Nationalism, borders, and the state
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-09-11
Last summer, protesters in Oregon set up a makeshift camp outside the Portland office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Similar encampments soon spread across the country, from Chicago to Los Angeles and New York. Horrified by stories of family separation and images of children in detention centers along the southern border, a consequence of […] | Source…
mronline.org/2019/09/11/nationalism-borders-and-the-state/

New Jersey cop pleads guilty to violating civil rights and excessive force
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2019-09-11
As a result of an FBI investigation into police corruption in Paterson, New Jersey, another police officer recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate individuals' civil rights and filing a false police report. In addition to stealing money and falsifying reports, the corrupt cop also pleaded guilty to repeatedly using unreasonable and excessive force. Since …
nationofchange.org/2019/09/11/new-jersey-cop-pleads-guilty-to-violating-civil-rights-and-excessive-force/

Appeals Court to Hear ACLU Discrimination Case Against Dignity Health
ACLU of Northern California | indybay.org | 2019-09-11
SAN FRANCISCO–The ACLU is set to argue before the Court of Appeal in San Francisco Tuesday on behalf of Evan Minton, a man who was denied health care because he is transgender.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/09/09/18826127.php

Being Black is Not a Crime: Yunek's Story of Police Brutality
aclu.org | 2019-09-11
A personal story of police brutality at the hands of the police in Peoria, Illinois. | My name is Yunek Moore. I am a Black woman, a college graduate, and a survivor of police brutality. I'm choosing to tell my story because, sadly, this wasn't the last time something like this happened to a person of color in Peoria, Illinois, and that must change. | On June 4, 2013, I was a happy 17-year-old looking forward to attending college at Millikin University. I had just graduated high school, where I was ranked 11th in my entire class and spoke at graduation as one of my final duties as Senior Class President. | That n…
aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/being-black-not-crime-yuneks-story-police

UN report on Syria conflict highlights inhumane detention of women and children
United Nations | un.org | 2019-09-11
As the people of north-west Syria face intensifying violence, tens of thousands of women and children continue to be kept in "inhumane conditions" in a remote camp on the other side of the country, UN-appointed independent investigators said on Wednesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/09/1046102

The 1994 Crime Bill and Beyond: How Federal Funding Shapes the Criminal Justice System
Lauren-Brooke Eisen | commondreams.org | 2019-09-11
There are stockpiles of research finding that incarceration has dramatically increased without yielding large crime-reduction benefits for the country — and has in fact harmed communities and torn apart families. Not only that, but in states where prison rates have fallen, the crime rates have fallen as well. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/jail.png …
commondreams.org/views/2019/09/11/1994-crime-bill-and-beyond-how-federal-funding-shapes-criminal-justice-system?cd-origin=rss

Incarcerated Pregnant Women Face Enormous Challenges With Few Reproductive Rights
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-09-11
Kimberly Haven, Reproductive Justice Inside Coalition Director, talks about the horror stories from pregnant women in prisons that were originally designed for men. Haven talks about what needs to change to protect women and their unborn children that will eventually come home to the community.
therealnews.com/stories/challenges-incarcerated-pregnant-women-face-are-enormous-with-few-reproductive-rights

The War in Eastern Ukraine May be Coming to an End but Do Any Americans Care?
Jeremy Kuzmarov | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-09-11
On Saturday September 7, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a prisoner swap which has brought hope of improved relations between the two countries and an end to the 5-year long conflict in Eastern Ukraine. A peace accord is being planned for later this month in Normandy involving Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany. Ukraine's newly elected …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/09/the-war-in-eastern-ukraine-may-be-coming-to-an-end-but-do-any-americans-care/

Chrystul Kizer bail reduction and justice denied
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-09-11
Kenosha, WI – When Cyntoia Brown's case was brought forward to the media, there was a large public outcry for justice. How could a victim of human trafficking be imprisoned for killing her rapist and trafficker? Unfortunately, her case is not novel. Chrystul Kizer, a Milwaukee native, has been charged with multiple counts for defending herself against a sexual predator, Randall Volar III. | Only 17 years old at the time of the incident, Kizer's case is incredibly similar to Cyntoia Brown's. Even more concerning is the fact that they were young, Black teenagers, charged with killing older white males who had sexua…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/9/11/chrystul-kizer-bail-reduction-and-justice-denied

What to Build Instead of Prisons
Deonna Anderson | commondreams.org | 2019-09-11
Zachary Norris is executive director at Ella Baker Center and co-founder of Restore Oakland. (Photo: Brooke Anderson) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/community.jpeg …
commondreams.org/views/2019/09/11/what-build-instead-prisons?cd-origin=rss

