[Correspondence] Working upstream
Mary Owen, Michael Westerhaus, Amy Finnegan, Laalitha Surapaneni, Winona LaDuke | thelancet.com | 2021-05-15
Health-care workers often conceptualise addressing the social and structural determinants of health as working upstream.1 In response to the racial disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Movement for Black Lives, health systems are acknowledging systemic racism, promoting implicit bias training, and screening for the social determinants of health. Although welcome, these changes will not achieve the social transformation necessary to eliminate health inequities. We must move even further upstream.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00923-5/fulltext?rss=yes

Black Lives Matter goes to war with Napoleon and the French Revolution
wsws.org | 2021-05-15
In the New York Times, an academic supporter of Black Lives Matter slandered the republic that emerged from the 1789 French Revolution as a genocidal, racist state.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/15/napo-m15.html

Charity considers legal action against Home Office over Glasgow immigration raid
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2021-05-15
A migrant charity has said it's investigating legal action against the Home Office for "casting aspersions" on two Indian nationals detained in Glasgow as "illegal" immigrants. | Legal action: | Lakhvir Singh and Sumit Sehdev were released from Border Force detention after crowds swarmed around the van in which they were held, preventing it from leaving Kenmure Street in Pollokshields on 13 May. | Demonstrators blocked the vehicle for several hours, with one even lying underneath its axles, before police released the pair on public safety grounds. | Scottish justice secretary Humza Yousaf has blamed the H…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2021/05/15/charity-considers-legal-action-against-home-office-over-glasgow-immigration-raid/

Rep. Rashida Tlaib Speaks Truth to Power on Palestine
Stop US Aid to Israel | indybay.org | 2021-05-15
On the floor of the US Congress on 5/13/21, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan stated in her moving 10 minute speech below, that "If there's one thing Detroit instilled in this Palestinian girl from Southwest, it's you always speak truth to power, even if your voice shakes. The freedom of Palestinians is connected to the fight against oppression all over the world." We will be there for her and Palestine on 5/15/21 at 16th & Valencia, SF in opposition to the 75% of US Congress who, as Tlaib stated: "signed a letter pledging that Israel shall never be made to comply with basic human rights laws that other countries th…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/05/14/18842496.php

Murray Sentenced to 8 Months in Prison
Editor2 | orinocotribune.com | 2021-05-15
By Joe Lauria — May 11, 2021 | Craig Murray, the former British diplomat, has been sentenced to 8 months in prison for contempt of court during the 2020 trial of former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond. | Craig Murray, an ex-British ambassador and blogger, has been sentenced to eight months in prison after being found guilty in March of contempt of court during the 2020 trial of former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond. He was given three weeks to turn himself into police, pending his appeal. Judge Lady Dorrian issued the sentence, she said, despite Murray's health issues. | Murray faced up to two yea…
orinocotribune.com/murray-sentenced-to-8-months-in-prison/

Biden Administration Affirms US Support for Corrupt Jordanian Monarchy Amidst Suppression of Alleged Coup Attempt
Editor2 | orinocotribune.com | 2021-05-15
By Christian Sorensen — May 5, 2021 | Pattern of U.S. Support for Autocracy across the Middle East | In early April, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the former crown prince of Jordan, was imprisoned under house arrest. | King Abdullah II, who is Hamzah's half-brother and the absolute ruler of Jordan, ordered Prince Hamzah to cease communications with the outside world. | Prince Hamzah said he would not keep quiet, tweeting, "I'm not going to obey when they say you can't go out, you can't tweet, you can't communicate with people." | The Jordanian deputy prime minister, Ayman Safadi, claimed that the prince was inv…
orinocotribune.com/biden-administration-affirms-us-support-for-corrupt-jordanian-monarchy-amidst-suppression-of-alleged-coup-attempt/

Republicans Oppose Kristen Clarke for Top Civil Rights Job at DOJ in Latest Attack on Voting Rights
Staff | democracynow.org | 2021-05-14
Republican senators in Washington are attempting to block Kristen Clarke, a prominent voting rights advocate, from a top Justice Department position. The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on an 11-11 vote on whether to move Clarke's nomination for assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to the Senate floor for a full vote. If she wins the vote, Clarke, who has served as the head of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and is a longtime champion of voting rights, a defender against hate and violent extremism, would be the first Black woman to hold the posit…
www.democracynow.org/2021/5/14/kristen_clarke_justice_dept_ben_jealous

