Monthly Archives: August 2020

2020-08-29: News Headlines

Binoy Kampmark (2020-08-29). Waiting for the Old Bailey: Julian Assange and Britain's Judicial Establishment. dissidentvoice.org On September 7, Julian Assange will be facing another round of gruelling extradition proceedings, in the Old Bailey, part of a process that has become a form of gradual state-sanctioned torture. The US Department of Justice hungers for their man. The UK prison authorities are doing little to protect his health. The end result, should …

_____ (2020-08-29). Assange 'In A Lot Of Pain' Says Partner After Prison Visit. popularresistance.org Julian Assange's partner has visited him in prison for the first time in almost six months, and said he looked much thinner than last time she saw him. | Stella Moris took the couple's two young children to meet their father, who is being held in Belmarsh Prison in south-east London, awaiting an extradition hearing on behalf of the United States government. | Ms Moris and the WikiLeaks founder had to wear face masks and visors for the 20-minute meeting and were not allowed to touch each other. "We had to keep social distancing and Julian was told he would have to self-isolate for two weeks if he touched the child…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-29). 500,000 Kashmiri have lost their jobs because of digital apartheid, says JKCCS report. peoplesdispatch.org A report by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society remarks that the multi-faceted and targeted denial of digital rights is a "systemic form of discrimination, digital repression and collective punishment" for the Kashmiri population…

_____ (2020-08-29). People Are Protesting The Desecration Of A Historic Black Cemetery. popularresistance.org This summer, on an industrial and commercial section of River Road near the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda, you can regularly find area musician Brian Farrow in the roadway playing "Potter's Hornpipe," a song written by Black composer Francis Johnson in 1816 in honor of a destroyed African American cemetery. Nearby, protestors hold signs that say "Black Ancestors Matter" and "Black Lives Matter from Cradle to Grave," while Marsha Coleman-Adebayo of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition and Macedonia Baptist Church leads chants of "Save Moses Cemetery!"

_____ (2020-08-29). Kings Bay Plowshares Sentencing Delayed. popularresistance.org The six remaining Kings Bay Plowshares defendants have had their sentencing dates moved from September to October 15 and 16. They had requested a continuance because they want to appear in open court in Georgia and the virus situation there is still too out of control to safely allow it. | Steve Kelly has now served almost 29 months in county jails since the action in April 2018 so has already met the guidelines for his likely sentence. The court may not want to grant him further extensions. (You can send a postcard to Steve to let him know you're thinking of him. Directions on writing here.) | The other defendan…

sputniknews (2020-08-29). Wisconsin Dems Became 'Less Approving' of BLM Protests Before Kenosha Riots, Poll Shows. sputniknews.com By throwing their support behind the cause of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and anti-racism protests, Democrats may have picked the wrong social trend trend to chase after, recent poll data suggests.

yenisafak (2020-08-29). Palestinians appeal for return of martyrs' bodies. yenisafak.com It has been almost 50 years since Palestinian Ali Abu Maliha went missing.His brother, Mahmoud Amr, accused the Israeli occupation of being behind his brother's disappearance during an interview with Anadolu Agency.Amr, a resident of Dura, south of the West Bank, said he was in prison when his brother left home for a "struggle mission" against Israeli occupation in the early 1970s. It was the last time he and his family heard any news about Abu Maliha."The occupation is responsible for the disappearance of my brother," Amr said, adding that his family has communicated with the International Committee of the Red C…

WSWS (2020-08-28). Julian Assange receives first visitors in six months: "He is in a lot of pain" wsws.org The visit has underscored the brutal conditions in which Assange is imprisoned and has sparked renewed fears that his health is continuing to deteriorate.

W. T. Whitney Jr. (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 …

Deirdre Griswold (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 . . . |

The Canary (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…

RT (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…

Kristen Lee (2020-08-28). 100 Years and Counting: The Fight for Women's Suffrage Continues. aclu.org One hundred years ago this month, the

Daniel Brown (2020-08-28). Kenosha: An American City Confronts White Supremacy and State Violence. progressive.org Following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and the murder of two Black Lives Matter activists by a white teenage vigilante, protesters are still taking to the streets.

