Hunger strikes at three New Jersey prisons
Sara Flounders | workers.org | 2021-01-08
The filthy conditions, indefinite incarceration and escalating COVID infections have touched off desperate hunger strikes at three New Jersey county jails. Each jail operates as a prison-for-profit, renting space at $120 a day for ICE to jail out-of-state migrant detainees. The N.J. counties use the contracts to generate tens of . . . | Continue reading Hunger strikes at three New Jersey prisons at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/01/53670/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hunger-strikes-at-three-new-jersey-prisons

Police Reform Advocates Press Minnesota Legislature For More
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-01-07
Civil rights organizers were back at Minnesota's Capitol as a new legislative session got underway Tuesday, ready to mount another push for changes to police accountability laws less than a week after another fatal police shooting in Minneapolis. | "We know that George Floyd is not an anomaly," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "George Floyd represents the history of state violence against people of color in this country and particularly against Black people." | Floyd's death last May in the custody of Minneapolis police officers made M…
popularresistance.org/police-reform-advocates-press-minnesota-legislature-for-more/

Proxy Jailor: Denying Assange Bail
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-07
History, while not always a telling guide, can be useful. But in moments of flushed confidence, it is not consulted and Cleo is forgotten. A crisp new dawn can negate a glance to the past. Having received the unexpected news …
globalresearch.ca/proxy-jailor-denying-assange-bail/5733841

Proxy Jailor: Denying Assange Bail
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2021-01-07
History, while not always a telling guide, can be useful. But in moments of flushed confidence, it is not consulted and Cleo is forgotten. A crisp new dawn can negate a glance to the past. Having received the unexpected news that Julian Assange's extradition to the United States for charges of breaching the Espionage Act …
dissidentvoice.org/2021/01/proxy-jailor-denying-assange-bail/

Police Arrest Several People Near Court After Assange's Bail Denied
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-01-07
London – The police arrested several supporters of Assange who did not have press IDs and refused to disperse as the city is currently under a lockdown and public gatherings prohibited. Among the detained are several women and an elderly man. | Journalists with proper identifications were allowed to continue their work. Earlier in the day, Westminster Magistrates Court refused to release Assange on bail, leaving him incarcerated while a US appeal against the decision not to extradite him to the United States is considered. | Assange was arrested in London in April 2019 and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jump…
popularresistance.org/police-arrest-several-people-near-london-court-after-assanges-bail-denied/

British Judge Keeps Assange in Prison, Despite Ruling Against Extradition
Kevin Gosztola | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-07
A British district judge denied bail for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after a hearing in which the prosecution argued he had helped NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden "flee justice" and would abscond if released from the Belmarsh high-security prison. | "As far | …
globalresearch.ca/british-judge-keeps-assange-prison-despite-ruling-against-extradition/5733811

PDF of January 7 issue
Workers World Party | workers.org | 2021-01-07
Download the 12-page PDF. Alabama prisons: ON STRIKE! 'Relief' bill offers little; Outrage at year's end; Workers as 'contractors'; Massive hack; Historic postal strike; Editorial: COVID unpreparedness. GLOBAL: Cuban and Haitian revolutions; Brexit crisis; Long live DPRK; Argentina: abortion rights victory. TEAR DOWN THE WALLS: Exonerate Mumia! Letter from Pennsylvania . . . | Continue reading PDF of January 7 issue at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/01/53645/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pdf-of-january-7-issue

Brutal Human Rights Abuses — Torture, Sanctions and Our Failure to Discuss Economic Rights
Rod Driver | zcomm.org | 2021-01-07
People in advanced nations assume that their governments do not torture prisoners, but it is practized by the US, and was used by Britain in its colonies and in Northern Ireland…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/brutal-human-rights-abuses-torture-sanctions-and-our-failure-to-discuss-economic-rights/

"Too late to be pessimist! Ecosocialism or collapse"
Eds. | mronline.org | 2021-01-07
From the analysis of the struggle between the great powers for a lesser dependence on fossil fuels (which can shape their rivalries or push towards convergence between them), to the reminder of the need for every subject of oppression to develop its own ecological reflection. Daniel Tanuro gives us illuminating and pedagogical tools to confront …
mronline.org/2021/01/07/too-late-to-be-pessimist-ecosocialism-or-collapse/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=too-late-to-be-pessimist-ecosocialism-or-collapse

Pamela Winn Fights the Shackling of Pregnant People
Pamela Winn | aclu.org | 2021-01-07
Pamela Winn was sent to federal prison when she was six weeks pregnant. In prison, she fell down attempting to step into a van while shackled. She was not given prenatal care and she miscarried a little over three months later, shackled to a prison bed., , Winn, who was released from prison in 2013, is now an activist for the rights of incarcerated women. She helped enact a law to prevent the shackling of pregnant people in Georgia and is leading a mission to end prison birth altogether , But her story is not unique. There are currently thousands of pregnant people in prison. Many are not given proper medical…
aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/pamela-winn-fights-the-shackling-of-pregnant-people