Republicans Oppose Kristen Clarke for DOJ Job in Latest Attack on Voting Rights
Staff | truthout.org | 2021-05-14
Republican senators in Washington are attempting to block Kristen Clarke, a prominent voting rights advocate, from a top Justice Department position. The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on an 11-11 vote on whether to move Clarke's nomination for assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to the Senate floor for a full vote. If she wins the vote, Clarke, who has served as the head of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and is a longtime…
truthout.org/video/republicans-oppose-kristen-clarke-for-doj-job-in-latest-attack-on-voting-rights/

NFL Denounced for Using Racist Criteria to Avoid Paying Black Retirees in Concussion Settlement
Kenny Stancil, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2021-05-14
"They come out with all these slogans like 'We care' and 'Black Lives Matter,'" said former NFL player Kevin Henry. "And I'm sitting there, like, you're lying." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/nfl_racism_exploitation.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2021/05/14/nfl-denounced-using-racist-criteria-avoid-paying-black-retirees-concussion?cd-origin=rss

The Year Of Open Letters: Retired US Generals And Admirals Warn Democracy Is Dying
Anonymous007 | southfront.org | 2021-05-14
Click to see full-size image | If 2020 was the year of Black Lives Matter protests, and left-wing victories, 2021 is the year of open letters. | Following France, it is now the United States' turn. | On May 12th, Flag Officers 4 America published an open letter, warning that the US constitution was at stake.During the 2020 election an "Open Letter from Senior Military Leaders" was signed by 317 retired Generals and Admirals and, it said the 2020 election could be…
southfront.org/the-year-of-open-letters-retired-us-generals-and-admirals-warn-democracy-is-dying/

State Lawmakers Are Trying to Ban Talk About Race in Schools
Emerson Sykes | aclu.org | 2021-05-14
A nationwide attempt to censor discussions of race in the classroom is underway. In recent weeks, Republican lawmakers across the country have proposed bills banning teaching "divisive concepts" in K-12 public schools and in public colleges and universities. The new bills target efforts to provide education about gender and race discrimination, including critical race theory, an academic concept and practice that recognizes systemic racism is deeply ingrained in American society and examines how our systems promote i…
aclu.org/news/free-speech/state-lawmakers-are-trying-to-ban-talk-about-race-in-schools

Caravans protest immigrant detention
Jim McMahan | workers.org | 2021-05-14
Tacoma, Wash. Im/migrant-led caravans from the Pacific Northwest region came to protest the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Wash., May 8. The Mothers Day action, held the day before, brought families from Portland and Salem, Ore., Seattle and other cities. Their cars were decked with "Free Them All" flags . . . | Continue reading Caravans protest immigrant detention at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/05/56422/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=caravans-protest-immigrant-detention

Scotland: Hundreds Of People Block Detention Of Immigrant Neighbors
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-05-14
Glasgow, Scotland – One of two men detained by immigration officers in Scotland and subsequently released after protesters blocked them from leaving has said he's grateful "fate" bought him to live among the demonstrators in Glasgow. | On Monday evening, protesters sat on the road in front of the Home Office van parked on Kenmure Street in Glasgow. Police officers surrounded the vehicle. | Hundreds of protesters were at the scene, chanting refrains like "Leave our neighbours, let them go" and "Cops go home". | "I'm so happy that my fate brought me to live here in Glasgow, where the people are so connected that th…
popularresistance.org/scotland-hundreds-of-people-turn-out-to-block-detention-of-immigrant-neighbors/

'Nothing Is More Beautiful Than Solidarity': Hundreds Mobilize to Stop Arrest of Immigrant Neighbors in Glasgow
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2021-05-14
"Nothing is more beautiful than solidarity," said MP Zarah Sultana after Glasgow residents stopped the detention of two men by Immigration Enforcement agents. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/glasgow_refugees.png …
commondreams.org/news/2021/05/14/nothing-more-beautiful-solidarity-hundreds-mobilize-stop-arrest-immigrant-neighbors?cd-origin=rss