'Red Flag for Whole World': Undocumented Workers in India Fear They May Soon Be Prisoners in Detention Camps They Are Building
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-09-11
commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/india_camps.jpg …

Moroccan Journalist Faces 2yrs of Jailtime on Abortion Charges
telesurenglish.net | 2019-09-10
A Moroccan journalist, Hajar Raissouni, who works for the daily Akhbar Al-Yaoum, went on trial Monday, accused by the government of voluntary abortion and pre-marital sexual relationships, acts considered felonies in Morocco which could lead to at least two years in prison. | RELATED: | Salvadoran Woman Acquitted in Retrial for Stillbirth | The journalist was arrested on Aug. 31 after been accused of "late voluntary abortion," something her lawyer denied arguing her client was undergoing…
telesurenglish.net/news/Moroccan-Journalist-Faces-2yrs-of-Jailtime-on-Abortion-Charges-20190910-0032.html

NRA sues San Francisco after city brands it a 'domestic terrorist organization'
rt.com | 2019-09-10
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is taking the city of San Francisco to court over a recent resolution calling it a domestic terrorist entity and discouraging businesses from dealing with it. | The powerful gun lobbying organization, which has borne the brunt of liberal anger in the wake of mass shootings that have rattled the US over the past several years, has filed a complaint against the City and County of San Francisco and its super…
rt.com/usa/468457-nra-lawsuit-san-francisco/

Court commando: Chinese 'spy' trial gets off to bizarre start over underwear shortage
rt.com | 2019-09-09
The trial of a Chinese businesswoman accused of trespassing at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort and deceiving Secret Service agents kicked off with an exceptionally odd hold-up: the defendant showed up without underwear. | Yujing Zhang, who was arrested in March after slipping past security at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, appeared at a jury selection hearing on Monday dressed in a brown prison jumpsuit, claiming she wasn't given any underwear. Defendants in general wear civilian clothing during trials so the jurors aren't prejudiced against them. | After a discussion about which agency was responsible…
rt.com/news/468444-chinese-spy-trial-underwear/

UN chief welcomes prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
United Nations | un.org | 2019-09-08
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed on Sunday, yesterday's exchange of prisoners and detainees between Russia and Ukraine.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/09/1045842

Guaido on the verge of imprisonment: Why does the US have its eye on Essequibo?
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-09-08
Self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaido and his team have been convicted of holding talks with Guyana on the territorial issue of Essequibo. According to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Bolivarian Republic, the opposition has offered to surrender Venezuelan's historical claims to the territory of Essequibo. El presidente venezolano @NicolasMaduro anunció que el gobierno se …
uwidata.com/5251-guaido-on-the-verge-of-imprisonment-why-does-the-us-have-its-eye-on-essequibo/

Racketeering lawsuit heats up wine vs. weed war in Oregon
rt.com | 2019-09-08
The rolling hills of northern Oregon produce some of the most prized wine in America. But there's rivalry from a new neighbor: Cannabis farms. With grapes and buds competing for the same soil, messy legal battles have ensued. | A number of racketeering lawsuits taken by winemakers against pot growers have languished and failed in Oregon's courts, with the grape-growers unable to prove that the pot plantations next door messed with their crops or cost them business. One such lawsuit, however, has managed to proceed, with a federal judge acknowledging an actual financial loss. | The owners of Momtazi Vineyard, i…
rt.com/usa/468368-oregon-wine-weed-lawsuit/

Texas protest says "No kids in cages"
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-09-07
Arlington, TX – 60 people showed up at a protest organized by the Progressive Student Union (PSU) at the University of Texas at Arlington, September 4, against the Trump administration's change to of policy on the detention of undocumented children. | Mark Napieralski, an organizer from the Progressive Student Union, spoke about how the Flores Agreement banned holding children indefinitely – and how the Trump administration is moving to keep children in indefinite detention in concentration camps along the southern border. | Speakers at the rally included Minister Katie Hays from the Galileo Church and Harold Ch…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/9/7/texas-protest-says-no-kids-cages

Robert Mugabe, Ousted Zimbabwean President & Liberation Leader, Dies at 95
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-09-06
Zimbabwe's first post-independence leader, Robert Mugabe, has died at the age of 95. In 1963, he helped found the Zimbabwe African National Union in an effort to liberate the country from decades of white-minority rule. He was jailed from 1963 to 1974. Once freed, Mugabe became a leader of the liberation movement which successfully led to the formation of an independent Zimbabwe in 1979. He became Zimbabwe's first prime minister in 1980, but he would continue ruling the country for the next 37 years. While Mugabe has been hailed as one of the most significant anti-colonial leaders of the 20th century, he was wide…
www.democracynow.org/2019/9/6/zimbabwe_robert_mugabe_horace_campbell

