(2021-04-10). Open letter on the assassination of labour and Indigenous activists in the Philippines. samidoun.net 
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joined with the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Canada and 64 more organizations and individuals in response to "Bloody Sunday," the assassination of 9 labour and Indigenous leaders in the Philippines by the Philippines National Army on 4-7 March 2021. Sixty-five organizations (including churches, trade unions and Filipino associations) and prominent individuals based in Canada have jointly sent a letter calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to publicly condemn the state-sponsored terror perpetrated by the government of Philip…
(2021-04-10). Video: Defending Palestine, Fighting Repression — international webinar. samidoun.net On Friday, 9 April, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network organized an international webinar on "Defending Palestine, Fighting Repression." Inspired by a number of recent attacks on the Palestinian and Palestine solidarity movement internationally, including the labeling of Samidoun as a "terrorist organization" by Israeli Defense Minister and war criminal Benny Gantz; the demand by a member of the French national assembly to dissolve Collectif Palestine Vaincra, and ongoing repression of Palestine organizing in Germany, the event brought together activists engaged in resisting repression and building…
(2021-04-10). Rwanda And Zaire (DRC), Where The US Blocked Humanitarian Intervention. popularresistance.org Judi, the story that most people know, the one that's in the Wikipedia and more or less told in the movie Hotel Rwanda, is that, in April, 1994, Rwandan Hutus were suddenly consumed by mass psychosis and ethnic bloodlust, and killed half a million to a million Rwandan Tutsis. And that they were egged on by La Radio des Milles Collines in Kigali. Then they were saved by General Paul Kagame, who appeared—in the movie—out of nowhere. | And before going on, I think I should say that our friend Paul Rusesabagina, the real life hero of Hotel Rwanda, is now in prison in Rwanda because for one, he has a much…
(2021-04-10). In The Spirit Of Abolition, Let's Shut'em Down! popularresistance.org A call to action. National "Shut'em Down" demonstrations August 21st and September 9th. Originally published on the Jailhouse Lawyers Speak blog. | Over the last year prisoners across the country have been holding the longest and largest spontaneous demonstrations in response to covid. With approximately 300,000 (the number is possibly as high as 800,000) people in prison having been infected by covid prisoners have continued to demand basic human rights protections. These demonstrations have been sporadic and largely ignored by the public as prisoners and supporters demanded covid safety and precautions be enact…
(2021-04-10). Aid worker sentenced to 20 years in Saudi prison. peoplesdispatch.org A Saudi terror court sentenced a former Red Crescent employee Abdulrahman al-Sadhan to 20 years in prison and a two-decade travel ban. He is believed to have been convicted for operating an anonymous Twitter account critical of the Saudi regime.
(2021-04-10). Voter Suppression Is an Attack on Democracy — And My Faith. juancole.com By Robert P. Alvarez | — ( Otherwords.org ) — I believe in God and in the right to vote. Georgia's recent election bill doesn't just feel like an attack on democracy — it feels like an attack on my faith. The bill, formally SB 202, infamously makes it illegal to give people food or …
(2021-04-10). Bahrain releases dozens of prisoners after Covid cases. middleeasteye.net 
Bahrain releases dozens of prisoners after Covid cases | Manama had vowed to release 199 prisoners and detainees, but only 166 have so far walked out of prison
| Sat, 04/10/2021 – 13: 51 | Bahrain says a vaccination campaign has been completed in Faw prison (AFP) | Dozens of detainees, including long-term political prisoners, have been released following protests by their families over Covid-19 case…
(2021-04-10). To End Mass Incarceration, We Need to Bust the Myths That Prop It Up. zcomm.org If prisons kept us safe, then the U.S. should be the safest nation in the world…
(2021-04-10). Sunday 4/18: "The Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution" Film & Panel w/ Filmmaker. indybay.org Online event…
(2021-04-09). Disappear the System: A Critical Hegemonic Function of Capitalist Media. counterpunch.org 
Something stinks in the wall-to-wall broadcast of every detail in the Derek Chauvin trial. The hegemonic (in a Marxian sense) result of drilling down so microscopically on one racist cop's super-transgression, treating the killer as a rogue anomaly, is to disappear the broader mass-carceral white supremacist police-state and the underlying system of racialized class oppression
