ACLU of California Legislative Webinar: COVID-19, Current Bills, & Building Community
ACLU Northern California | indybay.org | 2020-05-13
Online via Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/12/18832990.php

Contact Tracing, Immunity Cards and Mass Testing: Are We on The Fast Track to a National ID?
John Whitehead | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-13
CHARLOTTESVILLE ( Rutherford) —- No one is safe. No one is immune. No one gets spared the anguish, fear and heartache of living under the shadow of an authoritarian police state. | That's the message being broadcast 24/7 with every new piece of government propaganda, every new law that criminalizes otherwise lawful activity, every new policeman on the beat, every new surveillance camera casting a watchful eye, every sensationalist news story that titillates and distracts, every new prison or detention center built to house troublemake…
mintpressnews.com/contact-tracing-immunity-cards-mass-testing-national-id/267488/

China reacts with zero tolerance for racist incidents
Joshua Hanks | workers.org | 2020-05-13
Reports surfaced in April of cases of discrimination against African workers in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong as pictures appeared on the internet of a sign refusing service to Africans at a McDonald's restaurant and allegations that Africans were being evicted from hotels. Ambassador Liu Yuxi, head of Mission . . . | Continue reading China reacts with zero tolerance for racist incidents at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/05/48572/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=china-reacts-with-zero-tolerance-for-racist-incidents

Oops! FBI accidentally reveals name of Saudi diplomat who helped 9/11 hijackers after years of 'national security' stonewalling
rt.com | 2020-05-13
The FBI has accidentally revealed the name of a Saudi official believed to have aided two Al-Qaeda hijackers involved in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, after going to absurd lengths to keep it secret for years. | The name was unintentionally left unredacted in a court filing unsealed last week in the ongoing lawsuit by 9/11 victims' families against the Saudi government, which they accuse of complicity in the terrorist attacks. The 'error' was reported by Yahoo News on Tuesday

History of Ghana: The Tragedy of One-time Military Ruler Ignatius Acheampong: Visionary and Kleptocrat
Adeyinka Makinde | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-13
"Beloved Ghana, born with a deep sense of pride, nurtured with unshakeable courage, has said goodbye forever to reaction, to timidity and hypocrisy in Government, and to the suppression of the interests and welfare of the people. Together we shall …
globalresearch.ca/ignatius-acheampong-visionary-kleptocrat/5712728

21-Year-Old Dies in Santa Cruz County Jail
Santa Cruz Police News | indybay.org | 2020-05-13
The Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office says on Sunday evening, May 10, correctional officers discovered 21-year-old Tamario Smith was unresponsive in his cell at the County Jail. At about 6pm, paramedics administered medical aid, however Smith was pronounced deceased at the scene. According to the Sheriff's Office, Smith did not share a cell, and foul play is not suspected. The Sheriff's Office states there were no signs of trauma or visible injuries, and that Smith did not show signs of COVID-19 symptoms.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/11/18832983.php

Striking sanitation workers in New Orleans replaced by prison laborers
wsws.org | 2020-05-13
A private waste management company in New Orleans has used inmates to replace striking workers demanding hazard pay and safer working conditions.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/13/nola-m13.html

At San Quentin: 'No state execution by COVID-19!'
Judy Greenspan | workers.org | 2020-05-13
May 9

"Losing the Fabric of the City": COVID-19 Took Chicago Black Lives First & Exposed Structural Racism
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-12
We look at the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate toll on African Americans through the story of Chicago's first 100 recorded deaths. A report by ProPublica found that 70 of the first 100 people to die were African American. Black people account for 30% of Chicago's population and 72% of COVID-19 deaths. We speak with ProPublica reporter Adriana Gallardo, who contributed to the report "COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn't Have To." She says the story paints a picture of "sophisticated structural racism" in Chicago.
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/12/chicago_70_black_people_dead_first

