(2020-09-12). Voting, self-determination and social change. workers.org 
Below is a slightly edited talk by Monica Moorehead at the Workers World Party webinar on Sept. 3 on "Save the people's post office." Voter suppression is an issue I have both personal and political knowledge of. I was born and raised under segregation in Alabama. Black and white activists . . . |
(2020-09-12). Anti-racism protests in UK as officers face court in US over George Floyd killing. thecanary.co 
Anti-racism demonstrations took place across the UK on 11 September as the four officers charged over the killing of George Floyd in the US went on trial.Protesters said they are determined to show that previous Black Lives Matter demonstrations were not "just a moment".Mass protests were staged across the world after footage emerged of officers kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a Black man, killing him.The four men are charged over the death, but it's understood they will push for separate trials in order to diminish their roles in the incident.Protesters outside the US embassy in London as part of an anti-racism d…
(2020-09-12). 'Makes it sound like a coffee spill': NAACP blasted as 'tone deaf' after labeling 9/11 attacks as 'horrific INCIDENT'. rt.com 
The NAACP has been accused of downplaying the gravity of the 9/11 attacks, with critics up in arms after the organization deemed them a "horrific incident" with no mention of terrorism in a tweet to mark their 19th anniversary. | "Today we remember all the lives lost and families affected during the horrific incident that occurred in 2001. #NeverForget," the organization wrote in a tweet on Friday, captioning an image of the New York skyline featuring the words "Always remember." | #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/63FVBl2qu8— NAACP (@NAACP) (2020-09-12). September 19: A Nationwide Day Of Protest. popularresistance.org Despite the unprecedented wave of "Justice for George Floyd" protests that put more than 20 million people in the streets in every region of the nation in June, and the appearance of "Black Lives Matter" murals on the streets of Washington DC, New York City, Seattle, Oakland, Tulsa and other cities, police killings of Blacks have continued their grisly pace. Citing the subsequent murders of Trayford Pellerin in Lafayette, Louisiana, Miguel Vega in Chicago, Dijon Kizzee in Los Angeles, "the recent evidence of the murder of Daniel Prude at the hands of Rochester police and the continued denial of Justice for Breonn…
(2020-09-12). Sunday 9/13: Race, Police, and Prisons: The American Gulag. indybay.org Online…
(2020-09-11). Barbara Smith: The U.S. "Functions with White Supremacy as Its Engine." Here's How We Dismantle It. democracynow.org 
Since the police killing of George Floyd in May sparked a nationwide uprising against police brutality, armed white supremacists have taken to the streets of U.S. cities in response to Black Lives Matter protests. Organizing against systemic racism has been met with apparent attempts by the Trump administration to cover up white supremacist violence. We speak to legendary Black feminist scholar Barbara Smith, founder of the Combahee River Collective, about her proposal for an antiracist program called the Hamer-Baker Plan — named for Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker — to eradicate white supremacy in th…
(2020-09-11). PDF of September 10 issue. workers.org 
Download the 12-page PDF. Anti-racists defy police, fascist terror Fight the right with united worker action! editorial ALSO: Kevin Zeese, °presente! Capitalist 'gifts': evictions and hunger. Battling racism on many fronts Pensacola and Greensboro; Sports focus on Black lives; Tribute to Chadwick Boseman. Labor's militant rank and file Save the . . . |
(2020-09-11). Outrage over death of Black trans woman in Cleveland jail. workers.org 
Cleveland Anger over the tragic death of 28-year-old Lea Rayshon Daye in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County Jail came out forcefully in a virtual press conference held Sept. 4. Daye's was the second jail death here in less than two months and the 11th in two years. Found unresponsive in her cell . . . |
(2020-09-11). Salvadoran Ex-Colonel Sentenced to Jail Over Priests' Massacre. telesurenglish.net Spain's High Court Friday sentenced Salvadoran former colonel Inocente Montano to 133 years in prison for the murder of five Spanish Jesuit priests in 1989. | RELATED: | Montano, 77, was accused of "terrorism" before the justice system for being responsible for planning and ordering the killings of the Jesuits during El Salvador's civil war. | He was the only Salvadoran officer judged for the five crimes, for which h…
(2020-09-11). 175 Years in a U.S. Prison? Extradition Trial of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Begins in London. counterpunch.org 
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(2020-09-11). George Jackson: Marxist-Leninist, abolitionist, revolutionary! workers.org 
As we commemorate the 49th anniversary of the Attica Uprising of 1971, the Prisoners Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party is inspired to once again raise the name of our comrade George Jackson. A revolutionary philosopher and communist militant, Jackson's writings have inspired workers on both sides of the prison . . . |
