Daily Archives: 2020-11-24

2020-11-24: News Headlines

_____ (2020-11-24). Report: Incarceration Destabilizes Neighborhood Economies. popularresistance.org A report released by the Maryland Center for Economic Policy suggests decreasing the state's prison budget will lead to a healthier economy and increased public safety. | The report, released Wednesday, found that Black Marylanders are 4 1/2 times more likely to serve prison sentences than any other racial or ethnic group. Indigenous Maryland residents are twice as likely to be incarcerated than any other racial or ethnic group. | "None of what we're doing is making any of us safer and it's most certainly not making those Black communities that are being robbed of human capital ‚Äï it's not making…

Staff (2020-11-24). Betting Pool? Tyson Managers Bet on How Many Workers Would Get COVID. Advocates Call It Grim Pattern. democracynow.org The family of a former meatpacker who died from COVID-19 alleges in a lawsuit that managers at a Tyson Foods plant in Iowa knew working conditions would result in illness, and even placed bets on how many workers would be infected. The family of Isidro Fernandez, who died in April, says the plant manager set up a winner-take-all betting pool for supervisors and managers to wager on coronavirus infections. Since the start of the pandemic, at least six workers have died and more than 1,000 tested positive for COVID-19 at the Iowa facility. Tyson Foods has suspended the managers involved in the alleged betting schem…

Ragip Soylu (2020-11-24). Turkey: Erdogan ally Bulent Arinc resigns in dispute over reforms. middleeasteye.net Turkey: Erdogan ally Bulent Arinc resigns in dispute over reforms | Arinc left the Turkish president's high advisory council after he called for the release of two high-profile prisoners | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 15: 14 | Then-Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, talks to his then-deputy Bulent Arinc during a debate at the parliament in Ankara on 25 February 2010 (AFP) | One of the leading associ…

Staff (2020-11-24). Justice means abolition, not more jails. therealnews.com The U.S. spends billions incarcerating the largest prison population in the world, but prison abolition still sounds too abstract for many people to think about. Here's what it would actually look like.

MEE staff (2020-11-24). French app users sue Muslim Pro over alleged data sharing with US military. middleeasteye.net French app users sue Muslim Pro over alleged data sharing with US military | Lawsuit accuses Muslim Pro of data protection offences, abuse of trust, endangering other people's lives, and conspiracy to commit murder | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 15: 50 | Muslim Pro told MEE that it denies selling its data to US military and that it was ending all sharing of its data with companies (Facebook/Muslim Pro) | French users of…

Jade Crosbie (2020-11-24). Denver governor waters down Elijah McClain investigation, protesters continue to demand justice. liberationnews.org The movement's demands are clear, "Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail; the whole damn system is guilty as hell!"

MEE correspondent (2020-11-24). Egypt urged to release two women whose pretrial detention has expired. middleeasteye.net Egypt urged to release two women whose pretrial detention has expired | On 21 November, the two-year pretrial detention limit of Hoda Abdelmonem and Aisha al-Shater ended, making their continued imprisonment unlawful, says rights group | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 13: 40 | Abdelmonem (L) and Shater were held in November 2018 as part of a wave of detentions which targeted nearly 40 human rights w…

Musawenkosi Cabe (2020-11-24). South Africa's constitutional Court protects domestic workers. peoplesdispatch.org "It's unbelievable. We feel like flying, we are so happy. I nearly broke into song inside [the Constitutional Court], breaking the law…" These were the words of 77-year-old Eunice Dhladhla, a domestic workers' union organizer, after the court ended years of unfair exclusion and discrimination against domestic workers. | Twenty-six years into democracy, and still domestic workers could not claim compensation for contracting a disease, being injured or disabled, or even dying while at work. The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Disease Act expressly excluded domestic workers from the class of workers who…

MEE staff (2020-11-24). Egyptian rights group says jailed director is in 'danger' from inhumane treatment. middleeasteye.net Egyptian rights group says jailed director is in 'danger' from inhumane treatment | The arrest of EIPR staff has triggered rare western condemnation of the Sisi government's crackdown on human rights | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 14: 02 | Gasser Abdelrazek was detained on 19 November, a few days after two of his colleagues were arrested over a human rights seminar their organisation held with western diplomats (EIPR)…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-24). Human rights organizations demand release of jailed student activists in Myanmar. peoplesdispatch.org Several activists and students, many from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, have been recently arrested by the Myanmar authorities for protesting against human rights violations in the country's Rakhine and Chin States…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-24). Persecution of political prisoners and activists intensifies in Egypt. peoplesdispatch.org Imprisoned human rights activist Gasser Abdel-Razek has been subjected to cruel treatment in prison, claimed his lawyers. Meanwhile, on Monday, a criminal court in Cairo designated 28 Egyptians, including prominent activists, as terrorists…

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

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.

sputniknews (2020-11-23). South Dakota Authorities File Lawsuit Against Voter-Approved Recreational Marijuana Amendment. sputniknews.com While the legalization of medical marijuana received widespread voter support in South Dakota's November 3 election, voters were nearly split on a second, potentially unconstitutional referendum that included hemp-related legislation, the regulation of recreational weed and weed taxation.

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.

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…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-21). Lebanon: Five prisoners die as dozens escape in jail break. middleeasteye.net Lebanon: Five prisoners die as dozens escape in jail break | At least 69 prisoners escaped Baabda prison, east of Beirut, on Saturday; only 15 have been arrested, according to state media | Sat, 11/21/2020 – 10: 05 | Lebanese security forces outside the Palace of Justice in Baabda after the prison break on 21 November (Reuters) | Five Lebanese prisoners died when their car crashed into a t…

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…

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.

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.

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…

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 . . . |

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…

_____ (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."