Top 10 Events That Shaped North America in the 2010s
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-31
Over the course of the past decade, North America has experienced the rise of several social movements, such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, which have helped give voice to the voiceless and empower the oppressed. | While these movements helped bring necessary social change, the 2010s also witnessed the rise of the far-right under U.S. President Donald Trump, which has further divided people across the continent and world. | But as we look back at the 2010s, there are several events that have helped shape the present and the future of the continent. | 1) Whistleblowers (2010-Present) | Julian Assange and…
telesurenglish.net/news/Top-10-Events-That-Shaped-North-America-in-the-2010s-20191231-0001.html
Dallas dismissed from lawsuit over police officer killing her neighbor
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2019-12-31
On December 23, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn dismissed the city of Dallas from the wrongful death lawsuit, leaving Guyger as the sole defendant in the suit.
nationofchange.org/2019/12/31/dallas-dismissed-from-lawsuit-over-police-officer-killing-her-neighbor/
Assange Said, "I'm slowly dying here"
RT | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-31
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims he's 'slowly dying' in a UK jail and is often tranquilized and kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. He made the disturbing revelations in a phone call to his friend Vaughan Smith on Christmas Eve. | Read more: on.rt.com/a85u…
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/assange-said-im-slowly-dying-here/
UN Expert Calls Detention of Chelsea Manning 'Open-Ended, Progressively Severe, Coercive Measure Amounting to Torture'
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-31
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer shared on social media Tuesday a letter he sent to the United States government last month expressing concerns that the continued detention of whistleblower Chelsea Manning amounts to torture. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/chelsea_manning_0_0.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/31/un-expert-calls-detention-chelsea-manning-open-ended-progressively-severe-coercive?cd-origin=rss
Uber-Postmates Lawsuit Targeting New California Labor Law Decried as 'Greedy Scheme' Against Workers
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-31
Pro-labor state lawmakers in California derided the ride-sharing and delivery app companies Uber and Postmates as "greedy" on Tuesday after the corporations filed a federal lawsuit to block the state's new law protecting freelancers from taking effect. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/uber_mansion_0.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/31/uber-postmates-lawsuit-targeting-new-california-labor-law-decried-greedy-scheme?cd-origin=rss
Make a resolution to build Fight Back! in 2020
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-30
Minneapolis, MN — As we see a rising tide of struggle in this country and across the globe, the newspaper Fight Back! is expanding its reach and capacity. Each day, 365 times a year, we provide cutting edge coverage and analyses of the people's struggle against exploitation and oppression, with the perspective of ending capitalism and replacing it with socialism — a system where political power is in the hands of the working class. | Be it in the fight of striking copper miners in Arizona, protests against Trump, the conference to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression,…
fightbacknews.org/2019/12/30/make-resolution-build-fight-back-2020
Palestinian PM: Israel Decision to Withhold Tax Revenues "Brings us Back to Square One of the Crisis"
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-30
Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh said today that the Israeli cabinet's decision to deduct additional amounts from the Palestinian tax revenues amounting to 150 million shekels ($43 million), under the pretext of making payments to the families of the prisoners and those killed by Israel, "brings us back to square …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-pm-israel-decision-to-withhold-tax-revenues-brings-us-back-to-square-one-of-the-crisis/
Self-Enlightenment v. Social Change
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-30
Baba Ram Dass (ne: Richard Alpert) was different from the host of gurus and their followers who came out of the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with prisoners and the dying for a time, but was part of the self-enlightenment ethos that enticed so many from the generation of baby boomers (Dass was older than…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/30/self-enlightenment-v-social-change/
Ukraine And Pro-Russian Separatists Complete Prisoner Swap
teleSUR, jg | telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-30
The Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have completed a full prisoner exchange, exchanging all remaining detainees from the five-year conflict. | RELATED: | 'Russia Rejects Deployment of Turkish Troops to Libya' Peskov | The Ukrainian presidency reported on Sunday in a facebook statement that "the mutual release o…
telesurenglish.net/news/ukraine-and-the-pro-russian-separatists-complete-prisoner-swap-20191229-0013.html
Israeli Soldiers Abduct Thirteen Palestinians in Hebron, Ramallah And Tulkarem
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2019-12-30
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Monday at dawn, thirteen Palestinians, including two children, from their homes in the West Bank governorates of Hebron, Ramallah, and Tulkarem, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported. The PPS said several army jeeps invaded the al-'Arroub refugee camp, north of the southern West Bank city …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-abduct-thirteen-palestinians-in-hebron-ramallah-and-tulkarem/
Israel Detained 5,500 Palestinians in 2019, Including 889 Children
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-30
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested more than 5,500 Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory during 2019; among them were 889 children and at least 128 women, the Palestine News Network reported. The Palestinian Prisoners and Human Rights Institutions issued a fact sheet, on Monday, stating that the number of Palestinian …
imemc.org/article/israel-detained-5500-palestinians-in-2019-including-889-children/
All West Virginia prison guard trainees pictured giving NAZI salute on viral photo SACKED after review
rt.com | 2019-12-30