(2021-04-09). 'Sacrifice Zones': How People of Color Are Targets of Environmental Racism. counterpunch.org 
The Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted how systemic racism disproportionately places danger and harm on low-income and minority populations. One harsh reality of this systemic racism is the existence of "sacrifice zones," which are communities located near pollution hot spots that have been permanently impaired by intensive and concentrated industrial
(2021-04-09). China rejects U.S.' human rights hypocrisy, points to repression of Black Lives Matter. peoplesworld.org 
Top officials from China and the United States exchanged verbal blows at the Alaska Summit last week, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan opened the session by making false and unwarranted accusations about China's governance and international affairs. In the summit's opening remarks, Blinken accused China of …
(2021-04-09). From His Solitary Confinement, Marwan Barghouti Holds the Key to Fatah's Future. counterpunch.org 
If imprisoned Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, becomes the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the status quo will change substantially. For Israel, as well as for the current PA President, Mahmoud Abbas, such a scenario is more dangerous than another strong Hamas showing in the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections. The long-delayed elections, now scheduled for
(2021-04-09). From His Solitary Confinement, Marwan Barghouti Holds the Key to Fatah's Future. dissidentvoice.org 
If imprisoned Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, becomes the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the status quo will change substantially. For Israel, as well as for the current PA President, Mahmoud Abbas, such a scenario is more dangerous than another strong Hamas showing in the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections. The long-delayed elections, now scheduled for May …
(2021-04-09). Charges dropped in multiple cases after PAR investigative reports. therealnews.com 
PAR has three positive updates on cases we've recently covered. We update the case of an Ohio cab driver who was tasered while waiting for a customer, a Texas resident arrested for drugs found in a car he just purchased from a police auction, and the activist grandmother who faced two years in prison for allegedly using a counterfeit $100 bill.
(2021-04-09). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org UK bus drivers 24-hour strike at London United while French drivers at same company walk out over pay and privatisation; strikes in Belgium by childcare workers over Covid safety, prison officers and social workers over workload; resident doctors across Nigeria strike since April 8 over salary arrears…
(2021-04-09). Amazon workers in Chicago protest against 'brutal' megacycle shifts and other stories. peoplesdispatch.org Today we look at a walkout staged by Amazon workers in Chicago, the Biden administration's decision to restore aid to UNRWA, protests in Iraq for job opportunities, record surges in Covid-19 cases in India, and the sentencing of an aid worker to 20 years in prison by a Saudi Court…
(2021-04-09). Margaret Sullivan Gets it Wrong, Libel Law Is a Good Thing. cepr.net I was going to let pass this column by Margaret Sullivan, warning us not to applaud Dominion's lawsuit against Fox News. I'm generally a big fan of Sullivan's columns and was willing to look the other way on what I see as a very poorly argued piece. But when a friend sent it to me …
(2021-04-09). Argentina To Penalize Sexual Harassment in Public Spaces. telesurenglish.net Argentina's Senate Thursday approved a bill that seeks to incorporate into the Penal Code sexual harassment in public spaces. | RELATED: | The bill, which was approved with 67 votes in favor and one negative vote, proposes fines and imprisonment to fight and prevent sexual harassment. | Fines of up to US$216 will be imposed on anyone who disturbs another person's dignity and physical, psychological, or sexual integrit…
(2021-04-09). Ecuador Kicks Off Presidential Run-off With Inmates Early Vote. telesurenglish.net Over 8,300 Ecuadorian prisoners on Thursday voted early ahead of the run-off election that will take place next Sunday. | RELATED: | The National Electoral Council (CNE) installed 70 ballot boxes in 39 penitentiary centers nationwide. Over 800 police officers watched over the process. | "Citizens who commit crimes do not lose their right to vote. They will also decide on the country's future," CNE President Diana Atamaint said an…