2021-01-12: News Headlines

Betsey Piette (2021-01-12). Free Maroon! Jan. 18 day of actions. workers.org Prison abolitionists in several Northeast cities are organizing "Justice Is Dead" car caravans on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to demand an end of "Death by COVID" in prisons. The Jan. 18 actions will target governors in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, who have allowed genocidal prison neglect to . . . |

Sandra Park (2021-01-12). Tenants' Right to Counsel is Critical to Fight Mass Evictions and Advance Race Equity During the Pandemic and Beyond. aclu.org As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on and worsens, people across the country face the devastation left in its wake. The public health and economic consequences of the pandemic have cost millions of people their jobs and the ability to pay rent — leaving far too many renters facing the added threat of eviction and losing their homes., , The patchwork of responses has yet to slow down the eviction crisis thus far. Congress first responded through the CARES Act by putting a halt on evictions with a moratorium for a fraction of tenants across the country, but this expired in July 2020. In September, the Cent…

_____ (2021-01-12). Driver Lawsuit Says Uber And Lyft's Proposition 22 Is Unconstitutional. popularresistance.org A trio of ride-hail drivers filed a lawsuit in California's Supreme Court on Tuesday alleging Proposition 22 is unconstitutional. The proposition was voted into law by California residents in November and ensures gig workers in the state are classified as independent contractors, rather than employees. | Proposition 22 was authored by gig economy companies, including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart, which spent more than $205 million to get the ballot measure passed. It exempts the companies from a state law requiring that they treat their workers as employees. | The proposition has only been in effect for one…

Brian Tashman (2021-01-12). As Sheriffs Quit ICE, Joe Biden Can Lead the Way in Restoring Trust. aclu.org This month, two newly-elected sheriffs canceled contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The sheriffs in Gwinnett County, Georgia and Charleston County, South Carolina were

MEE staff (2021-01-12). Gym, spa and snooker: Egyptians condemn 'seven-star prison' for Mubarak officials. middleeasteye.net Gym, spa and snooker: Egyptians condemn 'seven-star prison' for Mubarak officials | Former prisoner reveals Mubarak's sons and aides were in luxury jails, prompting accusations of discrimination against prisoners of conscience | Tue, 01/12/2021 – 14: 49 | Alaa (left) and Gamal Mubarak, the sons of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, arrive for their trial on corruption charges in Cairo, 9 July 2012. They were rele…

MEE staff (2021-01-12). 'Horrific barbarism': UK to ban Chinese imports linked to forced Uighur labour. middleeasteye.net 'Horrific barbarism': UK to ban Chinese imports linked to forced Uighur labour | Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says China's use of forced Uighur prison labour is 'truly horrific barbarism we had hoped lost to another era' | Tue, 01/12/2021 – 18: 41 | Protesters at a rally in Hong Kong in support of the Uighur minority in China, December 2019 (AFP/File photo) | The United Kingdom has accused China of human rig…

Nadda Osman (2021-01-12). Egypt: Prison sentences overturned for TikTok influencers. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Prison sentences overturned for TikTok influencers | Young women originally convicted of 'violating public morals' in case internationally condemned | Tue, 01/12/2021 – 14: 39 | The Egyptian content creators were originally charged with 'violating public morals' (AFP) | Cairo's Economic Appeals Court overturned the prison sentences of TikTok content creators Haneen Hossam and Mowada al-Adham on Tu…

CP Editor (2021-01-12). Behind These Prison Walls. counterpunch.org

IMEMC News (2021-01-12). Former Political Prisoner Dies From Cancer That Went Untreated In Prison. imemc.org The Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Committee has reported that a young Palestinian man who was only released from Israeli detention camps a few months ago, had died, on Monday evening, from cancer that went untreated while he was held captive. The Committee stated that Mohammad Eyada Salahuddin, 20, from Hizma town, east of the occupied …

Caleb Granger (2021-01-12). Sexual assault rampant in ICE detention centers across Texas. liberationnews.org Across the state of Texas, women have been brutalized, beaten and deported before they were able to testify against their abusers.