Peoples Dispatch (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…

WSWS (2020-08-28). New Zealand: Christchurch terrorist jailed for life. wsws.org There are many unanswered questions about how fascist gunman Brenton Tarrant was able to carry out his attack without being stopped by the police or intelligence agencies.

Michael Payne (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.

_____ (2020-08-28). Racialized Austerity: The Case Of CUNY. popularresistance.org In the aftermath of the covid outbreak and in a moment of Black Lives Matter national organizing in response to police brutality the issue of racial justice has lit up cities and towns across the country. Racist policing practices have had a huge impact on public opinion, with polling data showing that even more white suburban voters favor policy reforms. The shift has been public, sudden, and potentially electorally-decisive during this political season. | What remains less visible are racialized and racist choices to deepen state disinvestment in institutions critical to the health and welfare of Black and brow…

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2020-08-28). 600+ Groups Representing Over Half of Jewish People in US Sign Full-Page Ad in NYT to 'Say Unequivocally: Black Lives Matter'. commondreams.org "By supporting this movement, we can build a country that fulfills the promise of freedom, unity, and safety for all of us, no exceptions." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/blm_ad.jpg

commondreams (2020-08-28). Amnesty International USA Joins March on Washington's Call for Police Reform and Justice for Black Lives. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-08-28). 'Get Your Knee Off Our Necks': On 57th Anniversary of Historic Civil Rights Rally, Tens of Thousands March on Washington. commondreams.org Fifty thousand people are expected to attend the "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks" March in Washington, D.C. on Friday as racial justice advocates gather to mark the 57th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech at the 1963 March on Washington and commit to fighting for meaningful criminal justice reform. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1228239145_1.jpg

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-08-28). 'Never Give Up': Ronnie Long, Wrongfully Convicted by All-White Jury, Freed After 44 Years in Prison. commondreams.org Sentenced to life behind bars for a rape he did not commit, Long's attorneys learned in 2015 that investigators withheld exculpatory evidence proving his innocence. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/long.jpg

Staff (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…

Ramzy Baroud (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, …

Al Neal (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 …

Staff (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.

The Canary (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

Sarah Jaffe (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.

WSWS (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.

posted by Norse (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.

Staff (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…

Jon Queally, staff writer (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

commondreams (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 ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-08-27). Free Press and Allies File Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Executive Order Against Social-Media Companies. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Caitlin Johnstone (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…

Staff (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…

Staff (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…

Ramzy Baroud (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 …

Arielle Robinson (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 . . . |

Dianne Mathiowetz (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 . . . |

Judy Greenspan (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 . . . |

Melvin Goodman (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.

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

2020-08-28: News Headlines

Staff (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…

W. T. Whitney Jr. (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 …

Deirdre Griswold (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 . . . |

RT (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…

The Canary (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…

Kristen Lee (2020-08-28). 100 Years and Counting: The Fight for Women's Suffrage Continues. aclu.org One hundred years ago this month, the

Peoples Dispatch (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…

Michael Payne (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.

Staff (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…

Ramzy Baroud (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, …

Al Neal (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 …

Staff (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.

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

The Canary (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…

Sarah Jaffe (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.

WSWS (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.

posted by Norse (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.

Staff (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…

commondreams (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 ______________________________…

Jon Queally, staff writer (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

commondreams (2020-08-27). Free Press and Allies File Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Executive Order Against Social-Media Companies. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Caitlin Johnstone (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…

Staff (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…

Staff (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…

Ramzy Baroud (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 …

Arielle Robinson (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 . . . |

Judy Greenspan (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 . . . |

Dianne Mathiowetz (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 . . . |

Melvin Goodman (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.

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

The Canary (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…

commondreams (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 ______________________________…

Neil Demause (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…

WSWS Repost (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.

Staff (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…

yenisafak (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…

yenisafak (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

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (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

commondreams (2020-08-26). Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Calls for U.S. Department of Justice Hate Crime Investigation. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-08-26). Lawsuit Seeks to Restore Protection for Wolves, Grizzly Bears on Alaska's National Preserves. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Staff (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…