(2020-09-11). The Myth of the "Bad" Immigrant. aclu.org Immigrant communities are often asked to "get right with the law," but is the law right in the first place? That's what Alina Das asks in her new book, No Justice in the Shadows. She delves into her experience as the daughter of immigrants, an immigration attorney, and a clinical law professor to explore the intersection of immigration and the criminal justice system. , , Too often, she argues, our immigration system is used as a tool of discrimination and oppression, rather than as a tool of justice, and the consequences are dire. Our current immigration system is breaking up families, and forcing people to f…
(2020-09-11). Trump Tries to Change the Subject From Covid to Violence. counterpunch.org 
With over 185,000 covid corpses in the U.S., Trump needs to change the subject. What better way than promoting mayhem in American cities by routinely portraying Black Lives Matter protesters as violent, angry mobs intent on looting? Granted he gets a big assist on this from Fox News, which has screamed about black insurrection for
(2020-09-11). Remembering Frank 'Big Black' Smith. workers.org 
by Ida Robinson Ida Robinson is a co-founder with Families with a Future. She is an ex-prisoner, ex-fugitive and a current activist working with women and LGBTQ2S+ people. This is an edited version of her talk during the Aug. 29 WWP webinar, "Black Lives Matter: Justice for Peaceful Soledad Prisoners." . . . |
(2020-09-11). Elections and the Problem of Politics. counterpunch.org 
For most readers of political commentary, the human consequences of deindustrialization, the 1994 Crime Bill, the bailouts of Wall Street, etc., are abstractions. Deindustrialization left capable adults with the choice of taking low-wage, low-status service jobs or muddling through in the informal economy. The 1994 Crime Bill built out the infrastructure of policing and prisons
(2020-09-11). Judge rules voters can't abolish Georgia county police dept over ex-cop's slaying of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery. rt.com 
Georgia citizens will not be able to vote on abolishing the Glynn County Police Department after a former officer and his son were charged with murder for killing black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, a Superior Court judge has ruled. | Only local officials have the authority to abolish the police department, the judge ruled on Friday, effectively squelching a bill passed last month that would have put the question before voters in November. The Glynn County Board of Commissioners had filed a lawsuit in August seeking to stop the proposed referendum, arguing that under the state's constitution, only the commissioners ha…
(2020-09-11). NY judge greenlights deposition of Saudi officials in lawsuit by 9/11 victims' families, despite ongoing Justice Dept opposition. rt.com 
The Saudi government must make 24 current and former officials available to testify on their knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, a US judge has ruled, in a victory for victims' families despite opposition from the Attorney General. | Riyadh was ordered to make the officials — including a prince and his chief of staff — available for deposition in a judgment made public on Thursday, just a day before the 19th anniversary of the worst terror attack ever to take place on US soil. | Manhattan federal Judge Sarah Netburn ruled the victims' families have the right to question Saudi officials about their alleged…
(2020-09-11). Belarus: UN chief deeply concerned over use of force against peaceful protesters. news.un.org Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday expressed deep concern over the continued use of force against peaceful protestors in Belarus and detention of those exercising their legitimate democratic rights.
(2020-09-11). Israeli prison authorities confiscate fans of Palestinian prisoners for protests. peoplesdispatch.org Israeli forces stormed the cells of the approximately 850 prisoners who were part of the protest against the death of Daud Al-Khatib. They confiscated fans and electrical devices…
(2020-09-11). Beyond White Supremacist Groups, We Must Eradicate Systemic White Supremacy. truthout.org Image Credit: E. Mackey | Since the police killing of George Floyd in May sparked a nationwide uprising against police brutality, armed white supremacists have taken to the streets of U.S. cities in response to Black Lives Matter protests. Organizing against systemic racism has been met with apparent attempts by the Trump administration to cover up white supremacist violence. We speak to legendary Black feminist scholar Barbara Smith, founder of the Combahee River Collective, about her proposal fo…
(2020-09-11). The Direct Line From Portland To Authoritarian Crackdowns Around the World. commondreams.org Federal officers walk through tear gas during a dispersal of about 300 protesters in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention building on August 26, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Protests continued for the 91st night in Portland as activist called for solidarity with rallies in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/protestpolice.jpg …
(2020-09-11). ICE Fails to Respond to Reports of Miami Detention Facility Feeding Pork to Muslims. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-09-10). Wikileaks helped end secret U.S. killings, Assange extradition hearing is told. mronline.org 
REVELATIONS published by Wikileaks helped to end a secret U.S. assassination programme and freed unlawfully detained prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, the Julian Assange extradition hearing was told today.
