Monthly Archives: August 2023

2023-08-11: News Headlines

Ricardo Mimbela (2023-08-10). Visualizing the Racial Wealth Gap. aclu.org Systemic inequities and barriers keep people of color from achieving economic security through employment, education, and homeownership, resulting in racial disparities in wealth and income. These disparities are the consequence of ongoing discrimination, structural inequality, and biases across our institutions. They continue to emerge in new forms of technology — including artificial intelligence and algorithmic risk assessment tools — that influence nearly every facet of life. The confluence of these inequities has created a massive, persistent racial wealth gap in the United States. | Here are…

Jay A. Fernandez (2023-08-10). Racism by Design: The Building of Interstate 81. aclu.org David Rufus was just a toddler when the bulldozers rolled into the streets of his Syracuse, New York, neighborhood in 1960. As part of the country's interstate highways surge, city officials wanted to extend I-81 with an elevated viaduct that would cut right through the 15th Ward, where nearly 90 percent of Syracuse's Black population lived. Protesting locals were ignored, and the razing of homes, churches, and businesses resulted in the displacement of more than 1,300 families, including Rufus's. Over the next 50 years, the 15th Ward community suffered in every way possible—jobs, housing, schools, and p…

Staff (2023-08-11). Viola Liuzzo Human Rights Hero (1925-1965). wibailoutpeople.org In 1965 Viola Liuzzo heeded the call of Martin Luther King, Jr. and traveled from Detroit, Michigan to Selma, Alabama to assist the Selma to Montgomery March. Thirty-nine (39) years old and the mother of five, Viola was horrified seeing, on television, marchers beaten on the Edmond Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965. She called her husband, Anthony Liuzzo — a Teamsters Union business agent — to tell him she was leaving for Alabama because the civil rights movement "was everybody's fight." She drove her 1963 Oldsmobile 8…

teleSUR (2023-08-11). World Bank Not to Finance in Uganda Because of Anti-LGBTI Law. telesurenglish.net The World Bank insists that the law undermines the institution's efforts to democratize access to development, as "inclusion and non-discrimination are at the core (…) Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance. These measures are under discussion with the authorities", to which he adds that until laws guaranteeing these rights are passed, public financing will not continue on their part. | This law will institutionalize discrimination and rejection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Uganda. Aug. 11, 2023.

Craig Murray (2023-08-11). The Silence on Imran Khan. orinocotribune.com By Craig Murray — Aug 9, 2023 | Pakistan has imposed a media blackout over the deposed prime minister and thousands of new political prisoners incarcerated in appalling conditions. Condemnation in the U.K. and U.S. has been non-existent. | Given the large population in the U.K. of Pakistani origin, the lack of serious media coverage of the overthrow and incarceration of Imran Khan, and the mass imprisonment of his supporters, is truly extraordinary. | Imran Khan was last week sentenced to three years in prison — and a five-year ban from politics — for alleged embezzlement of official gifts. This…

Fight Back (2023-08-11). Santa Ana rallies in solidarity with the Tampa 5. fightbacknews.org Santa Ana, CA – On August 9, chants of "When the Tampa 5 are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!" filled the Plaza Calle Cuatro in downtown Santa Ana. A group of activists from Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC), MEChA University of California Irvine (UCI), Brown Berets, Anakbayan UCI, and community members rallied as part of a national call to protest for the Tampa 5 who are facing felony charges and up to a decade of incarceration for protesting on the University of South Florida campus. | Jay Perez, CSO OC member, kicked off the rally by speaking about the right-wing attacks on…


Staff (2023-08-11). Headlines for August 11, 2023. democracynow.org Maui Wildfire Death Toll Rises to 55 as Residents Survey Unfathomable Devastation, ECOWAS Says Use of Force Is Possible in Niger Coup Response as Bloc Activates "Standby Force", One Dead, Six Arrested over Assassination of Ecuadorian Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicencio, 23 Rohingya Refugees Drown, Dozens Missing After Shipwreck, Americans Jailed in Iran Transferred to House Arrest on Way to Possible Release, SCOTUS Blocks Purdue Pharma Settlement Deal That Would Protect Sackler Family from Civil Liability, Louisiana Gov. Orders Pardon Board to Review Clemency Requests for 56 Death Row Prison…

