Daily Archives: 2020-09-25

2020-09-25: News Headlines

Mumia Abu-Jamal (2020-09-25). The 'populism' of pandemics. workers.org Taken from an Sept. 9 audio column from prisonradio.org. For months now, the nation has been battered by the ravages of COVID-19 — the coronavirus. With millions of people infected and over 190,000 people now dead, it now turns out that from the very start, the U.S. president knew a . . . |

Kamran Siddiqi (2020-09-25). Chicago counter-protest disrupts pro-police rally. liberationnews.org Throughout the pro-police rally, counterprotesters chanted slogans such as "Black lives matter" and "16 shots and a coverup," referring to the killing of the teenager Laquan McDonald by former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-25). Justice not served in Breonna Taylor murder case. peoplesdispatch.org A Kentucky jury charged only one of the three officers accused in Breonna Taylor's murder with minor felonies, which carry a maximum sentence of five years each. The wrongful death lawsuit against the other two accused was rejected…

Fight Back (2020-09-25). Twin Cities march for Breonna Taylor shuts down major freeway. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – 1000 people rallied and marched to protest the announcement that no one would be charged for the murder of Breonna Taylor. Organized by Black Lives Matter Minnesota, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities Metro and others, the group rallied at the state capitol on September 23, and then marched about four miles, including taking over Interstate 94. Three protesters were arrested but released the later that night.

Nora Barrows-friedman (2020-09-25). YouTube, Zoom and Facebook censor Leila Khaled for Israel. zcomm.org "They are bothered by the ways in which we are focusing on questions of Black liberation, Palestinian liberation and prison abolition, and the connections between these movements"

Detention Watcyh Network (2020-09-25). Thursday 9/24: Take Action: Defund ICE & CBP And Stop Reproductive Violence. indybay.org Online via livestream…

_____ (2020-09-24). The US Is Using The Guardian To Justify Jailing Assange For Life. popularresistance.org Julian Assange is not on trial simply for his liberty and his life. He is fighting for the right of every journalist to do hard-hitting investigative journalism without fear of arrest and extradition to the United States. Assange faces 175 years in a US super-max prison on the basis of claims by Donald Trump's administration that his exposure of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan amounts to "espionage". | The charges against Assange rewrite the meaning of "espionage" in unmistakably dangerous ways. Publishing evidence of state crimes, as Assange's Wikileaks organisation has done, is covered by both free speech…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-24). Assange's Twelfth Day at the Old Bailey: Autism, Suicide and Prisons. dissidentvoice.org September 23. Central Criminal Court, London. Following the script sheet of the previous day, the non sequitur, pop medical view of the prosecution was again in sharp evidence at the Old Bailey. In an effort to make the road for Julian Assange's extradition to the United States for 17 charges under the US Espionage Act …

sputniknews (2020-09-24). #FreeAssange Campaign Targeted by Concerted Spambot Attack During Extradition Hearing. sputniknews.com WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, who faces up to 175 years in prison for his role in obtaining and publishing classified US diplomatic cables, is now at the centre of a series of extradition hearings at London's Central Criminal Court.

Staff (2020-09-24). An Indictment of the System: Protests Erupt as Cops Cleared for Killing Breonna Taylor in Her Home. democracynow.org We go to Louisville, where protests erupted after police officers who shot Breonna Taylor in her own home were not charged for her death. A grand jury indicted a third officer for "wanton endangerment" for shooting into an adjacent apartment during the fatal raid that killed Breonna Taylor in March. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across the country demanding justice for Taylor and defunding of police departments. "The lack of indictments in the grand jury process is an indictment on the system itself," says Sadiqa Reynolds, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League. "They have cr…

Staff (2020-09-24). "Two Systems of Justice": Jacob Blake's Father on Son's Case, Breonna Taylor & Black Lives Matter. democracynow.org As outrage mounts over the grand jury ruling in the police killing of Breonna Taylor, we look at the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where an investigation is in its final stages. The case sparked renewed national protests in August after viral video showed Kenosha police shooting the Black father in the back seven times, paralyzing him. We speak with Blake's father, Jacob Blake Sr. He says police shootings and killings of Black people reveal there are "two systems of justice" in the United States, and asks, "Why are our children scared to death of people that are supposed to protect and serve them…

Jonathan Cook (2020-09-24). The US is Using the Guardian to Justify Jailing Assange for Life. Why is the Paper So Silent? counterpunch.org Julian Assange is not on trial simply for his liberty and his life. He is fighting for the right of every journalist to do hard-hitting investigative journalism without fear of arrest and extradition to the United States. Assange faces 175 years in a US super-max prison on the basis of claims by Donald Trump's administration that his exposure of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan amounts to "espionage".

news.un (2020-09-24). Venezuelan President Maduro proposes new UN fund to support countries facing discrimination. news.un.org Venezuela has proposed creation of a "revolving public purchasing fund" within the United Nations system to guarantee access to food and health products, financed with public resources, to facilitate countries suffering "discrimination and economic blockade" acquire necessary goods and services.