(2020-09-10). ATTICA REBELLION: Paris Commune of the Black Liberation struggle. workers.org 
The following excerpted article first appeared online Sept. 14, 2016, to mark the 45th anniversary of this historic uprising of incarcerated workers and revolutionaries. The story of Attica, Sept. 9, 1971, is the story of how prisons can be incubators of revolutionaries — like George Jackson, assassinated 2 Ω . . . |
(2020-09-10). Railroaded Underground: A voice from inside San Quentin. workers.org 
This is a slightly edited interview of a prisoner at San Quentin State Prison, by Tahir Asad, an Associated Press award-winning and Emmy-nominated journalist and educator in Philadelphia. By Tahir Asad San Quentin State Prison opened 168 years ago in July 1852, making it the oldest prison in California. Located . . . |
(2020-09-10). 'Racial discrimination': Beijing blasts Washington for revoking visas of 1,000 Chinese students. rt.com 
Chinese students whose visas were revoked by the US were persecuted for political reasons, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said, adding that Beijing reserves the right to respond to the move. | The visa move by Washington amounts to "outright political persecution and racial discrimination" of Chinese students and a violation of their human rights, the ministry's spokesman, Zhao Lijian, The revocation of visas and other anti-Chinese steps by the US "run counter to its self-proclaimed openne…
(2020-09-10). Belarus: Ensure 'full respect' for workers' rights during protests, ILO urges President Lukashenko. news.un.org Voicing deep concern over detention and arrests of trade unionists in Belarus, the head of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) called on President Alexander Lukashenko to ensure a climate free from violence and intimidation against peacefully protesting workers.
(2020-09-10). 'Green' Billionaires Behind Suppression Of 'Planet Of The Humans'. popularresistance.org It is hard to think of an American film that provoked a greater backlash in 2020 than "Planet of the Humans." Focused on the theme of planetary extinction and fanciful proposals to ward it off, the documentary was released for free on YouTube on April 21. The date was significant not only because it was the eve of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, but because a global pandemic was tearing through America's social fabric and exposing the human toll of the country's globalized, growth-obsessed economic model.
(2020-09-10). The Trump Administration's Attack on Abortion Access Disproportionately Harms Communities of Color Already Devastated by COVID-19. aclu.org Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is devastatingly apparent that the United States' longstanding racial inequalities have only been amplified during this crisis. Nowhere is that truer than in health care, including reproductive health care., , Even before the pandemic, people of color faced severe barriers to accessing essential reproductive health care as a result of interrelated factors such as structural racism, gendered oppression, and associated economic disparities. Abortion restrictions, such as bans on insurance coverage for abortion or laws mandating delays in abortion care and an extra unnec…
(2020-09-10). Lower Courts Agree — It's Time to End Qualified Immunity. aclu.org Earlier this month, Mississippi federal court judge Carlton Reeves
(2020-09-10). Protesters on GG Bridge Tell Police: "Take Off Your Riot Gear!" indybay.org 3 min mp4 video | Credit: @deathbywoodz (instagram) | Filmed on Labor Day 2020, protesters for Black Lives Matter and workers' rights demand entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. A week earlier, Trump supporters held a rally at the same location with police protection.
(2020-09-10). MoD calls on UK to take practical actions to pay 40-year debt. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 09 (MNA) — Stating that the issue of paying off Iran's debt by the UK government has nothing to do with the release of some prisoners, Iran's Ministry of Defense called on UK to take immediate action to pay 40-year debt.
(2020-09-10). Prison Reforms Can Actually Increase Size and Scope of Incarceration. truthout.org Brian Sonenstein and Kim Wilson welcome back Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law to discuss their new book, The book provides a comprehensive and thought-provoking critical analysis of popular reforms to policing and incarceration, such as electronic monitoring, diversion courts, so-called sex worker rescue programs, and a lot more. Impor…
(2020-09-10). Failed Mcconnell Bill Cared More About Lawsuits Than Keeping Kids Safe. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-09-10). Faced With Rising Seas and Other Consequences of Climate Crisis, Low-Lying Delaware Sues 31 Fossil Fuel Companies. commondreams.org The state attorney general's move came just a day after Charleston, South Carolina became the first southern U.S. city to file a climate liability lawsuit. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/delaware_1.jpg …
(2020-09-09). WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange May Face Up to 175 Years in Prison. truthout.org Image Credit: Julia Quenzler | As the long-awaited extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gets underway in London, his legal adviser, Jennifer Robinson, says the case could set a chilling precedent for press freedoms around the world. "He faces 175 years in prison for doing his job as a journalist and a publisher. That's why this case is so dangerous," says Robinson. Assange faces numerous charges, including under the U.S. Espionage Act, related to the release of diplomatic cables pu…
(2020-09-09). UN: Israel's Handling of Palestinian Prisoners Amid COVID-19 "Discriminatory" "Violation of Int'l Law" mintpressnews.com 
In hopes of reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure for its Jewish population, the Israeli Prison Service approved the transfer of five hundred Israeli prisoners to house arrest, but have subsequently refused to provide the same for Palestinian prisoners.
