(2021-05-22). 'Crown: Freedom' — Tribute to Black women activists. workers.org 
"Crown: Freedom" adorns wall of Municipal Services Building. WW Photo: Joe Piette "Crown," Philadelphia's newest series of Black Lives Matter murals, now adorns three sides of the Municipal Services Building, the city's most prominent government building. Facing City Hall, it is surrounded by Thomas Paine Plaza, a major site for . . . |
(2021-05-21). Headlines for May 21, 2021. democracynow.org Israel and Hamas Agree to Gaza Ceasefire After 11 Days of Intense Fighting, U.N. Chief Decries "Hell on Earth" After Israeli Strikes Sever Power, Water and Sewer Lines in Gaza, WTO Chief Pushes European Officials to Drop Opposition to Patent Waiver for COVID Vaccines, New York Launches $5 Million Lottery Incentive to Get Vaccinated , South Korean President to Discuss Denuclearization and Vaccines at White House Meeting, ICE to End Contracts with Two County Jails Where Immigrants Faced Abuses, Salvadoran Officials Exhume Dozens of Women's Bodies on Property of Former Detective, Amnesty Calls for U.S. to Stop Selli…
(2021-05-21). Jailed at 14, Shot Dead at 17: The Story of Obaida Jawabra's Childhood Under Israeli Occupation. democracynow.org 
Israeli forces shot and killed Obaida Jawabra, a 17-year-old boy, earlier this week in the al-Arroub refugee camp located near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. Obaida was shot in the chest, and witnesses say Israeli soldiers blocked an ambulance from reaching the teenager. He was taken to a local hospital by private car and later pronounced dead. Obaida, who was arrested by Israeli soldiers multiple times and featured in a 2019 short film, "Obaida," about Israeli soldiers detaining Palestinian children, is at least the fourth Palestinian teenager shot dead by soldiers in the occupied West Bank this year. Th…
(2021-05-21). Institutional Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement in Sonoma County. indybay.org This research paper investigates the institutional responses to the BLM Movement within Sonoma County. By analyzing newspaper articles and qualitative interviews, we were able to determine what kind of responses were happening within the Healthcare, Education, Business and Political sectors in Sonoma County.
(2021-05-21). Coronavirus Travels and Cruising with Viking. dissidentvoice.org It starts off as an exercise of anticipation. First comes the softening drinks and teasing morsels which find their mark. The audience at this promotions gig is well heeled, of an age where they have money to burn, but nowhere to burn it. They have not travelled on a luxurious prison of bliss for eighteen …
(2021-05-21). Above the Law? Review of Police Killing of Andrew Brown Jr. Demanded After DA Calls It Justified. democracynow.org 
We speak with Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and former head of the North Carolina NAACP, who is in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to call for an expedited independent investigation into the police killing of Andrew Brown Jr., the 42-year-old Black father who was killed there last month by a bullet in the back of his head after seven deputies blocked him in his driveway while serving an arrest warrant. On Tuesday, the Pasquotank County district attorney announced a state investigation had found the officers who shot Brown were justified and will not face criminal charges. Barber…
(2021-05-21). Montgomery educator denounces firings and COVID-19 case suppression as Alabama abandons pandemic health and relief measures. wsws.org As the school year draws to a close at Montgomery Public Schools, educators are drawing the lessons of the most challenging year of their careers.
(2021-05-21). How to Save Lives in Jail During the Opioid Crisis. aclu.org Three million Americans currently suffer from Opioid Use Disorder, or an addiction to opioids. Today, adults between the ages of 25 and 44 are more than twice as likely to die from opioid overdose than from COVID-19. When we zoom in on the prison population, the numbers are even more jarring: 85 percent of people in prison or jail have some kind of substance use disorder, compared with 9 percent of the general population. Yet people who are incarcerated are less likely to get access to the care they need to treat their addiction. | Most prisons and jails don't let people take prescription medications like meth…
(2021-05-21). Homeland Security Tells ICE to Cut Ties With Jail That Sicced Dogs on Migrants. truthout.org 
In a move hailed as "a major win" by migrant rights advocates, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced it is moving to end migrant detention at two county jails under federal investigation for alleged abuses including forced sterilizations and unleashing dogs on detainees. | DHS said in a
(2021-05-21). The feds want him to spend 20 years in jail for a single phone call, but their case is falling apart. therealnews.com 
The case of Baltimore business owner Sean Weston provides a stark example of our criminal justice system's lack of equity. We also speak to James Gibson, a man who spent 29 years wrongfully imprisoned after being brutalized and tortured by Chicago police.
