Monthly Archives: December 2020

2020-12-23: News Headlines

Ted Kelly (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 . . . |

G. Dunkel (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 . . . |

Johnnie Lewis (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. . . . |

MEE staff (2020-12-23). Palestinian American released after 15-year sentence in Holy Land Five case. middleeasteye.net Palestinian American released after 15-year sentence in Holy Land Five case | Abdulrahman Odeh was convicted in infamous case denounced by rights groups for using 'unsubstantiated evidence' | Wed, 12/23/2020 – 16: 39 | The US designated the Holy Land Foundation 'a terrorist organisation' in 2001 (AFP/File photo) | Palestinian American Abdulrahman Odeh has been released from a US prison after serving 15 years f…

Drillminister (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…

Todd Oppenheim (2020-12-23). Best of 2020: I'm a public defender. My elderly client might die in prison from COVID-19. salon.com Our 2020 retrospective continues with this essay on why releasing some from prison won't fix a broken system…

Zoe PC (2020-12-23). Colombian social organizations hail release of peasant leaders, condemn 'frame-up'. peoplesdispatch.org Following mobilizations calling for their release, the judge overseeing the case ruled that the three leaders – Teófilo Acuña, Adelso Gallo and Robert Daza – will not be held in preventative detention while they await trial…

Chad Marlow (2020-12-23). A Tale of Two Body Camera Videos. aclu.org Over the past month, two high-profile incidents reaffirmed why police body cameras cannot serve as a police transparency and accountability tool as long as state law empowers the police to determine what footage the public gets to see. As we have said

Brandon Jones (2020-12-23). Remembering William Winter: Mississippi governor championed public education and civil rights. splcenter.org &nbsp…

WSWS (2020-12-23). Jacobin glorifies Dolores Ibárruri, Stalinist executioner of the Spanish Revolution. wsws.org The Stalinist suppression of the Barcelona working class and ensuing blood purge broke the back of the revolution and ensured the victory of Franco's fascist forces. Ramon Mercader, the GPU operative who murdered Leon Trotsky in Mexico in August of 1940, cut his teeth as a Stalinist killer during the mass repression in Spain. None of this is even mentioned in the Jacobin article.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-23). Turkey sentences former Kurdish parliamentarian to 22 years in prison. peoplesdispatch.org Leyla Gàºven — former Kurdish parliamentarian in Turkey has been sentenced to over 22 years in prison for alleged links with a "terrorist group" and disseminating "terrorist propaganda." Gàºven has been vocal about the plight of Kurdish people.

Chelsea Tejada (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…

Attorney Kellie Walters (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.

Abayomi Azikiwe (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 …

Angelique Scott (2020-12-23). Black Lives Matter. thenation.com Black Lives Matter…

Online News Editor (2020-12-23). Chinese-Australian writer accused of spying sends messages from prison. laprensalatina.com Sydney, Australia, Dec 23 (efe-epa).- Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who was arrested in China at the beginning of 2019 for alleged espionage, said in a series of messages from prison that he is "stronger than ever" and that he has "some confidence in the court" to receive a fair trial. "I think they will give …

_____ (2020-12-23). NY Police Continue To Combat The Release Of Disciplinary Records. popularresistance.org In the Syracuse suburb of Manlius, police transparency carries a hefty price tag. | In June, the Manlius Police Department received an open-records request from MuckRock. The request sought documents detailing any allegations of misconduct against current or former officers and any discipline the department imposed. | The department replied with a bill. For $47,504. | Six months ago, New York lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo repealed Section 50-a of the state Civil Rights Law, a once-obscure provision that had been used to shield police disciplinary records from public view for decades. | The repeal came amid nati…

Kaitlin Peterson (2020-12-22). No right to read: Profiteering corporations creep into prison libraries. peoplesworld.org When thinking about what incarcerated people need, perhaps a library is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, the population within prison walls is typically one that reads more than those on the outside. As a public librarian, I've long been keenly aware of the positive role prison libraries play in the lives …

Barry Kissin (2020-12-22). Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ): The Suppression of a Proven COVID Remedy. globalresearch.ca Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been an FDA approved drug for over 65 years. It has been on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines since the list began in 1977. People have been safely treated with HCQ billions of times …

Fight Back (2020-12-22). Solidarity with the trade unionists in the Philippines, Human Rights Day 7. fightbacknews.org We strongly condemn the repression that has been unleashed against leading trade unionists in the Philippines and stand in solidarity with the militant labor federation Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) / May First Movement. | On Human Rights Day, December 10, the Philippine National Police raided the homes and jailed Dennise Velasco of Defend Jobs Philippines; Romina Astudillo, Deputy Secretary-General of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Metro Manila; Mark Ryan Cruz, Regional Executive Committee of KMU-Metro Manila; Jaymie Gregorio Jr. of KMU-Metro Manila; Joel Demate of Solidarity of Labor Rights and Welfare (SOLAR); Rodrigo Esparago o…

splcenter (2020-12-22). Freedom Denied: Minor parole violations keep Alabama man tangled in state's prison system. splcenter.org &nbsp…

Arianna Demas (2020-12-22). The FBI is Secretly Breaking Into Encrypted Devices. We're Suing. aclu.org The FBI is secretly breaking the encryption that secures our cell phones and laptops from identity thieves, hackers, and abusive governments, and it refuses to even acknowledge that it has information about these efforts — even though some details have been filed publicly in federal court. We're suing to get some answers., , Between our emails, text messages, location information, social media activity, and more, our cell phones hold almost our entire lives. In recent years, governments have stepped up efforts to gain access to the information on our cell phones and personal computers. The federal govern…

John W. Whitehead (2020-12-22). What If the Christ Child Had Been Born in the American Police State? dissidentvoice.org When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the …

Staff (2020-12-22). People Incarcerated in Alabama Are Pushing for a New Year's Prison Strike. truthout.org The Free Alabama Movement (FAM), a group of incarcerated people and supporters who were involved in organizing the famed prison strikes of

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-12-22). Number of Journalists Murdered in Retaliation for Their Work More Than Doubled in 2020: Report. commondreams.org "The fact that murder is on the rise and the number of journalists imprisoned around the world hit a record is a clear demonstration that press freedom is under unprecedented assault." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/af.jpg

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-12-21). Arabic press review: Saudi Arabia and UAE bankrolling Arab states' Israel deals. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Saudi Arabia and UAE bankrolling Arab states' Israel deals | Meanwhile, Jordanian prisoner numbers soar and Egypt revokes citizenship of 17 people under nationality law | Mon, 12/21/2020 – 16: 12 | A Moroccan diplomat said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia were sponsoring normalisation agreements on behalf of the US (AFP) | Saudi Arabia, UAE bankrolling normalisation agreeme…

George Wuerthner (2020-12-21). Political Science and the Fate of the Wolverine. counterpunch.org On December 14, 2020, 24 organizations and one individual (me) filed two different lawsuits to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision not to list the wolverine as a threatened Distinct Population Segment (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The plaintiffs are arguing the FWS decision was capricious and arbitrary. The wolverine,

Center For Biological Diversity (2020-12-21). Donald Trump Administration's Approval of "Radioactive Roads": Lawsuit against EPA. globalresearch.ca Environmental, public health and union groups The EPA has long prohibi…

teleSUR (2020-12-21). Germany: Author of Anti-Semitic Attack Gets Life in Prison. telesurenglish.net Stephan Balliet, the author of the anti-Semitic attack in Halle in 2019, was sentenced to life imprisonment at a Naumburg court on Monday. | RELATED: | The ruling classifies this 28-year-old German as a "danger" to society and removes the option of conditional freedom during his sentence. This means that the sentence amounts to at least 15 years in prison for Balliet. | Contrary to what his defenders argued, a psyc…

commondreams (2020-12-21). Lawsuit Challenges Large Fossil-Fuel Project Proposed in Alaska's Arctic. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Chris Gelardi (2020-12-21). Detroit is Suing Black Lives Matter Protesters for "Civil Conspiracy" zcomm.org The city's lawsuit came after protesters won a restraining order against Detroit cops for their violent response to the George Floyd protests…

