Protesters demand end to Israeli attacks on Gaza
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-11-17
NY, New York – On the evening of November 15, over 150 people gathered on 42nd and Broadway to demand that Israel, backed by the United States government, stop the murder and occupation of Palestinians. | The emergency rally was called by several different organizations in New York City in response to Israel murdering 34 people, including eight children in Gaza. The organizations were Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, CODEPINK: Women For Peace, Labor for Palestine, Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, NY4Palestine, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, American Muslims for Palesti…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/11/16/protesters-demand-end-israeli-attacks-gaza
UN film festival encourages young people to promote peace, dialogue and empathy
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-16
Demonstrating empathy, humour and intelligence, a group of young film-makers have been recognized for their short videos, which tackle the weighty issues of discrimination, intolerance and misogyny in a creative and entertaining way, at a ceremony held at UN Headquarters.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1051511
Reconsidering criminal punishment
Michael T. Hertz | nationofchange.org | 2019-11-16
We know that the prison system is expensive to maintain and not particularly effective. So what are other solutions to crime?>…
nationofchange.org/2019/11/16/reconsidering-criminal-punishment/
'Grand American Tradition of Immunizing Its War Criminals' Continues as Trump Pardons US Soldiers
Jon Queally, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-11-16
"A shameful use of presidential powers," said the ACLU. "It sends a clear message of disrespect for the law, morality, the military justice system, and those in the military who abide by the laws of war." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_war_criminals1.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2019/11/16/grand-american-tradition-immunizing-its-war-criminals-continues-trump-pardons-us?cd-origin=rss
Hungary's Far-Right Govt Tightens Control on Courts and Schools
telesurenglish.net | 2019-11-15
The Hungarian government has proposed legislation that would increase its control over the country's courts and independent schools, raising concerns from rights groups. | RELATED: | UN Urges Hungary To Move Children From 'Prison-like' Camps | One measure submitted to parliament this week would strengthen the Constitutional Court, most of whose judges are already elected by the ruling party. | Earlier this month, the government abandoned plans to set up separate administrative court…
telesurenglish.net/news/Hungarys-Far-Right-Govt-Tightens-Control-on-Courts-and-Schools-20191115-0012.html
The Size of Your Wallet Should Never Determine Your Freedom
Twyla Carter | aclu.org | 2019-11-15
Lea Allison is a 30-year-old Alamance County | resident and mother to a 6-year-old daughter. She has been living with | relatives because she cannot afford to live on her own, but was about to start | a new job that she hoped would provide her and her daughter with financial | stability. | Lea's plans came to an abrupt halt when she was arrested and locked in an Alamance County, North Carolina jail on a $3,500 bond. Although she has not been found guilty of a crime, she will remain behind bars because she cannot afford to pay for her freedom. Instead of starting her new job, Lea is sitting in the Alamance Coun…
aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/the-size-of-your-wallet-should-never-determine-your-freedom
Whistleblowers Are Public Servants. We Must Protect Them
Kate Ruane | aclu.org | 2019-11-15
President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke on the phone. The president insists the call was "perfect." Others are concerned that, during the call, the president intimated he would withhold financial aid appropriated to Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president agreed to investigate former-Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of the president. | How do we even know about any of this? A…
aclu.org/news/free-speech/whistleblowers-are-public-servants-we-must-protect-them
Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California
Candice Francis | aclu.org | 2019-11-15
This is a cross-post from the ACLU of Northern California. | There is a story we tell ourselves about being American. Much of it is a lie. Two dates that students throughout the country are required to memorize to inform an American identity are 1492, when Columbus supposedly "discovered" America, and 1776, when the United States claimed sovereignty from England and through the Declaration of Independence declared: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." If we're honest, we'll admit that the "all men" in that catchphrase didn't include African Americans, Native Americans, and…
aclu.org/news/racial-justice/gold-chains-the-hidden-history-of-slavery-in-california
Cuba: Stop Harassment Against Cuban Doctors in Bolivia
telesurenglish.net | 2019-11-15
The Cuban Government denounced the arbitrary detention of the chief its the Medical Brigade in Bolivia, Yoandra Muro Valle, as well as of Jacinto Alfonso Pérez, in charge of logistics of the group, said Eugenio Martínez Enriquez, General Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the island. | RELATED: | Bolivia: Coup-Born Government Threatens Independent Journalists | In a press conference, the diplomat called on the authorities of the Plur…
telesurenglish.net/news/cuba-stop-harassment-against-cuban-doctors-in-bolivia-20191115-0010.html
A Lesson for the Palestinian Leadership: Real Reasons behind Israel's Arrest and Release of Labadi, Mi'ri
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2019-11-15
The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi'ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships at the hands…
counterpunch.org/2019/11/15/a-lesson-for-the-palestinian-leadership-real-reasons-behind-israels-arrest-and-release-of-labadi-miri/
Corporate Media Whitewashes Its Role in Lula's Imprisonment
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-11-15
The Brazilian Supreme Court reversed a 2018 ruling on November 7, upholding the principle of innocent until proven guilty in the 1988 Constitution and declaring it illegal to jail defendants before their appeals processes have been exhausted. Within 24 hours, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was released to an adoring crowd of hundreds of union members and social movement activists who had maintained a camp outside the police station where he was held, shouting "good morning," "good afternoon" and "good night" to him for 580 consecutive days. | The Supreme Court had previously ruled, on April 5, 2018[md…
truthdig.com/articles/corporate-media-whitewashes-its-role-in-lulas-imprisonment/
As Brazil's ex-President Lula is Set Free and BRICS Leaders Summit, What Lessons From the Workers Party for Fighting Global Neoliberalism?
Patrick Bond | counterpunch.org | 2019-11-15
Just as Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) heads of state prepared to meet in Brasilia on November 13-14, hosted by Jair Bolsonaro, a double political earthquake hit: Lula's freedom from prison on November 8, followed by a coup against Bolivian president Evo Morales on November 11. Lula was central to BRICS' establishment a decade ago. Details about…
counterpunch.org/2019/11/15/as-brazils-ex-president-lula-is-set-free-and-brics-leaders-summit-what-lessons-from-the-workers-party-for-fighting-global-neoliberalism/
As Lula Emerges From Prison, US Media Ignore How Washington Helped Put Him There
Brian Mier | commondreams.org | 2019-11-15
Former President of Brazil Lula da Silva speaking in front of the Metalworkers union on November 9, 2019, after his release from prison. (Photo: Brian Mier) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2019-11-15_at_2.25.02_pm_0.png …
commondreams.org/views/2019/11/15/lula-emerges-prison-us-media-ignore-how-washington-helped-put-him-there?cd-origin=rss
The Coup That Ousted Bolivia's Evo Morales Is Another Setback for Latin American Socialism
Elise Swain | theintercept.com | 2019-11-15
A socialist president from Bolivia is sent into exile as another member of the Latin American left is freed from prison in Brazil.
theintercept.com/2019/11/15/bolivia-evo-morales-coup-brazil-intercepted/
As Brazil's ex-President Lula is Set Free and BRICS Leaders Summit, What Lessons From the Workers Party for Fighting Global Neoliberalism?