(2021-05-21). Prison is a university for activists, says Abahlali's George Bonono who was released on bail. peoplesdispatch.org George Bonono spoke to Peoples Dispatch about the conditions in prison and reminisced about the struggles of the shack-dwellers movement's eKhenana occupation.
(2021-05-21). A Day of Action: Educators Pledge to Teach the Truth, June 12. popularresistance.org Lawmakers in at least 15 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history.
(2021-05-21). Grand Rapids' Fingerprinting Policy is a Constitutional Nightmare. Michigan's Top Court can End It. aclu.org For more than 30 years, Grand Rapids, Michigan police have engaged in the egregious, unconstitutional practice of detaining people on the street and then fingerprinting and photographing anyone who isn't carrying an ID, all without a warrant. In the process, they have disproportionately targeted Black people, young people, and lower-income people. The
(2021-05-21). West Africa: ECOWAS Court Orders Cape Verde to Release Venezuelan Diplomat Saab. orinocotribune.com Abuja — Eight days after the African Bar Association's (AfBA) warning to Cape Verde Island over the detention of a Venezuelan diplomat, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court has ruled that the arrest and detention was illegal. | On Monday, the ECOWAS court in Abuja said diplomat Alex Saab should be released and paid $200,000 for unlawful detention. | The AfBA on March 8 had also ordered Cape Verde Island to immediately release Mr. Saab, an accredited Venezuelan special envoy and alternate permanent representative to the African Union. | Mr. Saab was arrested by the Cape Verdean author…
(2021-05-21). Sunday 5/30: A Perspective from David Hartsough Peace and Civil Rights Activist, and Author. indybay.org Join Our Zoom Forum with David Hartsough | zoom.us/j/2200241232?pwd=aCt1dWI0OGxUdUxjeUJ5K0xSY09uUT09 | Meeting ID: 220 024 1232 | Passcode: 328697…
(2021-05-20). Saturday 5/22: Protest US financed oppression in Palestine/Israel. indybay.org Ocean and Water Street; Santa Cruz…
(2021-05-20). Tuesday 5/18: Protest US backed oppression in Palestine. indybay.org Clock tower on Water Street (near Pacific) Santa Cruz…
(2021-05-20). Communist Party condemns 'ethnic cleansing' & urges sanctions against Israel. challenge-magazine.org 
The Communist Party has strongly condemned what it called the "ethnic cleansing" of East Jerusalem and Israel's bombardment of Gaza. "The murderous assault of the Netanyahu regime and what can only be described as the Israeli Offence Force has exposed — yet again — the brutal character of the Israeli state's illegal occupation and incarceration of Palestinian lands", Robert Griffiths told the Party's Executive Committee on Sunday (16 May 2021). Britain's Communists also condemned the refusal of the US, British and European Union governments to take any meaningful action against the Israeli state's "cr…
(2021-05-20). US Closes 2 Immigration Detention Centers Over Abuse Scandal. telesurenglish.net U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday stopped detaining migrants in two immigration detention centers in Georgia and Massachusetts over complaints of abuses against the inmates. | RELATED: | "We will not tolerate the mistreatment of individuals in civil immigration detention centers," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, adding that both centers are under investigation for being overcrowded and having ove…
(2021-05-20). End To ICE Contracts In Bristol County, Massachusetts. popularresistance.org The FANG Collective is happy to announce that ICE will be cancelling all contracts with Bristol County, Massachusetts. This includes their 287(g) contract which trains deputies to collaborate with ICE and perform immigration agent duties, and their IGSA contract which turned the Bristol County House of Correction into an ICE detention center. | See: Biden administration ends ICE contract with Bristol County Sheriff's Office amid federal probe into alleged excessive force against immigrant detainees | In the summer 2018, FANG launched its Shut Down ICE campaign in Bristol County with a nonviolent direct action tha…
(2021-05-20). US Ends Use of 2 Immigration Jails Accused of Mistreatment. latinorebels.com WASHINGTON (AP) — A detention facility in Georgia where women claim they were subjected to unwanted medical procedures and a Massachusetts jail that has drawn complaints of inhumane conditions will no longer be used to detain immigrants, the Biden administration said Thursday.