2020-12-22: News Headlines

Barry Kissin (2020-12-22). Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ): The Suppression of a Proven COVID Remedy. globalresearch.ca Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been an FDA approved drug for over 65 years. It has been on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines since the list began in 1977. People have been safely treated with HCQ billions of times …

Kaitlin Peterson (2020-12-22). No right to read: Profiteering corporations creep into prison libraries. peoplesworld.org When thinking about what incarcerated people need, perhaps a library is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, the population within prison walls is typically one that reads more than those on the outside. As a public librarian, I've long been keenly aware of the positive role prison libraries play in the lives …

splcenter (2020-12-22). Freedom Denied: Minor parole violations keep Alabama man tangled in state's prison system. splcenter.org &nbsp…

Fight Back (2020-12-22). Solidarity with the trade unionists in the Philippines, Human Rights Day 7. fightbacknews.org We strongly condemn the repression that has been unleashed against leading trade unionists in the Philippines and stand in solidarity with the militant labor federation Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) / May First Movement. | On Human Rights Day, December 10, the Philippine National Police raided the homes and jailed Dennise Velasco of Defend Jobs Philippines; Romina Astudillo, Deputy Secretary-General of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Metro Manila; Mark Ryan Cruz, Regional Executive Committee of KMU-Metro Manila; Jaymie Gregorio Jr. of KMU-Metro Manila; Joel Demate of Solidarity of Labor Rights and Welfare (SOLAR); Rodrigo Esparago o…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-22). Former Kurdish parliamentarian Leyla Gàºven sentenced to over 22 years in jail. peoplesdispatch.org Leyla Gàºven, a former member of parliament, was tried and sentenced for her alleged membership of the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and on the charge of disseminating "terrorist propaganda"

Online News Editor (2020-12-22). A year that could mark the 'end' of Hong Kong. laprensalatina.com By Shirley Lau Hong Kong, Dec 22 (efe-epa).- China has rapidly increased its control over Hong Kong this year, approving a stringent and controversial national security law to curb protests, which has significantly cut down the freedoms enjoyed by the former British colony until now. Numerous activists and lawmakers have been arrested, jailed or fled …

Attorney Kellie Walters (2020-12-22). Outrage After Sacramento Police Illegally Detain and Terrorize 14-Year-Old African-America. 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.

Staff (2020-12-22). People Incarcerated in Alabama Are Pushing for a New Year's Prison Strike. truthout.org The Free Alabama Movement (FAM), a group of incarcerated people and supporters who were involved in organizing the famed prison strikes of

John W. Whitehead (2020-12-22). What If the Christ Child Had Been Born in the American Police State? dissidentvoice.org When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the …

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-12-21). Arabic press review: Saudi Arabia and UAE bankrolling Arab states' Israel deals. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Saudi Arabia and UAE bankrolling Arab states' Israel deals | Meanwhile, Jordanian prisoner numbers soar and Egypt revokes citizenship of 17 people under nationality law | Mon, 12/21/2020 – 16: 12 | A Moroccan diplomat said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia were sponsoring normalisation agreements on behalf of the US (AFP) | Saudi Arabia, UAE bankrolling normalisation agreeme…

George Wuerthner (2020-12-21). Political Science and the Fate of the Wolverine. counterpunch.org On December 14, 2020, 24 organizations and one individual (me) filed two different lawsuits to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision not to list the wolverine as a threatened Distinct Population Segment (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The plaintiffs are arguing the FWS decision was capricious and arbitrary. The wolverine,

teleSUR (2020-12-21). Germany: Author of Anti-Semitic Attack Gets Life in Prison. telesurenglish.net Stephan Balliet, the author of the anti-Semitic attack in Halle in 2019, was sentenced to life imprisonment at a Naumburg court on Monday. | RELATED: | The ruling classifies this 28-year-old German as a "danger" to society and removes the option of conditional freedom during his sentence. This means that the sentence amounts to at least 15 years in prison for Balliet. | Contrary to what his defenders argued, a psyc…

