for just $1 an hour — are fighting back the blazes as coronavirus outbreaks in state prisons limit how many are available to fight the fires, and lay bare the state's reliance on prison labor to control its ever-growing wildfire season with an exploitative system many have called slave labor. "What they're…