(2021-10-07). Headlines for October 7, 2021. democracynow.org Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Texas's Near-Total Ban on Abortions, Senate GOP Leader McConnell to Allow Debt Limit Extension into December, WHO Approves Use of First-Ever Vaccine Against Malaria, U.S. COVID Deaths in 2021 Surpass 2020's Total, U.N. to Pay Salaries of Aid Workers in Afghanistan, U.N. Appoints Envoy to Western Sahara After Two-Year Vacancy, Education Department to Expand Student Loan Forgiveness for Public Workers, Crude Oil Spills from Galveston Bay, TX Refinery, Biden Administration Restores Key Environmental Review Provisions to NEPA, Appeals Court Blocks California Law Banning Private Prisons…
(2021-10-07). Federal Court Rules Soldier-Butler Logging is Illegal, Halts Massive Logging and Road-Building Project in Ninemile Valley. counterpunch.org Approving a magistrate judge's recommendations, on October 5th the Montana federal district court ruled for the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force in their lawsuits opposing the Soldier-Butler timber sale. The court ruled that the Forest Service failed to comply with its own self-imposed rules to protect elk winter range
(2021-10-07). Newcastle United: Hatice Cengiz urges Premier League to stop Saudi Arabia deal. middleeasteye.net 
Newcastle United: Hatice Cengiz urges Premier League to stop Saudi Arabia deal | Widow of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi says she is horrified Saudi-led consortium is close to buying club | Thu, 10/07/2021 – 12: 46 | Cengiz and her legal team are continuing to pursue a lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (AFP) | Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashog…
(2021-10-07). Ex-CIA Officer Who Led Raid that Captured Leading Al Qaeda Suspect Is Now Denouncing CIA for Torturing Him for 20 Years In Guantanamo Without Ever Charging Him With A Crime. covertactionmagazine.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments from attorneys for Abu Zubaydah, a Guantánamo prisoner once thought to be the third-ranking leader in al-Qaeda, about whether their client would be allowed to depose two CIA contract psychologists who devised and carried out the Agency's torture program and who personally participated in Zubaydah's torture.
(2021-10-07). Abu Zubaydah Was Tortured for Years at CIA Black Sites. Biden Is Trying to Keep the Abuse Secret. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case brought by Abu Zubaydah, the Guantánamo prisoner who was the first subject of the CIA's torture program. Zubaydah's legal team has spent years trying to obtain testimony from two psychologists who helped the CIA design and implement his torture, and the Biden administration is continuing the Trump's administration strategy to keep key information about Zubaydah's torture in Poland classified despite the fact that the two psychologists are willing to testify. Several justices contradicted the Biden administration, suggesting Zubaydah, the only witness besi…
(2021-10-06). Police Reform Is Not Enough to Protect Black Lives. truthout.org 
Derecka Purnell draws from her experience as a human rights lawyer in her new book, published this month, Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom, to argue that police reform is an inadequate compromise to calls for abolition. Since the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville in 2020, many states have passed laws aimed at reforming police, but congressional talks at the federal level have broken down. Purnell reflects upon her personal journey as a Black woman…
(2021-10-06). "Becoming Abolitionists": Derecka Purnell on Why Police Reform Is Not Enough to Protect Black Lives. democracynow.org 
Derecka Purnell draws from her experience as a human rights lawyer in her new book, published this month, "Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom," to argue that police reform is an inadequate compromise to calls for abolition. Since the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville in 2020, many states have passed laws aimed at reforming police, but congressional talks at the federal level have broken down. Purnell reflects upon her personal journey as a Black woman who believed in police reform before pivoting to abolition, saying, "I became a part of soci…
(2021-10-06). Here's What An Ex-Tesla Worker Said About Winning $137M In An Anti-Black Discrimination Case. moguldom.com A San Francisco federal court on Oct. 4 ordered Tesla to pay a former worker, Owen Diaz, about $137 million after he endured a hostile work environment and racist abuse working there as an elevator operator. Now Diaz, who is Black, is speaking out. The jury awarded more than attorneys had asked for their client, …
(2021-10-06). Khalida Jarrar freed from Israeli prison, visits daughter's grave. workers.org 
Hours after her Sept. 26 release, Khalida Jarrar visits the grave of her daughter, whose funeral she had not been permitted to attend. Khalida Jarrar, a major leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was released Sept. 26 from Israeli prison after two years incarceration. Jarrar, a . . . |
(2021-10-06). "Certain Days" calendar for political prisoners now available for purchase, includes Shukri Abu Baker. samidoun.net 
