2021-04-21: News Headlines

Staff (2021-04-21). Guilty on All Counts: Derek Chauvin Verdict Triggers Relief & Determination to Keep Fighting. democracynow.org A jury in Minneapolis has convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin on three counts for murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds last year. The jury reached its decision after 10 hours of deliberation. Derek Chauvin will be sentenced in two months. He faces up to 40 years in prison for the most serious charge, second-degree murder. He is the first white police officer in Minnesota to ever be convicted of killing a Black man. We feature reactions from people gathered outside the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, comments from George Floyd's brother and nephew, as…

Staff (2021-04-21). Mass Protests Led to Chauvin's Conviction. Now They're Being Criminalized. truthout.org On Tuesday, former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin was convicted on all charges in the brutal public lynching of George Floyd. For the Floyd family, the conviction offered some solace that the courts did not allow Floyd's life to be taken with impunity. For many of us, however, it was a hollow "victory," not only because prisons don't solve our problems, but because we know police don't either. | While the trial convicted Chauvin, as an individual, it sought to exonerate the larger system of policing…

PAI (2021-04-21). AFL-CIO hails Chauvin verdict, but police unions still an issue for organized labor. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (PAI)—A jury's conviction of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin on all three counts in George Floyd's killing—including one that could send Chauvin to prison for decades—delivered justice to Floyd's family, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says. But at the same time, he warned, it's not the end of the story. Reconstructing the U.S. away from …

A Guest Author (2021-04-21). WAAR on Chauvin verdicts: 'We'll accept nothing less than police abolition'. workers.org April 20 protest, New York CityWW PHOTO: Nathaniel Chase The following statement was issued on April 20 by the Workers Assembly Against Racism, based in New York City. One killer cop in jail does nothing to address the violence and trauma that materially fills the experience of Black, Brown, and . . . |

Wayne Nealis (2021-04-21). Chauvin guilty, but police killed 64 more people during his trial. peoplesworld.org MINNEAPOLIS—With the first white cop in Minnesota going to prison for killing a Black man, there is joy and relief in the city of Minneapolis. Nowhere is this moment felt more deeply than in the Black community. A diverse jury of Hennepin County residents returned a guilty verdict on all three counts against Derek Chauvin …

_____ (2021-04-21). Uncomfortable Truths, Justice, and George Floyd. strategic-culture.org We ignore uncomfortable truths. The melding of the horrors of slavery with civil rights era lynchings with the killing of George Floyd, all wrapped in the means-what-you-want-it-to-mean of systemic racism, flirts with incitement to violence. It won't fix anything but falling MSM circulation rates, but that's sort of the point.

Staff (2021-04-21). Headlines for April 21, 2021. democracynow.org Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty on All Counts for Murdering George Floyd, Police Shoot Dead 16-Year-Old Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio, Judge Denies Dismissal of Prison Sentence for Officer Who Shot and Killed Walter Scott in 2015, India Faces COVID "Storm"; AMLO Gets COVID Vaccine; U.S. Warns Against Travel to 80% of Globe, Johnson & Johnson Resumes European Rollout After Regulator Says Benefits Outweigh Blood Clot Risk, AOC and Sen. Markey Reintroduce Green New Deal as Biden Sets Ambitious Emissions Target, Idriss Déby's Son Named Interim Leader Following Chadian President's Death, Journalists in Over 100 Cou…

VINS (2021-04-21). ACLU Demands Improved COVID-19 Protections for Florida Detainees. projectcensored.org The American Civil Law Union (ACLU) of Florida and Disability Rights Florida co-filed a class action lawsuit against the Sheriff of Broward County after receiving complaints of the county's lack…

Eds. (2021-04-21). Towards a Marxist theatre. mronline.org With the onset of the pandemic, the second Black Lives Matter movement, and the economic crisis, theatre as an art form and an industry is in a period of crisis and rebuilding. | April 21, 2021 | Newswire…

