(2020-08-06). Artists, writers and human rights groups urge Egypt to release Sanaa Seif. peoplesdispatch.org Sanaa Seif has been held in pre-trial detention since June for protesting the illegal detention of her brother, activist Alaa Abdel Fattah. She was abducted from outside the prosecutor general's office where she had gone to file a complaint…
(2020-08-06). Two Palestinians contract coronavirus in Israeli prisons. yenisafak.com Two more Palestinian detainees have been infected with coronavirus in Israeli prisons in Ramallah, occupied West Bank. In a statement Thursday, the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS), a non-governmental organization, said: "The administration of the Israeli prison of Ofer — western Ramallah — announced that Naim Abu Turki, 38, has been infected with coronavirus."Abu Turki, arrested at his home in Hebron, has been under detention for the last four days. The PPS warned of further spread of coronavirus among the Palestinian prisoners. | Earlier in the day, the Palestinian Authority Prisoners' Affairs Com…
(2020-08-06). 'India not releasing jailed critics despite virus risk'. yenisafak.com India is among several countries where human rights defenders and activists imprisoned for criticizing the government have been kept in jail despite the risk of COVID-19, Amnesty International said in a report released on Thursday.The new briefing, Daring to Stand up for Human Rights in a Pandemic, states that India is one of the countries that has "left prisoners of conscience to languish in appalling conditions despite widely publicized prisoner release programs."According to the report, 131 people who speak up for human rights have been harassed, prosecuted, killed, or imprisoned on COVID-19-related pretexts i…
(2020-08-05). Headlines for August 5, 2020. democracynow.org Massive Explosion Tears Through Beirut, Leaving Hundreds Missing and Thousands Injured, Lebanon's PM Says 2,700 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate Sparked "National Catastrophe" in Beirut, Mississippi Becomes Biggest U.S. Coronavirus Hot Spot as Governor Mandates Masks, Georgia Prisoners Livestream Video From Prison Uprising Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Chicago Schools Cancel September Classes as Union Threatens Strike Over Coronavirus Safety, U.N. Warns Coronavirus School Closures Have Impacted Over One Billion Students, Brazil COVID-19 Deaths Approach 100,000 as Infections Surge in India, Black Lives Matter & Ferguson Acti…
(2020-08-05). Trump Has A Path To Victory. It's Voter Suppression. therealnews.com 
The real threat facing the 2020 election isn't Russian interference or voter fraud, it's the GOP's massive voter suppression effort, argues journalist Greg Palast.
(2020-08-05). Pensacola protests federal war on the people. workers.org 
Pensacola, Fla., Aug. 1. By Shannon Dover Workers World Party-Pensacola branch held a demonstration Aug. 1 in solidarity with Portland's resistance to federal forces that have assaulted and kidnapped Black Lives Matter protesters in Oregon. Joining in the protest were members of Strive (Socialist Trans Initiative) and the local branch . . . |
(2020-08-05). Struggle makes headway, but fight far from over in Portland, Ore. workers.org 
When federal officers entered Portland, Ore., over the July 4 weekend and began to confront Black Lives Matter protesters, it quickly became clear that the protesters were not going to be driven out. The presence of federal officers only galvanized protesters, who turned out by the thousands night after night. . . . |
(2020-08-05). Black Lives Matter: Resisting the Propaganda of Status Quo Defenders. counterpunch.org 
First came the new names—Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and others—all added one by one to the long list of tragic, unjustifiable police killings of Black Americans. Then came the batons, the pepper spray, the tear gas, the flash-grenades, the helicopters, the armored vehicles, and the rubber bullets wielded against nonviolent Black Lives Matter protesters across the United States,
(2020-08-05). Gloria La Riva stands with San Juan County prisoners in their revolt. liberationnews.org 
Liberation News screenshot of video of San Juan County Adult Detention Center posted by San Juan County Sheriff's Office U.S. presidential candidate Gloria La Riva, who will appear on the ballot in New Mexico and other states on the Party for Socialism and Liberation's ticket, expresses solidarity with the July 13 uprising at San Juan …
(2020-08-05). A literal matter of history. workers.org 