End religious discrimination
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-09-06
civil rightsIssue 1236 Australia religious discrimination bill LGBTI MelbourneSeptember 6, 2019A rally against the proposed religious exemptions bill was held in Melbourne on August 31. | The bill wo…
greenleft.org.au/content/end-religious-discrimination

Was the imprisonment of Iranian-American journalist Marzieh Hashemi spun into expanded US sanctions?
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2019-09-05
The relationship between former Air Force analyst-turned-Iranian spy Monica Witt and Hashemi — who was jailed by US authorities this…
thegrayzone.com/2019/09/05/was-the-imprisonment-of-iranian-american-journalist-marzieh-hashemi-spun-into-expanded-us-sanctions/

Israeli Security Tech on US-Mexican Border Threatens Nation's Civil Liberties
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-09-05
The ACLU's Jay Stanley says that the Border Patrol's repurposing of surveillance technology and drones could open doors that put our liberty and privacy at risk…
therealnews.com/stories/israeli-security-tech-on-us-mexican-border-threatens-nations-civil-liberties

Judge blocks ICE from denying parole to asylum-seekers
splcenter.org | 2019-09-05
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration today to change its blanket policy of locking up people lawfully seeking asylum in the United States as a lawsuit filed by the SPLC and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana makes its way through the federal courts.
splcenter.org/news/2019/09/05/judge-blocks-ice-denying-parole-asylum-seekers

Civil rights conference featuring renowned activist Angela Davis to gather in Chicago this November
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-09-04
Chicago, IL – Founded in 1973 as an organization that grew out of the movement to free the wrongfully imprisoned Angela Davis and other political prisoners, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is set to relaunch this November. This refounding, led by the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) and other organizations, will be taking place in Chicago, Illinois on November 22-24 at the Chicago Teachers' Union Hall. | The organizers' main objectives for this conference are to continue to build the struggle for police accountability as well as stand in solidari…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/9/4/civil-rights-conference-featuring-renowned-activist-angela-davis-gather-chicago-november

Nigerian Journalist & Activist Omoyele Sowore Remains Jailed for Calling for Peaceful Protests
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-09-04
Journalist and pro-democracy activist Omoyele Sowore is entering his second month in jail for calling for peaceful nationwide protests against the government. Sowore called his movement "Revolution Now" and mobilized activists to take to the streets August 5. But just two days before the protests were set to begin, Sowore was arrested by the state and accused of attempting to take over the government. He's been imprisoned for more than a month now as human rights groups continue to call for his immediate release. We speak with his wife Opeyemi Sowore and Nani Jansen Reventlow, one of the attorneys representing Om…
www.democracynow.org/2019/9/4/nigerian_journalist_activist_omoyele_sowore_jailed

No' Money, Mo' Problems: Militiaman's Fundraising Plea Devolves into Lawsuit and Mistrust
splcenter.org | 2019-09-03
The jailed militiaman had an interesting fundraising appeal.
splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2019/no-money-mo-problems-militiamans-fundraising-plea-devolves-lawsuit-and-mistrust

A New York Jail Forced a Trans Woman Into a Men's Facility
aclu.org | 2019-09-03
Trans women routinely face harassment and discrimination in jails and prisons. | Jena Faith's experience in the Steuben County Jail was a living nightmare. | The military veteran spent four weeks in the jail awaiting trial last spring. She was initially housed in the jail's women's facility without incident, but things changed when officials suddenly transferred her to the men's facility, despite the fact that she is a woman. | During the weeks that Jena spent as a woman in a men's jail, she was routinely targeted with physical and verbal harassment from other incarcerated people and guards. On her first day in t…
aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/criminal-justice-reform-lgbt-people/new-york-jail-forced-trans-woman-mens-facility

The Growing Push for Politicians to #VisitAPrison
Stephanie Wykstra | progressive.org | 2019-08-29
"It's our job. We represent them too. So whether or not they're enfranchised or disenfranchised, we are still their representative."
progressive.org/dispatches/growing-push-for-politicians-visit-prison-wykstra-190829/

Taxpayers Have Been Ordered to Pay Over $2 Million For Discriminating Against LGBTQ People
aclu.org | 2019-08-29
Government officials should know that discrimination comes with a cost to taxpayers. | Last week, a federal appeals court ruled that the Commonwealth of Kentucky was liable for $224,000 for the actions of Kim Davis, who refused to do her job and issue marriage licenses (to same-sex or different-sex couples) as county clerk. | While Davis' story made national headlines, her case isn't the only one in the past year where a court case filed by the ACLU has led to a bill for discriminatio…
aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/lgbt-nondiscrimination-protections/taxpayers-have-been-ordered-pay-over-2-million

