(2021-08-25). Even love is forbidden under Israeli apartheid. juancole.com By Muhammad Hussein | — Israel's apartheid system directed at the Palestinians is well documented. Within Israel's officially-recognised borders — which the state has never actually declared — as well as across the occupied Palestinian territories, the people of occupied Palestine have long faced systematic discrimination which denies them the same rights afforded to Jewish …
(2021-08-25). M4BL Group Demands Reparations From Government For History Of Targeting Movements That Support Black Life. moguldom.com Black American activists have long been targeted disproportionately by the federal government and a new report by a coalition of Black activist groups presents more evidence of structural racism used against movements that support Black life. Black Lives Matter protesters, for example, were targeted in the aftermath of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd …
(2021-08-25). Dr. Martin Luther King Trusted Photographer Ernest Withers But He Was A Top FBI Informant. moguldom.com Renowned civil rights photographer Ernest Withers captured some of the iconic images of the civil rights movement and in particular, photos of Dr. Martin Luther King, with whom he developed a close relationship. But Withers was leading a double life. He was a top FBI informant, unbeknownst to the civil rights leaders he was photographing. …
(2021-08-25). John Lewis Voting Rights Bill Passes House With Zero Republican Votes. truthout.org 
The House passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on Tuesday evening. The bill would empower nonwhite voters and enable the federal government to move against racial discrimination in voting. | The bill, named for the late Rep. John Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia and civil rights advocate who died last year, passed the House
(2021-08-25). Report from 'Shut'Em Down' Protest at the Northwest Detention Center. itsgoingdown.org Perilous Chronicle reports on an abolitionist rally at the Northwest Detention Center in so-called Tacoma, WA. By Alexa Villatoro and the Perilous Editorial Collective Protestors gathered outside the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, WA Saturday to call for an end to immigrant detention. The demonstration was organized by La Resistencia, a local immigrant rights…
(2021-08-25). Abolitionists Hit the Streets in Support of Call to 'Shut'Em Down'. itsgoingdown.org 
On Saturday, August 21st, abolitionist groups across the so-called United States took to the streets in solidarity with a call from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, for a day of national 'Shut'Em Down' actions outside of jails, prisons, and detention facilities. While many events are being scheduled for later in the month and on September 9th, to…
(2021-08-25). 1000th Day of Incarceration of Meng Wanzhou. Press Conference. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-25). On 1000th Day Of Incarceration, Canadians Demand Wanzhou's Freedom. popularresistance.org Canada – Thursday, August 26, 2021, marks the 1000th day of unjust incarceration by the Trudeau government of Meng Wanzhou. That's 1000 days during which Mme. Meng has been denied her freedom, has not been able to be with members of her family, has not been able to carry on the duties of her very responsible position as Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technologies, one of the world's leading tech companies, with 1300 employees in Canada. | Meng's ordeal began on December 1, 2018, the date on which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kowtowed to the request of former USA President Donald Trump's to extradite Meng. Thi…
(2021-08-25). Black August commemorated at the gates of San Quentin Prison. workers.org 
San Rafael, Calif. August 21 — Overcoming both dangerous air quality from California's cataclysmic fires and the state's desperate attempts at intimidation, veterans and activists of the prisoners' rights movement marched to the West Gate of San Quentin Prison today to commemorate Black August and the spirit of George Jackson. . . . |
(2021-08-25). Leila de Lima May Be the Only Hero of the Duterte Era. zcomm.org An interview with the imprisoned Duterte critic who's running for reelection from behind bars…
(2021-08-25). The Fix Is In on Fixing Things. otherwords.org America's economic and political inequality has led workaday Americans to exclaim: "The system is broken. Let's fix it!" | But there's another version of this protest that I'm hearing more frequently these days: "The system is fixed. Let's break it!" That certainly applies to such rigged systems as money in politics and voter suppression, but it's also relevant to seemingly mundane matters that restrain our personal freedoms. | One of the insidious "fixes" we need to break is the claim by brand-name corporations that we consumers must be banned by law from repairing the products they sell to us. | The weak batter…
(2021-08-24). The Leak That 'Exposed the True Afghan War'. strategic-culture.org 
The Afghan Diaries set off a firestorm when it revealed the suppression of civilian casualty figures, the existence of an elite U.S.-led death squad, and the covert role of Pakistan in the conflict, as Elizabeth Vos reports. | By Elizabeth VOS | Three months after it published the "Collateral Murder"
(2021-08-24). Taliban Appoints New Government, Mocking On U.S. southfront.org 
