Medical Opinion, Torture and Julian Assange
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-25
On November 27 this year, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, delivered an address to the German Bundestag outlining his approach to understanding the mental health of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These comprised two parts, the initial stage covering his diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy, the second dealing with his formal detention in…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/25/medical-opinion-torture-and-julian-assange/

Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf orders mass arrest of Housing Justice protesters
Dave Id | indybay.org | 2019-12-25
An inspirational day of solidarity with unhoused Oaklanders turned into a traumatic night after mayor Libby Schaaf directed a small army of police and DPW workers to smash a housing rights protest held on the doorstep of City Hall. For daring to challenge the Oakland's never ending war against the homeless — the city's encampment demolitions and evictions, the towing of residential vehicles, and a lack of earnestness and urgency in addressing the housing crisis — twenty-two people were arrested and sent to Santa Rita jail, some for over two days.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/23/18829113.php

'Solitary confinement' in own home: Father of Pakistan's atomic bomb petitions high court for 'freedom'
rt.com | 2019-12-25
The atomic scientist chiefly responsible for making Pakistan a nuclear power is now asking the country's Supreme Court to set him free, as he has spent almost 15 years under guard in his home, cut off from family and friends. | Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, considered the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb, was detained in 2004 after confessing to illegally giving nuclear technology to Iran, Libya, and North Korea. He was first imprisoned by the government of General Pervez Musharraf, who was himself ousted in 2008 and recently convicted in absentia of treason. | Now 83, Khan is petitioning the highest court in the lan…
rt.com/news/476783-pakistan-khan-nuclear-freedom/

Assange Gives Evidence in Spanish Court-Room Case. Security Contractor Accused of Spying on Assange
Thomas Scripps | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-24
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was brought from Belmarsh Prison yesterday to appear in person at Westminster Magistrates Court and provide video-link witness testimony in the Spanish prosecution of David Morales, the founder of security firm UC Global. Morales, a …
globalresearch.ca/assange-gives-evidence-spanish-case-against-security-contractor/5698625

US Congress Committee to Investigate Death of Detained Migrants
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-24
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Chairman Jamie Raskin announced Monday that they will investigate the deaths of migrant children and adults who were held in U.S. detention centers. | RELATED: | US Awards Migration Detention Contracts Ahead of California Ban | Given that a recent report warned of the existence of a "pattern of negligence and abuse that caused serious damage and the d…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Congress-Committee-to-Investigate-Death-of-Detained-Migrants-20191224-0002.html

Immigration detention centers "rife with abuse," investigation reveals
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-24
An investigation into the detention centers maintained under the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), by USA Today, revealed rampant physical and sexual abuse of migrant detainees. The investigation, published on December 23, analyzed inspection reports since 2015, and identified more than 16,000 reports of violence, apart from hundreds of documents and records of inspections, lawsuits, finance reports and contracts. The investigation also documented 35 first hand accounts from current and former detainees, about the conditions inside the centers. | This is the largest and the most extensive i…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/24/immigration-detention-centers-rife-with-abuse-investigation-reveals/

Trump boasts of Democrats' backing for his assault on immigrants
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
With bipartisan support, conditions on the US-Mexico border and in detention centers for immigrants have become increasingly hellish.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/immi-d24.html

Across the Country Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Apart Families and Communities
Nicole Zayas Fortier | aclu.org | 2019-12-24
During the holiday season, in the picturesque town of Petoskey, | Michigan, Kimiko Uyeda, and her son Marshall celebrate with an annual tradition | of selecting a new ornament to add to | their tree. Year after year, Kimko and Marshall add to their collection | of ornaments as a part of their tradition. | For years, however, they were separated from one another and | unable to enjoy this holiday tradition together. It all began in 2013 when Kimko was arrested for | filing what the local sheriff believed to be a false police report. Because of | broken sentencing laws, the prosecutor in the case was able to add…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/across-the-country-harsh-sentencing-laws-are-tearing-apart-families-and-communities

Court Denies Pre-Trial Detention Request of Cristina Fernandez
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-24
Federal Oral Court No.8 revoked the request for pre-trial detention of Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez this Tuesday, in one of several open cases against her. | RELATED: | Alberto and Cristina Star in New Oliver Stone's Documentary | The Court, composed of judges Gabriela Lopez Iñiguez, Jose Michilini and Daniel Obligado, ordered the termination of the preventive detention order issued by Claudio Bonadio, a well-known judge opposed to the former president, for all the o…
telesurenglish.net/news/Court-Denies-Pre-Trial-Detention-Request-of-Cristina-Fernandez-20191224-0023.html