COVID-19 Took Chicago Black Lives First and Exposed Structural Racism
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-12
We look at the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate toll on African Americans through the story of Chicago's first 100 recorded deaths. A report by ProPublica found that 70 of the first 100 people to die were African American. Black people account for 30% of Chicago's population and 72% of COVID-19 deaths. We speak with ProPublica reporter Adriana Gallardo, who contributed to the report "COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn't Have To." She says the story paints a picture of "sophisticated struct…
truthout.org/video/covid-19-took-chicago-black-lives-first-and-exposed-structural-racism/

Fight Mass Incarceration Amidst the Pandemic
NationAction | thenation.com | 2020-05-12
Fight Mass Incarceration Amidst the Pandemic…
thenation.com/article/activism/fight-mass-incarceration-amidst-the-pandemic/

Fight Mass Incarceration Amid the Pandemic
NationAction | thenation.com | 2020-05-12
Fight Mass Incarceration Amid the Pandemic…
thenation.com/article/activism/fight-mass-incarceration-amidst-the-pandemic/

ACLU of California Legislative Webinar: COVID-19, Current Bills, & Building Community
ACLU Northern California | indybay.org | 2020-05-12
Online via Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/12/18832990.php

Dallas County Officials are Leaving Vulnerable People to Catch COVID-19 in Jail
Andrea Woods | aclu.org | 2020-05-12
Wykivia and Ideare Bailey were taking every precaution. Worried for their asthmatic daughter due to the spread of COVID-19, the couple was meticulous in cleaning, sanitizing, and social distancing to reduce every possible threat. However, when Ideare was arrested for property theft and booked into the Dallas County Jail on April 6, there was no way to adhere to those precautions. Held in a crowded intake room, he could not maintain six feet of distance from other people. Forced to live in a dormitory with 60 other people

President Trump's Assault On Inspectors General Threatens Our Civil Liberties
Kate Oh | aclu.org | 2020-05-12
One recent Friday night, President Trump quietly nominated a replacement inspector general (IG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). But this was no ordinary nomination. If confirmed by the Senate, it will force out the acting IG after her office released a survey of hospitals that, to Trump's vocal displeasure, underscored his administration's botched handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. , , The ouster is also only the late…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/president-trumps-assault-on-inspectors-general-threatens-our-civil-liberties

During COVID-19 Crisis, We Must Prioritize the Release of Pregnant People
Lauren Kuhlik | aclu.org | 2020-05-12
This piece was first published on USA Today., , Andrea Circle Bear was 30 years old and had only recently given birth when she died of COVID-19. Circle Bear was incarcerated for a drug-related charge at the time of her death. She spent the final weeks of her pregnancy in a local jail and then a federal prison, spaces that are known hotbeds for virus transmission…
aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/during-covid-19-crisis-we-must-prioritize-the-release-of-pregnant-people

Minneapolis vigil honors Carlos Ernesto Escobar-Mejia, first person to die of COVID-19 in ICE detention
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-05-12
Minneapolis, MN – After dark on Monday, May 11, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) held a candlelight vigil at the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse to remember Carlos Ernesto Escobar-Mejia. He is the first person reported to die of COVID-19 while in jail detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The speakers at the vigil called on people to remember Carlos and called on government officials to free all ICE detainees. | Because of COVID-19, all vigil participants wore a mask and maintained social distance. | During the vigil, Escobar-Mejia's name was also projected on a large wall o…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/5/12/minneapolis-vigil-honors-carlos-ernesto-escobar-mejia-first-person-die-covid-19-ice-detent

Facebook paying $52 million settlement to moderators who claim they developed PTSD through work
rt.com | 2020-05-12
Current and former moderators for Facebook will each be receiving $1,000 or more, as part of a settlement in a lawsuit that claimed having to deal with censoring content made them develop post traumatic stress disorder. | The social media giant will be paying out extra to individuals for additional mental health issues stemming from their jobs, such as depression. The settlement, first reported by The Verge, covers 11,250 moderators, while current employees will rec…
rt.com/usa/488483-facebook-settlement-moderators-ptsd/