Cluck to see full-size image | Taliban government in Afghanistan has appointed a new acting Defense Minister. This is a former Guantanamo detainee mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir. | Qayyum was deputy to the Taliban's commander-in-chief, Mullah Yaqoob, and was among the first top Taliban commanders to enter Kabul, following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. | Prior to that, he was detained in the notorious U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba from 2001 to 2007. | Being one of the Taliban commanders in the 19…
(2021-08-24). Ghassan Zawahreh jailed without charge or trial by Israeli occupation military order. samidoun.net 
Palestinian struggler and community organizer Ghassan Zawahreh was once again ordered jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention, only days after he was seized by Israeli occupation forces from his home in Dheisheh refugee camp. On Tuesday, 24 August, the Israeli military ordered Zawahreh detained for a four-month period, which is indefinitely renewable. Zawahreh […] | The article
(2021-08-24). Canadian Tire Fire #10: Encampment Evictions in Halifax, A Deadly Week in Saskatchewan Prisons, Sipekne'katik First Nation Faces Police Harassment. itsgoingdown.org 
Image Credit: @colinsmithtakespics on Instagram This week, Halifax was the latest city to continue the summer-long trend of violent encampment evictions and fierce encampment defence. Also in so-called Nova Scotia, police stepped up their harassment of Sipekne'katik First Nation members exercising their treaty right to fish with the arrest of the band's Chief. In so-called…
(2021-08-24). Apple's New 'Child Safety' Plan for iPhones Isn't So Safe. aclu.org Apple recently announced We are concerned that governments will exploit these changes to conduct far-reaching surveillance, and that the new system could normalize government spying on our personal phones and computers, leaving…
(2021-08-24). Four Problems with the ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection System. aclu.org A
(2021-08-24). ACLU's LGBTQ and HIV Project Exists Because of Jim Hormel's Generosity. aclu.org James C. Hormel, the first openly gay U.S. ambassador, died on Friday, August 13. Former director of the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project Matt Coles reflected on the long friendship between Hormel and the ACLU. | Jim Hormel was a fine human being. In a lot of circles, Jim was known as a philanthropist identified with LGBTQ causes. That was true enough, but he was so much more than that. Jim could have given a fraction of what he did and he'd still have been a very generous supporter of human rights; that and one of the most important supporters of LGBTQ work of all time. He could have concentrated his generosi…
(2021-08-24). North Carolina: More Felony Offenders Can Now Vote. popularresistance.org Raleigh, NC — Tens of thousands of North Carolina residents convicted of felonies but whose current punishments don't include prison time can register to vote and cast ballots, a judicial panel declared Monday. | Several civil rights groups and ex-offenders who sued legislative leaders and state officials in 2019 argue the current 1973 law is unconstitutional by denying the right vote to people who have completed their active sentences or received no such sentence, such as people on probation. They said the rules disproportionately affect Black residents and originated from an era of white supremacy in the…
(2021-08-24). Ben Jealous: Rev. Jesse Jackson Is Hospitalized with COVID-19. "We're All Praying for Him." democracynow.org 
Civil rights and voting rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in Chicago. Jackson is fully vaccinated and has Parkinson's disease. During the pandemic, he has pushed for healthcare for all, and said in a statement, "After 400 years of slavery, segregation and discrimination, why would anybody be shocked that African Americans are dying disproportionately from the coronavirus?" We speak with Jackson's friend, Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way and former president of the NAACP. "This is a guy who for 60, 70 years has done nothing but serve the people of…
(2021-08-24). If California Governor Is Replaced With Republican, Senate Could Swing to GOP. zcomm.org If Gov. Gavin Newsom is recalled, the health, civil rights and future of Californians — and people across the country — will be profoundly threatened…
(2021-08-24). Will Investing In Community Groups Keep Immigrants Out Of Detention? popularresistance.org "It's solidarity, not charity," said Grace Kindeke, who helps people recently released from immigration detention with housing, food, legal and health services in her community of Concord, New Hampshire. | Immigrants come to the United States looking for safety and stability. But instead, many find confusion navigating the complexity of the immigration system, said Kindeke, who works with the nonprofit American Friends Service Committee. | Language barriers, limited cash and the federal government's reliance on detention can prevent recently arrived migrants from getting a lawyer, understanding their legal obliga…
(2021-08-24). Myanmarese rights organization reports over 1,000 deaths since February coup. peoplesdispatch.org The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners also said 7,338 people, including political leaders, activists, students and unionists, have been arrested. As many as 5,730 people remain under detention across the country…
(2021-08-24). Sanders Vows to Tax Billionaires Who Grew 62% Richer During Pandemic. commondreams.org The violence of the detention system falls hardest on people already facing persecution and bias because of their sexuality or gender identity.