Despised Private Prison Companies Rebrand as Prison Real Estate Companies
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-24
Many people believe that the United States government is constantly battling corporations, with the government enforcing regulations and corporations skirting them. While this is true in isolated cases, the reality is much more complex. The prison-industrial complex, for example, encompasses a state-run apparatus that is symbiotically intertwined with various private entities. | A growing public relations crisis threatens all entities in this complex. Widespread grassroots movements calling for…
truthout.org/articles/despised-private-prison-companies-rebrand-as-prison-real-estate-companies/

Israel Detains 31 Palestinians Including University Professor and Two Minors
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-24
Israeli forces detained 31 Palestinians, including a university professor, in multiple incursions across the West Bank, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported. Palestine Prisoners' Society (PPS) confirmed in a press release that Israeli forces detained Ahmad Qatamesh, 68, Monday night, after invading his house in Ramallah city. Qatamesh, …
imemc.org/article/israel-detains-31-palestinians-including-university-professor-and-two-minors/

Bloomberg Campaign Calls Made by Those Behind Bars
Ilana Novick | truthdig.com | 2019-12-24
Fundraising phone calls are the bane of many campaigns' (and voters') existence. When it comes to wooing the wealthiest donors, elected officials typically complain about the amount of time spent soliciting funds. "There have been decades and decades of members of Congress losing their lives to ' dialing for dollars,' " Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a law professor at Stetson University who studies political fundraising, told Marketplace in March. | At lower donation levels it's an…
truthdig.com/articles/billionaire-presidential-candidate-benefits-from-prison-labor/

A Trump Reelection Aide Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2019-12-24
A Trump Reelection Aide Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud…
thenation.com/article/voter-suppression-trump-aide/

Guterres stresses need for independent, 'impartial investigation' into Saudi journalist Khashoggi's death
news.un.org | 2019-12-24
As Saudi Arabia handed death sentences to five people and sent three others to jail for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the United Nations Secretary-General continued to stress the need for "an independent and impartial investigation".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054261

Restraining Order In Food Stamp Notice Lawsuit Submitted to Judge for Approval
commondreams.org | 2019-12-24
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/24/restraining-order-food-stamp-notice-lawsuit-submitted-judge-approval?cd-origin=rss

Guardian corrects article about Julian Assange embassy 'escape plot' to Russia…a year later
rt.com | 2019-12-24
The Guardian has corrected an article describing a "plot" to "smuggle" WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange out of London, more than a year after publication. Russia called the article "disinformation and fake news" from the outset. | Assange is currently languishing in London's Belmarsh Prison, awaiting a hearing on his extradition to the US where he is facing espionage charges. However, in the runup to Christmas 2017 he was still safe inside the city's Ecuadorian embassy. At the time, Assange had become a thorn in the side of Ecuador's new president, Lenin Moreno, and Moreno was reportedly mulling a plan to offe…
rt.com/uk/476767-guardian-correction-assange-story/

EU court rules jailed Catalan nationalist Junqueras had immunity
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
Madrid nevertheless kept Junqueras in jail over his role in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum and did not allow him to take his European parliament seat.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/cata-d23.html

Much work needed to 'target unacceptable levels' of racism in Ecuador: UN experts
news.un.org | 2019-12-23
Ecuador must implement and enforce laws and policies to protect the rights of Afro-Ecuadorians, the UN Working Group on People of African Descent said on Monday, calling for an end to the "discrimination, exclusion and extreme poverty they suffer."
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054201

Exonerate the Innocent; Incarcerate the Guilty
David Rosen | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
The U.S. "justice" system, first and foremost, protects police and prosecutors. The Supreme Court has held that while cops have only limited immunity from lawsuits, prosecutors enjoy what's known as absolute immunity for their conduct under most circumstances. Only in the most extreme cases of abuse — including killings and with bodycam videos as evidence — do police get arrested and prosecuted. Still less are prosecutors prosecuted for questionable, if not illegal, practices.
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/exonerate-the-innocent-incarcerate-the-guilty/

Medical Opinion, Torture, and Julian Assange
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-21
On November 27 this year, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, delivered an address to the German Bundestag outlining his approach to understanding the mental health of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These comprised two parts, the initial stage covering his diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy, the second dealing with his formal detention in …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/medical-opinion-torture-and-julian-assange/

Steelworkers sue Alcoa to keep retiree life insurance benefits
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-21
Washington, DC – The United Steelworkers (USW) filed a lawsuit, December 19, in the Southern District of Indiana to protest Alcoa USA Corporation's terminating life insurance benefits for approximately 8900 union-represented retirees. | Alcoa informed the retirees by letter on December 4 that it would eliminate life insurance coverage effective December 31, 2019. The company included with the letter a check equal to a fraction of the face value of their life insurance coverage and a federal 1099 tax form, since the payment would be taxable. | The lawsuit was filed as a class action, and three Alcoa retirees have…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/21/steelworkers-sue-alcoa-keep-retiree-life-insurance-benefits

Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year
aclu.org | 2019-12-20
It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories–from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead–what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/four-lawyers-four-projects-one-non-stop-year

Expert Q&A: Trump's executive order on campus antisemitism
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-12-20
Last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to use a definition of antisemitism that conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism when investigating civil rights complaints alleging antisemitism on campus. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/20/expert-qa-trumps-executive-order-on-campus-antisemitism/

A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box
Kanya Bennett | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
When Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) reintroduced the Fair Chance Act earlier this year, he | said: "This bill would give individuals who are reentering society from prison | a fair chance at truly achieving the American dream." The Fair Chance Act would | ban the box that employers use to ask about arrest and conviction history on | job applications. It also requires that federal agencies and contr…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/a-fair-chance-at-opportunity-the-u-s-government-bans-the-box

Samsung boss sent to prison for union busting
Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-20
There are roughly 7,111 languages spoken around the world. As we close out 2019 and enter 2020, that number will increase (or decrease) as we continue to understand, grasp, and document what constitutes a spoken or written language. In any case, and in any language, we can all agree: Union busting is disgusting. And, unlike …
peoplesworld.org/article/samsung-boss-sent-to-prison-for-union-busting/

Friday's Daily Brief: Pope Francis, Lesotho, Iran, world corruption
news.un.org | 2019-12-20
Our top stories for Friday include: Pope Francis receives the UN chief in Rome, Lesotho famine threat, concern for jailed Iranian protestors, and strengthened global action to prevent corruption.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054141

'Silent plight' carolers show solidarity with county jail inmates
Martha Grevatt | workers.org | 2019-12-20
Cleveland Question: Where are holiday carolers unwelcome this time of year? Answer: In the Cuyahoga County "Justice Center," when they represent the Coalition to Stop the Inhumanity at the Cuyahoga County Jail, and they have changed the words "Silent night, holy night" to "Silent plight, violated rights." Singing rewritten . . . | Continue reading 'Silent plight' carolers show solidarity with county jail inmates at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/45021/

Public housing residents sue NYC over slum conditions
Liberation staff | liberationnews.org | 2019-12-20
In addition to demanding repairs, residents involved in this lawsuit are demanding full public funding for NYCHA.
liberationnews.org/public-housing-residents-sue-nyc-over-slum-conditions/

Ex-FBI employee gets 7 DAYS in jail for hacking emails of right-wing activist 'to protect Mueller'
rt.com | 2019-12-20
The DC Swamp is so small that people on both sides of the aisle are bound to rub elbows, such as the ex-FBI official who tried stopping his neighbor from harming special counsel Robert Mueller's reputation by hacking his email. | Mark Tolson, 60, was sentenced to seven days in jail and 50 hours of community service on Friday, even though the judge called his crime 'very serious.' The former FBI analyst hacked into the email account of his neighbor, right-wing activist Jack Burkman, and tried to publish that information in the media. | Tolson pleaded guilty in September to illegally hacking Burkman's email acco…
rt.com/usa/476535-fbi-mueller-hacking-jail/

US 'disappointed' with UK charging diplomat's wife involved in fatal crash who 'won't return voluntarily'
rt.com | 2019-12-20
The wife of a US diplomat who killed a teenage motorcyclist in a fatal crash in August has said through a lawyer that she won't return to the UK to face a possible jail sentence after prosecutors announced charges against her. | …
rt.com/usa/476519-sacoolas-diplomat-imunity-britain/

10 LGBTQ Moments that Defined 2019
aclu.org | 2019-12-19
1. Aimee Stephens goes to the Supreme Court: | In October, the Supreme Court heard its first trans civil rights case ever. The case was brought by our client Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home solely for being transgender. That's sex discrimination and it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. , | We have yet to see whether the Supreme Court will uphold the civil rights of trans people. But no matter what, history has already been made. , | "I'll never forget the feeling of coming out of the Supreme Court and seeing a crowd of trans people and allies chanting to…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/10-lgbtq-moments-that-defined-2019

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Spends Her Birthday Imprisoned
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-18
Military whistleblower Chelsea Manning spent her 32nd birthday behind bars yesterday for continuing to refuse to testify against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. She has been in prison since May after a U.S. District Judge ordered her incarceration for not recognizing the legitimacy of the grand jury. She tweeted that she was grateful for t…
mintpressnews.com/whistleblower-chelsea-manning-spends-her-birthday-imprisoned/263594/

A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing
Tarek Ismail | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/a-secret-cbp-team-is-targeting-and-detaining-innocent-travelers-were-suing