Mumia Abu-Jamal Printed from a July 27 audio column posted on prisonradio.org. When I was a young man — a boy really — I found barber shops to be fascinating places, for there, men gathered in an air of relaxed familiarity and discussed things they didn't do elsewhere. I heard . . . |
(2020-08-05). Los Angeles DA's husband charged with ASSAULT for pointing gun at BLM protesters on his porch. rt.com 
The husband of Los Angeles' first black district attorney has been charged with multiple counts of assault with a firearm for pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters who showed up on the couple's doorstep. | David Lacey, whose wife is LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey, has been charged with three counts of assault with a firearm, according to
(2020-08-05). Do black Americans really support defunding the police? Over 80% want cops to stay & keep patrolling their communities, poll shows. rt.com 
Despite Black Lives Matter protests raging across the country and moves to defund police departments or cut back their budgets, a new poll suggests black citizens don't support the efforts to remove cops from the streets. | The Gallup A whopping 81 percent of black respondents said they want police to spend the same amount of time in their neighborhoods that they already do or to…
(2020-08-05). Protesters SUE Seattle over 'expensive gear' required to confront cops, demand ban on riot control weapons. rt.com 
A group of protesters has sued the Seattle government, arguing that "unmitigated police violence" has imposed a monetary cost on their right to demonstrate freely, forcing them to buy expensive gear to safely confront the cops. | Filed by five plaintiffs who took part in ongoing protests in Seattle, the suit seeks a temporary restraining order barring the city's police department from wielding force and crowd control munitions on demonstrators, alleging heavy-handed police tactics have made "safe protest prohibitive," as "one needs an exceptional amount of protective gear to enjoy that freedom." | Also on rt.c…
(2020-08-05). After a lifetime of discrimination older women slip into poverty. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-08-05). Rights Groups Raise Alarm Over Upcoming Supreme Court Case That Could Turn US Into 'Safe Haven' for Abusive Corporations. commondreams.org The U.S. Supreme Court could soon turn the United States into "a safe haven for human rights abusers," rights groups said Wednesday, raising alarm over the court's plan to hear arguments from Nestle and Cargill about a lawsuit brought against the companies in 2005. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/supremecourt_3_0.jpeg …
(2020-08-05). Clemency, Redemption, and Justice: A Personal Story. aclu.org In 1998, at the age of 21, I was sentenced to life without parole plus 320 years for drug-related offenses that were committed mostly in my teens. In 1998, 16 years into my sentence, I received clemency from President Obama after writing a letter to him asking for forgiveness, asking for mercy, asking for understanding that I wasn't a bad kid, just a kid who made a bad decision. That I wasn't that person who roamed those streets long ago or the same person who stood in front of the judge and received a life sentence, and as a result I shouldn't die in prison. , , President Obama agreed., , I was extrem…
(2020-08-05). Leader pardons, commutes sentences of 2,135 prisoners. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 05 (MNA) — Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has agreed to pardon or commute the sentences of as many as 2,135 prisoners.
(2020-08-05). Fifth COVID-19 Demonstration at San Quentin. indybay.org About 600 people marched to the west gate of San Quentin Prison on August 2nd. While they rallied inmates called out, confirming the horrific conditions inside the walls where the COVID-19 virus has spread like wildfire. | Top photo by Stephanie Mohan, Pro Bono Photo…
(2020-08-05). 50 Years Of Struggle From Black August To Black Lives Matter. popularresistance.org This Aug. 7 marks the 50th anniversary of the heroic attempt by Jonathan Jackson, younger brother of George Jackson, to free three Black revolutionaries from the clutches of the California state prison system. The fact that this bold attempt failed has no bearing on its historical and revolutionary significance to the movements for Black Liberation and prison abolition in this country and around the world. | Jonathan Jackson was only 17 years old when, armed with a rifle, he burst into a Marin County courtroom while a hearing was in session.