(2021-08-24). LGBTQ+ Immigrants Must Be Released from Detention. commondreams.org In 2049 China will be a climate disaster zone, not a military superpower.
(2021-08-24). Don't Just "Close" Prisons — Demolish Them and Reinvest Their Funding. truthout.org 
As the movement to defund the police and prison has continued to gain steam, more are embracing a key decarceration strategy: closing down prisons and jails. Struggles for prison closures have always been an important organizing tactic for those of us working against the prison-industrial complex. Unfortunately, some state governments have attempted to co-opt the rhetoric of prison closure without truly putting it into practice. | California Gov. Gavin Newsom's Legislative Analyst's Office has announced…
(2021-08-24). Ag-Gag Law Suppressing Whistleblowers Is Defeated. popularresistance.org Laws intended to suppress journalism, whistleblowing, and speech on the food and agriculture industry continue to experience defeats in the United States court system. | Known as "ag-gag" laws, the Tenth Circuit Court Of Appeals ruled [PDF] against the ag-gag law in Kansas, which became the first state to pass such a law in 1990. | The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled [PDF] on August 9 that a coalition of organizations proved they could be targeted by the ag-gag law in Arkansas and may proceed with their lawsuit. It also ruled [PDF] on August 10 that Iowa's 2012 ag-gag law was partly unconstitutional. | In a…
(2021-08-24). The Fictions of Onaqui Expose Fatal Flaws in the BLM's Wild Horse Round Ups. counterpunch.org In July, the Bureau of Land Management rounded up the vast majority of Utah's Onaqui wild horse herd. Pressed by a lawsuit, the Bureau's Salt Lake Field Manager testified under oath that an emergency roundup was necessary because wild horses were in poor and declining health and would need to be euthanized if left in the wild. After removing the majority of the Onaqui herd from the federal lands, the agency admitted publicly that its narrative had been false: The captured Onaqui horses were in good body condition;there was plenty of forage on their Herd Management Area (HMA) to sustain the entire herd through the…
(2021-08-24). Voting Rights Groups Launch Civil Disobedience Campaign at the White House Urging End to Filibuster. democracynow.org 
With the Democratic-led House of Representatives expected to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, pressure is growing on the Biden administration and Senate Democrats to abolish the filibuster, without which new voting rights legislation and other Democratic priorities have no hope of passing the Senate. We speak with Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way and former president of the NAACP, as voting rights groups protest in front of the White House. Jealous says the action is intended to "up the pressure on Biden" to call on the Senate to get rid of the filibuster. "The filibuster was the insula…
(2021-08-24). Black August commemorated at San Quentin prison. liberationnews.org 
Sixty participants on foot, bike, and in cars marched from the Larkspur Ferry Parking lot along Sir Francis Drake Blvd and gathered to hold a rally at the gates of San Quentin prison…
(2021-08-24). David Gilbert, Ex-Weather Underground Member, Granted Clemency by Cuomo. Will Parole Board Free Him? democracynow.org 
Outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used his final hours in office to grant clemency to six men, including former Weather Underground member David Gilbert, who was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for his role in a 1981 robbery of an armored truck that left a security guard and two police officers dead. Gilbert, who is 76 years old and has been incarcerated for four decades, will now be able to apply for parole. "Now it's a matter of hoping that the parole board will do the right thing," says Steve Zeidman, Gilbert's lawyer, who also represents four of the other men granted clemency. "They recognize th…
(2021-08-24). Ex-Weather Underground Member David Gilbert Is Granted Clemency by Cuomo. truthout.org 
Outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used his final hours in office to grant clemency to six men, including former Weather Underground member David Gilbert, who was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for his role in a 1981 robbery of an armored truck that left a security guard and two police officers dead. Gilbert, who is 76 years old and has been incarcerated for four decades, will now be able to apply for parole. "Now it's a matter of hoping that the parole board will do the right thing,"
(2021-08-24). The Only Hero of the Duterte Era? An Interview With Philippine Senator Leila de Lima. counterpunch.org Philippine Senator Leila de Lima is one of the world's best known political prisoners. Framed on false charges of being at the center of the illegal drug trade and mercilessly flayed by President Rodrigo Duterte as an "immoral woman," de Lima became Public Enemy No. 1 for telling the Filipino leader that she would not