WSWS (2020-09-24). Senate confirmation hearing for Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf reveals bipartisan support. wsws.org Democratic as well as Republican senators thanked Wolf for his "service," neglecting to question him on unconstitutional kidnappings, the mass incarceration of immigrants, and the state assassination of a Portland protester.

Umar A Farooq (2020-09-24). US congressman calls for 'UAE 94' prisoner's release. middleeasteye.net US congressman calls for 'UAE 94' prisoner's release | Abdulsalam Mohamed Darwish al-Marzooqi was handed 10-year sentence in 2013 after being accused of planning to overthrow Emirati government | Thu, 09/24/2020 – 17: 16 | While in prison, Marzooqi has been reportedly been subject to abuse, including solitary confinement and beatings (AFP/File photo) | A US congressman has called for the release of…

Staff (2020-09-24). California prison firefighters still face exploitation despite new career path law. therealnews.com California's new legislation carves a path for prison firefighters to expunge their records and find jobs post-incarceration. The exploitative nature of the program remains, though, as do questions about the real impact of the law.

Liberation Staff (2020-09-24). Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (South Africa): Release U.S. political prisoners jailed for fighting in the anti-racist struggle! liberationnews.org Political repression in the USA continues against those leading the massive anti-racist protest movement, as seen in the recent arrests of four leaders of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the ongoing criminalization of the protest movement as a whole.

MEE staff (2020-09-24). Three UK Labour MPs demoted over opposition to torture prosecution bill. middleeasteye.net Three UK Labour MPs demoted over opposition to torture prosecution bill | Nadia Whittome, Beth Winter and Olivia Blake defied a Labour Party whip to oppose Overseas Operations Bill against 'vexatious' lawsuits

| Thu, 09/24/2020 – 14: 31 | Kuwaiti and British soldiers take part in exercises about 40km north of Kuwait City (AFP) | Three Labour MPs have lost their roles in the United Kingdom shadow cabine…

teleSUR (2020-09-24). Supreme Court Orders Capture of Ecuador's Ex-President Correa. telesurenglish.net Ecuador's National Court of Justice (CNJ) Wednesday ordered the capture of former President Rafael Correa, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for his alleged participation in a bribery case. | RELATED: | This arrest warrant also affects former Vice President Jorge Glas and other former senior officials such as Alexis Mera, Maria de Los Angeles Duarte, and Viviana Bonilla. | After ratifying that the legal process…

WSWS (2020-09-24). Further revelations about sterilizations and medical malpractice at ICE detention facility in Georgia. wsws.org The latest revelations, including the naming of the doctor who performed them, strengthens the account given in a recent whistleblower complaint, while giving lie to the US government's dismissals.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-24). Anti-racist organizers in Denver released after a week in jail. peoplesdispatch.org A week after their arrest, the anti-racist organizers from the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Denver were finally given a bond hearing and released from jail…

Duncan Hosie (2020-09-24). When will DeSantis listen to his own voters on ex-felons' voting rights? aclu.org On Sept. 11, Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Republican leaders won their legal battle to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people with prior felony convictions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit embraced Republican politicians' specious arguments that ex-felons should be required to pay all fines and fees before voting., , This decision dealt a blow to Floridians who care about racial justice and basic principles of democracy. The ruling also spited an unlikely and less discussed constituency: Republican voters., , This story starts in 2018, when DeSantis and Republican politicians camp…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-24). Algerian journalist Belkacem Djir acquitted of all charges by Algiers court. peoplesdispatch.org 34-year-old Djir was accused of 'blackmail' and using a 'false identity' and sentenced to three years in prison in a common law case. He is now expected to be released soon after over a year in detention…

teleSUR (2020-09-24). El Salvador: Woman Convicted of Abortion, Freed After 6 Years. telesurenglish.net Authorities released a woman who served six years in jail and faced a 30-years sentence under homicide charges after having a stillbirth in El Salvador. | RELATED: | Cindy Erazo had pregnancy complications that led to an interruption of her eight-month pregnancy. After her emergency surgery, Erazo was found guilty of homicide as she was accused of intentionally ending the pregnancy. | "Today, we celebrate Cindy's f…

Fight Back (2020-09-24). Jacksonville demands People's Budget, stands in solidarity with the Tally 19. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL — On September 19, over 120 people showed up outside city hall in downtown Jacksonville demanding a people's budget and community control of the police. This action was in response to the call by the National Alliance Against Racist and Pollical Repression (NAARPR) national call to action. The Jacksonville Community Action Committee is an affiliate of NAARPR. | Speakers from Jacksonville Community Action Committee, University of North Florida SDS, Take 'Em Down Jax, Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, ACLU, Mount Sinai Baptist Church and other organizations participated. The demands have b…

news.un (2020-09-24). Two paths before Latin America: democracy or dictatorship, Bolivian President declares. news.un.org The Latin American region is at a crossroads, with a choice not between the political left or the right; between socialism or capitalism, it is in fact between democracy and dictatorship, between freedom and oppression, the President of Bolivia told world leaders, gathered virtually for the United Nations General Assembly.

