(2021-05-15). [Correspondence] Working upstream. thelancet.com Health-care workers often conceptualise addressing the social and structural determinants of health as working upstream.1 In response to the racial disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Movement for Black Lives, health systems are acknowledging systemic racism, promoting implicit bias training, and screening for the social determinants of health. Although welcome, these changes will not achieve the social transformation necessary to eliminate health inequities. We must move even further upstream.
(2021-05-14). Republicans Oppose Kristen Clarke for DOJ Job in Latest Attack on Voting Rights. truthout.org 
Republican senators in Washington are attempting to block Kristen Clarke, a prominent voting rights advocate, from a top Justice Department position. The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on an 11-11 vote on whether to move Clarke's nomination for assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to the Senate floor for a full vote. If she wins the vote, Clarke, who has served as the head of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and is a longtime…
(2021-05-14). Republicans Oppose Kristen Clarke for Top Civil Rights Job at DOJ in Latest Attack on Voting Rights. democracynow.org 
Republican senators in Washington are attempting to block Kristen Clarke, a prominent voting rights advocate, from a top Justice Department position. The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on an 11-11 vote on whether to move Clarke's nomination for assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to the Senate floor for a full vote. If she wins the vote, Clarke, who has served as the head of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and is a longtime champion of voting rights, a defender against hate and violent extremism, would be the first Black woman to hold the posit…
(2021-05-14). The Year Of Open Letters: Retired US Generals And Admirals Warn Democracy Is Dying. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | If 2020 was the year of Black Lives Matter protests, and left-wing victories, 2021 is the year of open letters. | Following France, it is now the United States' turn. | On May 12th, Flag Officers 4 America
(2021-05-14). State Lawmakers Are Trying to Ban Talk About Race in Schools. aclu.org A nationwide attempt to censor discussions of race in the classroom is underway. In recent weeks, Republican lawmakers across the country have proposed bills banning teaching "divisive concepts" in K-12 public schools and in public colleges and universities. The new bills target efforts to provide education about gender and race discrimination, including
(2021-05-14). Scotland: Hundreds Of People Block Detention Of Immigrant Neighbors. popularresistance.org Glasgow, Scotland – One of two men detained by immigration officers in Scotland and subsequently released after protesters blocked them from leaving has said he's grateful "fate" bought him to live among the demonstrators in Glasgow. | On Monday evening, protesters sat on the road in front of the Home Office van parked on Kenmure Street in Glasgow. Police officers surrounded the vehicle. | Hundreds of protesters were at the scene, chanting refrains like "Leave our neighbours, let them go" and "Cops go home". | "I'm so happy that my fate brought me to live here in Glasgow, where the people are so connected that th…
(2021-05-14). Biden administration ends Trump-era rule, banning discrimination against transgender people in health care. nationofchange.org "Everyone — including LGBTQ people – should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period."
(2021-05-14). Venezuelan Parliament Declares May 17 National Day Against LGBTQ Hatred. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, May 13, Venezuela's National Assembly unanimously approved a Draft Agreement to declare May 17 as a national day against hatred and all kinds of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in Venezuela. In addition, the creation of a sub-committee attached to the Comprehensive Social Development Committee was announced, to be coordinated by deputy Niloha Delgado, to meet the demands of the LGBTQ community. | Delgado, president of the Gender Equality Subcommittee of the Permanent Committee for Comprehensive Social Development, outlined the discrimination suffere…
(2021-05-14). Floating Graveyards: Let's Not Revive the Cruise Industry. counterpunch.org 
Under the so-called leadership of governor Ron DeSantis, Florida is suing the federal government and CDC to allow cruises to resume sailing. As author Carl Hiaasen noted on twitter, this "stunt lawsuit by Ron DeSantis has zero chance in court," but it's aimed at "making DeSantis look tough for his right-wing base." It also fits
(2021-05-14). Why Israel won't win in Gaza. zcomm.org The will of a colonized people for liberation and self-determination cannot be crushed by military force, by siege, or any new technology from Israel's innovative labs of oppression…
(2021-05-14). Biden Claims Israeli Attack on Gaza Is Not an 'Overreaction' as Onslaught Intensifies, Death Toll Mounts. commondreams.org "With its unconditional financial, military, and diplomatic support of the Israeli apartheid regime, the U.S. bears responsibility for the everyday violence of Israeli oppression." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/israel_gaza_biden.jpg …
(2021-05-14). 13 Facts About American Prisons That Will Blow Your Mind. counterpunch.org In a few minutes time you'll want to abolish prisons. If you're not ready for that intellectual and emotional transformation, then please stop reading now. Or put on your thunder shirt. If you grew up in the United States, like I did, then you probably think prisons are a fact of life. We just go through
(2021-05-14). 13 Facts About American Prisons That Will Blow Your Mind. zcomm.org The U.S. prison system is a crime against humanity. Here are just some of the reasons why.
