(2020-09-23). As Assange Faces Extradition, the State of U.S. Prisons Grows Worse. strategic-culture.org 
John KIRIAKOU | The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is in a state of chaos. Leadership changes, Covid-19, and criminal activity on the part of BOP officers and staff members has plunged the Justice Department's largest and best-funded bureau into a scandal that, while it has not made the mainstream media, has harmed thousands of prisoners. | [The issue was raised last week in the hearing of Julian Assange in London as the state of mental health care for prisoners, cited in a BOP report, came up in witness testimony in the defense's argument against sending Assange to the U.S. to face time in a U.S. prison.] Micha…
(2020-09-23). The US is using the Guardian to justify jailing Assange for life. Why is the paper so silent? zcomm.org There are conomic forces that need a media elite, just as they do a political elite, to shore up an ideological worldview that keeps those elites in power. Assange threatened to bring that whole edifice crashing down…
(2020-09-23). The US Is Using the Guardian to Justify Jailing Assange for Life. Why Is the Paper So Silent? globalresearch.ca Julian Assange is not on trial simply for his liberty and his life. He is fighting for the right of every journalist to do hard-hitting investigative journalism without fear of arrest and extradition to the United States. Assange faces 175 …
(2020-09-23). No Más Bebés: ICE Hysterectomy Scandal Recalls 1970s LA, When a Hospital Sterilized Chicana Patients. democracynow.org 
As immigration authorities say they have stopped sending women to a Georgia gynecologist accused of sterilizing female prisoners without their consent, we continue our look at United States' disturbing history of forced sterilization with the producer and historian behind the 2016 documentary called "No Más Bebés," which tells the story of how a whistleblower doctor spoke out about a large number of tubal ligations performed on mostly Latinx patients at the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center some 46 years ago. "Quite often they did not understand the terminology. They did not, in some cases, understand the lan…
(2020-09-23). The End Of The 'Rules Based International Order'. popularresistance.org The 'western' countries, i.e. the United States and its 'allies', love to speak of a 'rules based international order' which they say everyone should follow. That 'rules based order' is a way more vague concept than the actual rule of law: | The G7 is united by its shared values and commitment to a rules based international order. That order is being challenged by authoritarianism, serious violations of human rights, exclusion and discrimination, humanitarian and security crises, and the defiance of international law and standards. | As members of the G7, we are convinced that our societies and the world have rea…
(2020-09-23). Reproductive Abuse is Rampant in the Immigration Detention System. aclu.org Last week, a hideous allegation emerged in a
(2020-09-23). American horror story of the 21st century: U.S. immigration detention centers. peoplesworld.org 
Halloween may be fast approaching, but you don't have to wait until Oct. 31 for a truly scary tale. Damning reports and allegations have come out detailing the nightmarish conditions at immigration detention camps in the United States. Things were already bad inside the centers, but the situation is now exacerbated by a deadly global …
(2020-09-23). Whistleblower exposes: ICE abuses detainees. workers.org 
EDITOR'S NOTES: As we go to press, a Sept. 21 press release from Georgia Detention Watch announced that Cipriano Chavez-Alvarez, 61, is the third detainee at the Stewart Detention Center located in Lumpkin, Georgia to die of COVID-19. Press conference on ICE abuse, Ocilla, Ga., Sept. 15. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten . . . |
(2020-09-23). For Justice Ginsburg, Abortion Was About Equality. aclu.org Justice Ginsburg is often quoted as having said, "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." She did exactly that when it came to reproductive rights and abortion in particular. Justice Ginsburg fought, she cast decisive votes, and she led in a way to bring others along by speaking the truth about why abortion matters: Abortion rights are about equality, restrictions on abortion about the forever story to treat women as second-class citizens. Her mark is in the jurisprudence, it's on our protest posters, and it's in our hearts., , Writing in dis…
(2020-09-23). Thursday 9/24: "Capturing The Flag" Award Winning Film Screening & Discussion on Voter Suppression. indybay.org Online screening…
(2020-09-23). Wednesday 9/30: Capitalisms Patriarchal Prison System. indybay.org Zoom. Registration link: bit.ly/32vLSGI…
(2020-09-23). Tuesday 9/29: Protect the Altar for Black Lives and Vigil for Tamario Smith. indybay.org Santa Cruz Town Clock, Pacific Avenue & Water Street, Santa Cruz…
(2020-09-23). At the Polls, Episode 2: How might changes to the Postal Service impact the election? aclu.org Did you know the U.S. Postal Office existed before the Declaration of Independence? The USPS' role in this country is so essential that it was written into the Constitution. This year, it's preparing for an unprecedented task: delivering millions of mail-in ballots for Election Day. , , In this week's episode of
(2020-09-23). Mourn Justice GInsburg, Fight to Close Irwin Detention Center. commondreams.org An overview of Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. (Photo: Google Maps) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-09-23_at_2.50.45_pm_0.png …
(2020-09-22). Trump Admin. Set to Continue 'Superspreader Executions' With Sixth State-Sanctioned Killing. commondreams.org "The government's rush to kill has caused senseless risk for incarcerated people, prison staff, and everyone who lives in Terre Haute, Indiana." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/anti_death_penalty_0.jpg …
(2020-09-22). Chris Hedges: The Cost of Resistance. scheerpost.com By Chris Hedges / Original to Scheerpost Two of the rebels I admire most, Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks publisher, and Roger Hallam, the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, are in jail in Britain. That should not be surprising. You can measure the effectiveness of resistance by the fury of the response. Julian courageously exposed the lies, deceit, war crimes and corruption of the ruling imperial… |
(2020-09-22). The War on Assange Is a War on Truth. strategic-culture.org Ron PAUL | It is dangerous to reveal the truth about the illegal and immoral things our government does with our money and in our name, and the war on journalists who dare reveal such truths is very much a bipartisan affair. Just ask Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who was relentlessly pursued first by the Obama Administration and now by the Trump Administration for the "crime" of reporting on the crimes perpetrated by the United States government. | Assange is now literally fighting for his life, as he tries to avoid being extradited to the United States where he faces 175 years in prison for violating the "Es…
(2020-09-22). Assange is at 'Very High Risk of Suicide' Should Extradition Occur, Neuropsychiatrist Tells Court. sputniknews.com The WikiLeaks publisher, who faces up to 175 years in prison for his role in obtaining and publishing classified US documents, has been kept at Belmarsh maximum-security prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy on 11 April 2019.
(2020-09-22). Chris Hedges: The Cost Of Resistance. popularresistance.org Two of the rebels I admire most, Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks publisher, and Roger Hallam, the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, are in jail in Britain. That should not be surprising. You can measure the effectiveness of resistance by the fury of the response. Julian courageously exposed the lies, deceit, war crimes and corruption of the ruling imperial elites. Roger has helped organized the largest acts of mass civil disobedience in British history, shutting down parts of London for weeks, in a bid to wrest power from a ruling class that has done nothing, and will do nothing, to halt the climate emergency and…
(2020-09-22). The US is using the Guardian to justify jailing Assange for life. dissidentvoice.org 
Julian Assange is not on trial simply for his liberty and his life. He is fighting for the right of every journalist to do hard-hitting investigative journalism without fear of arrest and extradition to the United States. Assange faces 175 years in a US super-max prison on the basis of claims by Donald Trump's administration …
(2020-09-22). Whistleblower Nurse in ICE Jail Alleges Forced Sterilization & Neglect Amid 8th COVID Death. democracynow.org 
