(2018-11-29). US immigration policy leaves millions in limbo. zcomm.org As non-citizens or residents, immigrants in US detention centers are not afforded the basic rights and accommodations that are supposed to be provided to regular prisoners. Samuel's case is revealing…
(2018-11-29). The Day I Almost Went to Prison for Life. counterpunch.org 
Larry and I took the bus from Augusta to Atlanta, Georgia on a Friday night in November 1969. We were at the halfway point of basic training at Fort Gordon and the first weekend pass was our reward for surviving the rigors of military training during the Vietnam era. We were both in the National Guard, and unlike some others in our training unit, we would get to go home in the early spring following the completion of both basic and advanced training in our military specialty. More
(2018-11-29). 'More BLM posters than actual black people': Former employee calls out Facebook's 'workplace racism'. rt.com 
A black Facebook employee's post alleging racial discrimination at the social media giant has gone viral, depicting a racially tone-deaf company and challenging the "progressive" Silicon Valley company's public image.
(2018-11-29). Army Abducts A Former Political Prisoner From Nablus. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday at dawn, a former political prisoner from the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and attacked dozens of protesters in Sebastia and Qaryout nearby towns. Media sources in Nablus have reported that several army jeeps invaded Rafidia neighborhood in the city, and abducted a former …
(2018-11-29). Israel High Court Rules to Allow and Expand Use of Torture. mintpressnews.com In a ruling that directly violates international law and conventions against the use of torture, the Israeli High Court ruled that Shin Bet was justified in torturing a Palestinian prisoner, setting a dangeroius precedent.
(2018-11-29). US Midterm Elections Leave Crisis in Political Leadership. Racist Power Structure. Mississippi, Georgia, Florida. globalresearch.ca Results from the Mississippi Senatorial runoff elections where Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated Democratic candidate Mike Espy by an 11 percentage points margin illustrates the formidable obstacles placed before the opposition party within the United States body politic. | Hyde-Smith was captured …
(2018-11-29). Why is Rosenstein in jail on Trump's meme? He 'shouldn't have picked special counsel'. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has hinted that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should be jailed as he "never should have picked a special counsel." Trump was answering a question about the jailed official's meme he retweeted.
(2018-11-29). Micki Callahan Has To Go! SF SEIU1021 Rank & File Leaders/Members Speak Out Against Racism. indybay.org San Francisco SEIU 1021 African American workers and other SF public workers spoke out about the systemic racism, workplace bullying and privatization and outsourcing before a SF Board Of Supervisors Audit meeting on systemic racism in the City and County of SF. They also called for the removal of SF Department of Human Resources Director Micki Callahan.
(2018-11-29). Blacks are fighting back against privatization & systemic racist attacks on SF City Worker. indybay.org SF African American city workers have forced the second hearing by the City and County of SF to expose the systemic racism and to demand that managers and executives including HR Director Micki Callahan be held accountable for their support for racist practices and systemic discrimination.
(2018-11-29). Green Book and At Eternity's Gate: Overcoming racism and painter Vincent van Gogh's final years. wsws.org Set in 1962, Green Book is a heartfelt film about the relationship between a famed black pianist and his white, working class chauffeur. In At Eternity's Gate, artist Julian Schnabel treats the last period in the life of legendary Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.
(2018-11-29). Transgender asylum seeker beaten in US custody before her death, according to autopsy. wsws.org Roxsana Hernandez Rodriguez died weeks after turning herself in at the San Ysidro port of entry in California seeking asylum from the discrimination and abuse she faced in Honduras.
(2018-11-29). Bangladesh: Further information: Activist released on bail after months in detention: Shahidul Alam. amnesty.org Shahidul Alam, photographer and outspoken social activist, has been freed on permanent bail after spending more than 100 days behind bars for comments he made in an interview with Al-Jazeera in August 2018. In detention, he was ill-treated and subjected to prolonged detention merely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.