(2021-05-14). Global Calendar of Resistance: Join these events to defend Palestine! samidoun.net 
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all Palestinian, Arab and international supporters of Palestine to escalate their organizing and struggle to confront massacres and ethnic cleansing and support Palestinian resistance! There are currently 119 martyrs in Gaza, while the entire land of Palestine is rising, from the river to the sea, from Haifa to al-Lydd, from Gaza to Rafah, from Ramallah to Nablus, Umm al-Fahm, Yaffa, and, of course, Palestine's capital, Jerusalem, confronting the most brutal violence of the colonizer with steadfastness, struggle, and a revolutionary promise of a liberated fut…
(2021-05-14). If I Fall In The Struggle, Take My Place. popularresistance.org Ugliness defines the mood of state violence from Cali (Colombia) to Durban (South Africa), each context different and the depth of the violence particular to the location. Images of security forces cracking down on people trying to express their political rights have become commonplace. It is impossible to keep track of the events, which move swiftly from public manifestations to courtroom scenes, from the dissipation of tear gas to the invisible frustration of the prison cell. Yet, underlying these events and amidst the range of feelings that shape them lies a sense of refusal, the Great Refusal, the refusal to…
(2021-05-13). Senate Judiciary Committee Splits Vote Along Party Lines on Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Nominee. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-05-13). PDF of May 13 issue. workers.org 
Download the PDF. Repression and resistance in South America Colombia: State terror won't stop the struggle Brazilians tell police: 'Stop killing us!' Pandemic triple threat; 'We have power'; Indigenous pipeline protest; Black Lives Matter in Georgia; Editorial Vaccine monopolies. GLOBAL: Palestine; U.S. vs. China; Evictions in South Asia. Tear down . . . |
(2021-05-13). Discriminatory Return to In Office Work Mandates Could Push Women and People of Color out of the Workforce. aclu.org On March 5, when Deb Mihal learned that the governor of South Carolina had just ordered non-essential state employees like herself to return to the office in person and full time with just a few weeks' notice, she knew it was going to be a problem. Ms. Mihal had been doing her job as director of disability services for a public college remotely since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, in addition to supervising her son's remote schooling at the same time. Now, she had less than a month to find child care. | It was too late to switch her son from remote instruction to in-person learning, and she couldn't…
(2021-05-13). New York County Jails May Close Their Doors to ICE. thenation.com 
The Dignity Not Detention Act mirrors legislative efforts to take on the rogue agency in states like Maryland and California.
(2021-05-13). 'It's Like a Black Hole': ICE Has Been Holding Kids in Indefinite Detention. thenation.com 'It's Like a Black Hole': ICE Has Been Holding Kids in Indefinite Detention…
(2021-05-13). New York County Jails May Close Their Doors to ICE. thenation.com New York County Jails May Close Their Doors to ICE…
(2021-05-13). "Lynch Mobs": Palestinians Face Brutal Attacks Inside Israel as Assault on Gaza Escalates. democracynow.org 
Televised images of Israeli mobs attacking Palestinians have been widely denounced by Israeli media and public figures, but Palestinian writer Budour Hassan says the selective outrage ignores decades of occupation that have led to this point. "There is some mention of these lynch mobs that are attacking Palestinians in mixed cities. What is not mentioned is who emboldened these lynch mobs. We're talking about state-sponsored, decades-long discrimination, isolation and erasure that emboldened these groups," says Hassan, legal researcher for the Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights, who joins us from Naz…
(2021-05-13). Palestinians Face Mob Attacks Inside Israel as Assault on Gaza Escalates. truthout.org 
Image Credit: Twitter: @theIMEU | Televised images of Israeli mobs attacking Palestinians have been widely denounced by Israeli media and public figures, but Palestinian writer Budour Hassan says the selective outrage ignores decades of occupation that have led to this point. "There is some mention of these lynch mobs that are attacking Palestinians in mixed cities. What is not mentioned is who emboldened these lynch mobs. We're talking about state-sponsored, decades-long discrimination, isolation a…
(2021-05-13). Medical Apartheid: From Israel/Palestine to Canada. mronline.org 
Canada has a long history of humanitarian hypocrisy with regard to racial and ethnic discrimination. During World War II, "none is too many" referred to European Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi Germany who were refused admission and sent back to Germany. | May 13, 2021…
(2021-05-13). The Precautions of the Coronavirus outbreak within Sonoma County Jail. indybay.org The Precautions of the Coronavirus outbreak within Sonoma County Jail | By Paola Razo…
(2021-05-13). Amnesty International restores Alexei Navalny's "prisoner of conscience" status. wsws.org Amnesty's reversal has nothing to do with any change in Navalny's outlook, but is entirely a product of American and European efforts to present the right-wing politician and bigot as some sort of crusader for democracy.
(2021-05-13). Workers World Party says: Free Gaza & Palestine! Stop U.S. aid to Israel! workers.org 
Protest against U.S.-backed Israeli bombing of Gaza, May 12 in Times Square, New York City. Workers World Party condemns in the strongest terms the genocidal assault by the Zionist Israeli military on the people of Gaza — called the largest open-air prison in the world and located in Occupied Palestine. . . . |
(2021-05-13). Jerusalem to Gaza, Israeli Authorities' Escalation Highlights Reality of Apartheid, Persecution for Millions of Palestinians. juancole.com By Omar Shakir | Israel and Palestine Director | — ( Human Rights Watch) — Forcible takeovers of homes, brutal suppression of demonstrators, places of worship under assault, identity-based communal violence, indiscriminate rocket attacks, children killed in strikes: what to make of the dizzying headlines out of Israel and Palestine in recent days? Without doubt, …