2021-05-03: News Headlines

Steve Early (2021-05-03). The Biggest Bust Ever: Direct Action Lessons From Three Days in May of 1971. counterpunch.org Fifty years ago this May, when the U.S. Capitol police were better at arresting large numbers of white trespassers, I watched 1,200 of my fellow anti-war demonstrators carted off to jail for just sitting on the back steps of the Capitol and listening to speeches from two House members. That bust was the last gasp

_____ (2021-05-03). World Celebrates Press Freedom Day, Julian Assange Remains In Belmarsh Prison. popularresistance.org As people worldwide celebrate the UN's World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, WikiLeaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange remains incarcerated. | The US continues to demand Assange's extradition for his role in obtaining and publishing national defence documents from 2009 to 2011. The leaks, provided by US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, are known as the Guantanamo Files, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diary, and the US diplomatic cables (aka Cablegate). | There are noteworthy parallels which can be drawn between Assange's case and that of famed US Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. Ellsberg w…

sputniknews (2021-05-03). Allies of Julian Assange Demand His Liberty on Press Freedom Day. sputniknews.com Supporters of the whistle-blowing website's founder highlighted the hypocrisy of US, British and European Union leaders' pious words on World Press Freedom Day, when they have contributed to Julian Assange's ongoing imprisonment.

Laurel Krause (2021-05-03). Kent State, April 4, 1970: Was It about Civil Rights or 
Murdering Student Protesters? globalresearch.ca When Ohio National Guardsmen fired sixty-seven gun shots in thirteen seconds at Kent State University (KSU) on May 4, 1970, they murdered four unarmed, protesting college students and wounded nine others.

sputniknews (2021-05-03). Blinken Says Biden Administration to Focus on Guantanamo in 'Months Ahead'. sputniknews.com Earlier, the Biden administration announced its plans to review the policy on the future of the notorious prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and said that it plans to shutter the detention center by the end of its tenure.

Pip Hinman (2021-05-03). Unionists help newly abandoned refugees. greenleft.org.au Chris Slee reports on community support for the Medevac refugees who have recently been released from hotel detention.

Unitarian Universalist Society of S.F. (2021-05-03). Wednesday 5/5: Vigil for Refugee Rights Stop Child Detention Recognize Asylum. indybay.org 1187 Franklin Street @ Geary…

Steve Early (2021-05-03). The Biggest Bust Ever: Direct Action Lessons From Three Days in May of 1971. counterpunch.org Fifty years ago this May, when the U.S. Capitol police were better at arresting large numbers of white trespassers, I watched 1,200 of my fellow anti-war demonstrators carted off to jail for just sitting on the back steps of the Capitol and listening to speeches from two House members. That bust was the last gasp

sputniknews (2021-05-03). British PM Says Iran Arms Deal Dispute Not Linked to Jailed Zaghari-Ratcliffe. sputniknews.com Reports that British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe would be released from prison in Iran in return for the British government repaying hundreds of millions owed for a never-honoured arms deal were dismissed by both governments on Sunday.

sputniknews (2021-05-03). Australian PM Defends Decision to Jail, Impose Fines on India Returnees Amid Racism Allegations. sputniknews.com Australia's decision to ban arrivals from India comes on the back of similar travel bans by other nations, including the US and the United Kingdom. However, Australia's threat to jail passengers travelling from India during the ban has prompted criticism from the Australian Human Rights Commission, the nation's federal watchdog.

Tasnim News Agency (2021-05-03). Iran Denies It's In Legal Talks With UK On Zaghari's Case. eurasiareview.com The Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson rejected reports that Tehran and London are engaged in legal negotiations about the release of Nazanin Zaghari, a dual Iranian-British citizen jailed for espionage. | Asked by reporters about comments from British officials about the continuation of legal talks on the release of Zaghari, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a press conference on Monday, "Legal negotiations are not going on between the two countries." | He emphasized that the Iranian Judiciary is the one that can comment on the issue. | "What is being discussed relates to issues abo…

sputniknews (2021-05-03). 'Provably False': Marilyn Manson's Lawyer Brushes Off Game of Thrones Star's Sexual Abuse Claims. sputniknews.com Esme Bianco, a British actress best known for her role as the prostitute Ros in Game of Thrones, filed a lawsuit against her former boyfriend, the rock star Marilyn Manson, accusing him of a variety of offences, including sexual and physical abuse. The suit has added to a heap of similar accusations against Manson made by other women.