(2018-11-29). Amnesty International launches worlds biggest human rights campaign. amnesty.org Women human rights defenders around the world are facing unprecedented levels of abuse, intimidation and violence, said Amnesty International as it launched its global Write for Rights campaign, in a bid to shine a spotlight on brave women who have been harassed, jailed, tortured or even killed for their human rights work. | Women continue to face multiple forms of discrimination, targeted because of their gender and other characteristics, as well as for their human rights work. However, women refuse to stay silent and have been at the forefront of the battle for human rights in 2018. | "Across the world, women a…
(2018-11-29). Viet Nam: Ludicrous charge against activist accused of 'insulting national flag' must be dropped. amnesty.org A charge of "insulting the national flag" against prominent Vietnamese human rights activist Huynh Thuc Vy amounts to an attack on freedom of expression by the authorities and must be dropped, Amnesty International said ahead of her trial on Friday. | It is rare for the authorities to prosecute a human rights activist for this charge, which carries a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment, in a disturbing sign of the intensifying crackdown against peaceful dissent in the country. | "This ludicrous charge must be dropped as it is aimed solely at silencing a dedicated, peaceful human rights activist. This is…
(2018-11-28). NAACP Comments on Mississippi Senatorial Runoff Election. naacp.org BALTIMORE — The NAACP issued the following statement regarding the results of the Mississippi senatorial runoff election: While we are hopeful that the Senator-Elect will prove herself worthy of her new office, this election demonstrates the need to continue broadening the tent of civic and democratic participation in our nation. We must continue to organize, […]
(2018-11-28). How Trump Weaponized the Government's Refugee Resettlement Agency. aclu.org The Office of Refugee Resettlement was supposed to protect vulnerable immigrant children. Now it's an arm of Trump's deportation force. | Back in April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, both under the Department of Homeland Security, entered into a memorandum of agreement with an obscure government agency known as the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The office, known by its initials ORR, had traditionally served vulnerable immigrant youth coming to the United States without an adult. The agency took custody of those c…
(2018-11-28). Government Use of Tear Gas Is Illegal in War. It Should Be Illegal Here, Too. aclu.org The chemical agent is outlawed in international warfare but used regularly by police here at home. | This piece originally appeared at The Washington Post's PostEverything. | Pictures of migrant women and children fleeing in panic as tear gas canisters were fired at them by U.S. border agents this week shocked many Americans, but the Trump administration praised the Border Patrol for responding " …
(2018-11-28). Israeli High Court Rules to Allow, Expand Use of Torture. imemc.org In a ruling that directly violates international law and conventions against the use of torture, the Israeli High Court ruled Monday that Israeli intelligence officers were justified in their use of torture against a Palestinian prisoner. The ruling sets a precedent for the future use of torture and the expansion …
(2018-11-28). 'Republicans Just Don't Want All the Votes to Count' – CounterSpin interview with Ari Berman on 2018 voter suppression. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Ari Berman about 2018 voter suppression for the November 16, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2018-11-28). NAACP Statement on Recent Criminal Justice Reform Compromise Introduced in Senate. naacp.org NAACP released the following statement in support of the Crimianl Justice Reform Compromise: Our American criminal justice system is broken. Sentencing is disproportionately weighted against African Americans, and the current political climate continues to devalue black lives by reviving the same failed policies of the war on drugs that fueled mass incarceration," said NAACP President […]
(2018-11-28). What would Marx have said about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica? mronline.org 
Twitter says it is about "what people are talking about right now". Facebook argues its "mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what […] | Source
(2018-11-28). Trump retweets image of US deputy attorney general among others jailed 'for treason'. rt.com 
President Trump has retweeted an image showing a dozen of his opponents and critics jailed for "treason." Among them, his current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. |
(2018-11-28). A Mexican Perspective on Trump's Border Crisis. progressive.org "You've got a President of the United States who is a racist. Instead of having the United States be a world leader in human rights, Trump wants to be world leader of racism. It's very difficult."