Devin Cole (2021-04-21). HB1: Jim Crow 2.0 — an interview with Jamil Davis. workers.org House Bill 1, a bill criminalizing protest in the state of Florida beyond measures that already exist, passed its final Senate committee April 15. It was signed into law April 19 by fascistic Gov. Ron DeSantis, who proposed the bill in September 2020 as a response to the Black Lives . . . |

Shelley Ettinger (2021-04-21). San Antonio activists take on phony cop 'unions'. workers.org San Antonio — Black Lives Matter activists in San Antonio came out April 16 and 17 to demand an end to police killings of Black and Brown people, nationally and locally. The first demonstration, sponsored by the San Antonio Coalition for Police Accountability, Fix SAPD and others, was focused on . . . |

Dave Lindorff (2021-04-21). US Has No Moral Standing to Criticize Russia or China. counterpunch.org President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken are worried about Russian Putin critic and presidential aspirant, currently in a Russian prison after conviction on charges of skipping bail and leaving the country and other charges, being abused and at risk of dying in jail. That threat may or may not be real,

a guest author (2021-04-21). 'Shackling of aged inmate, Mumia Abu-Jamal, is deplorable'. workers.org The following statement was released April 20 from the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commission concerning the practice by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections of shackling of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal during his recent and current periods of hospitalizations. Read the statement at tinyurl.com/c7smdu24. GENEVA (April 20, . . . |

Betsey Piette (2021-04-21). Mumia Abu-Jamal's life in jeopardy — demand his release now! workers.org Led by Pam Africa (left) demonstrators take to the streets to demand immediate release for Mumia Abu-Jamal, Philadelphia, March 12. Credit: Joe Piette Philadelphia Family and supporters of Pennsylvania political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal became alarmed when they did not get his routine daily calls after April 10. On April 14 . . . |

Kate Ruane (2021-04-21). Privacy Rights Do Not Come With a Price Tag. aclu.org Apps you use every day on your phone collect and sell sensitive data, including your location over time. That data could wind up in government hands without you even knowing it — and it's already happening to millions of people across the country. When the government wants to obtain our private information, like our location data, the Fourth Amendment requires it to go to court and obtain a warrant, but over the past year, we've learned that the government has been buying its way around this requirement. Agencies are purchasing location data and other sensitive information from private companies without…

WSWS (2021-04-21). The Washington Post's phony campaign on Uyghur "genocide" wsws.org With astonishing speed, the US media has swung into action churning out a growing deluge of propaganda with lurid horror stories of life in the detention camps in Xinjiang, calls for the US to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and demands for tougher measures against China.

_____ (2021-04-21). Water Protector Steve Martinez Released From Grand Jury Detention. popularresistance.org Bismarck, ND — On March 3, Steve Martinez was jailed at the Burleigh County Detention Center after refusing to testify before a secret federal grand jury investigating 2016 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. | Martinez is now finally free as of April 12, according to a statement posed to social media by the 'Support Steve Martinez' campaign. | Martinez has served over 60 in days in federal detention. He was previously been jailed for most of February 2021 for refusing to testify, but was briefly released after a judge found the magistrate who ordered him detained did not have the authority to do s…

Editor2 (2021-04-21). USA: Shackling of Aged Inmate, Mumia Abu-Jamal, is Deplorable — UN Experts. orinocotribune.com GENEVA (20 April 2021) — UN human rights experts* expressed serious concerns about the treatment and welfare of Mumia Abu-Jamal, an African-American man who has been in jail for 40 years in Pennsylvania, and is reportedly shackled to his hospital bed. Mr. Abu-Jamal had already been shackled to his bed during a four-day hospitalization in late February while being treated for heart failure. | Mr. Abu-Jamal has been denied visits from his family and access to his lawyers and spiritual advisor after being admitted to an undisclosed hospital around 10 April, where he will reportedly undergo surgery. "This ongoi…

John Tully (2021-04-21). A century of oppression: The Kurds and the Turkish state. zcomm.org t would be wrong, though, to see the Kurds merely as victims. They have resisted their oppressors, sometimes by armed struggle, at other times by peaceful mass mobilisation…

Susan Price (2021-04-21). A century of oppression: The Kurds and the Turkish state. greenleft.org.au John Tully looks at the history of repressive, and at times genocidal, anti-Kurdish policies that go back to the foundation of the Turkish Republic.

