(2021-12-17). Why We Must Defend Julian Assange. popularresistance.org Julian Assange is one of the political prisoners that the US claims not to have. The UK is again the good vassal, keeping him locked up until the Biden administration finds an opportune time to ship him off to a kangaroo court. Everyone who believes in press freedom and who opposes imperialism must be a staunch Assange defender.
(2021-12-17). Black Lives Matter: The Power Of Activism & Citizen Journalism. telesurenglish.net The year 2021 is drawing to a close, leaving untouched American structural racism, a legacy of the slave age that capitalism preserves to ensure the reproduction of social inequalities, which have been exacerbated by a pandemic that continues to hit workers in various ways. | RELATED: | In Minnesota, for example, the rate of coronavirus infection in citizens of African descent has remained between 25 and 30 percent…
(2021-12-17). Derek Chauvin admits to killing George Floyd in plea deal on federal civil rights charges. wsws.org The former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck and killed him on May 25, 2020, pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in order to avoid a likely life sentence.
(2021-12-17). Banksia Hill Detention Centre cruelty exposed. greenleft.org.au A protest outside the David Malcolm Justice Centre was part of the campaign in support of the National Suicide Prevention and Recovery Project. Alex Salmon reports.
(2021-12-17). Mother threatened with jail and hefty fines for protecting her son from rampant COVID-19 infections in UK schools. wsws.org Sarah Paxman was called to a meeting at her son's primary school under police caution for refusing to send Stanley, who has a number of rare conditions, into school while no serious mitigation measures are in place.
(2021-12-17). Film review 'Attica' explores heroic prison uprising. workers.org 
The Attica documentary, co-directed by Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry, was released by Showtime in early November. The two-hour film is a powerful yet painful reminder of what took place over 50 years ago, Sept. 9-13, 1971, when thousands of prisoners at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York, . . . |
(2021-12-16). Headlines for December 16, 2021. democracynow.org Unprecedented December Storms Hit Central U.S. as Biden Tours Kentucky Tornado Damage, U.K. and South Africa Set Coronavirus Records as Omicron Spreads Rapidly, Senate Approves Record $778 Billion Pentagon Budget, Build Back Better Act Stalls in Senate Again as Joe Manchin Rejects Expanded Child Tax Credit, Civil Rights Leaders Demand Senate Democrats Pass Federal Voting Rights Legislation, Democrats Call on Biden to Extend Student Loan Pause, Grant Debt Forgiveness, Syrian Conflict Has Stripped Civilians of Access to Healthcare, Created Humanitarian Disaster, Protesters Demand Mexico Decriminalize Immigration to…
(2021-12-16). Stand up for Assange, stand up for press freedom. peoplesdispatch.org On December 10, Human Rights Day, a British court delivered a verdict that clears the way for the extradition of journalist and publisher Julian Assange to the United States. If the extradition goes through, Assange will face criminal prosecution in the US, including under the infamous Espionage Act, and if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. | Julian Assange and his organization WikiLeaks published vital information received from whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning that chronicled US war crimes and atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. These include 'Collateral Murder,' the horrifying video…
(2021-12-16). Toppling of slave trader's statue was 'act of love', protester tells court. thecanary.co A protester who helped to rip down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol city centre has described it as "an act of love". The bronze memorial to the 17th century merchant was pulled down on June 7 last year during a Black Lives Matter protest, and was later dumped in the harbour. | Rhian Graham, 30, Milo Ponsford, 26, Sage Willoughby, 22, and Jake Skuse, 33, are on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of criminal damage. Graham, Ponsford and Willoughby are accused of helping pull down the monument, while Skuse allegedly orchestrated it being rolled to the water and thrown in. | Constant cam…
(2021-12-16). Pastor Bernice King: How Can Any Leader Call For Unity And Reconciliation Without Economic Reparations To Black Americans? moguldom.com Minister Bernice King — the youngest daughter of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — says there cannot be reconciliation in America without making reparations to Black Americans. "Reparations is a real, pressing need. And it is right and just," King tweeted on Friday, Dec. 3. "How can any leader in this nation …
(2021-12-16). DeSantis Hypes His Anti-Critical Race Theory Bill by Quoting Martin Luther King. truthout.org 
On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) proposed new legislation that would allow parents to sue school districts if critical race theory or other lessons involving racial equity are taught in Florida classrooms. | In doing so, DeSantis absurdly suggested that his proposal would have been supported by the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. | DeSantis's bill is called the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act. In a press release announcing the legislation,
(2021-12-16). Derek Chauvin pleads guilty to violating civil rights of George Floyd and 14-year-old boy. nationofchange.org "This is important and historic. His admissions mark another important moment of accountability and another step on the road to justice."
(2021-12-16). Illinois Sets National Precedent in Banning Immigration Detention. truthout.org 
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Illinois Way Forward Act on December 6, 2021, making immigrant detention illegal in the state after the new law takes effect in the new year. The suit was filed by McHenry and Kankakee Counties, which were holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at their local jails. Pending any further court action, the counties will need to end their contracts with ICE by the end of this year. | Johannes Favi spent 10 months and two weeks inside the J…
(2021-12-16). Profiting from Migration: Peru Requests $304 Million to 'Serve' Venezuelan Migrants. orinocotribune.com 
Through the "business" of migration, the government of Peru now intends to ensure its source of income for the year 2022, under the pretext of needing financing to "help" Venezuelan migrants. Peru intends to obtain the funds through a new program that they announced to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR. | According to official sources, the Peruvian administration requested $304 million, allegedly to assist some 900,000 Venezuelans in Peruvian territory. In Peru, Venezuelan migrants have faced serious acts of xenophobia, discrimination, mass deportations, and violence against Venezuelans…
(2021-12-16). Snitches and Sleuths: An Update from Puget Sound Prisoner Support. itsgoingdown.org 
Statement from Puget Sound Prisoners Support about a recent federal arrest in the Seattle area. This information was compiled from public arrest documents regarding incidents in the Seattle area and does not involve sensitive or personal information beyond names already made public by the state. We provide our observations of these cases to highlight the…
(2021-12-16). The Christmas Baby Born in a Police State: Then and Now. dissidentvoice.org 
When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the …
(2021-12-16). How The OPCW's Syria Probe Censored Science. popularresistance.org Senior OPCW officials doctored the original report; erased the conclusions of expert toxicologists who ruled out chlorine gas as the cause of death; and thwarted the key investigate area of forensic pathology, which could have helped determine how the dozens of civilian victims in Douma lost their lives. Instead of explaining the extensive suppression, OPCW Director General Fernando Arias has avoided questions; offered false excuses; and smeared the veteran scientists who challenged the cover-up from within. | Guest: Dr. Piers Robinson. Co-Director of the Organisation for Propaganda Studies, and convenor of the W…