(2020-08-05). Over 60 People Have Driven Their Cars Into Protesters Since May. popularresistance.org At least 68 people have driven their cars into Black Lives Matter protesters since May 25. The incidents, most incited by civilians and some by police, represent an alarming trend in counter-protest violence against those marching in the streets. On foot, protesters are often defenseless against attacks by speeding vehicles; many have been injured and at least one person has died. | Data collected since late May by Ari Weil, deputy research director at the Chicago Project on Security and Threats of the University of Chicago, shows that vehicle assaults on protesters are increasingly common.
(2020-08-05). Mitch McConnell's GOP Is Destroying America. commondreams.org "For the bulk of this crisis, McConnell called the Senate back into session only to confirm more of Trump's extremist judges and advance a $740 billion defense spending bill," writes Reich. "Throughout it all, McConnell has insisted his priority is to shield businesses from Covid-related lawsuits by customers and employees who have contracted the virus." (Image: Inequality Media) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/how_gop_are_destroying_america.jpg …
(2020-08-04). "It's Basically a Death Sentence": Hunger Strikers Demand Release as Virus Surges in ICE Jails. democracynow.org 
People being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement jails are holding work strikes and hunger strikes over the lack of access to personal protective equipment or quality medical care, and to demand their release. We speak with Joe Mejia, an asylum seeker who was among a group of prisoners at Yuba County Jail in California who led a hunger strike while he was held there for nearly 11 months. "That place is dangerous," Mejia says. "It is a death sentence to detainees, especially right now with the coronavirus."
(2020-08-04). "Release Them All": Calls Grow to Stop Jailing Immigrants as Transfers & Deportations Spread COVID. democracynow.org 
The U.S. government continues to hold tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants in detention centers and jails, ignoring the advice of medical experts as the coronavirus continues to spread. ICE has also continued to transfer and deport people — including those who are infected — making it a global superspreader. We speak with Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, an immigration attorney and co-director of Pangea Legal Services in San Francisco, who himself is undocumented and recently got arrested at a protest outside the mansion of California Governor Gavin Newsom demanding the release of people in sta…
(2020-08-04). Undocumented Youth Won on DACA, but Trump's a Sore Loser. So What's Next? aclu.org After a rebuke from the Supreme Court, President Trump is again trying to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — a program that protects over 700,000 people from deportation and allows them to work and attend school in the United States, their home. The White House is replacing the full DACA program with a skeleton program that will accept no new applicants and renew protection for only one year, instead of two. , , I served in the Obama administration at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency responsible for creating and launching DACA. It was the resul…
(2020-08-04). Is Black Lives Matter a tipping point on class inequality? peoplesworld.org 
The Black Lives Matter movement, in demanding that we consider how Black lives have devalued, essentially asks us to interrogate our entire system of economic and cultural values. On what basis do we assign different values to people's lives? Such a question brings us to the heart of our class society that we really tend …
(2020-08-04). Cornel West and Tricia Rose Talk AOC, Racial Justice, and More. therealnews.com 
The two say they want to address the urgency of the civil rights movement happening right now.
(2020-08-04). As Prison COVID-19 Cases Rise, A Mental Health Crisis Intensifies. therealnews.com 
Family visits, job programs, and recreational activities have all been put on hold because of the virus.
(2020-08-04). Colombia: Supreme Court Orders House Arrest for Alvaro Uribe. telesurenglish.net Colombia's Supreme Court ordered the arrest of former President Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010) as part of the judicial process in which his participation in the manipulation of witnesses is being investigated. | RELATED: | The five magistrates investigating the far-right Senator decided to guarantee his presence in the country through preventive detention at home. The news was confirmed by Uribe himself. | "The deprivation of my freedom cau…
(2020-08-04). Colombian court orders detention of ex-president àÅlvaro Uribe Velez. peoplesdispatch.org Social movements and human rights organizations across Colombia hailed the decision of the Supreme Court. àÅlvaro Uribe Vélez is being investigated in a case related to witness manipulation and fraud…
(2020-08-04). Academic Medicine and Black Lives Matter—Time for Deep Listening. jamanetwork.com In the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, this Viewpoint considers the demand that academic medicine address its own structural racism, and concludes on the basis of its history, culture, role, and influence that the institution can, should, and must make racial justice a part of its work and mission.