(2018-11-28). The Baltimore Bureau Podcast Show: Weeks of November 12 and 19, 2018. therealnews.com 
Dharna Noor and Khalilah Harris talk about federal police oversight, Bloomberg's gift to Johns Hopkins University, a pipeline set to be built through Maryland, and global struggles against racism and fascism
(2018-11-28). Headlines for November 28, 2018. democracynow.org U.N. Report Warns World Falling Far Behind on Paris Climate Goals, Mexico Agrees to U.S. Demand to Hold Asylum Seekers While Claims Are Decided, Trump Administration Defends Tear Gas Use at U.S.-Mexico Border, Border Patrol Fired Tear Gas Dozens of Times Under President Obama, U.S. Waived Background Checks for Staff at Jail for Migrant Children, Mississippi: GOP's Cindy Hyde-Smith, Who Posed as Confederate Soldier, Wins Senate Seat, Ukraine's President Warns of "Full-Fledged War" with Russia, Trump "Not Even a Little Bit Happy" with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump Says "We're Not Necessarily Such Believers" in Cli…
(2018-11-28). Prominent Rights Activist Goes On Hunger Strike In Iran Prison. iranian.com A prominent Iranian rights activist and political prisoner has started a hunger strike to support another prisoner of conscience whose health is deteriorating in prison. Nasrin Sotoudeh's family announced on November 26 that she has started a hunger strike in Tehran's notorious Evin prison to protest the deteriorating health of Farhad Meysami, who himself has […]
(2018-11-28). Stranded refugees and migrants must be immediately allowed to dock in Italy or Malta. amnesty.org Twelve refugees and migrants who have been stranded in the Central Mediterranean on a Spanish fishing boat for almost a week must be allowed to disembark in Europe as soon as possible, said Amnesty International. | Six days after they were rescued from the water by the Nuestra Madre de Loreto vessel, the 12 – including two children – remain on board in overcrowded conditions and stormy waters. |
(2018-11-28). Honduras: State must ensure access to justice for victims of post-election repression. amnesty.org One year after the Honduran security forces began their repression of those involved in mass post-election protests, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said: | "We reiterate our call for investigations into all cases of unnecessary or excessive use of force by the Honduran authorities during the post-election period last year, including killings, arbitrary detentions and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The people responsible for this brutal repression must be brought to justice without further delay." |
(2018-11-28). HRE workshop participants use storytelling to call attention to Lebanon's migrant workers. amnesty.org Youth from Beirut take action to abolish Lebanon's Kafala system after participating in a Human Rights Education Workshop. | In a small community bookshop and coffeeshop — snug within the hip area of Mar Mikhael, Beirut — university students, youth, activists and migrant workers gathered to share stories of oppression and resilience in an event put together by Amnesty youth volunteers. |
(2018-11-27). Radical black feminism and the simultaneity of oppression. mronline.org 
As the word intersectionality falls from the lips of Hillary Clinton and increasingly is normalized and sanitized, we should be clear about its radical moorings. | Source
(2018-11-27). NAACP Calls for Withdrawal of Thomas Farr Nomination. naacp.org Statement of Derrick Johnson Calling for Withdrawal of Thomas Farr Nomination Thomas Farr needs to withdraw his nomination immediately. We've always known Thomas Farr as the architect of the worst voter suppression law in the country, however, we have now found that he was more deeply engaged than anyone knew in intimidating Black voters during […]
(2018-11-27). China Has Detained a Million Muslims in Reeducation Camps. thenation.com China Has Detained a Million Muslims in Reeducation Camps…
(2018-11-27). U.S. Prisons Have a Mental Health Crisis. This Story of a New York Prisoner's Death Helps Reveal Why. democracynow.org 
A major new Marshall Project investigation looks at the the mental health crisis in U.S. prisons by diving deep into the story of Karl Taylor, a prisoner who died at a maximum-security prison in the Catskills of New York after an altercation with prison guards in 2015. Karl Taylor was serving out a minimum 27-year sentence for a rape conviction when his life came to a sudden end at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in April of 2015. The African-American prisoner had been diagnosed with delusional disorder and paranoid personality disorder when he was taken into custody in 1995. By April of 2015, Taylor was house…
(2018-11-27). Hatewatch Headlines 11/28/2018. splcenter.org Facebook discrimination review still a mystery; Neuroscience explains bigotry's persistence; Proud Boys' new rules including less fighting; and more.