Sanaa Khalil (2021-05-03). Oppression in the Form of Israeli Dates. commondreams.org Today, labor abuse, exploitation of natural resources, and theft of Palestinian land comes in the form of Israeli dates," writes Sanaa Khalil. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/dates-boycott.jpg

Staff (2021-05-03). Diplomat dismisses reports of prisoner swap with US. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 03 (MNA) — Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi has rejected recent reports which claimed that Iran and the US have agreed to a prisoner swap.

sputniknews (2021-05-03). Iran Rejects Reports About Prisoner Swap Deal With US. sputniknews.com TEHRAN (Sputnik) – Iranian Foreign Minister Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh on Monday rejected media reports about an alleged prisoner exchange agreement between Tehran and Washington.

Cyrus Yaqubi (2021-05-03). Widespread Protests By Workers And Retirees On International Workers' Day Reflection Of Dissatisfaction Of Iranian People With Khamenei's Regime — OpEd. eurasiareview.com On Saturday, May 1, 2021, coinciding with International Workers' Day in Iran, there were large gatherings of workers and retirees in 20 cities, including the capital Tehran; It was held in protest of their dire living conditions. Demonstrators chanted slogans such as "Government of looters, enemy of workers", "Shout of so much injustice." | "Our enemy is here, they are lying that it is America " – "Political prisoners must be freed" – "Workers awaken they are fed-up with the dictatorship" – Death to the oppressor; hail upon the worker! | They protested the current situation. These protest rallies have been hel…

David A. Love (2021-05-03). GOP Seeks to Shut Down Protests. progressive.org Mirroring voter suppression efforts throughout the country, GOP lawmakers in 34 states have introduced 81 bills to criminalize peaceful protest.

_____ (2021-05-02). Massachusetts House Rejects Distorted Definition Of Antisemitism. popularresistance.org Cambridge, MA – The Massachusetts House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected an amendment to the state budget which would have Massachusetts adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, a definition that equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism, within its law on religious discrimination | The problem amendment, called "Condemnation of Antisemitism and Adoption of IHRA Definition", was submitted by Rep. Howitt (R. Seekonk) as amendment #300 to the state budget bill, H.4000. | With only two days to respond before the amendment was considered, Jewish Voice for Peace- Boston, Massachusetts Peace Action, the A…

Binoy Kampmark (2021-05-02). Forgetting Citizenship: Australia Suspends Flights From India — OpEd. eurasiareview.com As India is being devastated by COVID-19 cases that have now passed a daily rate of 400,000, affluent and callous Australia has taken the decision to suspend all flights coming into the country till mid-month. The decision was reached by the Morrison government with the blessing of the State Premiers and the Labor opposition. | Not happy with banning flights from India, the Morrison government promises to be savage in punishing returnees who find ways to circumvent the ban (for instance, by travelling via a third country). Citizens who breach the travel ban can face up to five years' imprisonment and fines up…

Staff (2021-05-02). International 1 May actions call for liberation of Palestine, freedom for Georges Abdallah. samidoun.net Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network chapters and members participated in a wide range of global activities, demonstrations and mobilizations marking 1 May, International Workers' Day, as did many advocates for justice and liberation for Palestine and for Palestinian political prisoners. The flag of Palestine and banners of liberation were raised at many international demonstrations, calling for freedom for the prisoners and liberation for Palestine from the river to the sea. Samidoun Deutschland members took to the streets in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, and Berlin, among other cities in Germany. In Frankf…

Anonymous669 (2021-05-02). Iran Claimed Breakthrough Prisoners Swap Deal With US, UK. Washington Denies — Reports. southfront.org © Flickr/ peyman abkhezr | Iran is about to reach a breakthrough prisoners swap dead with the US and the UK, the al-Mayadeen TV reported on May 2. | An unnamed Iranian source told the Beirut-based channel that Iran and the US may soon finalize a prisoner exchange deal that would see Tehran freeing four Americans who were charged with spying for their country. | In return, the US would release four Iranian who were charged with violating sanctions imposed on Tehran. The US may also un-freeze Iranian assets worth a…

_____ (2021-05-02). On Contact: Police Abuse And Torture. popularresistance.org Chris Hedges discusses police abuse and torture with civil rights attorney Flint Taylor. Taylor's new book is 'The Torture Machine: Racism and Police Violence in Chicago'. With his colleagues at the People's Law Office, Taylor has argued landmark civil rights cases exposing the corruption and cover-ups within the Chicago Police Department and throughout the city's political machine, from the alderman to the mayor's office. The book takes the reader from the 1969 murder of Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton and Panther Mark Clark — and the historic 13-year trial that followed — to the pursuit of…

Staff (2021-05-02). Video: The liberation of Palestine — Arab and international perspectives on an alternative revolutionary path. samidoun.net On 1 May 2021, the Alternative Palestinian Path (Masar Badil) and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network organized an online event on Arab and international dimensions of the liberation of Palestine | The article