Patrick Bond | counterpunch.org | 2019-11-15
Just as Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) heads of state prepared to meet in Brasilia on November 13-14, hosted by Jair Bolsonaro, a double political earthquake hit: Lula's freedom from prison on November 8, followed by a coup against Bolivian president Evo Morales on November 11. Lula was central to BRICS' establishment a decade ago. Details about…
counterpunch.org/2019/11/15/as-brazils-ex-president-lula-is-set-free-and-brics-leaders-summit-what-lessons-from-the-workers-party-for-fighting-global-neoliberalism/
France: 1,000 Yellow Vests Sent To Prison in 1 Year of Protests
telesurenglish.net | 2019-11-15
More that one thousand French "yellow vests" have been sent to prison between last November and the end of June revealed the lastest official estimate by the Public Ministry, as the movement prepared to celebrate its first anniversary on Saturday. | RELATED: | France: Fresh Protests Against Macron's Pension Reform | Prison sentences go from a few months up to three years, and an extra group of 1,230 protesters have been sentenced to prison on parole, while 900 have been sentenced to othe…
telesurenglish.net/news/France-1000-Yellow-Vests-Sent-To-Prison-in-1-Year-of-Protests-20191115-0009.html
"This Is My Home": Meet the Lead Plaintiff in the Supreme Court Case to Save DACA
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-11-15
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from three lawsuits demanding the Trump administration preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The Obama-era program has granted protection from deportation and a work permit to at least 700,000 undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children. The court's conservative majority appeared poised to side with President Trump in ending the program, while some of the court's liberal justices seemed skeptical of Trump's efforts. In September 2017, the Trump administration announced it planned to terminate DACA, arguing the program…
www.democracynow.org/2019/11/15/daca_supreme_court_oral_arguments_lead
"This Is My Home": Meet the Lead Plaintiff in the Supreme Court Case to Save DACA
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-11-15
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from three lawsuits demanding the Trump administration preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The Obama-era program has granted protection from deportation and a work permit to at least 700,000 undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children. The court's conservative majority appeared poised to side with President Trump in ending the program, while some of the court's liberal justices seemed skeptical of Trump's efforts. In September 2017, the Trump administration announced it planned to terminate DACA, arguing the program…
www.democracynow.org/2019/11/15/daca_supreme_court_oral_arguments_lead
Justice for Rodney Reed: Millions Urge Texas to Halt Execution Amid New Evidence of His Innocence
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-11-15
The Supreme Court considers Friday whether to take up the case of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner in Texas who is scheduled to be executed in less than a week for a murder he says he did not commit. On Thursday, Reed's family braved the cold to camp outside the Supreme Court for a vigil asking the justices to help halt the execution. Millions of people around the country have joined their cause in recent weeks amid mounting evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. In 1998, an all-white jury sentenced Reed to die for Stites's…
www.democracynow.org/2019/11/15/rodney_reed_death_row_scheduled_execution
Disruptive protests don't justify police violence
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-11-15
civil rights Sue BoltonIssue 1245 Australia police MelbourneNovember 15, 2019It is unusual for the Police Union or Victoria Police chiefs to condemn the actions of any officer. But they have been forced to crit…
greenleft.org.au/content/disruptive-protests-dont-justify-police-violence
New Senate Bill Would Curtail ICE's "Unnecessary Overuse of Solitary Confinement"
Spencer Woodman | theintercept.com | 2019-11-14
A group of prominent U.S. senators introduced legislation Thursday that would dramatically curtail the use of solitary confinement inside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers. | The bill, sponsored by Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, takes aim at a range of practices identified in Solitary Voices, an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Intercept investigation into the heavy use of solitary confinement by ICE. | Press releases from
theintercept.com/2019/11/14/ice-solitary-confinement-dick-durbin-bill/
Trump Administration Forgoes Petition to Supreme Court in Jane Doe Case
Meagan Burrows | aclu.org | 2019-11-14
For more | than two years, the ACLU has been fighting a Trump administration policy that | prevents unaccompanied immigrant minors in federal care from accessing | abortion. We had previously won in the lower court, securing a preliminary block on | the policy. And last week, the Trump administration chose not to challenge that | ruling and ask the Supreme Court to review the case–a real victory in our fight | for justice for the Janes. | We first filed | the case in Octobe…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/trump-administration-forgoes-petition-to-supreme-court-in-jane-doe-case
Three Common Privacy Misconceptions That Companies Love
Jay Stanley | aclu.org | 2019-11-14
A significant number of Americans hold significant misconceptions about their privacy, according to opinion research — misconceptions that privacy-invading companies love. That's according to research on American understandings of privacy carried out over the past couple decades by the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, lead by Prof. Joseph Turow, whom I recently heard give a talk summarizing these studies. | Misconceptio…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/three-common-privacy-misconceptions-that-companies-love
Human rights experts call for 'paradigm shift' on arbitrary detention in Qatar
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-14
A group of independent UN human rights experts is calling for a "paradigm shift" in Qatar to protect people in the Gulf State from arbitrary detention.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1051371