Zane McNeill (2023-08-11). Anti-LGBTQ Couple Sues After Foster Care Application Denied. truthout.org A Catholic couple in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the state's Department of Children and Families (DCF) for denying their foster care application over concerns that they would not affirm an LGBTQ child. The couple is being represented by the right-wing law firm behind several consequential Supreme Court cases — including Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which granted owners of some private… |

Anand Naidoo (2023-08-11). The Heat: Trump Investigation. america.cgtn.com New revelations regarding the 2020 U.S. presidential election have emerged. How will this impact Donald Trump's reelection campaign? On Thursday, former U.S. President Donald Trump and his former aide, Walt Nauta, pleaded not guilty to new charges in the classified documents case. This is one …

Mike Ludwig (2023-08-10). Right-Wing Troll Andy Ngo Loses Lawsuit Filed Against Portland Activists. truthout.org A jury in Portland, Oregon, ruled against conservative provocateur Andy Ngo this week in a civil lawsuit he filed three years ago against local activists over multiple allegations of assault, including an embarrassing incident in 2019 when Ngo was hit in the face with a milkshake during a far right rally and counterprotest. "The jury's verdict was a resounding affirmation that Multnomah County is… |

Peoples Dispatch (2023-08-10). Venezuela wins lawsuit in Portugal, recovers frozen assets worth over 1.5 billion USD. peoplesdispatch.org The assets had been frozen in a Portuguese bank since 2019. They were intended for the purchase of medicines, food products and other essential supplies for the country…

teleSUR (2023-08-11). Iran Awaits Release of Its Assets Held in Korean Banks. telesurenglish.net On Friday, an exchange of prisoners between Iran and the United States will take place simultaneously with the release of Iran's frozen assets in banks of the Republic of Korea (ROK). | RELATED: | "The U.S. prisoners in Iran will leave simultaneously with the irreversible release of our illegally held citizens and the full transfer of illegally held assets in South Korea, similar to the recently freed assets in…


teleSUR (2023-08-11). Suspects in Villavicencio's Murder Sentenced to Prison Terms. telesurenglish.net An Ecuadorian judge ordered this Thursday the remand in custody of the six men arrested for the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. | Related: | The magistrate opted for the imprisonment of the six men of Colombian nationality based on the evidence presented by the Prosecutor's Office during the arraignment hearing at the Flagrancy Unit of Pichincha. | A little more than 24 hours after the mur…

Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. (2023-08-11). Eritrea Celebrates Freedom. popularresistance.org I was honored to speak at the 49th annual National Council of Eritrean Americans conference and festival recently held in Tacoma, Washington. Black Agenda Report has always been a staunch defender of the rights of the Eritrean people to live free from U.S. domination. BAR exposes the lies that are told about that nation by the U.S. and their partners in corporate media. The late Glen Ford was especially keen to explain why this country, which is referred to as a "prison camp" and which is described in the most negative and inaccurate ways possible, is in fact a functioning state which overcomes the hardships crea…

Sonya Soni (2023-08-11). We Must Stop the School-to-Prison Pipeline. progressive.org Rather than confront the root causes of youth instability, the system is skewed toward punishing young people of color and their families.

WSWS (2023-08-11). Texas woman wrongly convicted of murder exonerated after serving 18 years of life sentence. wsws.org Rosa Jimenez, exonerated in the accidental death of a toddler she was babysitting, now faces end-stage kidney disease caused by her years of imprisonment.