When just being yourself is a radical act
| workers.org | 2021-05-14
By Miley Fletcher For hundreds of years, racism, bigotry and discrimination have existed in society but especially within prison complexes. Black men, women and transgenders have been murdered, assaulted, placed in solitary confinement, restraint chairs and psychological observation cells — humiliated and abused by officers and staff alike. The corruption . . . | Continue reading When just being yourself is a radical act at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/05/56430/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-just-being-yourself-is-a-radical-act

Biden administration ends Trump-era rule, banning discrimination against transgender people in health care
Marlee Kokotovic | nationofchange.org | 2021-05-14
"Everyone — including LGBTQ people – should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period."
nationofchange.org/2021/05/14/biden-administration-end-trump-era-rule-banning-discrimination-against-transgender-people-in-health-care/

Lawyer for Indigenous fights Big Oil
Workers World staff | workers.org | 2021-05-14
Activists and allies turned out May 10 for a rally at Federal Court in New York City to support Steven Donziger, a lawyer and champion for environmental justice and human rights. Donziger led the team that won a historic $9.5 billion lawsuit against Chevron for pollution crimes in Ecuador. May . . . | Continue reading Lawyer for Indigenous fights Big Oil at Workers.org…
workers.org/2021/05/56435/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lawyer-for-indigenous-fights-big-oil

Floating Graveyards: Let's Not Revive the Cruise Industry
Eve Ottenberg | counterpunch.org | 2021-05-14
Under the so-called leadership of governor Ron DeSantis, Florida is suing the federal government and CDC to allow cruises to resume sailing. As author Carl Hiaasen noted on twitter, this "stunt lawsuit by Ron DeSantis has zero chance in court," but it's aimed at "making DeSantis look tough for his right-wing base." It also fits…
counterpunch.org/2021/05/14/floating-graveyards-lets-not-revive-the-cruise-industry/

Why Israel won't win in Gaza
Maureen Clare Murphy | zcomm.org | 2021-05-14
The will of a colonized people for liberation and self-determination cannot be crushed by military force, by siege, or any new technology from Israel's innovative labs of oppression…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/why-israel-wont-win-in-gaza/

13 Facts About American Prisons That Will Blow Your Mind
Lee Camp | counterpunch.org | 2021-05-14
In a few minutes time you'll want to abolish prisons. If you're not ready for that intellectual and emotional transformation, then please stop reading now. Or put on your thunder shirt. If you grew up in the United States, like I did, then you probably think prisons are a fact of life. We just go through…
counterpunch.org/2021/05/14/13-facts-about-american-prisons-that-will-blow-your-mind/

13 Facts About American Prisons That Will Blow Your Mind
Lee Camp | zcomm.org | 2021-05-14
The U.S. prison system is a crime against humanity. Here are just some of the reasons why.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/13-facts-about-american-prisons-that-will-blow-your-mind/

If I Fall In The Struggle, Take My Place
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-05-14
Ugliness defines the mood of state violence from Cali (Colombia) to Durban (South Africa), each context different and the depth of the violence particular to the location. Images of security forces cracking down on people trying to express their political rights have become commonplace. It is impossible to keep track of the events, which move swiftly from public manifestations to courtroom scenes, from the dissipation of tear gas to the invisible frustration of the prison cell. Yet, underlying these events and amidst the range of feelings that shape them lies a sense of refusal, the Great Refusal, the refusal to…
popularresistance.org/if-i-fall-in-the-struggle-take-my-place/

Global Calendar of Resistance: Join these events to defend Palestine!
Staff | samidoun.net | 2021-05-14
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all Palestinian, Arab and international supporters of Palestine to escalate their organizing and struggle to confront massacres and ethnic cleansing and support Palestinian resistance! There are currently 119 martyrs in Gaza, while the entire land of Palestine is rising, from the river to the sea, from Haifa to al-Lydd, from Gaza to Rafah, from Ramallah to Nablus, Umm al-Fahm, Yafa, and, of course, Palestine's capital, Jerusalem, confronting the most brutal violence of the colonizer with steadfastness, struggle, and a revolutionary promise of a liberated futu…
samidoun.net/2021/05/global-calendar-of-resistance-join-these-events-to-defend-palestine/