(2018-12-11). Thailand: Don't Return Cambodian Dissident. hrw.org 
| | Rath Rott Mony | © Private | (New York) — The Thai government should not forcibly return the dissident Rath Rott Mony to Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said today. There are strong reasons to believe that Mony would face politically motivated prosecution, wrongful detention, and ill-treatment in Cambodia. | "Thailand should not do Cambodia's bidding by forcibly returning an out…
(2018-12-11). Democrats begin open discussion of impeachment. wsws.org Two top members of the House Democratic leadership said that Trump could be impeached or jailed over alleged campaign finance violations.
(2018-12-11). 'White people are the best!' Columbia probes student's viral racial rant (VIDEO). rt.com 
A Columbia physics student has become famous overnight, not for his research, but for his racially charged rant in front of a group of multi-ethnic students, prompting the university to respond and launch an investigation.
(2018-12-10). How the 'Unite the Right' murder trial helped debunk alt-right myths. splcenter.org Within hours of the arrest of neo-Nazi sympathizer James Alex Fields Jr. and the death of 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer after the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the racist "alt-right" began spinning conspiracy theories about the collision that killed Heyer and wounded multiple other people.
(2018-12-10). A Marxist theory‚Ä® of women's oppression. mronline.org 
In the new introduction to Lise Vogel's Marxism and the Oppression of Women: Toward a Unitary Theory, Susan Ferguson and David McNally comment on the book's "curious life-history." They describe it, quite correctly, as a book that has lived largely in obscurity in spite of its innovative approach to the question of Marxism and women's […] | Source
(2018-12-10). Doctors Who Facilitate Torture Must Be Held to Account. aclu.org To prevent further stains on the medical profession, the names of those involved in torture and executions need to be made public. | Physicians hold a special position in U.S. society. They are given a place of honor in return for the expectation that they will use their knowledge and skills in the public interest and adhere to a clear set of ethical standards. | Under pressure from the government to misuse their expertise, though, some doctors have been willing to rationalize cooperation in unethical behavior. In recent years, nowhere has such ethical deviation been so starkly on display as in the case of the pa…
(2018-12-10). Campaigning Underway in Bangladesh Polls amid Opposition Arrests. telesurenglish.net There is no opposition candidate for prime minister, hundreds have been arrested and incumbent premier Sheikh Hasina stands accused of ignoring democratic checks on her power, but Bangladesh began campaigning Monday for a year-end election. | RELATED: | Bangladesh Creating Island 'Prison Camps' for Rohingya Refugees | As the election campaign was launched, with candidates holding processions and distributing leaflets, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which hopes to deny Has…
(2018-12-10). NRA: You Can No Longer Stay Silent. naacp.org NAACP, the nation's foremost civil rights organization released the following statement to the National Rifle Association (NRA): "The senseless killing of Emantic J. Bradford and the silence from the NRA has confirmed that the 2nd amendment does not apply to legally licensed Black gun owners. