(2020-07-04). As Black Lives Matter protests continue on US Independence Day, Seattle police are accused of 'emboldening white supremacists'. thecanary.co 
Two women are in serious condition in a Seattle hospital after a man drove into them at high speed during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest. The women were part of a crowd which had blocked and closed a Seattle freeway in the early hours of 4 July. The devastating #seattleprotest this morning. I'm surprised anyone lived. | Victims: | 32 yr woman in serious/stable condition | 24 yr woman in critical condition | Suspect: | 27 yr male from Seattle
(2020-07-04). Seattle Activists Share Their Vision For Black Trans Pride. popularresistance.org In recent years, trans issues have broken into the mainstream. It didn't happen overnight; it's been a long time coming. Trans activists have been at the center of the fight for LGBTQ rights since before Stonewall, decrying discrimination and violence against their peers for decades. | Now, between Pride Month and protests centering on Black lives, these issues are in the spotlight again. Black trans activists have taken to social media and the streets, bringing attention in particular to the growing number of murdered Black trans women within their community. | For many who've criticized the commodification of P…
(2020-07-04). Prisoners Mobilize For Black Lives And Against Brutality Behind Bars. popularresistance.org Prisoners say that abuse reminiscent of the "modern-day lynching" of George Floyd is common practice behind bars. Swift Justice, who is also incarcerated at Kilby Correctional Facility and prefers a pseudonym, tells Truthout: "What happens in here is just like the rhetoric police on the street used to justify killings." Outside of prison, the officers say, "'He had a gun or appeared to have a gun,'" Swift explains. In prison, they often say, "'he had a knife, or failed to comply with the direct order.' And in here it's hard to prove different and, we don't have cell phones to capture it. These guys in here know i…
(2020-07-04). LA mayor warns citizens to cancel Fourth of July plans to 'save lives,' but supports Black Lives Matter protests. rt.com 
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is warning citizens to avoid Fourth of July celebrations during the Covid-19 pandemic, yet is fully in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and was even pictured at one not wearing a mask. | "We're going to have to celebrate differently this year. Everyone should cancel plans with others for the 4th of July. You shouldn't gather with anyone who doesn't live in your household," Garcetti He followed up on the actual holiday with multiple tweets doubling dow…
(2020-07-04). Bone-chilling video shows speeding car hit 2 BLM protesters on freeway in Seattle. rt.com 
A speeding car, which drove around vehicles blocking a road in Seattle in an area where a Black Lives Matter protest was taking place, has hit and seriously injured two women. The terrifying moment was caught on camera. | The two victims of the hit-and-run were taken to the Harborview medical center, one of them with life-threatening injuries, Washington State Patrol spokesperson Trooper Rick Johnson The graphic video shows a white car maneuvering around a couple of vehicles blocking the road…
(2020-07-04). Friday 7/3: "BLACK LIVES MATTER" / Anti-War Light Brigade. indybay.org I-80 Pedestrian pedestrian bridge, south of University Ave. | Gather at 8: 50 pm in open parking area, southwest corner of University Ave. Short walk to get up to the bridge. | Accessed by west side frontage road.
(2020-07-04). Release The Prisoners: Ohio Jail 100 Percent Positive For Covid. popularresistance.org In a recent report, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance stated that the Morrow County Correctional Facility in Mt. Gilead is the first county jail in the state to be 100 percent COVID-positive. The jail, holding local prisoners as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, is also the first 100 percent COVID-positive ICE detention center in the U.S. | The Alliance accuses jail authorities of failing to follow their own protocols as well as ICE standards. | According to the Alliance report, "None of the inmates and detainees at Morrow County have been seen by a doctor in the facility, despite their COVID diagn…
(2020-07-04). George Washington and genocide. mronline.org 
'The immediate objects are the total destruction and devastation of [Iroquois Confederacy] settlements and the capture of as many prisoners of every age and sex as possible…. the country may not be merely overrun but destroyed.' —Commands from George Washington to General Sullivan on May 31, 1779…
(2020-07-04). Sunday 7/12: LaborFest 2020: Technology, Lawsuits & How to Fight Union Busting. indybay.org This is a free Zoom based event. You can be anywhere to view and participant. Please visit the LaborFest 2020 website URL to register and to receive a Zoom invitation to the event.
(2020-07-04). ICE Out Of Marin Action at Marin County Jail. indybay.org Activists demand County end cooperation with ICE and defunding of Sherriff's department.
(2020-07-03). Civil Rights Groups Take on City of Graham's Protest Limitations. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-03). Lawyers Get No Bail In Property Damage Case, Face 45 Years In Prison. popularresistance.org The Center for Constitutional Rights and a coalition of other civil rights organizations are calling on federal prosecutors to release on bail two New York attorneys who are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into an empty New York police car during protests in Brooklyn on May 30. The lawyers — Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman — are facing a minimum of 45 years in prison if convicted on the federal charges. The two were initially released on bail, but then the federal government challenged the bail conditions, sending them back to pretrial detention — a move that shocked many in the legal co…
(2020-07-03). Civil rights groups sue N.Carolina town over protest ban – but where were they when 3 other states banned pipeline protests? rt.com 
The ACLU and other groups have sued Graham, North Carolina, calling the city's ban on "demonstrations of two or more people" while under a declared emergency unconstitutional. They've remained silent on similar laws, though. | Graham violated protesters' First Amendment rights to freedom of assembly and speech with the law, which bars two or more people (or even a single person carrying a sign) from assembling without a protest permit during a declared state of emergency, the suit, filed on Thursday, states. The Alamance County Sheriff's Office announced last Friday that no further protest permits would be iss…
(2020-07-03). Civil rights groups sue N.Carolina town over protest ban — but where were they when 3 other states banned pipeline protests? rt.com The ACLU and other groups have sued Graham, North Carolina, calling the city's ban on "demonstrations of two or more people" while under a declared emergency unconstitutional. They've remained silent on similar laws, though. | Graham violated protesters' First Amendment rights to freedom of assembly and speech with the law, which bars two or more people (or even a single person carrying a sign) from assembling without a protest permit during a declared state of emergency, according to the suit, which was filed on Thursday. The Alamance County Sheriff's Office announced last Friday that no further protest permi…
(2020-07-03). Civil Rights Groups Sue NC City Over Law That 'Effectively Bans Any Protest'. commondreams.org Civil rights groups on Friday filed a lawsuit against Alamance County and the city of Graham, North Carolina, after officials issued a new ordinance last week announcing the police department would not be issuing protest permits during the city's current state of emergency. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-837598644_1.jpg …
(2020-07-03). It's Time To Tell the Truth About the Confederacy and its Symbols. aclu.org , As people across the country ready themselves to celebrate America's "independence," there are few symbols more strongly associated with the holiday than flags. Flags have great meaning — particularly on July 4. This week, after decades of dispute and dialogue, Mississippi legislators finally
(2020-07-03). Citing 'Unconscionable and Irresponsible Omission,' ACLU Demands Equal Covid-19 Protections for Immigrants. commondreams.org The ACLU on Thursday launched a new digital ad campaign calling on the U.S. Senate to correct the "unconscionable" omission in the nation's coronavirus testing strategy, demanding that all immigrants be made eligible for Covid-19 testing and treatment in any upcoming legislation. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1222924566_1.jpg …
(2020-07-03). Leeds, England: Black Lives Matter. workers.org 
By Kadesh Anderson Kadesh Anderson is a Black Lives Matter activist and journalist in Leeds, England. Leeds, England — On June 21 in Hyde Park, over 5,000 people came out in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protest. With social distancing measures in place, people came together with their banners . . . |
(2020-07-03). Smearing Black Lives Matter…From the Left. counterpunch.org Over the past fifty-three years as a socialist, I have seen repeated calls for purifying the left of capitalist influences, both governmental and corporate. The latest flare-up was a Jacobin article titled "Don't Let Blackwashing Save the Investor Class" by Cedric Johnson, a black African American studies professor. Just as Deep Throat advised Bob Woodward
(2020-07-03). Black Lives and the Fourth of July. thenation.com Black Lives and the Fourth of July…
(2020-07-03). A Requiem for George Floyd. counterpunch.org 
However complicit we may be in sustaining the historical-racial schema in this country, we can all now agree that, 'Black Lives Matter', but the tag's emblazonment across the country, and internationally, remains a hollow gesture unless there is meaningful collective action to create a social environment in which all black lives can indeed flourish – and matter.