Fight Back (2023-08-11). Seattle activists hold barbecue to raise funds for the Tampa 5. fightbacknews.org Seattle, WA — On August 9, the UW Progressive Student Union (UW PSU), a chapter of Students For A Democratic Society, and the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) held a fundraiser in response to a national call to action in support of the Tampa 5. The Tampa 5 are student and community activists who are currently facing up to ten years in prison for protesting Ron DeSantis' attacks on education in Florida. | A crowd of 45 people rallied in Powell Barnett Park to chant, give speeches and donate funds to the Tampa 5's legal defense fund. Chants of "When protesters are under attac…

Ileana Ferrer Fonte (2023-08-11). Cuban hero meets with solidarity movement in Russia. plenglish.com Guerrero thanked Russian friends for their efforts and support for his release and that of his comrades who were unjustly imprisoned in the United States for fighting terrorism. | "The feelings of solidarity and friendship from friends like you made the years of imprisonment more bearable for us and gave us the strength to continue our struggle," he added. | Guerrero told his Russian friends that a revolutionary always has a reason to fight and to demonstrate the rightness of the cause he is defending. The most important thing is to transmit this spirit to the new generations, which are much more prepared than t…

teleSUR (2023-08-11). Suspects in Villavicencio's Murder Sentenced to Prison Terms. telesurenglish.net An Ecuadorian judge ordered this Thursday the remand in custody of the six men arrested for the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. | Related: | The magistrate opted for the imprisonment of the six men of Colombian nationality based on the evidence presented by the Prosecutor's Office during the arraignment hearing at the Flagrancy Unit of Pichincha. | A little more than 24 hours after the mur…

Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. (2023-08-11). Eritrea Celebrates Freedom. popularresistance.org I was honored to speak at the 49th annual National Council of Eritrean Americans conference and festival recently held in Tacoma, Washington. Black Agenda Report has always been a staunch defender of the rights of the Eritrean people to live free from U.S. domination. BAR exposes the lies that are told about that nation by the U.S. and their partners in corporate media. The late Glen Ford was especially keen to explain why this country, which is referred to as a "prison camp" and which is described in the most negative and inaccurate ways possible, is in fact a functioning state which overcomes the hardships crea…

Sonya Soni (2023-08-11). We Must Stop the School-to-Prison Pipeline. progressive.org Rather than confront the root causes of youth instability, the system is skewed toward punishing young people of color and their families.

WSWS (2023-08-11). Texas woman wrongly convicted of murder exonerated after serving 18 years of life sentence. wsws.org Rosa Jimenez, exonerated in the accidental death of a toddler she was babysitting, now faces end-stage kidney disease caused by her years of imprisonment.

Fight Back (2023-08-11). Seattle activists hold barbecue to raise funds for the Tampa 5. fightbacknews.org Seattle, WA — On August 9, the UW Progressive Student Union (UW PSU), a chapter of Students For A Democratic Society, and the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) held a fundraiser in response to a national call to action in support of the Tampa 5. The Tampa 5 are student and community activists who are currently facing up to ten years in prison for protesting Ron DeSantis' attacks on education in Florida. | A crowd of 45 people rallied in Powell Barnett Park to chant, give speeches and donate funds to the Tampa 5's legal defense fund. Chants of "When protesters are under attac…

Ileana Ferrer Fonte (2023-08-11). Cuban hero meets with solidarity movement in Russia. plenglish.com Guerrero thanked Russian friends for their efforts and support for his release and that of his comrades who were unjustly imprisoned in the United States for fighting terrorism. | "The feelings of solidarity and friendship from friends like you made the years of imprisonment more bearable for us and gave us the strength to continue our struggle," he added. | Guerrero told his Russian friends that a revolutionary always has a reason to fight and to demonstrate the rightness of the cause he is defending. The most important thing is to transmit this spirit to the new generations, which are much more prepared than t…

Sharon Zhang (2023-08-10). Idaho Professors Sue Over Law That Criminalizes Teaching About Abortion. truthout.org A group of Idaho educators is suing the state over a law that they say punishes teachers with up to 14 years in prison for discussing or teaching about abortion in the classroom. The No Public Funds for Abortion Act (NPFAA) prohibits the use of public funds to "promote" or "counsel" in favor of abortion. Professors across Idaho's publicly-funded universities say that this stifles both lessons on… |