As ICE confirms the 20th person to die in its detention in fiscal year 2020, making it one of the deadliest periods in the agency's history, we talk to the whistleblower at the center of an explosive complaint that accuses an ICE jail in Georgia of failing to adhere to coronavirus safety protocols and performing a large number of unwanted hysterectomies on detainees. The doctor who carried out the procedures became known to women inside the facility as "the uterus collector." Whistleblower Dawn Wooten, a nurse at the Irwin County Detention Center, says the neglect and abuse at the facility was "jaw-dropping." We…
(2020-09-22). "Belly of the Beast": Survivors of Forced Sterilizations in California's Prisons Fight for Justice. democracynow.org 
Revelations about forced hysterectomies at an ICE facility in Georgia have forced a reckoning with the long history of sterilizations in the U.S. — particularly of Black, Brown, poor and disabled people — and the way this procedure has continued in jails and prisons to the present day. We speak with Kelli Dillon, who was sterilized at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla in 2001 and who is featured in the documentary "Belly of the Beast," which tells the stories of women subjected to unwanted sterilization behind bars in California. She says incarcerated women are "punished" for simpl…
(2020-09-22). Headlines for September 22, 2020. democracynow.org GOP, Trump Charge Forward with Effort to Replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Supreme Court, DOJ Designates New York City, Seattle, Portland as "Anarchist" Cities, CDC Again Retracts Information About Coronavirus on Website; HHS Head Azar Exerts Control Over FDA, 150+ Countries, Not Including the U.S., Join U.N.'s Effort to Fairly Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine, House Report Finds Immigrant Prisoners Denied Access to Essential Care, Forced into Labor, Mexican National Dies in Georgia Immigration Prison, One Week into Peace Talks, Scores Killed in Bloody Day of Fighting Across Afghanistan, 6 People Killed in Colombian Mass…
(2020-09-22). Palestine is a 'bleeding wound of humanity': Turkey's Erdogan FUMES over Israel & 'collaborators' at UN General Assembly. rt.com 
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the Israeli government and its allies of supposedly making matters worse while addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine. | Speaking before the UN's General Assembly on Tuesday, Erdogan called Israel's "occupation" of Palestine a "bleeding wound of humanity." He specifically condemned Israeli government for "policies of oppression, violence and intimidation" against Palestinians. | The president also derided the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital by some members of the international community, most notably the United States. He called i…
(2020-09-22). Jailed Denver anti-racist leaders subjected to dangerous and degrading conditions in custody. liberationnews.org 
This is an outrage! They are still in jail. Almost six days after their arrest, three of the jailed organizers have not been brought before a judge yet. The following is a report from Ryan Hamby, a Party for Socialism and Liberation member and the long-time partner of Lillian House, one of the four PSL …
(2020-09-22). YouTube content moderator sues platform over PTSD & depression, hiring lawyers who got Facebook to cough up $52mn. rt.com 
A former YouTube mod has sued the Google-owned platform, claiming work exposure to child abuse, beheadings, and other vile content led to depression and PTSD. Her lawyers previously forced a large settlement out of Facebook. | The unnamed ex-YouTube moderator is demanding compensation and treatment for the trauma she said she suffered, claiming in a lawsuit filed on Monday that her work left her with depression and PTSD symptoms. According to the filing, she now experiences panic attacks, nightmares, and crippling anxiety, causing her to shun crowds and children and fear one day having kids herself. | Alleged…
(2020-09-22). Woman arrested over ricin poison mailed to White House is identified as Canadian deported for overstaying visa. rt.com 
US police have identified Pascale Ferrier as the person who they say mailed ricin poison to the White House. She was detained while trying to enter the US from Canada. | Ferrier is believed to have sent six other letters addressed to "federal government sites" in Texas, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. These are currently being investigated. | Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. 'Eddie' Guerra said he and three of his staff were sent packages containing ricin, but no one was harmed. | "I can confirm that envelopes containing the deadly toxin ricin [were] mailed to me and three of my detention staff.