(2018-11-27). Amazon and UPS Stay Silent as Other Corporate Donors Renounce Support for Racist Mississippi Senate Campaign. theintercept.com Google, Facebook, and other companies have asked to take back their contributions to Mississippi Republican senatorial candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith in the wake of growing controversy over her celebration of Confederate history, comments about a "public hanging," and other newly surfaced incidents and information. But more than a dozen other high-profile public companies, including UPS, have yet to publicly withdraw their financial support. | Earlier this month, Hyde-Smith made headlines when she said of one of her supporters that "if he invit…
(2018-11-27). Russian National Dies After Detention by US Immigration. hrw.org 
| | Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. | © Nathalie Graham/The Stranger | Over Thanksgiving weekend, another person who was in US immigration detention died. | Mergensana Amar, a Russian national who had been detained at Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, was taken off life support on Saturday, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE stated he had attempted suicide on November 15; the…
(2018-11-27). Burundi: Human rights defender jailed for 32 years must be released. amnesty.org The Burundian authorities should overturn the 32-year sentence handed to human rights defender Germain Rukuki and set him free, Amnesty International said following his appeal hearing on 26 November. | "Germain was tried and imprisoned simply because he worked for a human rights organization. The appeal court should quash his sentence and release him immediately and unconditionally," said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International's Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes. |
(2018-11-26). Jeff Sessions' Legacy Is Full of Dangerous Successes. aclu.org Attorney General Sessions proved how dangerous the nation's top prosecutor can be to criminal justice reform. | In his 636 days in office, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions secured a legacy that has been described as " unprecedented" and " dark." But Sessions' unwavering actions against criminal justice reform may also earn another descriptor for his time…
(2018-11-26). Court sides with L.A. cop who murdered Jesse Romero. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – In an outrageous decision, the jury sided with two-time killer and Los Angeles Police Department officer Eden Medina. The civil rights violations trial on 14-year-old Jesse Romero's killing started November 13 and lasted only six days. Early in the preceding, a judge ruled to exclude key evidence from the proceedings. | Killed on August 9, 2016 Jesse Romero was visiting his friends at the apartment complex in Boyle Heights. Someone inside of the apartment complex called 911 saying Romero and another teen were potentially smoking marijuana and graffitiing. LAPD officers Eden Medina and backu…
(2018-11-26). Headlines for November 26, 2018. democracynow.org U.S. Border Patrol Fires Tear Gas at Families Seeking Asylum, Border Patrol Officer Who Shot Teen Acquitted of Manslaughter Charge, North Carolina: ICE Arrests Immigrant Who Left Church Sanctuary, White House Tries to Bury Climate Report With Devastating Conclusions, California: Camp Fire 100% Contained as Death Toll Climbs to 85, Russia Seizes Three Ukrainian Ships Near Crimean Peninsula, President Trump Contradicts CIA Findings on Jamal Khashoggi Murder, Yemen: U.N. Urges Warring Parties to Enter Peace Talks, UAE Pardons UK Academic of Spying After Months of Imprisonment, EU Approves Brexit Deal, France: Police…
(2018-11-26). Russia: Bail refusal for Chechen prisoner of conscience is latest affront to justice. amnesty.org Responding to the news that a court in Chechnya has refused to release human rights defender Oyub Titiev on bail, Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International's Russia Researcher, said: | "The decision not to grant bail to Oyub Titiev once again demonstrates the political motivation of the case against him. He has committed no crime, having been jailed on completely fabricated drug charges, and must be released immediately and unconditionally. |
(2018-11-25). Minnesotans to rally in support of migrant caravan. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – As national attention has focused on the caravan of Central American refugees winding its way through Mexico towards the U.S.-Mexico border, immigrants and their allies in Minnesota will rally in support of the caravan on Friday, November 30. | Organizers are planning for a robust turnout in solidarity with the caravan. The rally will start at 5: 15 p.m. in front of the Minneapolis Federal Building at 4th Street and 4th Avenue. Afterwards, organizers will lead a march towards Wells Fargo to highlight the complicity of the banking industry in supporting for-profit detention centers across the U.S.