IMEMC News (2021-01-12). PPS: "Israeli Soldiers Abduct Fourteen Palestinians In West Bank" imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday at dawn, fourteen Palestinians from their homes in several parts of the occupied West Bank, after the army broke into and ransacked dozens of homes. The PPS office in Tulkarem, in northern West Bank, said the soldiers abducted Mohammad Wasfi Jallad, 54, …

Death Penalty Abolition (2021-01-12). Biden Asked To Withdraw ProExecution Garland As AG. indybay.org Biden chose for AG Merrick Garland, who as a prosecutor called for the death penalty and was instrumental in the passage of the unconstitutional 96 pro execution law, who denied GTMO prisoner rights, upheld draconian marijuana regulations, denied most prisoner mercy appeals, and paved the way for Citizens United ruling that $ is speech.

Greg Roest (2021-01-12). Payments to Alaskans are Not a UBI. realprogressives.org Supporters of a federally funded Universal Basic Income (UBI) often incorrectly point to the dividends paid from Alaska's Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) as a proof of concept. This view is detached from reality in both scale and operation. Looking at Alaska for a federal model does not utilize our existing capability to provide a better life for all people and looking elsewhere for a federal model requires the study of macroeconomics and oppression. Further, calls for a UBI should not be conflated with a basic income underneath the umbrella of a Federal Job Guarantee (FJG), and alongside enshrined universal…

Ed Rampell (2021-01-12). By Any Means Necessary: The FBI vs. Civil Rights. progressive.org This new documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the agency's dirty war against the 'Black Messiah.'

VINS (2021-01-12). California Overlooks Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters. projectcensored.org During California's 2020 wildfire crisis, the state exploited prison labor to meet a labor shortage in fire fighters. As VICE's Motherboard reported in September 2020, even as California recruited fire crews from six other states and from Israel, Mexico, and Australia, the current labor shortage was "brought on by the state itself." Though California's reliance on low-paid incarcerated firefighters is "well documented," after they are released from prison "institutional barriers" prevent them from becoming full-time professional firefighters. | As Motherboard reported, inmate firefighters typically make up betwee…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-11). Israel 'declined WHO request' to provide Covid-19 vaccine for Palestinian medics. middleeasteye.net Israel 'declined WHO request' to provide Covid-19 vaccine for Palestinian medics | Israeli authorities accused of 'racial discrimination' for refusing to provide Palestinians with jabs | Mon, 01/11/2021 – 13: 22 | An Israeli senior citizen receives his second Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the northern coastal city of Haifa on 11 January 2021 (AFP) | An official at the World Health Organisatio…

Daniel Greenfield (2021-01-11). Parler and the Problem of Escaping Internet Censorship. anti-empire.com Back when Parler was first taking off, I warned that its app-based dependency meant that two companies, Apple and Google, can eliminate it anytime they like. | It was only a matter of time. | The transition from desktops and laptops to Android and IOS devices mean that users are operating in a walled garden run by two very lefty companies. Those companies can do with the garden what they please. Those users who choose to jailbreak their devices have more options, but most don't. Conservatives can try to distribute the knowledge more widely and encourage that kind of self-empowerment. But the bottom line is most s…

Eds. (2021-01-11). Cedric Robinson, racial capitalism and the return of black radicalism. mronline.org The terms "black radicalism" and "racial capitalism" have become buzzwords in the revitalised international discussion about race that has arisen in parallel with the Black Lives Matter movement since 2013.

Staff (2021-01-11). TRNN's Eddie Conway: Prisoners have power in their own words. therealnews.com Forty years ago, Eddie Conway spoke to fellow prisoners at the Maryland Penitentiary as part of the "Say Their Own Word" program, which he helped organize as an inmate. A free man now, Conway reflects on the program and the ongoing struggle against the carceral state.

