(2020-05-19). Remembering the Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education. commondreams.org Near the Capitol in Washington, people attend a rally in 2019 to mark the 65th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that ended public school segregation and fueled the civil rights movement. (Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-05-19_at_1.23.56_pm.png …
(2020-05-18). Philadelphia: #FreeBlackMamas demand prisoner release. workers.org 
Philadelphia Protesters, led by currently and formerly incarcerated women, trans and non gender-binary people, held a rally on May 15 in a city park next to Riverside Correctional Facility to demand the release of people held in Philadelphia jails and an end to unjust cash bail. The action featured speeches . . . |
(2020-05-18). Israeli Military Court Extends Detention of a Palestinian Teen Boy. imemc.org The Israeli military court of Salem, near Jenin city in the West Bank, ordered on Monday, the extension of the detention of Palestinian teenager, Qasem Abu Baker, 17, from the Palestinian village of Y'abad, south of Jenin city. The mother of Qasem, told media outlets that Monday's extension is the …
(2020-05-18). Civil Rights, Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Police to Protect Public Health while Safeguarding Rights. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-05-18). Coronavirus 'Immunity Passports' are not the Answer. aclu.org As governments the world over seek ways to jumpstart economic activity, one proposal is a so-called "immunity passport" that would allow certain people who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies to return to work before others. We at the ACLU have serious concerns about the adoption of any such proposal, because of its potential to harm public health, incentivize economically-vulnerable people to risk their health by contracting COVID-19, exacerbate racial and economic disparities, and lead to a new health surveillance infrastructure that endangers privacy rights. , , An immunity passport system is fundamentall…
(2020-05-18). Egyptian journalist arrested while interviewing jailed activist's mother, released on bail hours later. peoplesdispatch.org Lina Attalah, the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian independent news outlet Mada Masr, was arrested while speaking to Laila Soueif, the mother of political prisoner Alaa Abdel Fattah…
(2020-05-16). Revolutionary Boiling Point, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Still mad at China's brutal authoritarian government for imprisoning Julian Assange after his journalism exposed Chinese war crimes. | ~ | Arresting people for future crimes is called "pre-crime", and it's the stuff of dystopian horror fiction. | Violently dominating an entire planet because another country might hurt yours in the future is called "US foreign policy", and it's the stuff of mainstream news punditry. | ~ | Saying a US politician is bad on foreign policy but good on domestic policy is a bit like saying "Yeah my boyfriend murders hitchhikers, but he cooks." | ~ | Dominant revolutionary thought…
(2020-05-16). Israeli Courts Extend Detention of 47 Palestinian Prisoners. imemc.org Two Israeli military courts reportedly extended, on Saturday, the detention of 47 Palestinian prisoners. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said, early this morning, that the Israeli military courts of Ofer and Salem, extended the detention of 47 Palestinian prisoners, under some pretexts. The PPS noted that the courts' decisions …
(2020-05-16). Are We Up Against the Wall Yet, Alma Mater? dissidentvoice.org If all values are system values, what do we make of trending lawsuits filed by students against their college campuses? Is it something like the demand of an air traveler who gets downgraded from first class to coach? The analogy seems to have merit. At least it reminds us of flying. Campuses have about five …
(2020-05-16). Marc Lamont Hill: 'Outside the logic of the prison' on Mumia's birthday. workers.org By Marc Lamont Hill These slightly edited remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in 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. Marc Lamont Hill . . . |
(2020-05-16). Sekou Odinga: 'The right to struggle by any and all means'. workers.org These slightly edited remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in 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. By Sekou Odinga I'm a representative of . . . |
(2020-05-16). Rashid Johnson: 'Prison has always served a particular political function'. workers.org Remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in 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. Kevin Rashid Johnson, currently incarcerated in the Pendleton Correctional Facility . . . |
(2020-05-15). DeRay McKesson on the Threat to Protesters' Rights. aclu.org Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, protests have erupted across the country. Some are related to the virus: Protestors in Ohio and Michigan took to the streets and state capitols to call for an end to their governors' stay-at-home orders. Others are calling out an ongoing injustice: the killing, often at the hands of the state, of Black Americans. Now, the rights of participants in protests across the spectrum could be at stake unless the Supreme Court weighs in on an important decision., , In this episode of At Liberty, we speak with DeRay McKesson, an activist at the center of an important ACLU…
(2020-05-15). How a teenager in the '60s South became a Communist. peoplesworld.org 
Once upon a time, and sadly, not so long ago in the grand scheme of history, a young high schooler in Virginia spent his summer, the summer of 1964, watching the Civil Rights Movement play out before his eyes. Little did this student, Scott Marshall, know how life-changing that first Freedom Summer would turn out …
(2020-05-15). The Secretive Police Commission The Justice Department Doesn't Want You To Notice. therealnews.com 
PAR learns about life under lockdown with COVID-19 from a guest just released from 10 months of incarceration, and examines the secretive police commission created by Attorney General Barr.