(2020-09-09). ACLU Calls On Tech Companies to End Their Alliance with ICE and CBP. aclu.org Westlaw and Lexis databases are the backbone of every ACLU lawyer's job. Whether we're filing legal briefs in court, lobbying for legislative change, or compiling research, the duo hold information that's vital for our advocacy. Thomson Reuters, which owns Westlaw, and Reed Elsevier (RELX), which runs Lexis, are the two publicly-traded companies behind each of these products. Though they claim to "advance human welfare" and help their customers "move society forward" by providing the necessary knowledge, information, and analytical tools for researchers, lawyers, and government agencies, they are fueling the m…
(2020-09-09). Is "Black Lives Matter" (BLM) the Mask Behind Which the Oligarchs Operate? globalresearch.ca Here's your BLM Pop Quiz for the day: What do "Critical Race Theory", "The 1619 Project", and Homeland Security's "White Supremacist" warning tell us about what's going on in America today? | They point to deeply-embedded racism that shapes the behavior …
(2020-09-09). Protests follow yet another custodial death in Egypt. peoplesdispatch.org 26-year-old Islam Al-Ostraly was arrested after an an argument with a police officer last week. While the police claim that he fell ill in prison and died of a 'circulatory attack, signs of extreme torture were reportedly found on his body…
(2020-09-09). Sunday 9/13: Rise in Power – Recognizing Resistance San Quentin to Attica and Back Again. indybay.org Meet at Larkspur Ferry Terminal at 5: 30 pm, walk to San Quentin Prison West Gate at 6 pm.
(2020-09-09). Arrests at Labor Day GG Bridge Protest for Workers and BLM. indybay.org Last week Trump supporters held a rally on the Golden Gate Bridge. At that event, police were seen fist bumping with Trumpers. Fast forward to Labor Day and a workers' rights and Black Lives Matter protest at the same location. Protesters were greeted with a show of force by the California Highway Patrol inordinate to the number of demonstrators who were there for the cause of justice.
(2020-09-09). 'I Committed the Crime': Danish Inventor Confesses to Kim Wall Murder in New Documentary. sputniknews.com Peter Madsen, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall in 2017, admitted to the crime for the first time in a documentary series entitled "Secret Recordings with Peter Madsen," which was broadcast for the first time Wednesday.
(2020-09-09). Department of Justice Moves to Defend Trump in Rape Accuser's Defamation Suit. truthout.org The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) took the unprecedented step on Tuesday evening of seeking to defend President Trump against a private lawsuit by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll who has accused Trump of sexual assault. Carroll sued Trump for defamation after he denied ever having met her and accused her of lying. | Numerous legal analysts immediately decried the move as a "debasement" of the DOJ by Attorney General William Barr. | "So now Barr has decided (1) that Trump somehow was actin…
(2020-09-09). CCI Statement on Charleston Climate Lawsuit. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-09-09). Saudi regime declares Khashoggi assassination case "closed forever" after sham verdict. wsws.org After a closed trial, the Saudi court announced its sentencing of eight unnamed individuals to prison terms, while none of those who ordered the grisly murder were held accountable.
(2020-09-08). US envoy meets new Taliban chief negotiator as Afghan peace talks near. yenisafak.com U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has held a meeting in Doha with the head of the new Taliban team due to open peace talks with a team representing the Afghan government, the Islamist insurgent group said on Tuesday.The negotiations, the result of an agreement between Washington and the Taliban, are to begin in Doha after the release of the last half-dozen or so of 5,000 Taliban prisoners.The Afghan negotiators had been expected to fly from Kabul to Doha this week, but are awaiting a signal from the Afghan government that the release – to which Western governments have objected – is going ahead.In Doha, the hea…
(2020-09-08). The Silence and Sorrow of Miscarriage. jamanetwork.com In this narrative medicine essay, a neurologist relates the story of her miscarriage while touring immigration detention centers in Texas documenting medical care and human rights violations and shares her deep sorrow for the women who lost children either by force or miscarriages while incarcerated.