(2020-09-22). Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933—2020. aclu.org With the exception of Thurgood Marshall, no Supreme Court justice did more to realize the Constitution's promise of "equal protection of the law" than Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday. Where Marshall, as director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, succeeded in dismantling Jim Crow segregation, Ginsburg, as the first director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project, persuaded the Supreme Court that women and men, long treated differently under the law, must be accepted as equals., , Neither acted alone; they carried the torches of the civil rights and women's rights movements, respectively. Their courtr…
(2020-09-22). Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Fight for Gender Equity was for All of Us. aclu.org Ruth Bader Ginsburg recognized that dismantling patriarchy was necessary not only for women's liberation, but for all of us to have the freedom to thrive regardless of gender. That certainty drove her strategy during the eight years she spent as director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project, which she co-founded with Brenda Feigen in 1972., , No case better encapsulated Ginsburg's strategy in the 1970s than that of Charles Moritz. Moritz was solely responsible for the care of his elderly mother, but he had been denied a caregiving tax deduction because he was an unmarried man. By representing him, Ginsburg was a…
(2020-09-22). The Politics of Portland's Protests. counterpunch.org Portland entered the 100th straight day of protests connected to the Black Lives Matter movement this month, and finally Portland's mayor joined hands with the governor to solve the crisis. Not by taking action to address the widely-shared grievances against law enforcement, but to deliver a movement deathblow aimed at protestors. The quietly coordinated move
(2020-09-22). Survivors of Forced Sterilization in California Prisons Are Speaking Out. truthout.org Image Credit: Belly of the Beast | Revelations about forced hysterectomies at an ICE facility in Georgia have forced a reckoning with the long history of sterilizations in the U.S. — particularly of Black, Brown, poor and disabled people — and the way this procedure has continued in jails and prisons to the present day. We speak with Kelli Dillon, who was sterilized at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla in 2001 and who is featured in the documentary Belly of the Beast,…
(2020-09-22). Activists Fight Florida Proposal to Impose Harsh Penalties on Protesters. truthout.org The American Civil Liberties Union joined Florida Democrats on Monday in condemning a Flanked by Republican lawmakers and law enforcement officials at an afternoon press conference in Winter Haven, DeSantis referred to Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon as…
(2020-09-21). From Mass Incarceration to Plan Colombia: Biden's Role in the Failed War on Drugs. mintpressnews.com Former vice president Biden has a sordid history of opposing progressive criminal justice legislation, spearheading draconian police and immigration measures, and playing a central role in waging America's failed war on drugs.
(2020-09-21). "A National Tragedy": Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Friend & "Favorite Client" Remembers the Legal Icon. democracynow.org 
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg first gained fame in the 1970s when she co-founded the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union and argued six gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court. One of those cases was Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, which centered on a widower who was refused Social Security benefits after his wife died during childbirth. We speak with Stephen Wiesenfeld, who was told his gender made him ineligible and that only women were entitled to survivor's benefits. Ginsburg argued in the Supreme Court that denying fathers benefits because of their sex was unc…
(2020-09-21). At Irwin Detention Center, Ga., Dawn Wooten is a hero — A statement from FIRE on migrant abuse. workers.org 
This statement was released by FIRE on Sept. 18. For more information about FIRE and the fight for migrants around the world, go to fightformigrants.org or email info@fightformigrants.org. FIRE (Fight for Im/migrants & Refugees Everywhere) commends the heroic action of Dawn Wooten, a licensed practical nurse who worked at the . . . |
(2020-09-21). Buffalo Detention Center/ Im/migrants work under slave labor conditions. workers.org 
By Tom Allia Buffalo, N.Y. Incarcerated im/migrants are suffering new punishments at the Buffalo Detention Center in Batavia, N.Y., where they are being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security. In early April, BDC made national headlines with one of the highest rates of . . . |
(2020-09-21). Algeria probes lobbying deal between jailed businessman and firm linked to Trump. middleeasteye.net 
Algeria probes lobbying deal between jailed businessman and firm linked to Trump | Ali Haddad hired the services of the Sonoran Policy Group in July, a month after he was sentenced to 18 years on corruption charges | Mon, 09/21/2020 – 21: 19 | Ali Haddad is the founder and CEO of construction firm ETRHB (Road, Hydraulic and Building Works Company in English (AFP/File photo) | Authorities in Alge…
(2020-09-21). COVID cases, deaths double in prisons. workers.org 
Since Workers World last reported on COVID behind bars in June, case numbers and deaths have more than doubled. Current numbers show at least 125,730 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among prisoners in the U.S. The data suggest that these numbers are most likely underreported. Philadelphia, March 30. WW . . . |