Court hears appeal of dismissed lawsuit by family of man killed by Salt Lake police
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-05-12
Salt Lake City, UT – On May 6, the U.S. 10th Circuit heard the name Dillon Taylor for the first time. | Taylor was unarmed and likely could not hear Salt Lake City cop Bron Cruz when he was murdered by Cruz on August 11, 2014 outside a convenience store in South Salt Lake. The killing was quickly ruled justified, but the family filed a lawsuit roughly a year later. That suit was dismissed in 2019, and the hearing on May 6 was an appeal of that dismissal. | Gina Thayne, Taylor's aunt and legal guardian, recalls how difficult it was waiting to hear anything about their lawsuit before it was dismissed. | "The report…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/5/12/court-hears-appeal-dismissed-lawsuit-family-man-killed-salt-lake-police

21-Year-Old Dies in Santa Cruz County Jail
Santa Cruz Police News | indybay.org | 2020-05-12
The Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office says on Sunday evening, May 10, correctional officers discovered 21-year-old Tamario Smith was unresponsive in his cell at the County Jail. At about 6pm, paramedics administered medical aid, however Smith was pronounced deceased at the scene. According to the Sheriff's Office, Smith did not share a cell, and foul play is not suspected. The Sheriff's Office states there were no signs of trauma or visible injuries, and that Smith did not show signs of COVID-19 symptoms.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/11/18832983.php

Russian court keeps historian of Stalinist massacres jailed amid COVID-19 outbreak
wsws.org | 2020-05-12
The vendetta against Dmitriev is part of the campaign by Russia's state and ruling oligarchy to suppress all efforts to uncover the truth about the crimes of Stalinism.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/12/russ-m12.html

Political Prisoners Teach-In: Mumia, migrant rights and cages
Teresa Gutierrez | workers.org | 2020-05-12
These slightly edited remarks were made April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" teach-in webinar sponsored by Mobilization4Mumia and held in honor of the 66th birthday of political prisoner and revolutionary Mumia Abu-Jamal, incarcerated for 38 years by the U.S. state. Teresa Gutierrez First of all, happy . . . | Continue reading Political Prisoners Teach-In: Mumia, migrant rights and cages at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/05/48559/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=political-prisoners-teach-in-mumia-migrant-rights-and-cages

FM spox rejects US claims over Tehran's delay in prisoner swap
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-05-12
TEHRAN, May 12 (MNA)

Saharawi political prisoner Bachir Khada: "I only dream of my freedom"
Bahia Mahmud Awah | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-05-12
The story of Saharawi journalist Bachir Khada, political prisoner condemned to more than 20 years in Morocco because of his participation in the struggle to free Western Sahara. Today he is one of the thousands of prisoners that demands to be freed amid the pandemic…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/05/12/saharawi-political-prisoner-bachir-khada-i-only-dream-of-my-freedom/

Video: Plandemic Documentary: The Hidden Agenda Behind COVID-19
Dr. Judy Mikovits | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-12
Humanity is imprisoned by a killer pandemic. People are being arrested for surfing in the ocean and meditating in nature. Nations are collapsing. Hungry citizens are rioting for food. The media has generated so much confusion and fear that people …
globalresearch.ca/video-plandemic-documentary-hidden-agenda-behind-covid-19/5712013

Crime doesn't pay but prison does, even amidst a pandemic
Robin McDowell, Margie Mason | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-12
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)

Political Prisoners Teach-In: Mumia, migrant rights and cages
Teresa Gutierrez | workers.org | 2020-05-12
These slightly edited remarks were made April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" teach-in webinar sponsored by Mobilization4Mumia and held in honor of the 66th birthday of political prisoner and revolutionary Mumia Abu-Jamal, incarcerated for 39 years by the U.S. state. Teresa Gutierrez First of all, happy . . . | Continue reading Political Prisoners Teach-In: Mumia, migrant rights and cages at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/05/48559/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=political-prisoners-teach-in-mumia-migrant-rights-and-cages