A Lesson for the Palestinian Leadership: Real Reasons Behind Israel's Arrest and Release of Labadi, Mi'ri
Ramzy Baroud | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-11-14
The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi'ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships at the hands …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/11/a-lesson-for-the-palestinian-leadership-real-reasons-behind-israels-arrest-and-release-of-labadi-miri/
'Harriet' — A powerful depiction of the legendary abolitionist
Monica Moorehead | workers.org | 2019-11-14
Institutionalized bigotry, be it racism, gender oppression or LGBTQ2S+ oppression, has impacted every sector of U.S. society. The form may vary, but the intent is the same — to promote racial, patriarchal and other divisions to keep the bosses and bankers in power and the multinational working class powerless, with . . . | Continue reading 'Harriet' — A powerful depiction of the legendary abolitionist at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/11/44391/
Federal Court Rules That Border Officers Can't Arbitrarily Search Our Electronic Devices
Hugh Handeyside | aclu.org | 2019-11-13
In a major victory for privacy rights, a federal court | has held that the federal government's suspicionless searches of smartphones, laptops, | and other electronic devices at airports or other U.S. ports of entry are | unconstitutional. The ruling in our | case is a recognition that the Constitution protects us even at the border, | and that traveling to or from the United States doesn't mean we give the g…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/federal-court-rules-that-border-patrol-cant-arbitrarily-search-our-electronic-devices
Neo-Nazi Group NSM Faces New Upheaval After James Hart Stern's Death
Hatewatch Staff and Brett Barrouquere | splcenter.org | 2019-11-13
The leadership of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM) has been thrown into chaos again following the death of self-described civil rights activist James Hart Stern.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/13/neo-nazi-group-nsm-faces-new-upheaval-after-james-hart-sterns-death
Oklahomans Just Made History — and They Can Do it Again
Taylor Pendergrass | aclu.org | 2019-11-13
Last | week in Oklahoma, the largest single-day mass | commutation of prison sentences in U.S. history took place. When all is said and | done, nearly 600 people will be released from prison. This may seem like a | surprise coming from a state that's also home to the highest per-capita | incarceration rate in the nation. But these commutations follow the | will of the people: 58 percent of Oklahomans made clear at th…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/oklahomans-just-made-history-and-they-can-do-it-again
The Real Reasons Behind Israel's Arrest of Two Jordanian Nationals
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2019-11-13
The release on November 6 of two Jordanian nationals, Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Mi'ri from Israeli prisons was a bittersweet moment. The pair were finally reunited with their families after harrowing experiences in Israel. Sadly, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are still denied their freedom, still subjected to all sorts of hardships at the hands of their Israeli jailers. | Despite the jubilant return of the two prisoners, celebrated in Jordan, Palestine and throughout the Arab world, several compelling questions remain unanswered: why were they held in the first place? Why were they released and what ca…
mintpressnews.com/real-reasons-israel-arrest-two-jordanian-nationals/262833/
Hedge Fund-Backed GOP Group Is Digging Up Dirt on Elizabeth Warren, Documents Show
Lee Fang | theintercept.com | 2019-11-12
In October, documents surfaced that appeared to contradict a key story told by Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the campaign trail. In her telling, Warren's "dream job" as a public school teacher ended in 1971 when the school principal noticed she was "visibly pregnant," a form of employment discrimination that was legal and common during that era. On October 7, a conservative website presented archived documents that appeared to challenge that narrative, including the minutes of a meeting in which the school board had voted to extend Warren's tenure and another in which the board notes that Warren herself resigned from…
theintercept.com/2019/11/12/elizabeth-warren-pregnancy-fired-america-rising/
The Edge of Democracy: Lula Is Freed in Brazil in Victory for Movement to Resist Bolsonaro
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-11-12
In Brazil, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was freed from prison Friday after 580 days behind bars. Lula's surprise release came after the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled to end the mandatory imprisonment of people convicted of crimes who are appealing their cases. He was serving a 12-year sentence over a disputed corruption and money laundering conviction handed down by conservative Judge Sérgio Moro, an ally of current far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and has long maintained his innocence. Lula has vowed to challenge Bolsonaro in the 2022 elections. At the time of his imprisonment in April…
www.democracynow.org/2019/11/12/petra_costa_lula_edge_of_democracy
Black deaths in the custody of the settler colonial state must end
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-11-12
Indigenous rights Paul GregoireIssue 1245 AustraliaNovember 12, 2019Key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody assert that in dealing with First Nations peoples, the criminal justice system should apply both arrest and imprisonment as sanctions of "last resort". Sparked by suspicious deaths like t…
greenleft.org.au/content/black-deaths-custody-settler-colonial-state-must-end
Brazil's Ex-President Lula Freed, Promises to Continue Fight for Justice
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-11-10
After spending 19 months in jail on a 12-year prison sentence, Brazil's Supreme Court ruled that Lula had to be freed until his appeals are exhausted. Supporters greeted him enthusiastically and Lula promised to fight the unjust case against him and for social justice in Brazil.