Andy Worthington (2021-04-21). 24 Senators Send Letter To President Biden Urging Him To Close Guantánamo — OpEd. eurasiareview.com In the long struggle to try to secure the closure of the prison at Guantánamo Bay, there has rarely been adequate support from lawmakers, so it was extremely reassuring, on April 16, to see that 24 Democratic Senators — almost half of the Democrats in the Senate — have written Led by Senate Majority Whip and Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, and including Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, Elizabeth Wa…

Fidencio Aldama Solidarity Group (2021-04-21). New Website Launched in Solidarity with Yaqui Political Prisoner Fidencio Aldama Pérez. indybay.org We are excited to announce the launch of a new bilingual Spanish/English website to expand solidarity efforts with Fidencio Aldama, his family, and the community of Loma de Bácum.

UN statement reposted by Jamal Journal (2021-04-21). United Nations: Shackling of aged inmate, Mumia Abu-Jamal, is deplorable. indybay.org "The use of shackles during his hospital stays is deplorable, and causes Mr. Abu-Jamal additional and unnecessary suffering," said the experts. "International standards on the treatment of prisoners clearly stipulate that instruments of restraint are to be imposed only when no lesser form of control would be effective to address the risks posed by unrestricted movement."

Prison Radio, reposted by the Jamal Journal (2021-04-21). BREAKING: Mumia Abu-Jamal is out of surgery! indybay.org Tuesday April 20 morning update: We just heard from the medical attorneys that Mumia is recovering well from the surgery. Mumia is getting minimal oxygen and one IV which is a good sign. We have not yet heard from Mumia but we expect he will be able to call his family today. We need to see him, hear from him, and know that he has the proper rehabilitation plan. Mumia's wife Wadiya says "I won't know he is ok until i hear from him directly."

news.un (2021-04-21). Russia: Rights experts call for immediate medical evacuation of Alexei Navalny. news.un.org Experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council called on Wednesday for the urgent medical evacuation of detained Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, fearing he is in "serious danger" due to deteriorating health and harsh prison conditions.

Tom Anderson (2021-04-21). Campaigners take action against expanding private prison system that 'creates motivation to incarcerate'. thecanary.co A group of campaigners On Monday 19 April, campaigners The blockade carrie…

Staff (2021-04-20). Jurors Deliberate in Derek Chauvin Trial as Prosecution Urges Them to "Believe What They Had Seen" democracynow.org As jury deliberations are underway in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder and manslaughter for killing George Floyd last May, we go to Minneapolis to discuss final arguments and what is next in the case. We speak with civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, who says the prosecution "started strong and ended strong" by reminding "the jury that they could believe what they had seen with their own eyes."

Susan Price (2021-04-20). United States: George Floyd's killer found guilty. greenleft.org.au The verdict in the trial of George Floyd's killer has been handed down. Malik Miah looks at the trial, the Black Lives Matter movement and the changes needed to policing in the United States.