Bolivia: Inmates Riot Due to COVID Outbreak in Prison
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-12
Bolivian police forces repressed May 11 an inmate riot in Palmasola prison, in Santa Cruz city. Convicts protested due to a Covid-19 outbreak among the prison population. | RELATED: | Bolivia De-Facto Govt Repress Protesters That Can't Afford More Lockdown | The authorities at the Palmasola penitentiary said two inmates who died last week after presenting respiratory distress. Local news media reported first deceased autopsy revealed he was COVID positive and was buried acco…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-inmates-riot-due-to-covid-prison-outbreak-20200512-0002.html

US must stop acting callously, let Iranian hostages go: Foreign Ministry
Prerss TV | iranian.com | 2020-05-12
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has urged the US to stop acting callously and release the Iranian "hostages" jailed in America and other parts of the world upon Washington's request. Abbas Mousavi made the remarks on Monday in reaction to remarks made by US Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli, who claimed the Iranian …
iranian.com/2020/05/11/us-must-stop-acting-callously-let-iranian-hostages-go-foreign-ministry/

Rights Groups Work to Stop 'Unnecessary and Potentially Disenfranchising Purges' of Voter Rolls in Pennsylvania
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-05-11
American civil rights groups on Monday moved to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the right-wing activist group Judicial Watch that critics warn could result in "the unnecessary and potentially disenfranchising purges" of voter rolls in three Pennsylvania counties ahead of the November elections. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/vote_here.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/05/11/rights-groups-work-stop-unnecessary-and-potentially-disenfranchising-purges-voter?cd-origin=rss

Tampa Bay SDS demands justice for Ahmaud Arbery
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-05-11
"Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till. How many Black lives will you kill?" This was one of many chants heard across downtown Tampa on Saturday, May 9, as protesters gathered to demand justice for Ahmaud Arbery. The South Georgia resident was murdered by two white supremacist vigilantes, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, while he out for a jog. | Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), along with members of the community, parked outside the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse to participate in the socially-distanced protest. After the protesters were forced to leave by the building's security, the ral…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/5/11/tampa-bay-sds-demands-justice-ahmaud-arbery

Our Privacy is on the Clock
Billy Easley | aclu.org | 2020-05-11
This piece originally appeared in The Hill., , Important issues sometimes divide our nation, but one area where most of us share common ground surrounds is the belief that warrantless secret spying on Americans is unjust. , , Soon, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020, a bill that would extend provisions of the Patriot Act that expired in March. These provisions are currently not consistent with Americans' fundamental rights. However, if Congress chooses to reauthori…
aclu.org/news/national-security/our-privacy-is-on-the-clock

SPLC fights to keep children out of juvenile detention, other confined settings during pandemic
splcenter.org | 2020-05-11
splcenter.org/news/2020/05/11/splc-fights-keep-children-out-juvenile-detention-other-confined-settings-during-pandemic

UN officials call for release of detained Palestinian children amid pandemic
news.un.org | 2020-05-11
Three senior United Nations officials in the Middle East are calling for the release of Palestinian children from Israeli-run prisons and detentions centres, saying they are at particular risk of COVID-19 infection.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/05/1063722

In Haiti ICE is spreading COVID-19
G. Dunkel | workers.org | 2020-05-11
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency charged with deporting people from the United States, scheduled five deportations to Haiti on May 11 from the Pine Prairie Detention Center in Louisiana. The agency claims the five individuals have either tested positive for COVID-19 or show signs of having the disease. (Miami . . . | Continue reading In Haiti ICE is spreading COVID-19 at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/05/48501/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-haiti-ice-is-spreading-covid-19

We Also Face a Pandemic of Racism
Linda Wiggins-Chavis | progressive.org | 2020-05-11
COVID-19 sheds light on America's systemic oppression of people of color.
progressive.org/op-eds/we-face-pandemic-of-racism-wiggins-chavis-200511/

Doctors Speak Out About COVID 19 & The Violent Suppression Of Your Rights
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2020-05-11
The only question, is whether We The People have the courage to stand for what we know to be right, or if we will allow ourselves to be scared into passively accepting the "new normal," a locked down controlled society that was prepped for, planned out, and designed years ago. I for one, will never …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/censorship/doctors-speak-out-about-covid-19-violent-suppression-your-rights/