New Resource Tool Sheds Light on Government's Prepublication Review System
aclu.org | 2019-08-27
Millions of current and former government employees are subjected to this far-reaching censorship system. | This piece was originally published in Just Security. | For more than three years, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University have been litigating a series of Freedom of Information Act requests relating to "prepublication review." Under this far-reaching censorship system, millions of current and former government employees, con…
aclu.org/blog/free-speech/employee-speech-and-whistleblowers/new-resource-tool-sheds-light-governments

Stripped of Their Rights
aclu.org | 2019-08-27
In 2011, guards at an Illinois prison violated the constitution when they carried out a mass strip-search of incarcerated women. | In March 2011, a tactical team of guards at a state prison in Lincoln, Illinois gathered 200 women and ushered them into a gymnasium, where they were brought in small groups into a separate room nearby. Inside that room, they were told to strip naked in plain view of other guards, cadets, and civilians, without any explanation. Women on their periods were ordered to remove their tampons and sanitary pads. One-by-one, each woman was ordered to lift her breasts, cough and squat, and dis…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/women-prison/stripped-their-rights

Will North Carolina's Supreme Court Allow Racism to Remain a Persistent Factor in its Death Penalty?
aclu.org | 2019-08-23
North Carolina's Supreme Court will determine whether evidence of racism in capital punishment can be swept under the rug. | In 2009, North Carolina passed the Racial Justice Act (RJA), which allowed defendants to strike the death penalty from their cases if they could show that racial discrimination was a factor in their prosecution. The law came as a response to a series of exonerations of Black people who were falsely convicted of crimes they did not commit by all-white or nearly all-white juries. The legislature took a bold step to address was what suspected to be deeply troubling evidence of racism infe…
aclu.org/blog/capital-punishment/racial-disparities-and-death-penalty/will-north-carolinas-supreme-court

A Louisiana Parish Jailed a U.S. Citizen for Being Latinx. We're Suing
aclu.org | 2019-08-22
Officers in a Louisiana jail held a U.S. citizen for four days on an immigration hold simply because of his skin color and name. | Ramon Torres had been a U.S. citizen for nearly ten years when he was detained for four days on an immigration hold — despite having a U.S. passport, a Louisiana driver's license, and a Social Security card, and despite that fact that a court ordered his release. | Torres' ordeal began in August 2018, when he was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Torres, a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2009, was carrying multiple forms of identification, inclu…
aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/louisiana-parish-jailed-us-citizen-being-latinx-were

An Arizona Law Requires Surveillance of People Who Are Presumed Innocent
aclu.org | 2019-08-21
The government cannot take shortcuts around constitutional rights. | A pillar of our democracy is the presumption of innocence: before a person has been convicted of a crime, they are considered completely innocent under the law. Yet across the country, people who have not been convicted are punished–both explicitly and implicitly–based on the mistaken assumption that they are dangerous, purely on the basis of an accusation. We do not live in a society where you can be incarcerated or monitored simply because you have been accused of a crime. Doing so violates constitutional rights, fuels mass incarce…
aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/arizona-law-requires-surveillance-people-who-are

Trump is Taking More Money for Raids and Detention. Congress Should Stop Him
aclu.org | 2019-08-19
Without congressional checks, ICE and CBP will continue to overspend and overstep. | 08/27/19 Update: Congress made public today a document outlining the Department of Homeland Security's plan to take nearly $280 million in funds meant for FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the TSA, among other critical priorities. Over $115 million of these funds will go towards President Trump's growing detention and deportations of immigrants, with the rest being used for sham border courts to…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/trump-taking-more-money-raids-and-detention

The BDS movement calls to boycott three anti-Palestinian German clubs
SAMIR | bdsmovement.net | 2019-08-15
The BDS movement calls to boycott three anti-Palestinian German clubs: PACBI StatementConne Island, Golden Pudel and : //about blank are complicit in Israel's oppression of Palestinians | Cultural Boycott Right To BoycottAugust 15, 2019…
bdsmovement.net/news/bds-calls-to-boycott-three-german-clubs

BDS condemns antisemitic, fascist forces in Germany and worldwide
patrick | bdsmovement.net | 2019-08-14
BDS condemns antisemitic, fascist forces in Germany and worldwide: BNC StatementOur nonviolent movement opposes all forms of racism and racial discrimination. | Right To BoycottAugust 14, 2019 | By: | | Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) …
bdsmovement.net/news/bds-condemns-antisemitic-fascist-forces-germany-and-worldwide