Center For Biological Diversity (2020-12-21). Donald Trump Administration's Approval of "Radioactive Roads": Lawsuit against EPA. globalresearch.ca Environmental, public health and union groups The EPA has long prohibi…

commondreams (2020-12-21). Lawsuit Challenges Large Fossil-Fuel Project Proposed in Alaska's Arctic. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Chris Gelardi (2020-12-21). Detroit is Suing Black Lives Matter Protesters for "Civil Conspiracy" zcomm.org The city's lawsuit came after protesters won a restraining order against Detroit cops for their violent response to the George Floyd protests…

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-20). At least 140 Palestinians contract COVID-19 in Israeli jails. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 20 (MNA) — At least 140 Palestinian inmates in the Zionist regime's jails have contracted COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic in early March this year, a Palestinian official said.

_____ (2020-12-20). 2020 Saw Resurgence Of Strikes Around the World. popularresistance.org Like every other social movement in the U.S. this year, the compounding crises of 2020 proved a catalyzing force for the labor movement, compelling essential and frontline workers to join picket lines to ensure basic protections and increased pay as they continue to face disproportionate risks and increasingly perilous working conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. | But essential workers weren't the only sector on strike this year: Prisoners and tenants across the country also withheld their labor and rent to fight for their fundamental human right to life and housing. Building momentum after major strike waves…

sputniknews (2020-12-20). Fifth of All American Prisoners Are Infected With COVID-19, Study Suggests. sputniknews.com The US has the world's highest COVID-19 rates, according to Johns Hopkins University data tracking. Over 194,000 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the last 24 hours alone, along with at least 2,628 deaths. Despite that a universal vaccination began in the US on Monday, prospects for American prisoners are not encouraging.

Tiago Correia (2020-12-20). Elderly 110 lb. woman shot and killed by jail guard in Spokane, Wa. liberationnews.org "We demand justice for Nancy King, which begins with a thorough and independent investigation and by jailing killer cops."

Pip Hinman (2020-12-20). Vigil for Muhammad — Malaysian student dies in detention. greenleft.org.au Activists organised a vigil for a young Malaysian student who died in the Villawood detention centre, reports Stephen Langford.

WSWS (2020-12-19). One in five US prisoners has contracted COVID-19, more than 1,700 have died. wsws.org The staggering totals for infections and deaths show that the ruling elite's policy of "herd immunity" is even more concentrated within prison walls, where prisoners are confined to close quarters and social distancing is nearly impossible.

Devin Cole (2020-12-19). Swift Justice: 'A fight from the inside out'. workers.org These slightly edited comments are from a Dec. 10 webinar organized by the Prisoners Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party. Swift Justice is currently incarcerated within the Alabama Department of Corrections system. For more on prison stoppage by the Free Alabama Movement, see Workers World, Dec. 4. Co-moderator Devin C.: . . . |

Patricia Gorky (2020-12-19). The penalty for half a million deaths? A stern talking-to before Congress. liberationnews.org Corporate drug kingpins are given the privilege of choosing to appear before Congress in a video conference, while more than 2 million prisoners are forced into squalid conditions.

A Guest Author (2020-12-19). Ramsey Prison Unit: The terror of Texas. workers.org By Nanon M. Williams Nanon Williams was arrested in 1992 at age 17 for capital murder and spent years on death row. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled people under 18 could not be sentenced to death. His sentence, along with 70 others, was commuted to life and he . . . |

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (2020-12-19). Health Care and Black Lives Matter. zcomm.org "The backlash in which white people proclaimed All Lives Matter clearly had no understanding of the issue. Blacks weren't saying that Black lives mattered more, they were emphasizing that, the way the system works now, Black Lives Matter … Less."

Special to People's World (2020-12-18). Remembering protest singer Phil Ochs on his 80th birthday. peoplesworld.org For those not fortunate enough to recall, Phil Ochs was one of our nation's most profound singer/songwriters in the period that bridged the Civil Rights, antiwar, and feminist movements. He was born on December 19, 1940: This week, he would have been 80 years old. His topical songs called for peace and an equitable society. They called for …