_____ (2021-05-02). World Police: Washington Seeks To Imprison Foreign Businesspeople. popularresistance.org The United States uses economic sanctions as a weapon against states that choose a development path independent of US global domination. Sanctions can take the form of blocking a nation's financial and trade transactions, not allowing financial institutions to process them. The US can also freeze the assets of another country. | Washington employs sanctions as a tool to destabilize governments that refuse to kow-tow to it. Sanctions are a weapon of war on civilians. Richard Nixon made this clear when, with Chile's 1970 election of socialist Salvador Allende, the US president ordered the CIA to "make the economy s…

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2021-05-02). End 'Forever Wars,' Biden Told as White House Releases Document on Trump's Secret Lethal Force Rules. commondreams.org "Secretive and unaccountable use of lethal force is unacceptable in a rights-respecting democracy, and this program is a cornerstone of the 'forever wars' President Biden has pledged to end. He needs to do so," said the ACLU's Brett Max Kaufman. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/biden-releases-trump-era-lethal-force-rules.jpg

Moderator (2021-05-02). Why the ACLU Abstained From the BLM Censorship Controversy. scheerpost.com Victoria Pickering / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] By Glenn Greenwald / Substack Enormous sums of money have poured into racial justice groups since the May, 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Department officer. "The foundation widely seen as a steward of the Black Lives Matter movement says it took in just over $90 million last year," according to a February Associated Press review… |

Unitarian Universalist Society of S.F. (2021-05-02). Wednesday 5/5: Vigil for Refugee Rights Stop Child Detention Recognize Asylum. indybay.org 1187 Franklin Street @ Geary…

_____ (2021-05-02). 'Golden Rule' Peace Boat Sets Sail From Hawaii. popularresistance.org After 21 months in the Hawaiian Islands, the historic anti-nuclear sailboat Golden Rule will depart from Honolulu, Hawai'i for the West Coast of the U.S. The Golden Rule first sailed from California to Hawai'i 63 years ago, in 1958, on her way to interfere with U.S. atmospheric nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, the site of 67 U.S. nuclear bomb blasts from 1952 to 1958. Under orders from the Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. Coast Guard stopped the boat from leaving Honolulu. The arrest and jailing of the captain and 1958 crew garnered international media attention and increased opposition to nuclear testing a…

sputniknews (2021-05-02). UK Downplays Reports of £400 Million Deal With Iran to Free Woman Jailed for Spying. sputniknews.com Iranian-born Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 before boarding a flight back to the UK and jailed for five years for sedition against the government. Hopes for her release last week were dashed when she was handed an additional one-year sentence for propaganda activities.

Poor People's Campaign, NC NAACP, more (2021-05-02). Tuesday 5/4: Moral Emergency Speak-out Against Fatal Police Shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. w/ PPC & NAACP. indybay.org Online via livestream…

Fight Back (2021-05-02). Lenin on May Day. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following 1904 article by the great Russian revolutionary VI Lenin. | Comrade workers! May Day is coming, the day when the workers of all lands celebrate Their awakening to a class- conscious life, their solidarity in the struggle against all coercion and oppression of man by man, the struggle to free the toiling millions from hunger, poverty, and humiliation. Two worlds stand facing each other in this great struggle: the world of capital and the world of labour, the world of exploitation and slavery and the world of brotherhood and freedom. | On one side stand the hand…

Staff (2021-05-02). US rejects prisoners' swap deal with Iran: Price. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 02 (MNA) — The US Department of State Spokesperson Price announced on Sunday that the United States would not reach an agreement with Iran on the prisoners' swap.

Staff (2021-05-02). Terrorists escape from prison in S Iraq: report. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 02 (MNA) — An informed Iraqi security source said Sun. that a number of terrorists and drug traffickers have escaped from prison in Al Muthanna Governorate, south of Iraq.

RFE RL (2021-05-02). Iran: Baha'is Told To Bury Loved Ones Atop Mass Graves Of Political Prisoners. eurasiareview.com By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( The Baha'i community in the Iranian capital has for years buried its dead in a special section of Tehran's Khavaran cemetery, near the resting place for hundreds or even thousands of political prisoners who were victims of mass executions in the late 1980s. | Cemetery officials have in recent days reportedl…

Paul Goble (2021-05-02). Banned Navalny Movement Now Goes Underground With Uncertain Consequences — OpEd. eurasiareview.com The Putin regime has banned the Navalny staffs, the public face of the opposition leader's efforts to promote public policy in Russia. Now, at least some of his supporters will continue to function underground, something with uncertrain consequences for the future of the movement and of Russia as a whole. | No one in the Putin regime or among opposition circles believes that the suppression of the Navalny staff will lower the level of anger in the population or the propensity of the Russian people to take part in demonstrations in the future, but the two groups view the future very, very differently. | Those w…

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