(2018-11-25). The Counterinsurgency Paradigm: How U.S. Politics Have Become Paramilitarized. theintercept.com Donald Trump ran a campaign promising to refill the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, to "bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding," to "take out" the families of suspected terrorists, to ban Muslims from entering this country, and to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Yet these policies didn't start with Trump: Torture, indefinite detention, extraordinary renditions, record numbers of deportations, anti-Muslim sentiment, mass foreign and domestic surveillance, and even the killing of innocent family members of suspected terrorists all have a recent historical precedent. | Trump's predecessor, B…
(2018-11-25). Ecuador's ex-VP Jorge Glas fights for justice amid right-wing push. greenleft.org.au 
November 12 was the 23rd day of the hunger strike led by Jorge Glas, the former vice-president of Ecuador. His health condition deteriorated significantly after his transfer to the Latacunga maximum security prison. | After enduring deplorable conditions, he was rushed into Carlos Andrade Marín hospital in Quito on November 7, but was transferred back to Latacunga afterwards. He vowed to continue his hunger strike against the continued persecution of him, ex-president Rafael Co…
(2018-11-23). Four Days in Occupied Western Sahara—A Rare Look Inside Africa's Last Colony. democracynow.org 
In this special rebroadcast of a Democracy Now! exclusive documentary, we break the media blockade and go to occupied Western Sahara in the northwest of Africa to document the decades-long Sahrawi struggle for freedom and Morocco's violent crackdown. Morocco has occupied the territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. Thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation. A 1,700-mile wall divides Sahrawis who remain under occupation from those who fled into exile. The international media has largely ignored the occupat…
(2018-11-22). After Visiting Brazil's Lula in Prison, Noam Chomsky Warns Against "Disaster" Under Jair Bolsonaro. democracynow.org 
As Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro prepares to take office in January, we return to our conversation with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky shortly after the election. Bolsonaro's impending presidency marks the most radical political shift Brazil since military rule ended more than 30 years ago. Bolsonaro is a former Army officer who has praised Brazil's former military dictatorship, spoken in favor of torture and threatened to destroy, imprison or banish his political opponents. Bolsonaro has also encouraged the police to kill suspected drug dealers, and once told a fem…
(2018-11-21). Boston Police Has a Secret Point System That Turns Normal Teenage Behavior Into Gang Membership. aclu.org The department arbitrarily labels immigrant teenagers as gang members and helps the federal government deport them. | In the face of the Trump administration's stepped-up deportation efforts, officials in Boston and other progressive cities have declared their communities safe spaces for immigrants. But behind the scenes, progressive havens like Boston are facilitating the deportations of some of our most vulnerable young people. | As the federal government's rhetoric and action around immigration have sharpened and hardened, young immigrants are being systematically slandered and deprived of their rights here in…
(2018-11-21). Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Anti-Immigrant Military Enlistment Policy. aclu.org Last year, the Pentagon implemented a background investigation process that effectively banned green card holders from serving in the military. | Despite attacking family members of fallen war heroes, criticizing Sen. John McCain for being captured in war, and recently deploying troops…
(2018-11-21). Shielding Hogan From the Democratic Wave – How the Washington Post, Big Money and a bit of racism re-elected a GOP governor in Deep Blue Maryland. fair.org 
The Washington Post ( 11/6/18) touts a "sane center" that it did much to define and promote. | The votes were hardly in when the Washington Post ( 11/6/18) started explaining why Republican Gov. Larry Hogan won reelection in de…
(2018-11-21). I May Have to Quit Harvard Because the TSA Won't Stop Searching Me. aclu.org The TSA has repeatedly questioned a Muslim-American journalist about her religion and criticism of the government. We're demanding answers from DHS. | This piece was originally published by The Washington Post in August. | I realized my life had entered a new phase while crossing into the United States from Canada in September 2016. | "You both have to come inside," the border officer sa…