Mumia Abu-Jamal (2023-08-10). Wars against Black history. workers.org Mumia Abu-Jamal This slightly edited July 21, 2023 commentary was recorded on prisonradio.org. And now we see, perhaps for the first time in modern days, states like Florida waging war against Black history by passing laws against what teachers can teach, and, perhaps more importantly, what they cannot. In the . . . |

Dave DeCamp (2023-08-10). Report: US, Iran Reach Deal on Prisoner Release and Frozen Funds. news.antiwar.com The US and Iran have reached a deal that will free five Americans in exchange for the US releasing some Iranians and granting Tehran limited access to $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds, The New York Times reported Thursday. Sources told the Times that the negotiations have been going on quietly for two years. Prisoner …

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2023-08-10: News Headlines

Ricardo Mimbela (2023-08-10). Visualizing the Racial Wealth Gap. aclu.org Systemic inequities and barriers keep people of color from achieving economic security through employment, education, and homeownership, resulting in racial disparities in wealth and income. These disparities are the consequence of ongoing discrimination, structural inequality, and biases across our institutions. They continue to emerge in new forms of technology — including artificial intelligence and algorithmic risk assessment tools — that influence nearly every facet of life. The confluence of these inequities has created a massive, persistent racial wealth gap in the United States. | Here are…

Jay A. Fernandez (2023-08-10). Racism by Design: The Building of Interstate 81. aclu.org David Rufus was just a toddler when the bulldozers rolled into the streets of his Syracuse, New York, neighborhood in 1960. As part of the country's interstate highways surge, city officials wanted to extend I-81 with an elevated viaduct that would cut right through the 15th Ward, where nearly 90 percent of Syracuse's Black population lived. Protesting locals were ignored, and the razing of homes, churches, and businesses resulted in the displacement of more than 1,300 families, including Rufus's. Over the next 50 years, the 15th Ward community suffered in every way possible—jobs, housing, schools, and p…

Deirdre Schifeling (2023-08-09). The Authoritarian Agenda Behind the Scheme to Attack Democracy and Abortion in Ohio. aclu.org

Staff (2023-08-09). Headlines for August 9, 2023. democracynow.org Ohio Voters Reject GOP Attempt to Impose Higher Barrier to Enshrining Abortion Rights in Constitution, SCOTUS Allows Biden Admin to Regulate Ghost Guns for Now, Sudan Conflict Rages On: 4 Million Displaced, 24 Million in Need of Aid, U.N. Warns Burmese Military Is Escalating Attacks on Civilians, Brazil Summit Produces Pledge to Protect Amazon But Fails to Adopt Vow to End Deforestation by 2030, King Center Backs Referendum on Cop City; ACLU, NAACP Call for Probe into Targeting of Activists, Hawaii Wildfires Prompt Evacuations as People Take to Ocean to Escape Fire and Smoke, Community Members, Loved Ones of Murd…

Staff (2023-08-09). Meet Porcha Woodruff, Detroit Woman Jailed While 8 Months Pregnant After False AI Facial Recognition. democracynow.org Porcha Woodruff was eight months pregnant when Detroit police mistakenly arrested her for robbery and carjacking based on a faulty facial recognition match. She was held in jail for 11 hours, where she started having contractions, and had to be taken to the hospital upon her release on a $100,000 bond. "Being under that type of stress could have ultimately led me to lose my child," says Woodruff. According to the ACLU, Woodruff is at least the sixth person — all of whom are Black — to report being falsely accused of a crime as a result of facial recognition technology. It is yet another ca…

John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead (2023-08-09). Indoctrination, Intimidation and Intolerance: What Passes for Education Today. dissidentvoice.org Every day in communities across the United States, children and adolescents spend the majority of their waking hours in schools that have increasingly come to resemble places of detention more than places of learning. — Annette Fuentes Investigative journalist, When the School House Becomes a Jail House This is what it means to go back-to-school …

WSWS (2023-08-09). UK Tory government launches fascistic campaign against asylum seekers. wsws.org The Labour Party has already declared that in government they would keep the barges as detention centres and other anti-immigration infrastructure of the Tories.