(2020-09-21). Progressive and socialist organizations condemn attack on Denver anti-racist leaders. liberationnews.org 
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network supports the six anti-racist organizers, including four members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, targeted for arrest and prosecution in the Denver, Colorado area in the United States, and urges broad mobilization in their defense. Police across the region arrested the six in a coordinated sweep on Wednesday, …
(2020-09-21). The Lekra spirit lives: Martin Aleida on Indonesia's revolutionary cultural group. peoplesdispatch.org 
Literature that defends victims, not power. | Martin Aleida gives a testimony at the International People ¥s Tribunal in The Hague in November, 2015 | "It was the worst when I was released. That's the biggest prison I had to face." | Martin Aleida recalls the moment he was released from prison at the end of 1966. The then 22-year-old writer emerged from nearly a year behind bars to a Jakarta where his friends could not be found. His workplace, Harian Rakyat ('The People's Daily'), the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) was no longer. His Party and cultural organization, Lekra, was ba…
(2020-09-21). Tourists & expats in Oman could face JAIL and steep fines for wearing clothes that expose shoulders, chest or knees. rt.com 
Tourists and expats in Oman's capital Muscat could be thrown in jail for three months and face fines of $780 for wearing clothes that expose their shoulders, knees or chest, under new decency laws. | The draconian new restrictions will apply to both men and women, and tourists and residents of the Gulf state will have to observe them, along with native Omanis. | The chairman of the Public Affairs Committee of the Municipal Council in the Governorate of Muscat explained that clothes must not be revealing and must "properly cover required parts of the body." Qais bin Mohammed Al-Ma'shari added that clothing with…
(2020-09-21). Australian-Egyptian man jailed in Egypt for liking a Facebook post. middleeasteye.net 
Australian-Egyptian man jailed in Egypt for liking a Facebook post | Waled Youssef was visiting his sick mother in Egypt when he was arrested in January, lawyers and family said | Mon, 09/21/2020 – 13: 45 | 'Get Waled Home' is a petition launched by Waled Youssef's supporters to call on the Australian government to secure his release from Cairo's notorious Tora prison (Change.org) | An Egyptian man from Sydney…
(2020-09-21). Mass Parole Denials Amid Pandemic: Despite a dozen deaths, Ala. fails to release older, at-risk people from prison. splcenter.org …
(2020-09-21). Police Operation Arrests Anti-Racist Organizers. popularresistance.org Aurora, CO – Police agencies in the Denver area arrested anti-racist organizers in a coordinated assault today. People were arrested in a Home Depot parking lot, at their homes, and after they were pulled over while driving. Those arrested were the leaders to demand justice for Elijah McClain, who was brutally murdered by the Aurora Police Department. They are still in jail, with the exception of one person. They are facing multiple felony charges and years in prison in an obvious frame-up aimed at stopping the movement for justice for Elijah McClain.
(2020-09-21). The Short Life and Curious Death of Free Speech in America. aclu.org No one expected their words to be enlightening or their tone harmonious. Hatred rarely comes in such flavors. It spills out as an ugly, incoherent mess infused with the rotten odor of willful ignorance. And so it was with the Nazi wannabes — self-styled white supremacists determined to make their mark on the world, committed to convincing anyone who might listen that their superiority was both evident and inevitable., , The setting was downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, August 2017. Their mission was unity — of like-minded hate mongers. Their leader, Jason Kessler, was a 33-year-old who lived with…
(2020-09-21). Sentencing of prominent artists by Sudanese court causes uproar. peoplesdispatch.org Five out of the 11 artists who were physically attacked by an Islamist mob, were sentenced to two months imprisonment and a fine of USD 90 on September 17…
(2020-09-21). ACLU Statement on Record-Breaking Number of Deaths in ICE Custody. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-09-21). 'Sledgehammer to Permanently Silence Opposing Voices': Outrage Over Florida Gov. DeSantis' Proposed Anti-Protest Bill. commondreams.org "This effort has one goal: silence, criminalize, and penalize Floridians who want to see justice for Black lives," said ACLU of Florida executive director Micah Kubic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/flblm.jpg …
(2020-09-20). Activists call jailing of Long Island homeless activists a political arrest. liberationnews.org 
Protests planned for Sept. 22 and Sept. 25…
(2020-09-20). Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg 1933-2020. indybay.org By now, we have seen the TV tributes and read the many thoughts on the Internet regarding Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg who died today at age 87. My favorite is from the ACLU at www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/in-memory-of-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-1933-2020/?initms_aff=nat&initms_chan=soc&utm_medium=soc&initms=200919_rbg_obit_tw&utm_source=tw&utm_campaign=rbg&utm_content=200919_obit&ms_aff=nat&ms_chan=soc&ms=200919_rbg_obit_tw…