Common Cause and others (2020-09-24). Thursday 9/24: "Capturing The Flag" Award Winning Film Screening & Discussion on Voter Suppression. indybay.org Online screening…

Party for Socialism and Liberation (2020-09-24). Wednesday 9/30: Capitalisms Patriarchal Prison System. indybay.org Zoom. Registration link: bit.ly/32vLSGI

pip.hinman (2020-09-24). New campaign to free jailed Kurdish leader. greenleft.org.au

ACLU (2020-09-24). Facebook's Discrimination Against the LGBT Community. aclu.org My wife and I have made music together for the past 8 years, in an independent band named Unsung Lilly. We are passionate about creating epic, empowering pop music., , As a same-sex couple, we have been heartened recently by the improved representation of LGBTQ people on television, and we are grateful that most people we meet are accepting of our relationship. It's enough to make you think that maybe society has fully accepted that 'love is love.', Unfortunately, our recent experience with Facebook suggests otherwise. When Facebook's platform refused to allow us to fully express ourselves as both artists and…

WSWS (2020-09-23). Assange faces "very high risk of suicide," medical expert tells court. wsws.org Kopelman's evidence confirms the warnings made since November 2019 by Doctors for Assange that Assange is suffering "psychological torture" and "could die in prison."

Staff (2020-09-23). No Más Bebés: ICE Hysterectomy Scandal Recalls 1970s LA, When a Hospital Sterilized Chicana Patients. democracynow.org As immigration authorities say they have stopped sending women to a Georgia gynecologist accused of sterilizing female prisoners without their consent, we continue our look at United States' disturbing history of forced sterilization with the producer and historian behind the 2016 documentary called "No Más Bebés," which tells the story of how a whistleblower doctor spoke out about a large number of tubal ligations performed on mostly Latinx patients at the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center some 46 years ago. "Quite often they did not understand the terminology. They did not, in some cases, understand the lan…

_____ (2020-09-23). The End Of The 'Rules Based International Order'. popularresistance.org The 'western' countries, i.e. the United States and its 'allies', love to speak of a 'rules based international order' which they say everyone should follow. That 'rules based order' is a way more vague concept than the actual rule of law: | The G7 is united by its shared values and commitment to a rules based international order. That order is being challenged by authoritarianism, serious violations of human rights, exclusion and discrimination, humanitarian and security crises, and the defiance of international law and standards. | As members of the G7, we are convinced that our societies and the world have rea…

Mirinda Crissman (2020-09-23). How class oppression drives climate crises. workers.org Climate change refugees, Bangladesh. Climate emergencies and U.S. imperialism have quite a bit of overlap. Both are increasingly displacing the living at home and abroad on an almost unbelievable scale. These conditions are creating migrants and refugees who have to stay on the move to survive. To stave off climate . . . |

Brigitte Amiri (2020-09-23). Reproductive Abuse is Rampant in the Immigration Detention System. aclu.org Last week, a hideous allegation emerged in a

Dianne Mathiowetz (2020-09-23). Whistleblower exposes: ICE abuses detainees. workers.org EDITOR'S NOTES: As we go to press, a Sept. 21 press release from Georgia Detention Watch announced that Cipriano Chavez-Alvarez, 61, is the third detainee at the Stewart Detention Center located in Lumpkin, Georgia to die of COVID-19. Press conference on ICE abuse, Ocilla, Ga., Sept. 15. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten . . . |

Workers World Party (2020-09-23). Stop forced sterilizations! Shut down all detention centers! workers.org The Prisoner Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party commends the heroic action of Dawn Wooten, a licensed practical nurse, for exposing forced sterilizations at the Irwin County, Georgia ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) Detention Center operated by LaSalle Corrections, a private for-profit prison. Project South, one of the advocacy groups . . . |

Workers World Party (2020-09-23). Workers World Party demands "Stop Censoring Palestinian Resistance!" workers.org Sept. 23 — Today, three media platforms, Facebook, Zoom and YouTube, collaborated to censor a Palestinian program featuring Palestinian revolutionary Leila Khaled and U.S. political prisoners. Workers World Party condemns this censorship and expresses its solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people for self-determination and freedom. The WWP Facebook . . . |