Mike Ludwig (2023-08-10). Right-Wing Troll Andy Ngo Loses Lawsuit Filed Against Portland Activists. truthout.org A jury in Portland, Oregon, ruled against conservative provocateur Andy Ngo this week in a civil lawsuit he filed three years ago against local activists over multiple allegations of assault, including an embarrassing incident in 2019 when Ngo was hit in the face with a milkshake during a far right rally and counterprotest. "The jury's verdict was a resounding affirmation that Multnomah County is… |

Sharon Zhang (2023-08-10). Idaho Professors Sue Over Law That Criminalizes Teaching About Abortion. truthout.org A group of Idaho educators is suing the state over a law that they say punishes teachers with up to 14 years in prison for discussing or teaching about abortion in the classroom. The No Public Funds for Abortion Act (NPFAA) prohibits the use of public funds to "promote" or "counsel" in favor of abortion. Professors across Idaho's publicly-funded universities say that this stifles both lessons on… |

Mumia Abu-Jamal (2023-08-10). Wars against Black history. workers.org Mumia Abu-Jamal This slightly edited July 21, 2023 commentary was recorded on prisonradio.org. And now we see, perhaps for the first time in modern days, states like Florida waging war against Black history by passing laws against what teachers can teach, and, perhaps more importantly, what they cannot. In the . . . |

Dave DeCamp (2023-08-10). Report: US, Iran Reach Deal on Prisoner Release and Frozen Funds. news.antiwar.com The US and Iran have reached a deal that will free five Americans in exchange for the US releasing some Iranians and granting Tehran limited access to $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds, The New York Times reported Thursday. Sources told the Times that the negotiations have been going on quietly for two years. Prisoner …

Peoples Dispatch (2023-08-10). Prisoners launch hunger strike in Bahrain. peoplesdispatch.org

Staff (2023-08-10). Headlines for August 10, 2023. democracynow.org At Least 36 Dead, Town of Lahaina Burned to the Ground as Wildfires Devastate Hawaii, Ecuadorian Anti-Corruption Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicencio Assassinated, Biden Seeking More Funding for War in Ukraine, Arming Taiwan, Niger Coup Leaders Accuse France of Destabilizing Country as ECOWAS Summit Kicks Off, The Intercept: U.S. State Dept. Pushed for Pakistan's Now-Imprisoned Ex-PM Imran Khan to Be Removed, Death Toll from Mediterranean Refugee Shipwreck Rises to 41 as Black Africans Expelled from Tunisia, Venezuela Wins Fight to Recover $1.5B of Frozen Funds from Novo Banco, Biden Bans U.S. Comp…

Staff (2023-08-09). The "Palestinian Authority" and political arrests: Prison subcontractor of the occupation. samidoun.net The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has, since its inception, represented a project created as part of the Oslo process, for the purpose of subjugating the Palestinian resistance, replacing the Palestinian revolutionary struggle with a pseudo-state entity, and serving the interests of the security of the Zionist occupation. Sponsored by the United States in security interests …

Oraily Madruga Rios (2023-08-09). Uruguay has one of the largest incarcerated populations. plenglish.com Montevideo, Aug 9 (Prensa Latina) Uruguay was confirmed as one of the countries with the largest prison population per capita on the globe, and the first today in South America.

WSWS (2023-08-09). UK "warehousing people" in overcrowded, unsafe prisons. wsws.org Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed criticised the Conservative government from the right, pledging, "Labour is the party of law and order. In Government it will get on and deliver the prison places we need to ensure that dangerous criminals are where they belong—behind bars."

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