Hirak activists on hunger strike against pre-trial detention hospitalized in Algeria
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-07
The three Hirak activists – Mohamed Tadjadit (25), Noureddine Khimoud (25) and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani (38) – began a hunger strike on December 27 last year after they were denied bail and their pre-trial detention was extended by the authorities…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/07/hirak-activists-on-hunger-strike-against-pre-trial-detention-hospitalized-in-algeria/

Clearview's Dangerous Misreading of the First Amendment Could Spell the End of Privacy Laws
Vera Eidelman | aclu.org | 2021-01-07
Secretly, and without consent, a company called Clearview AI has captured billions of faceprints from people's online photos, amassing what it claims to be the world's largest face recognition database. Much like our fingerprints and DNA profiles, our faceprints rely on permanent, unique facts about our bodies — like the distance between our eyes and noses or the shape of our cheekbones — to identify us., , Using our faceprints, Clearview offers its customers the ability to secretly target and identify any of us, and then to track us — whether we're going to a protest, a religious service, a…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/clearviews-dangerous-misreading-of-the-first-amendment-could-spell-the-end-of-privacy-laws

Civil War, Medical Discrimination, Spy Satellites and Cyborgs! How 2021 Could Make Us Yearn for 2020
Helen Buyniski | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-06
People everywhere are eager to bid farewell to 2020, a year in which our lives were turned upside down by power-mad elites who seized the Covid-19 pandemic as a chance to go full police state. But be careful what you …
globalresearch.ca/civil-war-medical-discrimination-spy-satellites-and-cyborgs-how-2021-could-make-us-yearn-for-2020/5733725

Assange decision welcome but sullied by legal chicanery
Pip Hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2021-01-06
The British judge's ruling that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States is welcome, but it comes after the charade, called justice, in which British authorities have held an unconvicted person in a top security prison and made his defence as difficult as possible.
greenleft.org.au/content/assange-decision-welcome-sullied-legal-chicanery

Assange decision welcome but sullied by legal chicanery
Pip Hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2021-01-06
The ruling that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States is welcome, but it comes after the charade in which British authorities held an unconvicted person in a top security prison and made his defence as difficult as possible, argues Stuart Rees.
greenleft.org.au/content/assange-decision-welcome-sullied-legal-chicanery

UN human rights expert 'cautiously' welcomes UK court's refusal to extradite Julian Assange
news.un.org | 2021-01-06
An independent UN human rights expert has welcomed a British court's refusal to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States on the basis that he would be exposed to oppressive conditions of imprisonment.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081442

Assange Extradition Denial Indicts US Prison System But Imperils Journalism
Prof. Marjorie Cohn | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-06
Julian Assange's legal victory this week was bittersweet. In a stunning decision, British judge Vanessa Baraitser denied Donald Trump's request for extradition of Assange to the United States, ruling that he was at high risk of suicide if he were …
globalresearch.ca/assange-extradition-denial-indicts-us-prison-system-but-imperils-journalism/5733687

Julian Assange's bail plea denied
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-06
A British judge denied Julian Assange's plea for bail on Wednesday, January 6. Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected the bail request filed by Assange's legal team on the grounds that he still has "incentive" to abscond. Assange will continue to remain in the high security prison in Belmarsh pending the appeal filed by the United States on his extradition. The same judge on Monday had rejected the appeal for his extradition to the United States. | The judge, on Wednesday, stated that…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/06/julian-assanges-bail-plea-denied-2/

Medical doctors respond to Assange extradition ruling: "He must be released without delay"
wsws.org | 2021-01-06
"We demand that all legal proceedings be dropped and that he be released from prison, and only then will his psychological torture finally end."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/06/doct-j06.html

'An unwanted prison sentence' for seafarers stuck at home and stranded at sea
news.un.org | 2021-01-06
Hundreds of thousands of seafarers have been on board for many months longer than planned, stranded at sea due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Six months after the problem was first revealed, many of them are still struggling to cope with the ongoing uncertainty.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081482

Advocates demand action as largest women's prison experiences COVID-19 outbreak
| workers.org | 2021-01-06
The following press release was issued Jan. 5 by the California Coalition for Women Prisoners CHOWCHILLA, Calif. There is a life-threatening massive outbreak of COVID-19 at the Central California Women's Facility, California's largest women's prison. In the past two weeks, there have been 500 new COVID-19 cases, representing 25% . . . | Continue reading Advocates demand action as largest women's prison experiences COVID-19 outbreak at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/01/53611/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=advocates-demand-action-as-largest-womens-prison-experiences-covid-19-outbreak

"This Is Voter Suppression"
Latosha Brown | zcomm.org | 2021-01-06
198,000 Georgia Residents Were Illegally Purged from Voter Rolls…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/this-is-voter-suppression/

President and CEO of the NAACP Releases Statement on Disruption of Peaceful Transition of Power and Calls for Impeachment of President Trump
commondreams.org | 2021-01-06
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2021/01/06/president-and-ceo-naacp-releases-statement-disruption-peaceful-transition-power?cd-origin=rss

