(2021-04-22). Report sheds light on the pattern of overpricing that led cops to pull over Daunte Wright. mronline.org 
The criminal legal system "relies heavily on collecting money from the very people targeted by the system," in the process incentivizing police to punish as many people as possible, the authors of the ACLU report write. | April 22, 2021 | Newswire…
(2021-04-22). Report sheds light on the pattern of over-policing that led cops to pull over Daunte Wright. mronline.org The criminal legal system "relies heavily on collecting money from the very people targeted by the system," in the process incentivizing police to punish as many people as possible, the authors of the ACLU report write. | April 22, 2021 | Newswire…
(2021-04-22). Reactions to Chauvin guilty verdict: Only a first step to justice. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The overwhelming reaction to the Minneapolis jury's verdict finding former city police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges of murder and manslaughter in kneeing George Floyd to death last year was that it was great, but only a first step towards justice. From union leaders to Black Lives Matter to the Women's March, virtually …
(2021-04-22). Emmett Till was the first George Floyd. peoplesworld.org 
CHICAGO (AP)—A Black Chicago teen's lynching in 1955 galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. A Black Minneapolis man's killing by police last year propelled a worldwide call for racial justice and ending police brutality. The murders of Emmett Till and George Floyd were separated by more than six decades, contrasting circumstances and countless protests, but their …
(2021-04-22). Darwin mobilises to free Medevac refugees. greenleft.org.au Chloe de Silva reports on the growing grassroots campaign for nine refugees to be released from indefinate detention in Darwin.
(2021-04-22). Man jailed for 'abhorrent' attack on transgender woman. thecanary.co A man who spat in the face of a transgender woman before punching her several times in the head in an "abhorrent" attack has been jailed. | Neil Cleal approached the victim, in her 50s, in Ludlow Road, Southampton, where he began shouting abuse at her, specifically about her gender identity. | A Hampshire police spokesman said: Cleal then proceeded to kick down her front gate and walk up to the woman and spit in her face before punching her several times to the head, causing her to fall backwards, leaving her in significant pain. | Cleal, 25, of Victoria Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual…
(2021-04-22). Paulo Freire's Brazil: 'Return To Grassroots Popular Education'. popularresistance.org In my case, I spent four years in prison, two with political prisoners and two with ordinary prisoners. With the common prisoners, we experimented with popular education through theater, reading circles, crafts and painting. At the time, we were already inspired by the methodology devised by Paulo Freire. Next September will mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, and it is only right to recall how popular education, which he introduced, still has the potential to make the oppressed into social and political protagonists. I believe that it is also thanks to Paulo Freire that, in an elitist country like Brazil, w…
(2021-04-22). US Has No Moral Standing To Criticize Russia Or China. popularresistance.org The first and most urgent is Mumia Abu-Jamal, ones a leading Black journalist in Philadelphia who was convicted in 1982 of the killing of a white Philadelphia police officer in a trial marked by perjured testimony from clearly coached witnesses claiming to have seen an "execution style" slaying that crime photos and a gun test conducted by myself and fellow journalist Linn Washington, Jr., prove could not have happened as portrayed by the prosecutor, who himself was guilty of misconduct in lying about the availability of a witness to the judge. Abu-Jamal, who is about to turn 67, has served 40 years in prison, mo…
(2021-04-22). A Robeson-Influenced Prayer and Birthday Greeting from England. counterpunch.org It was Paul Robeson who introduced us, albeit he'd been dead for 32 years. My new acquaintance had been locked away in prison for 26 years, and was still contesting a death sentence. The venue was the Oakland City Hall, and the occasion the grand opening, on what would have been Paul Robeson's 110th birthday —
(2021-04-22). 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.
(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,
(2021-04-21). 'Exactly the Person We Need': Senate Confirms Civil Rights Champion Vanita Gupta for Key Spot at DOJ. commondreams.org Every Republican senator except one voted against the veteran attorney and rights advocate. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/vanita-gupta-confirmed-senate.jpg …
(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…
(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…
(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…
(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 . . . |
(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 . . . |
(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 …
(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 . . . |
(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, . . . |
(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 . . . |
(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…
(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). 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…
(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…
(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.
(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). Australia: Northern Territory Labor government pushing harsher bail laws for children. wsws.org The punitive measures would overturn some of the cosmetic "reforms" introduced to placate mass anger over the brutal treatment of children in NT detention centres such as Don Dale.
(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…
(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…
(2021-04-21). A Trader's Federal Lawsuit Against JPMorgan Chase Offers a Window into the Crime Culture at the Five Felony-Count Bank. counterpunch.org Donald Turnbull, a former Global Head of Precious Metals Trading at JPMorgan Chase, has filed a doozy of a federal lawsuit against the bank. Turnbull worked on the same JPMorgan Chase precious metals desk that was deemed to be a racketeering enterprise by the U.S. Department of Justice when it handed down indictments in 2019.
(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.
(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…
(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."
(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."
(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.
(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…
(2021-04-21). Sri Lankan opposition mounts anti-China campaign over Colombo Port City bill. wsws.org The opposition parties are not concerned about the bill's suppression of workers' rights, but are whipping up a nationalist, anti-China campaign to align Sri Lanka with the mounting US-led confrontation with Beijing.