Daily Archives: 2020-11-23

2020-11-23: News Headlines

Jayati Ghosh (2020-11-23). Discrimination and bias in economics, and emerging responses. mronline.org Recently, mainstream economics has been forced to acknowledge some of the explicit and implicit forms of discrimination and bias that are rampant in the discipline, thanks in particular to some brave interventions by some women economists.

Ralph Nader (2020-11-23). Trump's Massive, Lawless, and Immoral Legacy to Our Country Will Continue Unless … counterpunch.org Trump has gotten away with almost everything throughout his bankruptcy-driven business career and his corrupt, cruel, and costly political years in the White House. Things changed on November 3, when he was retired by the voters.

Ralph Nader (2020-11-23). Trump's Massive, Lawless, and Immoral Legacy to Our Country Will Continue Unless … counterpunch.org Trump has gotten away with almost everything throughout his bankruptcy-driven business career and his corrupt, cruel, and costly political years in the White House. Things changed on November 3, when he was retired by the voters. Refusing to concede, however, so as to prolong his crazed fantasies, Trump is distracting the mass media from his looting

Ashoka Mukpo (2020-11-23). Bloody Masks and Fevers on Shift: Immigrant Workers Face Abuse in Nebraska Meatpacking Plant. aclu.org Last spring, as people across the globe raced to shut themselves indoors and shelter away from the threat of COVID-19, meatpacking workers in America suddenly found themselves exposed, vulnerable, and

Andrew Emett (2020-11-23). Former supervisory corrections officer sentenced to prison for tasing restrained teen. nationofchange.org "Our citizens have a fundamental and constitutional right to ethical treatment by employees of federal, state, and local government."

MEE staff (2020-11-22). Imprisoned spy Jonathan Pollard flying to Israel after US parole ends. middleeasteye.net Imprisoned spy Jonathan Pollard flying to Israel after US parole ends | Cold War spy passed on information about American intelligence agencies to Israel | Sun, 11/22/2020 – 09: 30 | Jonathan Pollard spent 30 years in prison for spying for Israel (AFP) | The spy Jonathan Pollard, who was jailed for spying against the United States in the 1980s, has been cleared to fly to Israel, where he will be welcomed by th…

Prison Radio (2020-11-22). "The Prison within the Prison": Lockdown and Social Distancing in America's Prisons. globalresearch.ca Our people inside are robbed of privacy, autonomy, safety, and human contact; why would their health in a pandemic be any different? Because of the poor standards and oversight of prison conditions in the U.S., each facility is largely responsible …

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-22). Resistance cinema should portray global oppression. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 22 (MNA) — American documentarian and Press TV anchor Marzieh Hashemi said that the Resistance International Film Festival brings together the currents of resistance in the world.

MEE correspondent (2020-11-21). Egypt: Female political prisoners beaten during inspection mission. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Female political prisoners beaten during inspection mission | Rights group says Qanatir prison security force attacked number of female prisoners during inspection by a newly appointed official | Sat, 11/21/2020 – 14: 33 | The Qanatir women's prison in Qalyubia governorate holds dozens of female political prisoners (Twitter) | Egyptian officials physically assaulted a number of f…

Susan Jaffe (2020-11-21). [World Report] US Supreme Court poised to keep the Affordable Care Act. thelancet.com A lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act may be floundering after Supreme Court justices questioned why the law should be dismantled. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.

Loretta Graceffo (2020-11-21). Why Indigenous activists are occupying the Hamptons until Thanksgiving. nationofchange.org As a leader of Sovereignty Camp 2020, Shinnecock attorney Tela Troge discusses why they are protesting a lawsuit by New York state.

_____ (2020-11-21). New York Times Job Listing Shows How Western Propaganda Operates. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | People who are only just beginning to research what's wrong with the world often hold an assumption that mainstream news reporters are just knowingly propagandizing people all the time. That they sit around scheming up ways to deceive their audiences into supporting war, oligarchy and oppression for the benefit of their plutocratic masters. | Once you've learned a bit more you realize it's not quite happening that way. Most mainstream news reporters are not really witting propagandists—those are to be found more in plutocrat-funded think tanks and other narrative management firms, and in…

Roger Sollenberger (2020-11-21). Plaintiffs in Trump's lawsuits embrace conspiracy theories — one has even violated election laws. salon.com One of the plaintiffs was once accused of election fraud and fined for multiple violations of campaign laws…

_____ (2020-11-21). Over 100 Rebellions In Jails And Prisons Over COVID19 Conditions. popularresistance.org U.S jails and prisons, already death traps, have been completely ravaged by COVID-19. Crowded quarters, a lack of PPE, inadequate medical care, an aging population, and unsanitary conditions have contributed to an infection rate 5.5 times higher than the already ballooned average in the U.S. As of this writing, over 252,000 people in jails and prisons have been infected and at least 1,450 incarcerated people and officers have died from the novel coronavirus. Evidence suggests these figures are underreported, however.

sputniknews (2020-11-21). Councilman, Parents File Lawsuit to Reopen NYC Schools After de Blasio's Announcement. sputniknews.com The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the US hardest of all, with over 12Mln confirmed cases to date. Initially the Big Apple took the brunt of the virus, although later the daily number of new cases dropped significantly. With numbers now almost doubling in the last two weeks, Mayor Bill de Blasio has again shuttered all the schools within the city.

