(2020-12-27). What prisons are like during COVID lockdown: interview with a Pennsylvania incarcerated worker. workers.org 
Philadelphia Since the start of November 2020, more than 3,000 incarcerated workers and at least 1,200 guards and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PA DOC). Since last March, at least 58 people behind DOC bars have died from the pandemic, the majority of . . . |
(2020-12-27). Tuesday 12/29: COVID-19 Vaccine & the Black Community: Safety, Efficacy & Dispelling Fear. indybay.org Online via Zoom…
(2020-12-27). After Trump Blocked UN Inquiry on Racist Violence, NGOs Are Conducting Their Own. globalresearch.ca Shortly after the public lynching of George Floyd, the U.S. Human Rights Network and the ACLU organized an international coalition of more than 600 organizations and individuals to urge the United Nations Human Rights Council to convene a commission of …
(2020-12-27). A new chance to challenge murder conviction: court rejects 'evidence-free' effort to block Mumia appeal. workers.org 
By Dave Lindorff The following slightly edited article first appeared in ThisCantBEHappening.net on Dec. 22. Mumia Abu-Jamal, the prison journalist long known as the "voice of the voiceless" for his compelling writings and short audio tapes, moved a step closer to getting a chance for a reconsideration of his earliest . . . |
(2020-12-27). Israeli minister orders jails not to vaccinate Palestinian security prisoners. middleeasteye.net 
Israeli minister orders jails not to vaccinate Palestinian security prisoners | Order defies health ministry guidelines that prisoners should be part of second group of Israelis to be vaccinated | Sun, 12/27/2020 – 15: 26 | Public Security Minister Amir Ohana's statement did not single out Palestinian inmates, but there are no non-Palestinian security prisoners in Israel (AFP) | Israel's P…
(2020-12-27). Socialise Big Tech. popularresistance.org On Wednesday 9 December, the Federal Trade Commission and forty-eight states and territories sued Facebook for its illegal social networking monopoly after an extensive investigation. The antitrust action seeks to break up the company by forcing it to divest two of its major business lines, Instagram and WhatsApp. | This latest event comes hot on the heels of October's historic investigation by the House Judiciary Committee—which detailed how dominant platform companies monopolise markets, abuse their power, and explicitly and purposely violate laws and regulations—and another lawsuit by the Departmen…
(2020-12-27). Relatives, Activists, and Attorneys Demand Justice for Andre' Hill, Unarmed Black Man Killed by Columbus Police. commondreams.org "Until we get justice for Andre' Hill, there won't be no peace in Columbus, there won't be no peace in Ohio, there won't be no peace in America," vowed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump at a Saturday vigil. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/hill_1.jpg …
(2020-12-27). Afghan VP denies detention of 'Chinese militants'. yenisafak.com Afghanistan's first vice president on Sunday denied Indian media reports on alleged Chinese militants being arrested in a security operation in Kabul.Amrullah Saleh, who is a former intelligence chief, said in a statement that no foreign nationals, but a group of terrorists involved in string of bomb blasts, abductions and killings has been busted in the Kher Khana neighborhood of the capital.Earlier this week, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported that 10 alleged Chinese citizens were detained by the National Directorate of Security on the charges of espionage and running a terror cell.They are "believed to be…
(2020-12-26). Ex-Russia captain cops 100-hour service order for referee attack as lawyer reveals plan to auction trainers from crime for charity. rt.com 
The trial over a vicious attack on a referee by Roman Shirokov, who was said to have pleaded near-poverty as part of the hearing, has ended with an offer to auction the trainers the ex-Russia captain wore during the altercation. | Shirokov had been facing restricted freedom for almost two years after his violent attack on referee Nikita Danchenkov in August, when the two-time Russian Premier League winner punched the official before kicking him in the head as he lay on the floor. | Danchenkov was hospitalized, later filing an initial lawsuit of 500,000 rubles ($6,740) that has resulted in a punishment of 100 h…
