Ashika Verriest (2023-05-02). 911: Reimagining a System that Defaults to Dispatching Police. aclu.org Every person deserves equal, effective treatment and safety, especially when in crisis. In such a vulnerable circumstance, people need professionals trained to provide support and care. | But too often, when a person is experiencing a mental health crisis, 911 dispatchers send armed police officers as a default response. We don't send armed police when someone is experiencing a heart attack, but we do when a person is experiencing suicidal ideation. That doesn't make sense. | Professor
Laura Moraff (2023-05-02). The Sneaky Way the Police Could Abuse Their Power to Restrict Free Speech. aclu.org In 2019, police in Castle Hills, Texas arrested Sylvia Gonzalez, a 72-year-old first-time city council member, because they didn't like that she was advocating for the removal of the city manager, a police ally. Since police can't constitutionally arrest someone simply because they find what they're saying offensive, Castle Hills officers used a section of the Texas Penal Code related to the handling of government documents to arrest Gonzalez. Her purported crime was accidentally placing a citizen petition she had introduced at her first city council meeting into her personal binder. | Gonzalez sued, alleging…
Matthew Segal (2023-05-02). State Supreme Courts Offer the Best Chance to Advance Rights. aclu.org 
Recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court are, to use a complex legal term, not great. In many areas, from abortion to voting rights to tribal sovereignty, the current court has curtailed civil rights and individual freedom, even at the expense of longstanding precedent. In other areas, such as policing and qualified immunity, the court has shown that it can move very slowly, or not at all, when it is apparently unbothered by harsh and legally indefensible precedent. | This erosion of our most cherished rights is disturbing, but we are not without hope. The ACLU has long worked in both federal and state cou…
Sharon Zhang (2023-05-02). Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr Files Lawsuit to Be Reinstated After Censure. truthout.org Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr is suing to be reinstated and allowed back on the House floor after Republicans voted last week to censure her after the lawmaker spoke up for the rights of transgender people in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Montana, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Zephyr and four constituents, alleges that Zephyr's rights to free speech were violated… |
David Cole (2023-05-01). When Complaining About a Public Official Can Land You in Jail. aclu.org This piece was What if you lived in a country where you could be jailed for criticizing a public ofÔ¨Åcial? What if that country were the United States? | In May 2018, Bob Frese, a resident of Exeter, N.H., posted on his local newspaper's Facebook page the allegation that the town's police chief had "covered up for dirty cop." The next thing he knew, a warrant was out for his arrest. A detective at the Exeter police department concluded that Frese ha…
Monica Moorehead, a guest author (2023-05-02). Harry Belafonte was more than a Civil Rights activist but a genuine internationalist. workers.org 
The great Jamaica-born artist, Civil Rights activist and internationalist, Harry Belafonte, died from congestive heart failure at age 96 on April 25, 2023. Despite becoming the first Black person to win a TV Emmy award in 1960, a Broadway Tony award in 1954 and selling millions of recordings, Belafonte experienced . . . |
Ashika Verriest (2023-05-02). 911: Reimagining a System that Defaults to Dispatching Police. aclu.org Every person deserves equal, effective treatment and safety, especially when in crisis. In such a vulnerable circumstance, people need professionals trained to provide support and care. | But too often, when a person is experiencing a mental health crisis, 911 dispatchers send armed police officers as a default response. We don't send armed police when someone is experiencing a heart attack, but we do when a person is experiencing suicidal ideation. That doesn't make sense. | Professor
Laura Moraff (2023-05-02). The Sneaky Way the Police Could Abuse Their Power to Restrict Free Speech. aclu.org In 2019, police in Castle Hills, Texas arrested Sylvia Gonzalez, a 72-year-old first-time city council member, because they didn't like that she was advocating for the removal of the city manager, a police ally. Since police can't constitutionally arrest someone simply because they find what they're saying offensive, Castle Hills officers used a section of the Texas Penal Code related to the handling of government documents to arrest Gonzalez. Her purported crime was accidentally placing a citizen petition she had introduced at her first city council meeting into her personal binder. | Gonzalez sued, alleging…
