(2022-02-17). Father of exiled Navalny ally jailed. rt.com 
Yuri Zhdanov given three years behind bars for fraud | The father of a close aide of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has been given three years in prison for fraud, in a case the activist's allies have called politically motivated. | Yuri Zhdanov, the father of Ivan Zhdanov, was given a suspended sentence last year. However, on Thursday, a court in the Russian city of Naryan-Mar overturned Zhdanov's probation, citing a violation, opting instead to replace it with a real jail term, meaning he will now be forced to serve the entire three years behind bars. | Naryan-Mar is a small city around 1,500 kilom…
(2022-02-17). Students sue school over book banning. rt.com 
US students suing a St. Louis school claim books are being banned as part of an effort to "remove" ideas on race and sexuality | The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two young students against the Wentzville School Board in St. Louis, Missouri, claiming they violated civil rights by banning a handful of books from school libraries. | The students in question were not identified as they are minors, but they have been referred to as C.K.-W and D.L. | According to the class action lawsuit, the recent vote to ban certain books is part of a "targeted campaign by the St. Charles…
(2022-02-17). Danish Defense Intelligence Chief Is Jailed by Social Democratic Government—Possibly to Protect U.S. Spy Programs. covertactionmagazine.com Part 1 of a 2-part series on U.S. penetration of Denmark's National Security State [BREAKING NEWS: As we go to …
(2022-02-17). Bigger than bomb threats: The political violence of national oppression. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL – Throughout the months of January and February, there were over 20 bomb threats directed towards historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Black churches, most of which were in the South. These concentrated actions over the last few months are a microcosm of the extensive history of racism and national oppression that Black people have faced within the United States, particularly its southern region. | In general, all Black communities within the United States face systemic racism. The evidence is in the economically depressed ghettos of every city (big and small), riddled with de…
(2022-02-17). Father sentenced in college admissions scandal, ordered to pay $200,000. rt.com 
A wealthy parent arrested as part of Operation Varsity Blues was convicted of bribing US schools with $1.2 million | The head of a private equity firm in Massachusetts was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 months in federal prison for his involvement in a US college admissions scandal that also saw high-profile Hollywood celebrities including Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman face time behind bars. | John Wilson was charged with using $1.2 million to bribe his three kids' way into college as Division I athletes, despite the fact that they were not athletes competing at such a high division. Wilson's arrest was par…
(2022-02-16). Headlines for February 16, 2022. democracynow.org NATO, U.S. Express Doubt over Russian Troop Pullback as Putin, Biden Say Diplomatic Path Still Open, Sandy Hook Families Reach Historic $73 Million Deal with Remington, Prince Andrew Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit with Survivor Virginia Giuffre, Ex-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández Arrested for Drug Trafficking, U.N.: Pollution Causes More Premature Deaths Than COVID-19, U.S. Coastal Sea Levels Will Rise Another Foot by Mid-Century, Climate Change-Fueled "Megadrought" in Western U.S. Worst in 12 Centuries, Flooding and Mudslides Kill at Least 34 People in Petrópolis, Brazil, Israeli Forces Kil…
(2022-02-16). An inspiration for Black Lives Matter: Trayvon Martin will never be forgotten. workers.org 
Ten years ago today on Feb. 26, Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, was murdered by an armed fascist in Sanford, Florida. The murderer, George Zimmerman, was found "not guilty" in a powerfully racist court decision, and all charges were let go. Labor unionists in Florida demand justice for Trayvon . . . |
(2022-02-16). Judge: Former Honduran President To Remain in Custody. telesurenglish.net The Extradition Judge of First Instance of the Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras issued this Wednesday the provisional detention to the former president of the country, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is requested by the justice of the United States (USA) for allegedly incurring in the crimes of drug trafficking and use of weapons. | RELATED: | The Supreme Court details that the hearing of presentation and evacuati…
(2022-02-16). Ex-President Hernandez To Appear Before Honduran Supreme Court. telesurenglish.net After the United States requested his extradition for drug trafficking and weapon use charges, Honduras' former President Juan Orlando Hernandez (2014-2022) will appear on Wednesday before the Supreme Court Judge Edwin Ortez. | RELATED: | Besides reviewing Hernandez's charges, Ortez will determine at this hearing whether the ex-president should remain in pre-trial detention at the facilities of the National Directorate of…
(2022-02-16). Morrison's religious discrimination bill exposes political fault lines close to elections. peoplesdispatch.org With just a handful of months to go for the Australian general elections, prime minister Scott Morrison's aborted attempt to push through his religious discrimination bill exposes major weaknesses in his government…
(2022-02-16). Religious bigotry bill defeated, no thanks to Labor. greenleft.org.au Rachel Evans and Alex Bainbridge argue Labor's claim that its tactics defeated the Religious Discrimination Bill do not stack up.