WSWS (2020-11-21). As workers confront rampant COVID-19 in auto plants, former UAW VP Joe Ashton gets wrist-slap prison term. wsws.org Ashton, who pocketed $250,000 in kickbacks, is being sent to a country club prison with a seven-month delay for COVID-19 while workers are forced to confront the exploding pandemic every day in the factories.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-21). Human rights organizations condemn arrest of Egyptian activists. peoplesdispatch.org Three functionaries of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Gasser Abdel-Razek, Karim Ennarah and Mohammed Basheer, have been arrested over the past week. They have been sent into pre-trial detention…

MEE staff (2020-11-20). US senators urge Egypt to take action in case of detained Christian activist. middleeasteye.net US senators urge Egypt to take action in case of detained Christian activist | Legislators ask Cairo to allow fair trial for Ramy Kamel or drop charges and release him | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 19: 02 | Ramy Kamel is prominent Coptic Christian activist and founder of rights group Maspero Youth Union (Twitter) | A pair of bipartisan senators called on the Egyptian government to take action in the case of an imprisone…

Sheren Khalel (2020-11-20). 'The French government has no right': CAIR slams Macron's 'ultimatum' to Muslims. middleeasteye.net 'The French government has no right': CAIR slams Macron's 'ultimatum' to Muslims | Muslim-American civil rights group labels French president's order to establish 'National Council of Imams' under government parameters 'hypocritical and dangerous' | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 19: 58 | "> | The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned French President Emmanuel Macro…

MEE staff (2020-11-20). UN experts warn 50 people face possible executions in Iraq after unfair trials. middleeasteye.net UN experts warn 50 people face possible executions in Iraq after unfair trials | After 21 executions this week, UN experts urge Baghdad to halt mass capital punishment | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 22: 08 | Statement by UN experts notes there are currently about 4,000 prisoners slated for execution (AFP/File photo) | UN human rights experts have said 50 Iraqi prisoners face possible execution next week following convict…

Staff (2020-11-20). "A Huge Blow to Civil Society": Egypt Arrests Leading Human Rights Monitors in Latest Crackdown. democracynow.org In Egypt, the executive director of the country's leading human rights group has been arrested as part of an unprecedented crackdown on activists and journalists. Gasser Abdel-Razek was arrested at his home just days after two other staffers for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights were also arrested. The move signals a major escalation of repression from the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has imprisoned thousands of people since he came to power after the 2013 overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi. "These arrests are a huge blow to civil society in Egypt," says Sharif Abdel Kouddo…

Martha Grevatt (2020-11-20). Yet another death in Cleveland jail. workers.org Cleveland On Nov. 9 Shone Trawick became the third person to die in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County Jail this year and the 12th jail death since June 2018. Trawick is the first casualty to be blamed on violence by another prisoner. Those in nearby cells reportedly screamed for help on hearing . . . |

A Guest Author (2020-11-20). 'Accelerate our efforts' to free Mumia. workers.org By Angela Davis Professor Angela Davis, herself once a political prisoner, is a founding member of Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to dismantling the prison industrial complex. On Nov. 16, Davis delivered the following remarks during the virtual press conference "Freedom & Abolition: A critical moment in the fight . . . |

Betsey Piette (2020-11-20). Pennsylvania prisons: Breeding grounds for coronavirus. workers.org Philadelphia When the coronavirus first became a global pandemic in the spring of 2020, there were widespread demands, met with promises from state officials, to release particularly vulnerable incarcerated workers. Some states and municipalities did release people, but never in the numbers the situation warranted. In April, protesters in Philadelphia . . . |

commondreams (2020-11-20). Black Lives Matter D.C. v. Trump Must Proceed, Defendants Need to Be Held Accountable. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Common Cause (2020-11-20). Thursday 12/3: What's Next for Civil Rights: Democracy in the 117th Congress Town Hall w/ Common Cause. indybay.org Online via Zoom…

Karl Grossman (2020-11-20). BNL lawsuit and the impacts of national nuclear laboratory. nationofchange.org Brookhaven National Laboratory "continues to show almost no regard for its neighbors…Is this any way for a government-funded agency to treat its neighbors?"

_____ (2020-11-20). Dozens File Federal Suit Alleging Chicago Police Abuse This Year. popularresistance.org "The (Chicago Police Department) and other city agencies responded to these demonstrations with brutal, violent, and unconstitutional tactics that are clearly intended to injure, silence and intimidate plaintiffs and other protesters," according to the more than 200-page lawsuit. "These abuse tactics include beating protesters with batons — often striking them in the head; tackling and beating protesters while on the ground; using chemical agents against protesters; falsely arresting protesters; and trapping protesters in enclosed areas."

Bryant Arroyo (2020-11-19). COVID-19 protocols: Recipe for disaster in Pennsylvania prisons. workers.org Bryant Arroyo (left) with Joe Piette of WWP Prisoners Solidarity Committee. Incarcerated workers across Pennsylvania are demanding that Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel reverse his disastrous decision to begin mass transfers of prisoners at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following commentary is from jailhouse organizer and environmentalist . . . |

Tim Wheeler (2020-11-19). Karl Yoneda and Elaine Black—star-crossed lovers in a class war. peoplesworld.org In October 1987, I covered a rally in Washington, D.C., for the People's Daily World celebrating the federal government's apology for the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The event, which drew hundreds to the U.S. Capitol steps, was sponsored by the Japanese American Citizens League. Among those who flew into town …