Wayne Nealis (2021-04-20). Chauvin jury deliberates; world waits to see whether justice will prevail. peoplesworld.org MINNEAPOLIS—On Monday evening, a jury of 12 Hennepin County residents began their deliberations as to Derek Chauvin's future. Will it be years in prison, or will he leave the courtroom a free person acquitted of the charges? It is nearly incomprehensible to think any jury would not find Chauvin guilty for the murder of George …

Amelie Liu* (2021-04-20). I'm A Multicultural Teen Trying To Fit Into Our 'Melting Pot' — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Reading the latest news, I remain silent and unsurprised as my dumbfounded friends, teachers and primarily white family members gasp. | "Two Asian Women Beaten and Robbed in San Francisco." "8 Dead in Atlanta Spa Shootings, With Fears of Anti-Asian Bias." "Spit On, Yelled At, Attacked: Chinese-Americans Fear for Their Safety." | While COVID-19 has escalated discrimination against Asians, Asian-hate is not new to me, and it is especially not new in America. But in the wake of the recent Asian-hate crimes, I can't stop thinking about the children of the victims — many of whom are multiracial, born in Ameri…

Julia Rapp (2021-04-20). D.C. activists demand Justice for Daunte Wright and three Black men killed in DMV area. liberationnews.org The rally, hosted by the Party for Socialism and Liberation called for the jailing of racist killer cops and an end to racist police terror.

Eds. (2021-04-20). Principles of radical political economics. mronline.org The starting point for radical political economists is agreement on the need to oppose injustice and oppression and the conviction that a theoretical understanding of contemporary societies can contribute to the political movements necessary to address them. | April 20, 2021 | Newswire…

The Conversation (2021-04-20). Blocked from Civil Dissent, Women in Saudi Arabia are turning to business as 'quiet' Feminist activism. juancole.com By Sophie Alkhaled | — Prominent Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was released from prison on February 10 2021 after 1,001 days in custody. Al-Hathloul, a leading campaigner for women's rights in Saudi Arabia, had been sentenced to five years and eight months in prison in 2018 for pushing a foreign agenda and using …

Anonymous007 (2021-04-20). Military Situation In Afghanistan On April 20, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On April 19, 28 civilians were freed from Taliban's prison in Mosa Qala district of Helmand province, accoding to the Afghanistan MOD | On April 19, eight police members were killed and three were wounded in a Taliban attack on Zibak district in the Badakhshan province | On April 20, two members of popular forces were killed and several were wounded in a Taliban attack in Ghorian district | On April 19, Ata Jan Haqbayan, the head of the provincial council in Zabul…

Charlie Hogle (2021-04-20). The Public Should Have Access to the Surveillance Court's Opinions. aclu.org For decades, a special court—the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or "FISC"—has issued secret legal opinions authorizing the U.S. government to conduct sweeping programs of electronic surveillance. These opinions have had a profound impact on Americans' rights to privacy, free expression, and free association. But many of them are entirely hidden from public view. | Secret law undermines democracy and the legitimacy of the judicial system—especially when the law being withheld from the public affects the rights of millions of people. So today, the ACLU is asking the Supreme Court to o…

Lilyana Pantoja (2021-04-20). Sonoma County's Institutional Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement. indybay.org This piece is about Sonoma County's educational institution's reponse to the Black Lives Matter movement. It explains the movement and how it has affected a couple of educational institutions in the county. It brings to light what their steps are going forward after the movement's influence.

Amanda Mills (2021-04-20). Civil rights groups urge Biden administration to cancel $50,000 in student debt per borrower. nationofchange.org "The $1.7 trillion student loan crisis is crushing individuals, families, and our economy, and the weight of this burden is disproportionately borne by women and Black and Latino borrowers."

Eurasia Review (2021-04-20). Proportion Of Black Physicians In US Has Changed Little In 120 Years. eurasiareview.com A new UCLA study finds that the proportion of physicians who are Black in the U.S. has increased by only 4 percentage points over the past 120 years, and that the share of doctors who are Black men remains unchanged since 1940. | The research also spotlights a significant income gap between white and Black male physicians — a disparity, the researcher writes, that could reflect a combination of pay discrimination and unequal access for physicians to pursue careers in more lucrative specialties. The paper will be published in the peer-reviewed Journal of General Internal Medicine. | "These findings demonstrate…

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