Paul Dobson (2021-01-11). Detention of Venezuelan Abortion Activist Prompts Continental Pressure Campaign. venezuelanalysis.com Vannesa Rosales is facing charges for counselling a pregnant 13-year-old rape victim.

commondreams (2021-01-11). Education and Civil Rights Groups Send Letter to Biden Education Transition Team, Urging Them to Protect English Learners by Postponing Proficiency Testing. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2021-01-11). Muslim Advocates Calls on Facebook's New Civil Rights VP to Ban Trump, Prioritize Anti-Muslim Hate. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2021-01-11). As 'Dark Stain' of Guant√°namo Begins 20th Year, Groups Demand Biden Close Offshore Prison. commondreams.org "Biden must reaffirm his commitment to closure and take the necessary action to accomplish it before we have to mark the 20th anniversary next year," says the Center for Constitutional Rights. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/huovu_ou.jpg

commondreams (2021-01-11). Guant√°namo Advocates Condemn 19th Anniversary of Indefinite Detention. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Aaron Maté (2021-01-10). UN torture expert on Julian Assange's persecution and the lies behind it. thegrayzone.com As a UK judge rejects Julian Assange's extradition but keeps him caged in Belmarsh prison, UN Special Rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer discusses Assange's persecution and the lies used to wage it. A UK judge has rejected a US attempt to extradite Julian Assange, citing the Wikileaks founder's risk of suicide and the poor conditions of US prisons. But Judge Vanessa Baraitser accepted the basis for the US government's espionage case against Assange and ruled against releasing him on bail. …

Paul Craig Roberts (2021-01-10). Is America's Future a Civil War? thealtworld.com As a person who grew up in the glorious aftermath of World War II, it never occurred to me that in my later years I would be pondering whether the United States would end in civil war or a police state. In the aftermath of the stolen presidential election, it seems a 50-50 toss up. | There is abundant evidence of a police state. One feature of a police state is controlled explanations and the suppression of dissent. We certainly have that in abundance. | Experts are not permitted forums in which to challenge the official position on Covid. | Teachers are suspended for giving offense by using gender pronouns. | Re…

_____ (2021-01-10). Assange Ruling Is A Blow Against A Free Press — A Closer Look. popularresistance.org Judge Vanessa Baraitser's decision to prevent Julian Assange's extradition to the United States to face trial on espionage-related criminal charges is a partial victory for Assange, his family, and his supporters. Baraitser was not satisfied that US prison authorities would be able to prevent the award-winning journalist from taking his life, given the conditions of solitary confinement and isolation that he would likely face during pre-trial detention and in the event of his conviction. | However, in her ruling, the judge made clear that Assange would have been extradited, if it weren't for his "substantial risk…

Staff (2021-01-10). New Google Union Will Help Build Labor Struggle Against Technological Oppression. truthout.org Last Monday, workers at Google and other companies under the umbrella company Alphabet formed a "minority union," affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). This Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) claims it aims to include workers of all job descriptions at Alphabet, including temps and contractors, who are normally excluded from union activities recognized by the National Labor Relations Board. These workers have explicitly said why they are unionizing: thousands of workers a…

Rescue Pacifica (2021-01-10). KPFA LSB Members From Rescue Pacifica Protest The Lawsuit Against Pacifica. indybay.org KPFA Local Station Board members who are supporters of Rescue Pacifica protest a lawsuit to put Pacifica into a receivership with a judge in charge of the radio foundation.

Devin Cole (2021-01-09). Eleven Alabama prisoners begin hunger strike! workers.org Occupied Muscogee Creek land — Montgomery, Ala. Ronnie Miller, after assault by guard. With the announcement of the Alabama prison strike/30 Day Economic Blackout, 11 incarcerated workers in the segregation unit of Kilby Correctional Facility in Montgomery, Ala., have begun a hunger strike. (See "Alabama prisons: On Strike!" Workers World, . . . |

WSWS (2021-01-09). Detainees protest inhuman conditions on Australia's Christmas Island. wsws.org After being denied the right to peacefully demonstrate, detainees set fire to mattresses and buildings in the immigration prison.