(2020-08-04). Black Lives Matter in Small Towns, Too. progressive.org In Taylorville, a mostly white town in Illinois, a BLM protest highlights how the movement is making an impact in unlikely locations.
(2020-08-04). Updated: PPS: "Israeli Soldiers Abduct Fifteen Palestinians In West Bank" imemc.org Updated: The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, overnight until dawn hours Tuesday, fifteen Palestinians, including a young woman, during extensive and violent searches of homes across the occupied West Bank. The soldiers also shot two Palestinians in Jericho.
(2020-08-04). Saturday 8/8: How much do Black Lives Matter? Enough to share land values? indybay.org Join Zoom Meeting | zoom.us/j/94061550597?pwd=d1hRVUxITVYwUTVYeFFIbE5HbWhJdz09 | Meeting ID: 940 6155 0597 | Passcode: uuc6Gd…
(2020-08-04). Trump Dismisses John Lewis's Legacy Saying, "He Didn't Come to My Inauguration" truthout.org During an interview with Axios's Jonathan Swan that aired on HBO Monday evening, President Donald Trump was asked to give his opinion on Rep. John Lewis, who passed away last month at age 80. | "How do you think history will remember John Lewis?" The president appeared unwilling to give the late congressman and Civil Rights icon any praise. "I don't know, I really don't know. I don't know John Lewis,…
(2020-08-03). Report: "Woke" Corporations Supporting Black Lives Matter Quietly Funding Police. mintpressnews.com 
Corporations like JPMorgan Chase, Chevron and Marathon claim to support the movement for black lives, but their donations to police help "tyrannize the very communities" they claim to stand with.
(2020-08-03). "They Have No Evidence": Moroccan Journalist Omar Radi Jailed, Surveilled After Criticizing Gov't. democracynow.org 
Award-winning journalist and human rights activist Omar Radi spoke to us from Casablanca on July 16. Two weeks later, on July 29, last Wednesday, Moroccan authorities arrested him on what press freedom advocates call "retaliatory charges." Now a court has charged Radi with undermining state security by receiving foreign funding and collaborating with foreign intelligence, and also charged him with rape. He is reportedly being held in a prison that is a COVID hot spot, and has not been allowed to have visits from his lawyer or his parents. We feature our interview with Radi, which focuses in part on an Amnesty Int…
(2020-08-03). Headlines for August 3, 2020. democracynow.org White House's Dr. Birx Warns U.S. Has Entered New Phase in Pandemic as Death Toll Tops 155,000, Lawmakers at Standstill over Coronavirus Bill as Democratic Rep. Grijalva Goes After GOP Response, Worldwide Cases Top 18 Million as Countries Across the Globe Hit Grim New Milestones, Border Patrol Raid Arizona Humanitarian Camp for 2nd Time in 2 Days, Detain 30 Asylum Seekers, SCOTUS Rules Trump Can Move Forward with Border Wall Construction, Trump Admin to Start Charging Fees for Asylum Applications, Islamic State Claims Attack on Afghanistan Jail Which Killed At Least 29 People, Award-Winning Author Tsitsi Dangarem…
(2020-08-03). 50 years of struggle from Black August to Black Lives Matter Movement — a WW commentary. workers.org 
This Aug. 7 marks the 50th anniversary of the heroic attempt by Jonathan Jackson, younger brother of George Jackson, to free three Black revolutionaries from the clutches of the California state prison system. The fact that this bold attempt failed has no bearing on its historical and revolutionary significance to . . . |
(2020-08-03). Disability movement is 'part of the global working class'. workers.org 
by Kristen Turgeon The following slightly edited remarks were made by Kristen Turgeon from the Boston branch of Workers World Party on a July 30 webinar sponsored by WWP's Disability Rights Caucus and titled "Smash Ableism, Racism, All Bigotry & Oppression!" Kristen Turgeon. WW PHOTO: Stevan Kirschbaum It has been . . . |
(2020-08-03). Free Joy Powell! America's Political Prisoner for Fighting Police Brutality. counterpunch.org 
If you protest against police brutality in America, you are definitely going to get brutalized by the police. And lately, federal marshals, homeland security, ICE officers, and assorted militarized federal goons and thugs will pile on. If you led a movement against police brutality in Rochester, NY in 2006, like Rev. Joy Powell did, you
(2020-08-03). Hundreds march on San Quentin. liberationnews.org 
