2021-05-20: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-05-21). Montgomery educator denounces firings and COVID-19 case suppression as Alabama abandons pandemic health and relief measures. wsws.org As the school year draws to a close at Montgomery Public Schools, educators are drawing the lessons of the most challenging year of their careers.

Allan Fisher (2021-05-20). Saturday 5/22: Protest US financed oppression in Palestine/Israel. indybay.org Ocean and Water Street; Santa Cruz…

Allan Fisher (2021-05-20). Tuesday 5/18: Protest US backed oppression in Palestine. indybay.org Clock tower on Water Street (near Pacific) Santa Cruz…

Editorial Team (2021-05-20). Communist Party condemns 'ethnic cleansing' & urges sanctions against Israel. challenge-magazine.org The Communist Party has strongly condemned what it called the "ethnic cleansing" of East Jerusalem and Israel's bombardment of Gaza. "The murderous assault of the Netanyahu regime and what can only be described as the Israeli Offence Force has exposed — yet again — the brutal character of the Israeli state's illegal occupation and incarceration of Palestinian lands", Robert Griffiths told the Party's Executive Committee on Sunday (16 May 2021). Britain's Communists also condemned the refusal of the US, British and European Union governments to take any meaningful action against the Israeli state's "cr…

Gabriela Lopez et al. (2021-05-20). Institutional Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement in Sonoma County. indybay.org This research paper investigates the institutional responses to the BLM Movement within Sonoma County. By analyzing newspaper articles and qualitative interviews, we were able to determine what kind of responses were happening within the Healthcare, Education, Business and Political sectors in Sonoma County.

John Bachtell (2021-05-20). GOP role in a conspiracy to kill democracy exposed. peoplesworld.org The GOP and extreme right-wing groups are conspiring against U.S. constitutional democracy in a two-pronged scheme to ram voter suppression laws through state legislatures and block the passage of historic voting rights legislation in Congress. Millions in dark money are fueling this plot, carried out under cover of the "Big Lie" of voter fraud. The …

teleSUR (2021-05-20). Guatemala: Seven Inmates Were Beheaded in a Prison Riot. telesurenglish.net Guatemala's National Civil Police (PNC) reported the deaths of at least 14 inmates, seven of whom were beheaded in a prison riot on Wednesday. | RELATED: | The massacre took place around 16.00 local time at the Cantel Rehabilitation Farm in the Quetzaltenango Department. | The prison's capacity was over 200 percent overloaded. There were 2,252 inmates at the moment of the incidents. | According to the PCN, the mur…

teleSUR (2021-05-20). US Closes 2 Immigration Detention Centers Over Abuse Scandal. telesurenglish.net U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday stopped detaining migrants in two immigration detention centers in Georgia and Massachusetts over complaints of abuses against the inmates. | RELATED: | "We will not tolerate the mistreatment of individuals in civil immigration detention centers," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, adding that both centers are under investigation for being overcrowded and having ove…

Staff (2021-05-20). Meet Kimberly and Yashira, Two High School Students Leading the Fight for Broadband Access. aclu.org Kimberly Vazquez and Yashira "Yoshi" Valenzuela are two Baltimore high school students who live in households that experience frequent power cuts, particularly when too many electronics are plugged in at once. When their classes went virtual last year, it didn't take long to realize they had a serious problem. Participating in class required connectivity to high-speed, broadband internet, and the low-cost plans their families could afford

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2021-05-20). 'Tortured to Death': Video Showing Fatal Louisiana Arrest of Unarmed Black Man Sparks Outrage. commondreams.org "A system that produces such extreme levels of violence cannot be reformed," asserted the ACLU of Louisiana, "it must be dismantled." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ronald-greene.jpg

UUSF Forum (2021-05-20). Sunday 5/30: A Perspective from David Hartsough Peace and Civil Rights Activist, and Author. indybay.org Join Our Zoom Forum with David Hartsough | zoom.us/j/2200241232?pwd=aCt1dWI0OGxUdUxjeUJ5K0xSY09uUT09 | Meeting ID: 220 024 1232 | Passcode: 328697…

_____ (2021-05-20). FANG announces end to ICE contracts in Bristol County, Massachusetts. popularresistance.org The FANG Collective is happy to announce that ICE will be cancelling all contracts with Bristol County, Massachusetts. This includes their 287(g) contract which trains deputies to collaborate with ICE and perform immigration agent duties, and their IGSA contract which turned the Bristol County House of Correction into an ICE detention center.

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2021-05-20). 'The First Step of Many': Advocates Welcome Move to Close ICE Lockups at 2 County Jails. commondreams.org "Bristol exemplifies how the system as a whole is fundamentally flawed and we call on the Biden administration to continue to cut detention contracts and shut down facilities for good," urged Silky Shah of the Detention Watch Collective. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/abolish-ice.jpg

Madison Young, Alex Sanchez, Christine Thach, (2021-05-20). Sonoma County Jail and Mental Health. indybay.org The investigative sociology report conducted by Sonoma State University's sociology students reveals the relationship between the Sonoma County Jail environment and mental health. Through conducting multiple interviews with inmates and staff the research group was able to conclude the findings stated below. The findings of this research show that inmates and staff from the Sonoma County Jail desire better services relating to mental health as well as an overall better environment.