(2020-05-15). Ari Berman on Voter Suppression and Coronavirus. fair.org 
Media…
(2020-05-15). PDF download of May 14 issue. workers.org 
Download entire 12-page PDF here. Justice for Ahmaud Arbery. Kent State and Jackson State. Also: COVID‚Äë19: capitalism's end stage; workers resist. Editorial: Changing narrative in Michigan. World: China, Vietnam, Haiti, Ecuador. Tear down prisons: victory in PA; San Quentin caravan; No cages for migrants; Global prisons & white supremacy; Solidarity . . . |
(2020-05-15). Lancaster, Penn. mobilizes to save prisoners' lives amid COVID outbreak. liberationnews.org 
Members of Party for Socialism and Liberation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania recently initiated a campaign to demand action to protect the lives of incarcerated people.
(2020-05-18). As Invasive Covid-19 Tracing Technologies Loom, ACLU Unveils Guidelines to Guard Against Overreach. commondreams.org As workers, employers, and elected officials continued to grapple with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and related lockdowns nationwide, the ACLU on Monday released a set of principles to help guide federal, state, and local policies governing the use of digital contact tracing technologies that could help curb the spread of Covid-19 but have generated serious privacy concerns. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-12121888761.jpg …
(2020-05-18). Detainees call for their release from Mantra prison. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-05-19). Headlines for May 19, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Claims He Is Taking Hydroxychloroquine Despite FDA Warnings, Navajo Nation Has Highest Coronavirus Infection Rate in the U.S., 60-Year-Old Burmese Refugee Becomes Eighth COVID-19 Victim at Colorado Meat Plant, 74-Year-Old Man at California ICE Prison Dies of Suicide, Trump Attacks WHO as U.S. and China Trade Barbs over Pandemic Response, Early COVID Vaccine Trials Show Positive Results, Outbreak at Refugee Center in Germany Infects at Least 70 people, France and Germany Propose 500 Billion-Euro Coronavirus Assistance Fund for EU, Sà£o Paulo's Hospitals "Near Collapse" as Brazil Becomes Third Most Infe…
(2020-05-19). Santa Cruz Needs Community Control of Surveillance. indybay.org Santa Cruz has a community control of surveillance law in front of the City Council. We need transparency, advanced notice and joint decisionmaking about pervasive surveillance everywhere. Sign the petition (from ACLU) action.aclu.org/petition/cn-santa-cruz-surveillance-petition…
(2020-05-19). California Proposes Regulations to Prevent Whale Entanglements in Crab Gear. indybay.org SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 15, 2020 — California state officials released a proposed rule today to reduce the number of endangered whales and sea turtles that get entangled in commercial Dungeness crab gear. The Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) was prompted by steep annual increases in reported whale entanglements and a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity.
(2020-05-19). Jail Tesla Billionaire Elon Musk & Defend Health & Safety: Workers Speak Out At Tesla. indybay.org Workers spoke out against the bullying and intimidation of billionaire Elon Musk who has started his Tesla factory violating a shelter in place law. He challenged the Fremont police and Governor Newsom to arrest him but they are allowing him to open without any CA-OSHA inspections. Newsom has continued the destruction of CA-OSHA and there are less than 200 inspectors for the 18 million workers in California and only 1 doctor and 1 nurse at CA. OSHA.