Matthew Segal (2023-05-02). State Supreme Courts Offer the Best Chance to Advance Rights. aclu.org Recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court are, to use a complex legal term, not great. In many areas, from abortion to voting rights to tribal sovereignty, the current court has curtailed civil rights and individual freedom, even at the expense of longstanding precedent. In other areas, such as policing and qualified immunity, the court has shown that it can move very slowly, or not at all, when it is apparently unbothered by harsh and legally indefensible precedent. | This erosion of our most cherished rights is disturbing, but we are not without hope. The ACLU has long worked in both federal and state cou…
Sharon Zhang (2023-05-02). Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr Files Lawsuit to Be Reinstated After Censure. truthout.org Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr is suing to be reinstated and allowed back on the House floor after Republicans voted last week to censure her after the lawmaker spoke up for the rights of transgender people in the state. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Montana, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Zephyr and four constituents, alleges that Zephyr's rights to free speech were violated… |
David Cole (2023-05-01). When Complaining About a Public Official Can Land You in Jail. aclu.org This piece was What if you lived in a country where you could be jailed for criticizing a public ofÔ¨Åcial? What if that country were the United States? | In May 2018, Bob Frese, a resident of Exeter, N.H., posted on his local newspaper's Facebook page the allegation that the town's police chief had "covered up for dirty cop." The next thing he knew, a warrant was out for his arrest. A detective at the Exeter police department concluded that Frese ha…
Monica Moorehead, a guest author (2023-05-02). Harry Belafonte was more than a Civil Rights activist but a genuine internationalist. workers.org The great Jamaica-born artist, Civil Rights activist and internationalist, Harry Belafonte, died from congestive heart failure at age 96 on April 25, 2023. Despite becoming the first Black person to win a TV Emmy award in 1960, a Broadway Tony award in 1954 and selling millions of recordings, Belafonte experienced . . . |
Peoples Dispatch (2023-05-02). Palestinian administrative detainee Khader Adnan dies while on hunger strike. peoplesdispatch.org Adnan was arrested and placed in administrative detention in February this year, soon after which he launched his hunger strike. He was on hunger strike for 87 days…
Staff (2023-05-02). Berlin remembers Sheikh Khader Adnan, martyr of freedom. samidoun.net 
Samidoun Deutschland and fellow Palestinians in Germany remembered Sheikh Khader Adnan today, 2 May, in Berlin, in the heart of the Arab and Palestinian community. Khader Adnan was on hunger strike for 86 days in Israeli occupation prisons, demanding his freedom; he conducted five previous hunger strikes, winning his liberation from administrative detention on four …
Fight Back (2023-05-02). New Orleanians march for May Day. fightbacknews.org New Orleans, LA – On a sunny afternoon, May 1, about 70 demonstrators took to the streets downtown for May Day. They marched from the statue of Benito Juárez at Basin and Conti Street to City Hall. The event commemorated International Workers Day, a celebration of workers' and immigrants' struggles for our freedom and dignity. | "No bans, no walls, legalization for all!" marchers chanted as they crossed Canal Street. | At the beginning and ends of the march, immigrants spoke out against discrimination and deportations. | "We are sick and tired of being political pawns for politicians. We are sick and tired of…
teleSUR (2023-05-02). Palestinian Jader Adnan Dies After 88-Day Hunger Strike. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, 44-year-old Palestinian prisoner Jader Adnan died after spending 86 days on a hunger strike in an Israeli jail. Shortly before being transferred to a hospital on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, he was found unconscious in his cell. | RELATED: | His hunger strike had begun on February 5, the same day he was arrested and charged with terrorism and incitement to violence as a member of the Palestinian Islamic…
channelnewsasia (2023-05-02). Warehouse supervisor jailed for taking almost S$698,000 in SK-II products to sell. channelnewsasia.com Foo You Ann had taken loans amounting to S$1 million after suffering losses in gambling and cryptocurrency.