George Wuerthner (2021-05-20). Saving the Spotted Frog From Grazing Livestock: a Good Beginning in Oregon. counterpunch.org It is not every day that one can claim success in fighting public land degradation from domestic livestock. But the Fremont Winema National Forest in Oregon finally responded to conservationists' concerns (and lawsuits) about the impact of livestock grazing on endangered Oregon spotted frog and other wildlife within the Antelope Grazing allotment. The allotment and

Ron Forthofer (2021-05-19). The Sad Saga Continues: Occupation and Oppression of Palestinians. dissidentvoice.org Here we go again with yet another deadly and devastating Israeli military attack on Gaza that has captured the world's attention. However, this current crisis is notably different in scope from the numerous previous major Israeli war crimes against Gaza. This time there was already ongoing Palestinian resistance to Israeli provocations and violence in occupied …

Ali Abunimah (2021-05-19). Israel kills boy featured in film about imprisoned kids. electronicintifada.net As Israel bombs Gaza, it is escalating its violence in the West Bank.

WSWS (2021-05-19). German protests against Gaza bombing and the bogus accusation of "Anti-Semitism" wsws.org An anti-Semite is not someone protesting against the crimes of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who has struck an alliance with extreme right-wing parties, has one foot in jail and can only stay in power through endless provocations. An anti-Semite is someone who equates "the Jews" with the policies of the Israeli government.

Kade Crockford (2021-05-19). When We Fight, We Win: Victories in the Fight Against Face Surveillance Keep Piling Up. aclu.org After years of advocacy, grassroots organizing, and on the cusp of the one-year anniversary of when hundreds of thousands of people joined in solidarity with Black organizers by marching to support Black lives and to divest from racist policing, we've reached a major milestone: Amazon has announced it will stop selling face recognition technology to police — indefinitely. | Amazon had previously announced a one-year moratorium on sales to police that was set to expire on June 10. The initial moratorium was issued weeks into renewed nationwide protests following the police murder of George Floyd in Minnea…

Staff (2021-05-19). "Show People the Video": DA Finds Andrew Brown's Death "Justified" But Won't Release All Footage. democracynow.org In North Carolina, the Pasquotank County District Attorney's Office has found the April 21 police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., a 42-year-old Black father, in Elizabeth City was justified. Meanwhile, Andrew Brown Jr.'s family and their attorneys have said body-camera and dashcam videos of his killing show it was an "execution" and that he was not a threat. Andrew Brown Jr.'s family has requested the full release of the body-camera video, and the FBI is conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the killing. "We are disappointed, but we are not surprised," Bakari Sellers, one of the attorneys representin…

Monica Moorehead (2021-05-19). Reflections on prisons — Honoring Malcolm X & Ho Chi Minh. workers.org May 19 marks the 96th anniversary of the birthday of Malcolm X and the 131st for Ho Chi Minh. Although one was Black and one was Vietnamese and the two were from different generations and experiences, what they had in common — that continues to inspire many today — was . . . |

Staff (2021-05-19). DA Finds Andrew Brown's Death "Justified" But Won't Release All Footage. truthout.org In North Carolina, the Pasquotank County District Attorney's Office has found the April 21 police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., a 42-year-old Black father, in Elizabeth City was justified. Meanwhile, Andrew Brown Jr.'s family and their attorneys have said body-camera and dashcam videos of his killing show it was an "execution" and that he was not a threat. Andrew Brown Jr.'s family has requested the full release of the body-camera video, and the FBI is conducting a federal civil rights investigation into…

Andreína Chávez Alava (2021-05-19). Venezuela: Lácteos Los Andes President Jailed on Corruption Charges. venezuelanalysis.com A worker from the dairy company denounced irregular practices during a live video conference with President Maduro, which prompted the investigation.

Quanah Brightman (2021-05-19). Ban Imposter Pennie Opal Plant from the Civil Rights Movement. indybay.org We feel it Necessary to Make You and All Parties aware of a Imposter Wannabee Named Pennie Opal Plant. She is a Fraud Wannabee Indian Women who tries to Pass Herself off as a Tribal Citizen, Yet She is in fact a Imposter Guilty of Cultural Appropriation. | She is Associated with these two groups 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations…

Katrina vanden Heuvel (2021-05-19). We're Suing Google. Here's Why. thenation.com We're Suing Google. Here's Why.

_____ (2021-05-19). How corporations buy—and sell—food made with prison labor. popularresistance.org It's generally illegal to sell prison-made goods across state lines. | But since the 1930s, the law has included an exemption for agriculture.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-05-19). Filipino social movements demand protection for human rights lawyers and their clients. peoplesdispatch.org A week after authorities named peace activists and political prisoners as "terrorists," raising alarm over continued crackdown, rights groups have called for court intervention to protect human rights lawyers…

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