Sat. May 16, Last KBP7 Webinar Before Sentencing, 12 Noon to 1 PM EDT
David Quinn-Jacobs | kingsbayplowshares7.org | 2020-05-11
MAY 16, Noon ET WEBINAR: Disarm and Divest The Kings Bay Plowshares defendants will hold their final webinar before sentencing this Saturday, May 16 at noon, ET. The six defendants who are out of jail will speak for a few minutes and then take some questions. Lead attorney Bill Quigley will also be…
kingsbayplowshares7.org/2020/05/sat-5-16-last-kbp7-webinar/

Israeli Troops Shoot, Injure and Abduct Two Palestinian Youths
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-05-11
Israeli troops abducted, early on Monday, two Palestinian youths, shortly after they shot and wounded them, in the Qafeen village, north of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem. The Tulkarem-based Palestinian Prisoners' Committee reported that Arqam Harsha, 20 and Awni T'oma, 24, were been abducted during invasion of their …
imemc.org/article/israeli-troops-shoot-injure-and-abduct-two-palestinian-youths/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=israeli-troops-shoot-injure-and-abduct-two-palestinian-youths

The Execution of Julian Assange
Patrick Anderson | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-11
I do not respect anyone who has not been to prison." Julian Assange once said to Renata Avila, a Guatemalan human rights activist who serves as legal counsel for WikiLeaks. "What he meant," Avila says, "was that being in prison means that you have made so much trouble for the system that the only way for the system to deal with you is to lock you up and try to silence you." | After a decade of being shuttled from house arrest to confinement in an embassy to Belmarsh Prison to, if the United States government ge…
mintpressnews.com/opinion-media-execution-julian-assange/267393/

Palestinian PM Seeks to Counter Israel's Threats over Prisoners' Monthly Allowances
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-05-11
Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh asserted, on Monday, that his cabinet has recently sought some prospects for solutions to the standoff of Palestinian prisoners' monthly allowances, created by a recent Israeli decision. During a weekly cabinet session, held in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Dr. Shtayyeh said that Israel …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-pm-seeks-to-counter-israels-threats-over-prisoners-monthly-allowances/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=palestinian-pm-seeks-to-counter-israels-threats-over-prisoners-monthly-allowances

Black prisoners win victory vs. racist officials
Ted Kelly | workers.org | 2020-05-11
Through strength and perseverance, Eric McGill and Leonttay Pratt have won a meaningful victory against the racist officials at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania. Held in solitary confinement for refusing to cut their dreadlocks, McGill and Pratt

HIGH-FREQUENCY failure of combination antiretroviral therapy in paediatric HIV infection is associated with unmet maternal needs causing maternal NON-ADHERENCE
Jane R. Millar, Nomonde Bengu, Rowena Fillis, Ken Sprenger, Vuyokazi Ntlantsana, Vinicius A. Vieira, Nisreen Khambati, Moherndran Archary, Maximilian Muenchhoff, Andreas Groll, Nicholas Grayson, John Adamson, Katya Govender, Krista Dong, Photini Kiepiela, Bruce D. Walker, David Bonsall, Thomas Connor, Matthew J. Bull, Nelisiwe Nxele, Julia Roider, Nasreen Ismail, Emily Adland, Maria C. Puertas, Javier Martinez-Picado, Philippa C. Matthews, Thumbi Ndung'u, Philip Goulder, the Ucwaningo Lwabantwana Consortium | thelancet.com | 2020-05-08
The success of early infant testing and cART initiation strategies is severely limited by subsequent cART non-adherence in HIV-infected children. Although there are practical challenges to administering paediatric cART formulations, these are overcome by mothers who themselves are cART-adherent. These findings point to the ongoing obligation to address the unmet needs of the mothers. Eliminating the particular barriers preventing adequate treatment for these vulnerable women and infants need to be prioritised in order to achieve durable suppression of viraemia on cART, let alone HIV cure/remission, in HIV-infecte…
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30088-2/fulltext?rss=yes