(2021-05-20). Guatemala: Seven Inmates Were Beheaded in a Prison Riot. telesurenglish.net Guatemala's National Civil Police (PNC) reported the deaths of at least 14 inmates, seven of whom were beheaded in a prison riot on Wednesday. | RELATED: | The massacre took place around 16.00 local time at the Cantel Rehabilitation Farm in the Quetzaltenango Department. | The prison's capacity was over 200 percent overloaded. There were 2,252 inmates at the moment of the incidents. | According to the PCN, the mur…
(2021-05-20). GOP role in a conspiracy to kill democracy exposed. peoplesworld.org 
The GOP and extreme right-wing groups are conspiring against U.S. constitutional democracy in a two-pronged scheme to ram voter suppression laws through state legislatures and block the passage of historic voting rights legislation in Congress. Millions in dark money are fueling this plot, carried out under cover of the "Big Lie" of voter fraud. The …
(2021-05-20). FANG announces end to ICE contracts in Bristol County, Massachusetts. popularresistance.org The FANG Collective is happy to announce that ICE will be cancelling all contracts with Bristol County, Massachusetts. This includes their 287(g) contract which trains deputies to collaborate with ICE and perform immigration agent duties, and their IGSA contract which turned the Bristol County House of Correction into an ICE detention center.
(2021-05-20). Meet Kimberly and Yashira, Two High School Students Leading the Fight for Broadband Access. aclu.org Kimberly Vazquez and Yashira "Yoshi" Valenzuela are two Baltimore high school students who live in households that experience frequent power cuts, particularly when too many electronics are plugged in at once. When their classes went virtual last year, it didn't take long to realize they had a serious problem. Participating in class required connectivity to high-speed, broadband internet, and the low-cost plans their families could afford
(2021-05-20). Bolivia's Prosecutor Office Adds Two More Charges Against Anez. telesurenglish.net On Thursday, Bolivia's Prosecutor Office announced that two charges had been added to the case against former de facto president Jeanine Anez, who has been imprisoned in La Paz for over two months. | RELATED: | The Attorney General of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Juan Lanchipa, explained to local media outlets that "the State Attorney General's Office has proposed the expansion of the investigation against Añez…
(2021-05-20). Sonoma County Jail and Mental Health. indybay.org The investigative sociology report conducted by Sonoma State University's sociology students reveals the relationship between the Sonoma County Jail environment and mental health. Through conducting multiple interviews with inmates and staff the research group was able to conclude the findings stated below. The findings of this research show that inmates and staff from the Sonoma County Jail desire better services relating to mental health as well as an overall better environment.
(2021-05-20). 'The First Step of Many': Advocates Welcome Move to Close ICE Lockups at 2 County Jails. commondreams.org "Bristol exemplifies how the system as a whole is fundamentally flawed and we call on the Biden administration to continue to cut detention contracts and shut down facilities for good," urged Silky Shah of the Detention Watch Collective. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/abolish-ice.jpg …
(2021-05-20). 'Tortured to Death': Video Showing Fatal Louisiana Arrest of Unarmed Black Man Sparks Outrage. commondreams.org "A system that produces such extreme levels of violence cannot be reformed," asserted the ACLU of Louisiana, "it must be dismantled." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ronald-greene.jpg …
(2021-05-20). Saving the Spotted Frog From Grazing Livestock: a Good Beginning in Oregon. counterpunch.org It is not every day that one can claim success in fighting public land degradation from domestic livestock. But the Fremont Winema National Forest in Oregon finally responded to conservationists' concerns (and lawsuits) about the impact of livestock grazing on endangered Oregon spotted frog and other wildlife within the Antelope Grazing allotment. The allotment and