(2020-12-26). Trump Administration Pushes Rules Facilitating Religious Discrimination at Work. truthout.org With little warning, the EEOC published a 112-page overhaul of its "To my knowledge, that was the first time that pretty much everybody heard about it," said Kaur, who was busy handling home schooling for her children, ages 8 and 10, when the announcem…
(2020-12-25). 'Our Blood is Cheaper than Water': Anger in Iraq Over Trump Pardons. zcomm.org Biden to be lobbied to reverse decision to pardon security guards jailed over massacre…
(2020-12-25). Demonstrators besiege California prison HQ: 'Mass releases now!'. workers.org 
Sacramento, Calif. Dec. 17 — Under the banner "From Balloons to Bullhorns," an angry group of protesters converged on the steps of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to demand mass releases of incarcerated people due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The vigil and rally organized by Sistas With Voices . . . |
(2020-12-25). 14 Female Migrants Sue US Immigration Services for Abuses. telesurenglish.net A class-action lawsuit was filed by 14 women against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), and Georgia's Irwin Immigration Detention Center (ICDC) for "non-consensual and invasive gynecological abuse". | RELATED: | A complaint was also submitted to Georgia's Medical Council in order to request the license revocation of gynecologist Mahendra Amin who is accused of performing surger…
(2020-12-25). Mumia Gets a New Chance to Challenge His Murder Conviction. counterpunch.org 
State Supreme Court rejects Faulkner Widow's 'Evidence-Free' Effort to Block Mumia Appeal Mumia Abu-Jamal, the prison journalist long known as the "voice of the voiceless" for his compelling writings and short audio tapes about life behind bars, moved a step closer to getting a chance for a reconsideration of his earliest appeal of his conviction
(2020-12-25). Recidivist Criminal and Constitutional Outlaw Trump Rushes to Pardon Criminal Lawbreakers. commondreams.org Trump and future presidents cannot be allowed to brazenly dishonor justice and undermine the rule of law. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/roger_stone_0_1.jpg …
(2020-12-25). Jewish non-profit played significant role in Trump pardons: Report. middleeasteye.net 
Jewish non-profit played significant role in Trump pardons: Report | Aleph Institute, which focuses on Jewish prisoners' rights, advocated for at least five of Trump's 24 presidential pardons, including three that were announced this week | Fri, 12/25/2020 – 19: 32 | Trump has been brandishing his presidential pardon powers (AFP) | A Jewish non-profit organisation focusing on prisoners' rights played a signifi…
(2020-12-25). Fatal Shore, the Sequel: the Fate of Australia's Refugees. counterpunch.org Dark irony There is a pitch-black irony about Australians imprisoning refugees on a foreign island. It makes you wonder what happened to the collective memories of the Fatal Shore. Yet island prisons, granted the Orwellian-bland name 'offshore processing' by successive Canberra governments, have been operating on and off for years. Of course, there are differences
(2020-12-25). Georgia's County Superior Court Rejects GOP Suit Seeking to Lock Ballot Boxes After Business Hours. sputniknews.com The lawsuit was supposed to ease GOP fears that local authorities would once again change the rules of voting just weeks before the election, which is to determine which party will control the Senate for the next two years.
(2020-12-24). The Covid-19 Numbers Game: The "Second Wave" is Based on Fake Statistics. globalresearch.ca "Red zones", travel bans, quarantines, "red lists". A "Second Wave". Millions of people are lining up for Covid-19 testing. The "Numbers Game". How statistics and "estimates" are used by politicians to justify the closure of the national economy and the derogation of fundamental civil rights.
(2020-12-24). Incarcerated People Should Get Priority Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine. It's the Smart and Human Thing to Do. aclu.org Governor Jared Polis of Colorado — otherwise a trailblazer when it comes to criminal legal reform — recently
(2020-12-24). Wearing a Cross But Violating Basic Christian Values. counterpunch.org Everything that comes out of the White House today — the lies, the false claims of election fraud, the absurd lawsuits — makes me retreat and recoil. But I feel a particular sense of dread whenever I am watching the TV news and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany steps up to the podium in the White
(2020-12-24). Court orders release of those accused in Daniel Pearl killing. laprensalatina.com Islamabad, Dec 24 (efe-epa)- The Sindh High Court in Pakistan on Thursday declared null and void a warrant for the pre-trial detention of the main accused in the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, and ordered his release. "The court ordered to release Khalid Sheikh and three other accomplices," the prosecutor general of the southeastern …
(2020-12-24). Civil Rights Groups Denounce Georgia Officials For Closing Early Voting Sites Ahead of Senate Runoffs. commondreams.org Voting rights groups on Wednesday accused officials in at least two Georgia counties of voter suppression, pointing to the closures of several early voting locations in majority-Black and Latino communities ahead of two key runoff Senate elections. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1230129827_1.jpg …
(2020-12-24). Trump met with Pence before calling on the vice president to thwart the Electoral College: report. salon.com Pence was named in a recent lawsuit that seeks to block him from ratifying Biden's victory on Jan. 6…
(2020-12-24). Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Decision to Gut Tongass National Forest Protections. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-12-23). COVID and prisons: No walls, no borders in the workers' struggle. workers.org 
Texas "It's a nonviolent protest going on right now because the officers [in an unnamed Texas prison], in the middle of the coronavirus, have refused us electricity for several hours, no showers or anything." The voice is that of an incarcerated human being on video taken inside a Texas prison. . . . |
(2020-12-23). Black Panther in struggle: The continued imprisonment of Russell Maroon Shoatz. workers.org 
Since 1972 — nearly half a century ago — Russell Maroon Shoatz has languished in a prison cell built on stolen land, poisoned and irradiated by the fossil fuel industry. A Black Panther Party member and soldier in the Black Liberation Army, Shoatz was falsely accused of killing a cop . . . |
(2020-12-23). Black Lives Matter and France's Global Security Law. workers.org 
It is sometimes hard to realize the worldwide impact of the Black Lives Matter movement. Language, culture and media indifference can all get in the way. Some countries just don't have the type of events — protests, marches, rallies — for a variety of reasons, where the influence of BLM . . . |
(2020-12-23). My wish for 2021? We all start fighting back, now. thecanary.co 
Boom. Bam. You know who it is. Yung Drilly, aka Drillminister — writing for The Canary. I'm running for London Mayor in 2021. And with the mess that our politicians have made in the past 12 months, we need radical change and quickly. So, here's my message as we head to towards the New Year.Black Lives Matter. But do they really?: This year has laid bare the open corruption and political violence in our society. It held a magnifying glass to the hate. And even though it's obvious for all to see — nothing has changed.The UK saw the reverberations of George Floyd's murder echo across the streets of…
(2020-12-23). Remembering William Winter: Mississippi governor championed public education and civil rights. splcenter.org  …
(2020-12-23). Arkansas Politicians' Relentless Push to End Abortion Access, and Humiliate and Shame Abortion Patients. aclu.org This week, the ACLU is back in court working to protect the constitutional right to abortion in Arkansas. In 2017, the state legislature passed four anti-abortion laws to severely restrict access to abortion. If allowed to take effect, these laws would ban the only method of abortion provided in Arkansas after approximately 14 weeks in pregnancy; require that patients' partners or others be notified of their abortion; force the health care center to report teenage patients' abortion to local police where there is no reason to suspect a crime; and force physicians to request a vast number of medical records for…
(2020-12-23). Black Lives Matter. thenation.com Black Lives Matter…
(2020-12-23). How the Movement for Black Lives Helped Defeat Trump in Arizona. thenation.com How the Movement for Black Lives Helped Defeat Trump in Arizona…
(2020-12-23). Outrage After Sacramento Police Illegally Detain and Terrorize 14-Year-Old African-American. indybay.org An African-American mother has expressed outrage at the ongoing practice of illegal detention by the Sacramento Police Department after the City's police officers detained and harassed her under aged son without provocation for the second time in fifteen months.
(2020-12-23). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project (GERD) and the Quest for African Unity. globalresearch.ca Since November 4, the focus of the international community in their observations of the internal conflict in Ethiopia has largely been centered on the central government's suppression of a rebellion against its authority in the northern region of Tigray. | Within …
(2020-12-23). Trump supporters file a lawsuit against Mike Pence. salon.com The lawsuit against Trump's vice president is a desperate last-ditch effort to overturn the election…