Monica Moorehead (2022-12-14). Can Brittney Griner's release expose U.S. hypocrisy on prisons? workers.org As the majority of the world knows by now, Brittney Griner, a star player with the Women's National Basketball Association's Phoenix Mercury, was released from a Russian prison Dec. 8 in a prisoner exchange swap for Viktor Bout, a Russian prisoner held in the U.S. Brittney Griner Credit: BBC News . . . |

Wotakuye Mutual Aid (2022-12-14). Justice Demanded in Death of Abbey Lynn Steele in Rapid City. indybay.org On Friday, December 2, 2022, 20-year-old Abbey Lynn Steele of Rapid City, South Dakota died at Monument Hospital after arriving unconscious and not breathing from the Pennington County Jail on November 16th.

KPFA (2022-12-14). Federal Marshals Seize KPFA Assets to Pay Defamation Judgment Against New York Sister Station. indybay.org This week US Marshals seized more than $300,000 of KPFA's cash reserves to pay for a monetary judgment for its parent organization the Pacifica Foundation. The asset seizure resulted from a defamation lawsuit by a former interim executive director of Pacifica, John Vernile in 2019 against programmers of its New York station, WBAI. Pacifica lawyers filed an appeal today to block the judgment. But KPFA is now facing layoffs and a massive budget shortfall.

Roberto J De Lapuente, Oscar Lafontaine (2022-12-14). The American century was yesterday. indybay.org "The people can always be made, with or without the right to vote, | to follow the orders of the leaders. It is very simple. One need | nothing to do but to tell the people that they are being attacked, and to reproach the pacifists of their lack of patriotism and claim that they are putting the country in danger. This method works in every country." (Hermann Goering said this when in prison in 1946)…

Staff (2022-12-13). Protests, 4 Deaths and New Elections: How Peru is Doing 5 Days After Castillo's Ousting. orinocotribune.com Uncertainty prevails after ousted President Pedro Castillo tried to dissolve Congress following constitutional rules, ultimately leading to his controversial detention. | The political crisis in Peru has already left a provisional toll of four deaths, a call for early presidential elections, and a climate of violence due to the police repression of the massive protests by citizens in favor of former President Pedro Castillo and against the new president, Dina Boluarte. Boluarte came to power following the coup d'etat carried out by the Congress after months of failed attempts. | There is also uncertainty about Ca…

Abayomi Azikiwe (2022-12-13). Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Ousted and Jailed in Political Coup. globalresearch.ca

UnitedEditor (2022-12-13). Peru's Castillo from prison: "I have not and will not resign" uwidata.com The struggle for government in Peru is continuing. After the impeachment of President Pedro Castillo by the country's Congress, Castillo's supporters took to the streets. Protests erupted in different cities of the country. Protesters occupied Andahuaylas airport in the south of the country. Mine workers have been marching from southern parts of the country towards …

John Wojcik (2022-12-13). Paul Whelan: Innocent prisoner of Russia or a spy? peoplesworld.org Republicans and right-wingers, but also many Democrats and progressives, are worried now, after the release of Brittney Griner from prison in Russia, about the fate of Paul Whelan. The concern for Whelan is amplified by belief that he, like Griner, was an innocent victim. Nothing can be further from the truth. Whelan, whom the Biden …

Staff (2022-12-13). 10 Ways the ACLU and Our Supporters Showed Up in 2022. aclu.org Whenever people's rights are under attack, the ACLU shows up. On behalf of voting rights, abortion rights, LGBTQ rights and beyond, the ACLU's affiliates, members, clients, volunteers, and staff all do their part to fight for everyone's rights. Month after month, year after year, in the streets, statehouses, and courts, we continue to show up across the country for everyone's rights and freedoms. | In 2022, the ACLU defended civil rights and civil liberties alongside our supporters at every turn. We do this work because we believe "We the People" means all of us, and we will not stop until America lives up to…

Nora Barrows-Friedman (2022-12-13). Has an Israel lawfare group declared open season on US students? electronicintifada.net Top US civil rights office stalls investigation into Palestinian student's discrimination claim.

Rachel Evans (2022-12-13). Draconian sentencing of climate activists needs to end. greenleft.org.au Climate activist Violet CoCo's 15-month jail sentence has caused widespread outrage. But the jailing of climate protesters has been underway for several years, reports Rachel Evans.