"Gavin Newsom, let them go!" Five hundred participants marched on San Quentin's West Gate on Aug 2 protesting California Gov. Gavin Newsom's cruel decision to keep thousands of incarcerated people exposed to the virus in prison. Two prisoners called into the protest, reporting the disorganization at the state's oldest prison. "They still haven't cleaned out …
(2020-08-03). 'Stop politicizing economy': Beijing blasts US for threatening to ban TikTok & other Chinese apps. rt.com 
Threatening to restrict Chinese apps on groundless claims that they're feeding data on Americans to the government in Beijing only exposes Washington's hypocrisy, China's Foreign Ministry said. | Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has called on the US to "provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory environment for market entities of other countries to invest and operate in the US." | Stop politicizing trade and economic issues, and stop promoting discrimination and policies of exclusion through abusing the concept of national security. | Washington has been threatening TikTok and other Chinese software co…
(2020-08-03). BDS activist's detention extended for 15 days by military court in Israel. peoplesdispatch.org An Israeli military court approved a request by Israeli domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet to hold Mahmoud Nawajaa for 15 days. Nawajaa was illegally abducted from his home on July 30…
(2020-08-03). Islamic State militants claim responsibility for attack on Afghan prison. peoplesdispatch.org In an attack which began on Sunday evening, terrorists slammed an explosive-laden vehicle to enter a prison in Jalalabad province. As many as 24 people were killed and 43 sustained injuries in the ensuing fighting…
(2020-08-03). In Zimbabwe, no one can breathe. zcomm.org Unless the Zimbabwean state stops its looting, intimidation and suppression of dissent and finally responds to the needs of its people, it will soon face its greatest threat yet…
(2020-08-03). Black Lives Depend on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. commondreams.org "On the road to making a healthy diet accessible to everyone, the Dietary Guidelines will continue to be an invaluable tool for health professionals, federal nutrition program operators, and many families. But we are far from reaching our destination." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/boston-food-justice-ordinance-1.jpg …
(2020-08-03). Thousands at Risk of COVID-19 Escalating in ICE "Superspreader" Detention Centers as US States Hit Highest Daily Records—and ICE Deportation Flights Into Central and South America Continue. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-08-03). Rights Group Demands ICE End 'Beyond Inhumane' Detention and Deportations as Covid-19 Pandemic Intensifies. commondreams.org Blaming the Trump administration's "irresponsible actions" for the ongoing spread of Covid-19 in immigration detention centers, the International Rescue Committee demanded that people be released from detention immediately to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1222258669.png …
(2020-08-02). Multiple bomb blasts at jail compound in Afghanistan, 1 killed and 20 injured – officials. rt.com 
At least one person was killed after a series of bombs exploded outside a jail compound in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. Clashes broke out between police and attacking militants who made their way inside the jail. | One major car-bomb explosion was followed by two smaller blasts near the prison complex, provincial council member Sohrab Qaderi said, according to Reuters. | A large police force was deployed to counter the militants, who took up position outside the compound and have since made their way inside the complex. | Afghanistan's TOLO news agency quoted a spokesman for the Nangarhar prov…
(2020-08-02). Two guards stabbed during Georgia prison riot. Purported footage of violent uprising spreads on social media (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Two guards have been injured in a riot at Georgia's Ware State Prison, local media reported. Purported videos of the chaotic rebellion show inmates covered in blood, holding tasers, and even frog-marching handcuffed prison staff. | The situation is now under control and the facility, located near Waycross, has been put on lockdown, according to local media, citing a statement from the Georgia Department of Corrections. | "Two staff members received minor, non-life-threatening injuries and there are no reported inmate injuries at this time," the statement read. | Local reports also shared a statement from the W…