A Little-Known Privacy Battle Is Being Waged Over Encrypting the Nuts and Bolts of the Internet
Daniel Kahn Gillmor | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
An important fight is brewing over the nuts and bolts of the | Internet that has significant implications for the privacy and security of all Internet | users. The fight has already pitted Google and Cloudflare against American | telecommunications companies, which are lobbying | Congress | to complain about the search giant. The fight is complicated, but at its core | are questions about c…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/a-little-known-privacy-battle-is-being-waged-over-encrypting-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-the-internet

A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court
Melissa Grant | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
For 30 years, I have | worked in reproductive health care. In my current role as Chief Operating | Officer of carafem, a nonprofit with a national network of health centers, I | know the difference compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health care | makes in the lives of our clients. I have witnessed the personal impact when | people who have the legal right to have a child or to have an abortion are denied | those rights due to outrageous societal barriers. Abortion providers are used | to opposition, but we've never experienced the kind of explicit targeting we | received from politicians in the city…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/a-tennessee-city-banned-surgical-abortion-within-the-city-limits-were-taking-them-to-court

US Venezuelan embassy protectors denied right to fair trial
The Grayzone | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-17
Four US activists protecting Venezuela's embassy in Washington, DC face prison time after the Trump administration illegally arrested them. And now…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/16/venezuelan-embassy-defenders-denied-right-fair-trial/

Democratic Candidates Focus on Public Education at Historic Forum with Civil Rights & Labor Groups
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-17
Ahead of the last Democratic presidential debate of the year this Thursday, seven candidates appeared Saturday at the historic Democratic Presidential Forum on Public Education in Pittsburgh, an event organized by public education organizations, unions, civil rights organizations and community groups. We play highlights from the forum and get response from Keron Blair, director of the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools in Atlanta; Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance; and Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education Action. She recently authored a report titled "S…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/17/democratic_presidential_forum_on_public_education

It's Clear: In Oklahoma Cash Bail is Being Used as Ransom to Keep People Who Are Poor Behind Bars
Twyla Carter | aclu.org | 2019-12-17
Imagine you are one of the 4,000 people arrested every year in Canadian County, Oklahoma, a county with less than 200,000 people. Maybe the police find marijuana in your car during a traffic stop, maybe the police have mistaken you for someone else, or perhaps you can't afford the $40 per month you owe the court from a different charge. | After you're arrested, things will go one of two ways. You may | spend an hour or two in the jail for booking and then go home until your court | date. Or, you might sit in jail for weeks or months until your court date, | eating substandard food and sleeping on a linoleum fl…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/its-clear-in-oklahoma-cash-bail-is-being-used-as-ransom-to-keep-people-who-are-poor-behind-bars

He spent 36 years in prison because he stole $100 in cash and $4 in food stamps. Now Willie Parker is free
Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2019-12-16
It was pouring rain the day Willie Parker left William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 36 years in prison.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/17/he-spent-36-years-prison-because-he-stole-100-cash-and-4-food-stamps-now-willie-parker-free

Cop Charged with Making Multiple False Arrests
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-14
Baltimore Police Sgt Ethan Newberg is facing 32 counts of false imprisonment and assault for using illegal arrests to intimidate the community, prosecutors allege.
therealnews.com/stories/cop_charged_with_making_multiple_false_arrests

Weekend Read: Amid Alabama's prison crisis, the voices of the people living through it should be heard
splcenter.org | 2019-12-13
For years, Alabama's prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/13/weekend-read-amid-alabamas-prison-crisis-voices-people-living-through-it-should-be-heard

Eddie Conway Tells It Like It Is
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-13
Please donate and help Eddie–Real News Executive Producer and former Black Panther–continue to expose issues relating to the prison-industrial complex.
therealnews.com/stories/eddie-conway-tells-it-like-it-is

SPLC lawsuit seeks to restore Mississippi citizens' right to vote
splcenter.org | 2019-12-04
When they were children, Herman Parker and his three sisters went to their grandparents' house every election day.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/04/splc-lawsuit-seeks-restore-mississippi-citizens-right-vote

Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities
splcenter.org | 2019-12-02
splcenter.org/20191209/prison-any-other-name-report-south-florida-detention-facilities

Civil Rights Are on the Chopping Block in New Supreme Court Term
Marjorie Cohn | zcomm.org | 2019-12-02
Hello, A very small proportion of ZNet content is available only to Sustainers. You can become a sustainer for a small repeating donation – monthly or yearly via the links for Sustaining, or Donating, available on the top page of ZNet.
zcomm.org/zmagazine/civil-rights-are-on-the-chopping-block-in-new-supreme-court-term/

Just Trying to Get It
Gerry Mohan | zcomm.org | 2019-11-24
Front page of the Guardian Review I'm trying to get it: a US president who waged war against 7 Muslim countries; droned, murdered and terrorized thousands of civilians in some of the poorest countries on earth; just by the way got rid of habeas corpus; spent a trillion dollars on "modernizing" the US military and Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/just-trying-to-get-it/