(2020-05-19). Worldwide Webinar: Civil Society Response to COVID-19 in Prisons & Jails Globally. indybay.org Online via zoom…
(2020-05-18). AquAlliance files lawsuit against water transfers from Sacramento River watershed. indybay.org The lawsuit states, "These water transfers would drain both surface and groundwater resources from the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds, imposing significant and irreversible threats to the people and sensitive species that rely on these water resources and associated aquatic and riparian habitats."
(2020-05-18). Rally At Tesla: Jail Musk! Workers Health & Safety First & Lives Over Profit. indybay.org Tesla North Gate | Industrial Dr & Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538 | www.google.com/maps/place/Tesla+factory/@37.4845369,-121.9355029,4163m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x808fc7348cf1502f: 0x86cfbef39088e346!8m2!3d37.5039468!4d-121.9622337?hl=en…
(2020-05-19). Two MPs sentenced to 61 months in prison on corruption charges. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 19 (MNA) — Two members of the Iranian Parliament have been sentenced each to 61 months in prison for disrupting the private cars market.
(2020-05-18). El Chapo's Top Enforcer Found Dead Weeks After Release on Parole From US Prison – Report. sputniknews.com The hitman's probation officer discovered that he was gone when he came to routinely visit the convicted drug trafficker after he had been released following a six-year prison stint.
(2020-05-19). China | forces Uyghurs to eat pork, abandon Islamic practices during Ramadan. yenisafak.com China is continuing its constant oppression of the Uyghur minority at full-speed as many Muslims are forbidden from performing their religious duties even during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. Since the beginning of Ramadan, law enforcement have been ordered by local Chinese governments to step up the surveillance and report the locations of Muslims at real-time, especially during Friday prayers, and to screen Uyghur tourists coming from Xinjiang, even searching their baggage, according to the China-based online news agency Bitter Winter.Eyebrows were especially raised after a Muslim living in Qinghai said th…
(2020-05-15). Andrea Circle Bear and six centuries of genocide. workers.org 
Andrea Circle Bear, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation near Eagle Butte, S.D., was the 29th federal inmate to die due to the coronavirus in Bureau of Prisons custody. She was sentenced to serve 26 months. Circle Bear was being held at Tripp County Jail in South Dakota up until . . . |
(2020-05-15). Political Prisoners Teach-In: 'We got out because of the people'. workers.org 
These slightly edited remarks were given April 24 at the "U.S. Empire vs. Political Prisoners" webinar teach-in 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. By Janet Africa On the Move! Happy . . . |
(2020-05-15). Jailing people who use Covid-19 as bioweapon would be 'discrimination.' So better lock up everyone instead? rt.com 
Accidentally spreading Covid-19 is wanting grandma dead, say opponents of ending lockdowns. Yet activists now worry that proposed laws to punish those who threaten to spread it deliberately would discriminate against minorities. | A Florida man spat and coughed on a police officer responding to a domestic violence call, and faces up to five years in prison on a federal charge of biological weapons hoax (he was negative for Covid-19). Another man in Texas, who falsely claimed on Facebook that he paid someone to spread the virus at local grocery stores, was charged with the same thing. A Michigan man who wiped h…
(2020-05-15). In Spain, demands for ensuring safety of Basque political prisoners. peoplesdispatch.org Patxi Ruiz, a political prisoner belonging to the Basque ethnicity in Spain, started a hunger strike in the Murcia II prison where he is being held to protest harassment and threats by the jail authorities…
(2020-05-15). Israeli Troops Detain 5 Palestinians, Including a Minor and Former Prisoner. imemc.org Israeli forces, on Thursday evening, detained five Palestinians from the northern districts of Nablus and Qalqilia, in the occupied West Bank. Local Fatah official, Munir Gaghoub, stated that Israeli troops abducted three Palestinians, including a former prisoner, seized a vehicle at the entrance of Beita town, south of the city …