The new "Certain Days" calendar to support political prisoners is now released! Among the contributors of writing and art to this year's edition is Shukri Abu Baker, one of the Holy Land Foundation 5 — Palestinian political prisoners in U.S. jails. Proceeds go to support a number of political prisoner organizations, including Addameer in occupied […] | The article
(2021-10-06). Venezuelan government condemned for 'anti-communist' attack on PCV. peoplesworld.org 
Communists around the world are expressing solidarity with their sister party in Venezuela against what they described as political attacks and oppression in the run-up to local elections on Nov. 21. In an open letter, more than 25 communist parties (as of press time) condemned the decision of Venezuela's national electoral council to block Communist …
(2021-10-06). Massachusetts Activists Are Changing The Conversation On Israel. popularresistance.org Rep. Betty McCollum's (D-MN) historic Palestinian Children & Families Act still lacks a companion bill in the Senate. At a recent event local JVP Action leader named Jill urged Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to introduce the legislation. Here's her question: | I am Jewish and, like you, I am passionate about justice for all. You probably know that the U.S. government sends about $3.8 billion a year in military funding to the Israeli government. Massachusetts sends $1.3 million a year and Massachusetts taxpayers send Israel $352,000 a day. Some of these tax dollars are used to support Israeli oppression of P…
(2021-10-06). Attica: Class exploitation sparks prison rebellion. workers.org 
Attica, 1971 These remarks were given Sept. 29 during a webinar,"Attica Prison Rebellion: Past to Present," sponsored by the Dallas Chapter of the Justice Initiative of Southern Methodist University. In 1961, George Jackson was sentenced to one year to life in prison for stealing $70. While caged at San Quentin . . . |
(2021-10-06). Missouri executes Ernest Johnson, intellectually disabled death row prisoner. wsws.org Johnson's lawyers and anti-death penalty advocates argued that his execution was illegal due to his intellectual disability and called for his sentence to be commuted to life in prison.
(2021-10-06). Saudi Arabia: Appeals court upholds 20-year sentence of aid worker. middleeasteye.net 
Saudi Arabia: Appeals court upholds 20-year sentence of aid worker | Areej al-Sadhan says her brother Abdulrahman was tortured by Saudi officials and denied access to lawyers while in prison | Wed, 10/06/2021 – 15: 59 | Aid worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan was sentenced to 20 years in prison and given a 20-year travel ban (Supplied) | An appeals court in Saudi Arabia upheld on Wednesday a lengthy prison sentence f…
(2021-10-06). Attorney sentenced to six months for contempt in vindictive case brought by Chevron. indybay.org Steven Donziger, who exposed the decades-long contamination of the Amazon rainforest by the oil giant and won a billion-dollar settlement against the company, was sentenced on Friday to a maximum of six months in prison.
(2021-10-06). Human Rights Attorney Sentenced to Prison After Winning Case Against Chevron. zcomm.org In a move calculated to shield Chevron and deter other lawyers from suing giant corporate polluters, U.S. human rights attorney Steven Donziger was sentenced on October 1 to the maximum of six months in prison for criminal contempt…
(2021-10-06). Forbes reveals why the U.S. Government is trying to extradite Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. mronline.org 
The U.S. would far prefer to just quietly extradite Saab to Miami, use whatever means necessary to extract sensitive information from him, and then warehouse him in the world's largest prison system.
(2021-10-06). The Anonymous Executioners of the Corporate State. scheerpost.com 
Original illustration by Mr. Fish | By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost | Judge Loretta Preska, an advisor to the conservative Federalist Society, to which Chevron is a major donor, sentenced human rights attorney and Chevron nemesis Steven Donziger to six months in prison Friday for misdemeanor contempt of court after he had already spent 787 days under house arrest in New York. | Preska's caustic outbursts — she said at the sentencing, "It seems that only the proverbial two-by-four between the eyes will instill in him any respect for the law" — capped a judicial farce worthy of the antics of…
(2021-10-06). Palestinian prisoner recaptured by Israel after Gilboa prison break goes on hunger strike. peoplesdispatch.org Israeli prison authorities have conducted an internal hearing and sentenced Mohammed Ardah to two weeks in solitary confinement and imposed various kinds of restrictions and punitive limits on him…
(2021-10-06). Israel: Security officials in Cairo for Hamas prisoner exchange talks. middleeasteye.net 
Israel: Security officials in Cairo for Hamas prisoner exchange talks | Following a visit by high-ranking Hamas officials to Cairo, Israeli security team discuss a possible truce, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and a prisoner swap | Wed, 10/06/2021 – 12: 20 | A Hamas security guard on duty as the Egyptian intelligence chief and Hamas officials meet in Gaza City, 31 May 2021 (AFP) | An Israeli security de…