Staff (2023-05-02). Headlines for May 2, 2023. democracynow.org U.N. Refugee Agency Warns 800,000 Could Flee Fighting in Sudan, Head of Wagner Group Threatens Mutiny Unless Russia Sends More Ammunition, Biden Pledges "Ironclad" Support for U.S.-Philippines Military Alliance, Yellen Warns U.S. Could Default on Debts on June 1 Unless Congress Raises Borrowing Limit, Senate Judiciary Committee Scrutinizes Supreme Court Ethics Amid Mounting Scandals, Israeli Airstrike on Aleppo Airport Kills One, Injures Seven, Palestinian Khader Adnan, Jailed by Israel Without Charges, Dies on Hunger Strike, Three Indigenous Leaders Killed in Brazil as Illegal Miners Invade Village,…
In Contempt (2023-05-01). In Contempt #28: Anti-Repression Campaigns Spread, Barton Jail Hunger Strike. itsgoingdown.org 
In this column, we present our monthly roundup of political prisoner, prison rebel, and repression news, happenings, announcements, action and analysis. Packed in as always are updates, fundraisers, and birthdays. There's a lot happening, so let's dive right in! Political Prisoner News Anarchist and antifascist prisoner Dan Baker continues to be mistreated in prison, and…
channelnewsasia (2023-05-02). Apple fights $2 billion London lawsuit for 'throttling' millions of iPhones. channelnewsasia.com
thenarwhal (2023-05-02). Ten First Nations sue Ontario and Canada. thenarwhal.ca Broken Treaty 9 promises.
Antonio C.S. Rosa (2023-05-01). 500 Australians Join World's First COVID Vaccine Injury Class Action Lawsuit. transcend.org 27 Apr 2023 – Dr. Melissa McCann raised more than $110,000 to crowdfund the case, which accuses the Australian government of negligence related to the approval and monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines.
WSWS (2023-05-02). New reports on Jeffrey Epstein demonstrate deep-going corruption of US ruling elite. wsws.org The financier and exploiter and procurer of teenage girls was found dead in his prison cell in August 2019, a death which remains unexplained by prison officials and the federal Department of Justice.
Mansa Musa (2023-05-02). May Day's history shows why labor and prison struggles are intertwined. therealnews.com 
May Day, also known as International Workers' Day, is celebrated around the world by labor unions, socialist parties, and anarchists. May Day's origins go back to the 1886 Haymarket Affair, when hundreds of thousands of US workers walked off the job, and 40,000 went on strike in Chicago for an eight-hour workday. Despite its origins, May Day is largely unknown in the US today. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez joins Rattling the Bars for a discussion on the history of May Day, and how the persecution of organizers in the wake of the Haymarket Massacre highlights the importance of extending solidarity…
Robert Inlakesh (2023-05-02). Israel Kills Palestinian West Bank Leader And Attacks Gaza After Rocket Fire. thelastamericanvagabond.com Israeli military prison authorities allowed for a Palestinian political spokesperson, Khader Adnan, to die in his prison cell after entering day 87 of a hunger strike this Tuesday morning. The political prisoner's death was dubbed an assassination by the Palestinian Prisoners Society organization and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement. Israel claims no wrong doing,
Staff (2023-05-02). Martyrdom of Sheikh Khader Adnan, after 86 days of hunger strike: Latest target of the Zionist assassination policy. samidoun.net 
Khader Adnan, Palestinian prisoner, hunger striker and resistance leader, was martyred in the early morning hours of Tuesday, 2 May 2023 after 86 days of hunger strike, demanding his freedom. Adnan, 45, was married to Randa Musa, and is the father of nine children. A leader in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, he became one …
Staff (2023-05-02). The will of the martyred Palestinian hunger striker, Sheikh Khader Adnan. samidoun.net 
Below we are republishing the will of the martyred prisoner, Sheikh Khader Adnan. He wrote his will on 2 April, one month before his martyrdom, nearly two months into his hunger strike. Khader Adnan died inside Israeli occupation prisons on 2 May 2023 after 86 days of hunger strike and amid a clear commitment of …
Enough is enough. And we mean enough! Rep. Zooey Zephyr speaks after banning by the Montana House of Representatives April 26, 2023. Transgender youth are under siege. Legislators in all but four states have introduced at least 469 bigoted bills, many of which have passed. (aclu.org) Some bills deny trans . . . | 
Moms are still often laid off while on parental leave, pushed out of workplaces and subjected to stereotypes about their competency. But with few legal protections, attorneys say most cases go unreported.
Israel started bombing the besieged Palestinian territory after Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched rockets inside Israel following the death of Khader Adnan. Adnan, an administrative detainee, was on a hunger strike in prison for 87 days…
Legal experts told The Nation it's not illegal. But that didn't stop one guard from moving a woman to extreme isolation after sharing sexual health information.