therealnews.com/stories/brazil-lula-freed-promises-fight-for-justice
Why I'm Fighting for Menstrual Equity in Prison
Kimberly Haven | aclu.org | 2019-11-08
My name is Kimberly Haven. I am an activist, an advocate, and I have also been referred to as the "tampon queen." I got this moniker because, while I was incarcerated, I learned how to make my own tampons out of the subpar menstrual products I was "given" while incarcerated. | For those who do not have firsthand experience with it, incarcerated women are typically provided with a very limited number of subpar products you would never buy outside of the carceral system. Access to pads and / or tampons is not a given–they are closely restricted and sometimes run out, leaving women without any solutions ex…
aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/why-im-fighting-for-menstrual-equity-in-prison
Remembering the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre When Police Shot Dead Three Unarmed Black Students
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-11-08
The 1968 Orangeburg massacre is one of the most violent and least remembered events of the civil rights movement. A crowd of students gathered on the campus of South Carolina State University to protest segregation at Orangeburg's only bowling alley. After days of escalating tensions, students started a bonfire and held a vigil on the campus to protest. Dozens of police arrived on the scene, and state troopers fired live ammunition into the crowd. When the shooting stopped, three students were dead and 28 wounded. Although the tragedy predated the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings and it was the fir…
www.democracynow.org/2019/11/8/remembering_orangeburg_massacre_1968_south_carolina
We Said We Would See Him in Court and We Did
David Cole | aclu.org | 2019-11-07
Several months into the Trump administration, my wife was | doing The New York Times crossword puzzle and came across this clue: "Group | that told President Trump, 'We'll see you in court.'" I'm not generally much use | when it comes to the crossword, but on that one I could help. She didn't really | need the assistance of course, as the ACLU is my employer, and she, The New | York Times crossword puzzle drafters, and much of the country already knew that | it was the ACLU who told the president we'd see him in court. | In fact, we told him that before he took office. Just days after | he improbably won t…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/we-said-we-would-see-him-in-court-and-we-did
After a hard-won sentence reduction, Huntsville man's court debt is another obstacle to freedom
Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2019-11-07
Fresh out of prison after nearly 23 years, Archie "Jody" Hamlett appeared at his mother's door in Huntsville, Ala., one fall day in 2017.
splcenter.org/news/2019/11/12/after-hard-won-sentence-reduction-huntsville-mans-court-debt-another-obstacle-freedom
League of the South Resorts to Video Stunts as Membership Declines
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2019-11-05
The League of the South made a 25-second propaganda video over the weekend at the memorial of a civil rights icon in an apparent attempt to attract members to its neo-Confederate ideology.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/05/league-south-resorts-video-stunts-membership-declines
SPLC celebrates 30th anniversary of Civil Rights Memorial
splcenter.org | 2019-11-05
The first African American elected mayor of Montgomery, Alabama — a city known as both the "Cradle of the Confederacy" and the "Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement" — urged those who gathered today to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Civil Rights Memorial to ask themselves how they can make an impact on the lives of others.
splcenter.org/news/2019/11/05/splc-celebrates-30th-anniversary-civil-rights-memorial
American Graffiti: Church, Cancer, and 'Hate Faith'
Kevin Powell | progressive.org | 2019-11-02
Spirituality is love. Religion, as often practiced now and through history, is a convenient partner of oppression, and can easily become what I call hate faith.
progressive.org/dispatches/american-graffiti-church-cancer-hate-faith-powell-191102/
Civil Rights Memorial commemorates 30 years
splcenter.org | 2019-11-01
Carolyn Wells Gee was in bed watching TV with her younger sister when she heard the shot that killed Medgar Evers.
splcenter.org/news/2019/11/01/civil-rights-memorial-commemorates-30-years