(2021-03-30). The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. popularresistance.org This month, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released two reports with updates on city and county jail populations nationwide: Jail Inmates in 2019 and Impact of COVID-19 on the Local Jail Population, January-June 2020. After a year of upheaval due to the pandemic, the first report is already out-of-date and mainly useful as a historical document. The second report, however, answers some important questions about the decisions local officials made when the high stakes of jail incarceration — for individual and public health — were put into stark relief by the pandemic. Their decisions, and the resulti…
(2021-03-30). In memoriam: Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian feminist and anti-imperialist. liberationnews.org 
Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi died March 21 at age 89. Neither imprisonment nor job loss, nor banning her writings, not even death threats could stop her fight for the rights of Egyptian women. She exposed both the religious and sectarian foundation of patriarchy. Her courage and uncompromising defense of women and the poor inspired …
(2021-03-30). Outrage in Georgia: Civil rights groups sue to block state's shameful new voter suppression law. splcenter.org  …
(2021-03-30). Murder trial begins for former officer charged in the death of George Floyd. wsws.org Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder. If convicted of the most serious charge, he could face 10.5 to 15 years in prison.
(2021-03-30). Pentagon Would Face Costly Lawsuits If US Ended Afghanistan War. news.antiwar.com Since February 29 of 2020, the US has had a peace deal in place, intending to withdraw from Afghanistan on May 1 of 2021. The US military was always averse to that, but seems to have been basing its contracts on the idea it wouldn't happen. | Former financial officials are warning that if the US does leave Afghanistan, either on May 1 or any time in 2021, the Pentagon would be facing down a "
(2021-03-30). Arabic press review: Tunisian politician accuses Egypt of spreading false rumours. middleeasteye.net 
Arabic press review: Tunisian politician accuses Egypt of spreading false rumours | Meanwhile, protest held in Gaza in solidarity with prisoner in Saudi Arabia, Libyan politicians accused of falsifying credentials and Saudi foreign reserves fall to lowest level in a decade | Tue, 03/30/2021 – 12: 31 | Tunisian Ennahda Party founder Rachid Ghannouchi gives a speech during the legislative election…
(2021-03-30). Palestine elections: Marwan Barghouti announces independent election list. middleeasteye.net 
Palestine elections: Marwan Barghouti announces independent election list | Jailed Palestinian leader's list is 'essentially Fatah in nature' but also includes national figures and independents | Tue, 03/30/2021 – 18: 55 | Graffiti depicting popular Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti can be found throughout the occupied West Bank (AFP/File photo) | Palestinian political prisoner and veteran Fatah party lead…
(2021-03-30). US judge dismisses lawsuit linking Palestine solidarity group to 'terrorism'. middleeasteye.net 
US judge dismisses lawsuit linking Palestine solidarity group to 'terrorism' | Judge dismissed argument that US Campaign for Palestinian Rights was liable for militant attacks because of its support for BDS as 'not convincing' | Tue, 03/30/2021 – 23: 41 | Palestinian rights activists in Washington protest against Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank, 3 July 2020 (MEE/File photo) | A US judge has dismiss…
(2021-03-30). Will we stand up for Black trans lives, too? therealnews.com 
Last summer, during what some have called the largest social justice uprising in United States history, the lives of Black trans people were ignored. While many rightly raged against the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, few know the names of Black trans people like Kim Wirtz, who have also been murdered by a racist policing and prison system. In Baltimore, trans activists from the LGBTQ organization Baltimore Safe Haven protested, demanding an end to police violence and an end to the erasure of the Black trans community. The Real News' Eddie Conway talks to activists on the ground in Baltimore ab…
(2021-03-30). Headlines for March 30, 2021. democracynow.org First Witnesses Testify in Murder Trial of Ex-Cop Derek Chauvin, Who Killed George Floyd, Civil Rights Groups File Second Legal Challenge to Georgia Voter Suppression Bill, WHO Says COVID-19 Pandemic Likely Began in Animal Hosts, Rather Than Laboratory Escape, CDC Director Warns of "Impending Doom" as Coronavirus Cases Rise Across U.S., CDC Extends Federal Eviction Moratorium to June 30, Wealthiest 1% of Americans Account for One-Third of Unpaid Taxes to IRS, Protests Erupt in Mexico Demanding Justice for Salvadoran Refugee Killed by Police, Suez Canal Reopens After Salvage Teams Clear Stuck Container Ship, 60 Ch…
(2021-03-30). Derek Chauvin Defense Blames "George Floyd Himself for His Own Death," Not the Police "Blood Choke" democracynow.org 
As the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin continues, we speak with Minneapolis civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong, who says prosecutors in the case clearly established that "the actions of Derek Chauvin played the most critical role in cutting off the air supply of George Floyd," leading to his death, while the defense appears to be resorting to a strategy of victim-blaming. "I was really dismayed to see them try to deflect blame to bystanders and to blame George Floyd himself for his own death," says Armstrong, a former president of the Minneapolis NAACP.