(2022-02-16). One In Three Big Defense Contractors Profits From US Prisoner Suffering. popularresistance.org Washington — America's largest arms companies are increasingly finding lucrative new ways of profiting from the prison industrial complex; in many cases, weapons of war are directly manufactured using coerced prison labor. A new MintPress News study of the 100 largest private Defense Department contractors found that 37% of them were also profiting from incarcerated Americans, either in prisons and jails, or in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) camps. This proportion rose to 16 of the top 25 largest arms manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman. The c…
(2022-02-16). Philadelphia: protest caravan targets jails. workers.org 
WW PHOTO: Joe Piette Incarcerated people in Philadelphia's jails — 90% awaiting trial while not convicted of any crime — are suffering from horrible jail conditions. In response, family members and community activists drove at least 50 vehicles in a Feb. 12 caravan to highlight this city's crisis. Organized by . . . |
(2022-02-16). Tennessee's Rutherford County Jails Black Children at a Disproportionately High Rate. projectcensored.org Between October and December, 2021, ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio published a series of reports on the jailing of 11 children, ranging from 8 to 12 years in age, who…
(2022-02-16). Six inmates have died in the past three months at Louisville, Kentucky jail. wsws.org Six inmates have died since Thanksgiving, underscoring the barbaric and brutal conditions faced by the 2.3 million people in American prisons and jails.
(2022-02-16). Belmarsh Tribunal On US War Crimes And Julian Assange In New York. popularresistance.org The Progressive International (PI), in collaboration with several like minded organizations, will organize the second Belmarsh Tribunal in New York on February 25. It announced the decision in a press release on February 14. The Tribunal seeks to hold the US government accountable for its war crimes in the two decades of the so-called war on terror and also push for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's release. | The first Belmarsh Tribunal was organized in London during Assange's extradition hearings in October last year. It is named after the infamous prison in London where Assange has been kept for almost three…
(2022-02-16). The Persecution Of Alex Saab. popularresistance.org "It's not a crime to fulfill a diplomatic mission. It's not a crime to evade sanctions that are harming an entire country. It can't be illegal to help a people." Camilla Fabri Saab made these impassioned remarks when explaining the situation behind the illegal arrest and extradition – the kidnapping, in essence – of her husband, Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. | Alex Saab is virtually unknown in the United States, where he is currently languishing in a Miami prison, but he has been vital to Venezuela's ability to survive the brutal economic war being waged by the U.S. He is a political prisoner whose case has para…
(2022-02-16). Black Man Released After Spending 44 Years In Prison, Louisiana Judge Declares He Never Received Fair Trial. moguldom.com Vincent Simmons spent 44 years in prison. On Feb. 14, a Louisiana judge ruled he never received a fair trial. Simmons walked out of Angola State Penitentiary a free man — something he said he dreamed of for decades. Louisiana Judge Bill Bennett ruled that Simmons did not get a fair trial in 1977 when he was …
(2022-02-16). 'Attica' nominated for Oscar. workers.org 
In early September 1971, over 1,000 prisoners, mainly Black and Latinx, rebelled against racism, brutal treatment and horrific conditions at Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Their uprising lasted for five days, until the repressive forces of the state, initiated by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, unleashed a reign of terror . . . |
(2022-02-16). Israeli Occupation Arrested 504 Palestinians, Including 54 Children, in January 2022. orinocotribune.com Occupied Palestine (Palestine Online)—Israeli occupation authorities arrested 504 Palestinians, including 54 children and six women, in the month of January 2022 only. | In a report released last Thursday, February 10, by a number of Palestinian prisoners advocacy groups, inclduding Addameer, Palestine Prisoners' Society and the Palestinian Commission of Detainees' and ex-Detainees' Affairs, the groups said that 'Israel' arrested 504 Palestinians in January 2022. | Among the arrested are 54 children, all under the age of 18. One of them is a child who is under the age of 12. There are also six women among t…
(2022-02-16). Free Leonard Peltier and all political prisoners! cpusa.org 
The following statement was issued by the African American Equality Commission. The African American Equality Commission of the Communist Party USA joins along with the millions of progressive-minded people across the globe to call for Leonard Peltier's immediate release from prison. The CPUSA and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression have long …
(2022-02-16). Time For UK Government To Come Clean On Ties To US Torture Program. popularresistance.org We Americans have had a painful and difficult national debate over the past 20 years relative to torture. Torture was official U.S. government policy from 2002 until at least 2005, and that iteration was not formally outlawed until passage of the McCain-Feinstein Amendment in 2015. (The torture program was a highly-classified secret from 2002 until I revealed it in a nationally-televised interview in December 2007.) | In truth, torture has been illegal in the U.S. since at least the end of World War II. In 1946, the U.S. Government executed Japanese soldiers who had waterboarded American prisoners of war. In Janu…
(2022-02-16). U.S. kidnapped and imprisoned Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab for buying food. mronline.org 
Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab was essentially kidnapped by the United States because he was buying food for the government's CLAP food program, to feed the people of Venezuela.
(2022-02-16). Democrats, The More Effective Evil. popularresistance.org When all else fails, when you are clueless about how to halt a 7.5% inflation rate, when your Build Back Better bill is gutted, when you renege on your promise to raise the minimum wage or forgive student debt, when you can't halt the Republican suppression of voting rights, when you have no idea how to handle the pandemic which has claimed 900,000 lives — 16% of the world's total deaths although we are less than 5% of the world's population — when the stock market fluctuates on wild rollercoaster rides of highs and lows, when what little help the government offered to the labor force — half of…