Chauncey K. Robinson (2020-09-23). American horror story of the 21st century: U.S. immigration detention centers. peoplesworld.org Halloween may be fast approaching, but you don't have to wait until Oct. 31 for a truly scary tale. Damning reports and allegations have come out detailing the nightmarish conditions at immigration detention camps in the United States. Things were already bad inside the centers, but the situation is now exacerbated by a deadly global …

RT (2020-09-23). Jail for misogyny? UK govt advised 'gender' should be added to 'protected characteristics' under hate crime laws. rt.com Sex or gender should be made legally "protected" characteristics in England and Wales, particularly to provide more protection to women, the Law Commission — a government advisory body — has said in a report. | Hate crime laws in England and Wales should be extended to ensure equal protections for all the existing "protected characteristics" and to include some new ones. The report issued on Wednesday proposed extending protection to women "for the first time" in history. | The Law Commission is an independent statutory body tasked with advising the government on legal reforms. It is set to hold pu…

Louise Melling (2020-09-23). For Justice Ginsburg, Abortion Was About Equality. aclu.org Justice Ginsburg is often quoted as having said, "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." She did exactly that when it came to reproductive rights and abortion in particular. Justice Ginsburg fought, she cast decisive votes, and she led in a way to bring others along by speaking the truth about why abortion matters: Abortion rights are about equality, restrictions on abortion about the forever story to treat women as second-class citizens. Her mark is in the jurisprudence, it's on our protest posters, and it's in our hearts., , Writing in dis…

#ProtectTheAltar (2020-09-23). Tuesday 9/29: Protect the Altar for Black Lives and Vigil for Tamario Smith. indybay.org Santa Cruz Town Clock, Pacific Avenue & Water Street, Santa Cruz…

ACLU (2020-09-23). At the Polls, Episode 2: How might changes to the Postal Service impact the election? aclu.org Did you know the U.S. Postal Office existed before the Declaration of Independence? The USPS' role in this country is so essential that it was written into the Constitution. This year, it's preparing for an unprecedented task: delivering millions of mail-in ballots for Election Day. , , In this week's episode of

commondreams (2020-09-23). Grant Township Moves to Dismiss PA DEP Lawsuit. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Laura Flanders (2020-09-23). Mourn Justice GInsburg, Fight to Close Irwin Detention Center. commondreams.org An overview of Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. (Photo: Google Maps) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-09-23_at_2.50.45_pm_0.png

Laura Flanders (2020-09-23). Mourn Justice Ginsburg and Fight to Close Irwin Detention Center. commondreams.org An overview of Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. (Photo: Google Maps) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-09-23_at_2.50.45_pm_0.png

sputniknews (2020-09-22). Assange is at 'Very High Risk of Suicide' Should Extradition Occur, Neuropsychiatrist Tells Court. sputniknews.com The WikiLeaks publisher, who faces up to 175 years in prison for his role in obtaining and publishing classified US documents, has been kept at Belmarsh maximum-security prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy on 11 April 2019.

Staff (2020-09-22). Whistleblower Nurse in ICE Jail Alleges Forced Sterilization & Neglect Amid 8th COVID Death. democracynow.org As ICE confirms the 20th person to die in its detention in fiscal year 2020, making it one of the deadliest periods in the agency's history, we talk to the whistleblower at the center of an explosive complaint that accuses an ICE jail in Georgia of failing to adhere to coronavirus safety protocols and performing a large number of unwanted hysterectomies on detainees. The doctor who carried out the procedures became known to women inside the facility as "the uterus collector." Whistleblower Dawn Wooten, a nurse at the Irwin County Detention Center, says the neglect and abuse at the facility was "jaw-dropping." We…

Staff (2020-09-22). Headlines for September 22, 2020. democracynow.org GOP, Trump Charge Forward with Effort to Replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Supreme Court, DOJ Designates New York City, Seattle, Portland as "Anarchist" Cities, CDC Again Retracts Information About Coronavirus on Website; HHS Head Azar Exerts Control Over FDA, 150+ Countries, Not Including the U.S., Join U.N.'s Effort to Fairly Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine, House Report Finds Immigrant Prisoners Denied Access to Essential Care, Forced into Labor, Mexican National Dies in Georgia Immigration Prison, One Week into Peace Talks, Scores Killed in Bloody Day of Fighting Across Afghanistan, 6 People Killed in Colombian Mass…

Ryan Hamby (2020-09-22). Jailed Denver anti-racist leaders subjected to dangerous and degrading conditions in custody. liberationnews.org This is an outrage! They are still in jail. Almost six days after their arrest, three of the jailed organizers have not been brought before a judge yet. The following is a report from Ryan Hamby, a Party for Socialism and Liberation member and the long-time partner of Lillian House, one of the four PSL …