Three staff members and all of the West Virginia corrections cadets, who posed for a photo making a hand gesture resembling a Nazi salute, have been sacked after an inquiry found the class instructor encouraged the practice. | All 34 would-be prison guards and three West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Academy employees have been fired after an in-depth investigation into the viral photo showing the trainees giving a Nazi salute in a class photo accompanied by the words "HAIL BYRD!" | "As I said from the beginning, I condemn the photo of Basic Training Class 18 in the strongest possible ter…
rt.com/usa/477151-nazi-cadets-salut-fired/
Your technology is mine! Doctor sues Apple over Apple Watch heart rate monitoring method
rt.com | 2019-12-28
The technology that an Apple Watch uses to detect heartbeat irregularities violates a patent held by a New York University cardiologist, he has alleged in a lawsuit filed against the tech giant. | Dr. Joseph Wiesel asked a federal court in Brooklyn to order Apple to pay damages, claiming the company is violating his rights "with knowledge and understanding". | According to court papers, Dr. Wiesel invented a method and device for detecting atrial fibrillation, using photoplethysmography to "assess w…
rt.com/usa/476999-doctor-sues-apple-patent/
US military contractors sued for funding terrorism in Afghanistan with 'protection' payments to Taliban
rt.com | 2019-12-28
Bribes paid by international military contractors in Afghanistan were used by the Taliban to fund attacks on companies that didn't make the payments, according to a lawsuit filed by families of those injured or killed as a result. | "Large corporations that had lucrative businesses in Afghanistan" paid off the Taliban through a series of subcontractors, bribing the Afghan militants in order to save money on security, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday in federal court by the families of 143 US soldiers and contractors injured and killed during the longest war in American history. The 288-page civil suit
rt.com/news/476988-contractors-bribes-afghanistan-terrorism-lawsuit/
Prison gave me a greater will to fight
Luiz ignacio lula Da silva | zcomm.org | 2019-12-28
Interview on the reality that Brazil is experiencing and the social protests that have occurred in several Latin American countries…
zcomm.org/zvideo/prison-gave-me-a-greater-will-to-fight/
Wikileaks Still Holding Powerful to Account as Founder Julian Assange "Slowly Dies" in Prison
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-27
Julian Assange is dying inside Belmarsh Prison in London. Those are his own words, relayed through English journalist Vaughan Smith, who revealed that the Wikileaks founder called him on Christmas Eve to share his greetings. Smith also divulged that Assange told him he is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours per day and is often sedated. | His treatment has elicited protests around the world, from journalists, news organizations, human rights groups and celebrities. Last week a group of Australian doctors asked Foreign Minister Marise Pay…
mintpressnews.com/wikileaks-publishing-state-secrets-julian-assange-slowly-dies-prison/263775/
William Barr's Police-Fueled War on Civil Rights
Joshua Clark Davis | thenation.com | 2019-12-27
The attorney general's obsession with protecting the police is a throwback to the crackdown on protesters in the 1960s.
thenation.com/article/barr-police-civil-rights/
William Barr's Police-Fueled War on Civil Rights
Joshua Clark Davis | thenation.com | 2019-12-27
The attorney general's obsession with protecting the police is a throwback to the crackdown on protesters in the 1960s.
thenation.com/article/barr-police-civil-rights/
Pro-Coup Venezuelan Soldiers Who Fled to the US Now Locked Up in ICE Detention Center
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2019-12-27
In an ironic twist worthy of an Alanis Morissette song, participants in U.S.-backed coup are now in an ICE detention camp.
mintpressnews.com/pro-coup-venezuelan-soldiers-defected-to-us-locked-ice-prisons/263764/
"Bedlam": Film Shows How Decades of Healthcare Underfunding Made Jails "De Facto Mental Asylums"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-27
Are prisons and jails America's "new asylums"? A new documentary looks at how a disproportionate number of underserved people facing mental health challenges have been swept into the criminal justice system, where they lack adequate treatment. Nearly 15% of men and more than 30% of women in jails have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. For many of them, jail is their first point of entry into mental health treatment. The documentary "Bedlam" was filmed over five years in Los Angeles County's overwhelmed and vastly under-resourced Emergency Psychiatry Services, a…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/27/bedlam_documentary_mental_health_criminal_justice
"Bedlam": Film Shows How Decades of Healthcare Underfunding Made Jails "De Facto Mental Asylums"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-27
Are prisons and jails America's "new asylums"? A new documentary looks at how a disproportionate number of underserved people facing mental health challenges have been swept into the criminal justice system, where they lack adequate treatment. Nearly 15% of men and more than 30% of women in jails have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. For many of them, jail is their first point of entry into mental health treatment. The documentary "Bedlam" was filmed over five years in Los Angeles County's overwhelmed and vastly under-resourced Emergency Psychiatry Services, a…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/27/bedlam_documentary_mental_health_criminal_justice
Independent UN rights experts raise alarm over 'incommunicado detention' of Chinese scholar
news.un.org | 2019-12-26
Independent United Nations human rights experts expressed apprehension on Thursday over the "incommunicado detention" of a Uyghur Muslim academic who has reportedly been sentenced to death.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054311
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
Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year
Leila Rafei | 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
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
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/
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/
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 Aim…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/10-lgbtq-moments-that-defined-2019
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 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
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
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/
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/
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
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
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/