Staff (2022-12-13). 17 December, online event: Free the Holy Land Five: Palestinian Political Prisoners in US Jails. samidoun.net Saturday, December 17 10 am Pacific 1 pm Eastern 7 pm central Europe 8 pm Palestine Event in English with Spanish and Arabic interpretation REGISTER TO JOIN: bit.ly/hlf5event The Holy Land Five are five Palestinian charity workers in the United States who were relentlessly harassed, targeted and pursued in a travesty of …

____ (2022-12-13). China takes legal action against U.S. over chip exports. ecns.cn China has filed a lawsuit with the WTO against the United States over chip export control measures, a necessary way to defend China's legitimate interests, the Ministry of Commerce said.

WSWS (2022-12-13). San Diego, California: Family of Brian Umana still searching for answers one year after fatal police shooting. wsws.org Umana was killed by National City police in October of 2021. According to the authorities, the case is still "under review." His family has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

_____ (2022-12-13). Day One: Hearing About US Political Prisoner Alex Saab's Diplomatic Status. popularresistance.org The long delayed official hearing on the question of the Venezuela Special Envoy Alex Saab's status as a diplomat finally began December 12, 2022. The US government had him seized in Cape Verde two and a half years ago, June 12, 2020, in violation of his diplomatic immunity as guaranteed in the Geneva Convention. At present, a hearing – which occurs before a judge, who makes the determination, not before a jury, as in the case of a trial – is taking place in Miami over the question of Alex Saab's status, which the US prosecutors dispute. If this were a simpy case of deciding if a person with a diplomatic passport…

Anya Parampil (2022-12-13). US trial of Venezuela's Alex Saab exposes diplomatic espionage. thegrayzone.com Reporting from inside the federal courtroom where the US is prosecuting Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, The Grayzone learns of disturbing acts of diplomatic espionage. Saab's advocates insist he is imprisoned for violating Washington's economic blockade. Authorities in Praia, Cape Verde, opened official government communications which Venezuela intended for Iran, including a sealed letter sent by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following the arrest of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab in June of 2020. The revelations …

Fight Back (2022-12-13). Federal court hearing on case of kidnapped Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. fightbacknews.org Miami, FL- Nearly 30 international solidarity, peace and justice activists packed into a crowded courtroom at the Wilke Ferguson Federal Courthouse in downtown Miami on the morning of Monday, December 12 to show support for kidnapped Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. The special hearing before federal judge Robert Scola, Jr. was on a motion by Saab's defense team to dismiss the charges against him because he is an official diplomat of the Venezuelan government and should therefore be immune from any prosecution in the United States. | Alex Saab was illegally imprisoned on the island Republic of Cabo Verde, at the d…

Marjorie Cohn (2022-12-13). After 41 Years in Prison, Mumia Abu-Jamal May Finally Get a Chance for New Trial. truthout.org Award-winning journalist and author Mumia Abu-Jamal has been in prison for 41 years in a case infused with racism. The 68-year-old is a former Black Panther and the author of a dozen books, including the celebrated Live from Death Row. After his 1982 conviction in the killing of police officer Daniel Faulkner, Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death. In 2011, his sentence was reduced to life without the… |

Staff (2022-12-13). Freedom Now! Four Palestine Action activists remanded to British prison after direct action against Israel's weaponry. samidoun.net Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its strongest solidarity with and joins in the demand for the immediate release of four Palestine Action activists in British prison for taking direct action to disrupt the flow of arms to the Israeli occupation. The four activists were arrested after shutting down the Teledyne Labtech facility — which …

WSWS (2022-12-13). Australian strike wave continues despite union suppression. wsws.org This surge of industrial action is taking place despite the combined effort of the unions and the Labor government to shut down workers' opposition to real wage cuts and attacks on their standard of living.

Isabelle Merminod (2022-12-12). Ukrainian human rights activist Maksym Butkevytch remains a prisoner of war. greenleft.org.au Maksym Butkevytch, a well-known Ukrainian journalist, human rights defender and pacifist, is being held as a prisoner of war, after the capture of his Ukrainian army platoon by Russian occupying forces in June. Isabelle Merminod and Tim Baster report.