Ecuador: Court Lifts Ex-President Bucaram's House Arrest
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-06
Guayas' Court on Tuesday lifted the house arrest imposed on ex-President Abdala Bucaram (1996-1997) who is accused of patrimonial object trafficking, illegal possession of weapons, among other criminal charges. | RELATED: | Ecuador: Tribunal Hears a Claim Against Electoral Officials | A habeas corpus petition was filed by Bucaram who was subject to an investigation in August 2020 due to his alleged involvement in the irregular sale of medical supplies and illegal possession of pat…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Court-Lifts-Ex-President-Bucarams-House-Arrest-20210106-0015.html

EMERGENCY TWITTER/PHONE CALL ALERT! Alabama prison hunger striker beaten
Devin C | workers.org | 2021-01-06
On the morning of Jan. 4, a prisoner participating in the #Alabama11 hunger strike was beaten and bloodied by a guard, Officer Landrum, at the instructions of Sgt. Williams, for his participation in the hunger strike. The prisoner's name is Ronnie Miller, #244648. He is out of the infirmary, but . . . | Continue reading EMERGENCY TWITTER/PHONE CALL ALERT! Alabama prison hunger striker beaten at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/01/53593/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=emergency-twitter-phone-call-alert-alabama-prison-hunger-striker-beaten

#TheCanaryLive — Julian Assange extradition hearing decision: what next?
Pablo Navarrete | thecanary.co | 2021-01-05
On the day a UK court ruled that Julian Assange will not be extradited to the US where he would face 175 years in prison, we discuss the verdict and what happens next. Speakers include: Journalists John McEvoy and Mohamed Elmaazi, Maxine Walker from the UK-based Committee to Defend Julian Assange, Trade unioni…
thecanary.co/video/2021/01/05/thecanarylive-julian-assange-extradition-hearing-decision-what-next/

Sri Lanka prison massacre autopsy confirms victims were shot
wsws.org | 2021-01-05
After the bloodbath, the Rajapakse government is taking further measures to tighten the repressive conditions in prisons.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/05/pris-j05.html

Qatar blockade: Saudi deal raises questions about prisoners, flight paths and bots
Nadda Osman | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-05
Qatar blockade: Saudi deal raises questions about prisoners, flight paths and bots | As Saudi Arabia declares the lifting of the three-year land and air blockade on its Gulf neighbour, many issues remain to be resolved | Nadda Osman | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 14: 05 | Many people have raised questions on what the end of the Saudi blockade will mean for prisoners, flight paths and the Saudi bot network (Screengrab/social medi…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/qatar-blockade-saudi-arabia-end-questions-flights-bots

Protest over appalling conditions in New Zealand prison
wsws.org | 2021-01-05
Twenty-one prisoners were involved in a six-day standoff to oppose rundown and unsanitary conditions at Waikeria Prison, exposing the false promises by the Labour Party-led government to make prisons more humane.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/05/nzpr-j05.html

Lawsuit Launched to Protect 11 Species Kept on Waiting List by Trump Administration
commondreams.org | 2021-01-05
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2021/01/05/lawsuit-launched-protect-11-species-kept-waiting-list-trump-administration?cd-origin=rss

Alabama prisons: ON STRIKE!
Devin C | workers.org | 2021-01-05
Occupied Muscogee Creek / Cherokee / Yuchi / Choctaw / Shawnee / Chickasaw land As of Jan. 1, 2021, incarcerated workers in Alabama's odious prison system are on strike! Led by the Free Alabama Movement, incarcerated workers throughout the state of Alabama have put down their work tools and refused . . . | Continue reading Alabama prisons: ON STRIKE! at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/01/53547/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=alabama-prisons-on-strike

Chile: Court Rules Out a Claim Against Feminist Group Las Tesis
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-05
Valparaiso's Guarantee Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit against four members of the feminist group Las Tesis who were accused of inciting violence after "A Rapist on Your Way" performance. | RELATED: | Chile Experienced an Increase in Femicides in 2020 | The Military police (Carabineros) accused them of creating animosity against the institution, following the broadcast of a video in which Las Tesis appeared outside a police station denouncing violence against women. | Highlighting the…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-Court-Rules-Out-a-Claim-Against-Feminist-Group-Las-Tesis-20210105-0007.html

Ecuador: Tribunal Hears a Claim Against Electoral Officials
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-05
Ecuador's Electoral Contentious Tribunal (TCE) Tuesday is set to hold a hearing against members of the National Electoral Council (CNE), whom the Social Justice Movement (SJM) accused of electoral infractions. | RELATED: | Over 52% of Ecuadoreans Fell Into Poverty in 2020 | The lawsuit was filed against CNE President Diana Atamaint and councilors Luis Verdesoto, Enrique Pita, and Jose Cabrera. They were accused of "serious electoral offenses" for not complying with a ruling that granted new…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Tribunal-Hears-a-Claim-Against-Electoral-Officials-20210105-0014.html