(2020-07-03). Vandals spray-paint and BURN Portland's 'Promised Land' statue (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Rioters in Oregon used fireworks to torch the 'Promised Land' statue depicting a pioneer family at the end of the Oregon Trail. The vandals also laid siege to the city's Justice Center in what police deemed a "riot." | The city of Portland is known nationwide as a hotbed of left-wing activism, and protesters there have embraced the 'Black Lives Matter' cause with gusto. After
(2020-07-03). Piers Morgan slammed for hypocrisy after blasting pubs opening but supporting son's BLM protest. rt.com 
Broadcaster Piers Morgan is being branded a hypocrite for blasting the reopening of pubs as "insane," after praising his own son for attending a Black Lives Matter protest, where many flouted social distancing guidelines. | Morgan has won a lot of grudging admirers for repeatedly highlighting the failures of the UK government during the coronavirus pandemic. But the Good Morning Britain host has now found himself at the receiving end of criticism for his, seemingly contradictory, positions on people gathering in public. | "WHAT? This is insane," the outspoken commentator wrote on Twitter in response to news of…
(2020-07-03). Saturday 7/11: San Lorenzo Valley: Black Lives Matter Protest. indybay.org Meet at San Lorenzo Valley High School, 7105 Hwy 9, Felton…
(2020-07-03). Saturday 7/4: 4th of July: "Defund Police, Defund Pentagon, Fund Community & Life!" indybay.org 1: 00 – SF City Hall | 1: 30 – 762 Fulton, Black Lives Matter street mural | 2: 00 – Divisadero & Broadway, Nancy Pelosi's House | 3: 00 – Bayview Hunters Point, 11 Innes Court, Lennar office…
(2020-07-03). Another reason to tear down the walls: Ohio jail 100% COVID-positive. workers.org 
Cleveland, Ohio In a recent report, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance stated that the Morrow County Correctional Facility in Mt. Gilead is the first county jail in the state to be 100 percent COVID-positive. The jail, holding local prisoners as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, is also the first . . . |
(2020-07-03). Behind the walls: a summary. workers.org 
Case numbers in the thousands At least 48,764 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among prisoners. The data suggest that even these numbers may be underreported. Texas leads in the number of cases with 7,757, followed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons with 6,621 cases. Ohio, Michigan, California and Tennessee . . . |
(2020-07-03). Germany joins tiny host of European nations by making 'upskirting' punishable crime. rt.com 
German MPs have followed their UK and French colleagues, backing legislation that carries a fine or even a prison term for taking unsolicited photos under somebody's clothing. | The Bundestag voted in favor of a law on "improving privacy protection" this Friday, thus outlawing the practice. | From now on, anyone trying to film under somebody's clothing in order to see their underwear or private parts will face a fine or a maximum prison term of up to two years. Under existing laws, upskirting was deemed a minor offence punishable only by a small fine. | Minister Christine Lambrecht, who championed the legislat…
(2020-07-03). #DefundThePolice the Real Strategy Behind the Hashtag. strategic-culture.org 
The demands of revolutionaries are purposely vague. They always have to do with some feelings-based desire like "freedom" or ending "oppression". The government can create a law, remove a tax, or do all sorts of specific things, but there is nothing that they can do to make you feel freedom or non oppressed. In today's America regardless of any factual evidence there are some who feel like they live in a freedom packed utopia while others claim that they are living under the heel of Hitler 2.0. Both of these positions are based on intuition and feelings not a universal rational freedom scale, which simply could n…
(2020-07-03). Podcast Panel: Israeli Annexation Could Turn the West Bank Into a Gaza-Style Open Air Prison. mintpressnews.com Palestinian academic Ramzy Baroud, Israeli activist Miko Peled and documentary filmmaker Robert Inkalesh join MintPress to discuss the implication of Israel's coming annexation of the Palestinian West Bank.
(2020-07-02). Oakland Police Banned from Using Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets, Grenades at Protests. indybay.org Interview with Walter Riley, civil rights attorney with the National Lawyers Guild, on the June 18, 2020 temporary restraining order banning Oakland police from using tear gas, rubber bullets, flash bang grenades and other "battlefield weapons" during current Black Lives Matter protests.
(2020-07-02). The Federal Government's Decision to Proceed with Executions During the Pandemic Puts Me in an Impossible Position. aclu.org As a Buddhist priest to a man on death row, I have prepared myself for the difficult, yet necessary role of attending
(2020-07-02). ACLU Sues Federal Government for Risking Lives to Resume Executions During Pandemic. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-02). Activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham on Building a Lasting Movement. aclu.org 
In the last month, protests have erupted across the country calling for justice for Black lives, a wholesale restructuring of policing, and a greater racial reckoning across all facets of American society. , , "All of these things are interconnected," Brittany Packnett Cunningham told At Liberty this week. "If we're gonna talk about police violence, we're gonna talk about health care … we're coming for the whole thing.", , Packnett Cunningham is an activist, educator, and writer who has been on the front lines of many of these conversations, most prominently since the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Cha…
(2020-07-02). Fear of Falling: Can Making Black Lives Matter Rescue a Failing State? counterpunch.org 
You know that feeling when you trip on the street and instantly sense that you're about to crash hard and there's no way to prevent it? As gravity has its way with you, all you can do is watch yourself going down. Yeah, that feeling. I had it the other day on my way to a
(2020-07-02). British historian slammed online for commenting that there are 'so many damn blacks' in UK and Africa. rt.com 
Controversial British historian David Starkey has been savaged online after arguing in an interview that slavery wasn't a genocide, because if it was "there wouldn't be so many damn blacks in Africa or in Britain." | Speaking on Tuesday to Reasoned, a YouTube channel dedicated to against-the-grain views, Starkey accused the Black Lives Matter movement of attempting to "delegitimise British history." The historian slammed the activists desecrating statues in London, ridiculed the "arrogant" middle classes supporting the movement, and waved away the notion that Britain's own history of slavery was one of "genoci…
(2020-07-02). Karma or overkill? Harvard grad fired by Deloitte after threatening to stab anyone who thinks 'all lives matter'. rt.com 
A Harvard graduate has reportedly lost her job after posting a now-viral TikTok video in which she vowed to assault anyone who didn't support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The internet had mixed feelings about her firing. | Claira Janover became an overnight sensation after several news outlets caught wind of a video in which she threatened to attack anyone "entitled" enough to believe that "all lives matter." | "I'ma stab you, and while you're struggling and bleeding out, I'ma show you my paper cut and say, 'My cut matters too,'" she declared in the TikTok clip. | The video sparked pandemonium on soc…
(2020-07-02). Police Unions Are Racist Power Brokers in Opposition to Movement for Black Lives. truthout.org The scene is all too frequent — a Black person is slain or wantonly brutalized on camera by police officers, most often white, and in response, a white police union leader steps to the microphone and unequivocally defends the actions, no matter how indefensible they are. A police chief or mayor, under pressure from the community, attempts to invoke modest reforms in response, and the union wields the power of its contract to defeat the measures. Progressive-leaning prosecutors are m…
(2020-07-02). Sunday 7/5: March for Black Lives: Reclaim South San Francisco. indybay.org In front of the South San Francisco Municipal Building, 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, CA 94080…
(2020-07-02). Protesters Switch Destination at Last Minute, March on Menlo Park Police Station Pt 1. indybay.org A June 25 rally was purportedly to target FaceBook for paying for a substation and police salaries near their headquarters in Menlo Park.
(2020-07-02). Headlines for July 2, 2020. democracynow.org States Reverse Reopenings as Daily U.S. Coronavirus Cases Top 50,000 for First Time, As U.S. Deaths Top 128,000, Trump Predicts Coronavirus Will "Sort of Just Disappear", Dallas Choir Members Tested Positive for COVID-19 Ahead of Performance for Mike Pence, San Quentin Prisoners Launch Hunger Strike Amid Explosion of COVID-19 Cases, Seattle Riot Police Clear Autonomous Zone, Los Angeles City Council Approves $150M in Cuts to Police Budget, Trump Calls Black Lives Matter Message Outside Trump Tower a "Symbol of Hate", Richmond, Virginia, Mayor Removes Confederate Statue, Trump Backs Confederate Base Names as Monum…
(2020-07-02). City of Chicago announces plan for mass arrest and detention of youth over holiday weekend. wsws.org The plan for arrest and jailing of teenagers comes as the Lightfoot administration has stepped up policing in wake of recent protests and as President Trump urges Democratic leaders in Illinois to take "decisive action" against gun violence.
(2020-07-02). Two Palestinian Prisoners Embark on Hunger Strike. imemc.org Two Palestinian prisoners declared, on Thursday, that they would embark on an open hunger strike, in protest of their imprisonment under administrative detention by the Israeli occupation authorities. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society issued a statement, explaining that the two prisoners, identified as Fadi Ghonaimat and Oday Shehada, have begun hunger …
(2020-07-02). Former correctional officers charged with assaulting inmate and falsifying reports. nationofchange.org "Our communities entrust correctional officers to protect detention facilities and the inmates housed within them, and when such officers commit crimes within a detention facility, they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
(2020-07-02). Cuban Asylum Seeker Describes Vicious Pepper Spray Attack on Hunger Strikers at ICE Detention Facility. commondreams.org A Cuban asylum-seeker on Thursday described a pepper spray attack he and about two dozen other people faced in May at a private prison where ICE is holding immigrants. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1192337815_1.jpg …
(2020-07-02). Moore, WNBA star, helps free wrongly-convicted Missouri prisoner. peoplesworld.org 
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man was freed from prison Wednesday after a county prosecutor declined to retry his case, punctuating years of work by WNBA star Maya Moore and other supporters who argued he was falsely convicted of burglary and assault charges. Moore was on hand when Jonathan Irons, 40, walked out …
(2020-07-02). 'It's a literal insect': Eyerolls all round as Virginia university pledges to examine wasp mascot over fears it's 'exclusive'. rt.com 
A university in Virginia has taken political correctness to extraordinary extremes with a pledge to examine whether its wasp mascot (yes, the insect) is hampering "inclusion and diversity" on campus. | In the fraught atmosphere of America in 2020, Emory & Henry College has promised its students that it's doing its part to address "systemic oppression." As part of this noble endeavor, the powers that be in the liberal arts college have trained their sights on the ferocious insect that has been the university's mascot for around 100 years. | The university's president, Dr John Wells, explained in an email to stu…
(2020-07-02). SEP presidential candidates Kishore and Santa Cruz file federal lawsuit challenging ballot access restrictions in California. wsws.org The Socialist Equality Party's candidates argued in court filings Tuesday that the state's requirement that the candidates gather 200,000 voter signatures is impossible to meet during the pandemic and a violation of basic democratic rights.
(2020-07-02). Israeli annexation of West Bank: More stolen land as time runs out for occupation. fightbacknews.org The Israeli apartheid regime is poised to commit a new crime against Palestine: the annexation of up to 30% of the West Bank. As things stand Israel effectively controls Palestine, with the heroic people of Gaza confined to an open prison and the hapless Palestinian Authority serving as accomplices to the occupation. | The significance of the annexation is twofold. First, it codifies the theft of Palestinian land. It is a statement to one and all, "We are stealing this, and it is ours forever." Second, it is the declaration of the end of a solution that was never really a solution at all, the so-called 'two state…
(2020-07-02). The United States owes Black America reparations. zcomm.org Following centuries of exploitation, theft and discrimination, here is what a reparative economic agenda should entail…