Editor (2022-12-12). Basketball, Viktor Bout and Troubling Exchanges. scheerpost.com By Binoy Kampmark / CounterPunch Prison exchanges and swaps are never entirely satisfactory affairs. The appropriate measure in such cases is the degree of dissatisfaction that arises from them. In the instance of the exchange of US basketballer Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the Russian negotiators may well count themselves richer in …

Amy Goodman (2022-12-12). New Documentary Highlights Radical Voting Rights Struggle in 1960s Alabama. truthout.org We look at "Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power," a remarkable new documentary that shows how a small rural community in Alabama organized during the civil rights movement to challenge white supremacy and systematic disenfranchisement of Black residents, and would become, in some ways, the first iteration of the Black Panther Party. Lowndes County went from having no registered Black voters… |

Mansa Musa (2022-12-12). 2022 was Rikers Island's deadliest year. Again. therealnews.com Editor's note: This interview was filmed on Dec. 1, 2022. A 19th person, Edgardo Mejia, died at Rikers on Sunday, Dec. 11. | 19 people have perished at Rikers Island in 2022, making this the deadliest year in the jail's history. Rikers Island's previous deadliest year was just last year, when 16 people died at the notorious pretrial detention center. NYC Mayor Eric Adams has rejected calls to close the facility, along with demands from advocates for a federal receivership. A federal receivership would give power to a court-appointed, nonpartisan expert to intervene in the situation on Rikers with wide latit…

NYC Anarchist Black Cross (2022-12-12). International Call For New Year's Eve Noise Demonstrations. itsgoingdown.org International call from New York City Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) for noise demonstrations on New Year's Eve outside of jails, prisons, juvenile halls, and detention centers. photo: Ash Agony This is a call for a night of strong solidarity with those imprisoned by the state. Historically, New Year's Eve is one of the noisiest nights…

_____ (2022-12-12). Venezuelan Political Prisoner On Trial In Miami Refuses To 'Sing'. popularresistance.org Starting December 12, an evidentiary hearing before the US Southern District Court of Florida is considering a case of historic importance. Is the US above international law? Can international conventions on diplomatic immunity be violated by US courts and prosecutors? The fate of Alex Saab, a special envoy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is being contested, but larger questions that could affect the lives of diplomats around the world will be decided. | Most prisoners with a get-out-of-jail-free card would have played it, but not Alex Saab. The Venezuelan diplomat has been incarcerated for two and a half…

Lily Meyersohn (2022-12-12). COVID Tragedy at Nursing Home Underscores the Deadly Risks of For-Profit Care. truthout.org New York Attorney General Letitia James recently filed a lawsuit against The Villages, a nursing home in Albion, New York, for years of financial fraud that resulted in the abandonment of the "most basic functions of care" for the nursing home's residents. An investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney General found that from 2015 to 2021, the facility's owners received $86.4… |

Shakeer Rahman (2022-12-12). California Organizers Are Creating Momentum for Statewide Prison Closures. truthout.org There's going to be one less prison in California. On September 8, visiting Lassen County Judge Robert F. Moody dismissed a lawsuit by the town of Susanville that intended to force the continued operation of the California Correctional Center (CCC), a 60-year-old state prison requiring $503 million in repairs. Judge Moody's ruling marks the end of the town's year-long fight to stop CCC from… |

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2022-12-12). Day 1 of Hearing about US Political Prisoner Alex Saab's Diplomatic Status. libya360.wordpress.com Stansfield Smith The long delayed official hearing on the question of the Venezuela Special Envoy Alex Saab's status as a diplomat finally began December 12, 2022. The US government had him seized in Cape Verde two and a half years ago, June 12, 2020, in violation of his diplomatic immunity as guaranteed in the Geneva…

Roger D. Harris (2022-12-12). Venezuelan Political Prisoner on Trial in Miami Refuses to "Sing" dissidentvoice.org Starting December 12, an evidentiary hearing before the US Southern District Court of Florida is considering a case of historic importance. Is the US above international law? Can international conventions on diplomatic immunity be violated by US courts and prosecutors? The fate of Alex Saab, a special envoy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is …

Ellen Taylor (2022-12-12). Will Belated Open Letter by The New York Times and other Media Outlets Be Enough to Compel Julian Assange's Release From Prison? covertactionmagazine.com Or will vindictive elites exposed as war criminals in documents Assange released and who engaged in deep-reaching smear campaign directed against him try to lock up the heroic truth-teller forever? On November 28, The New York Times, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, Le Monde and El Pais sent an Open Letter to the world, stating that …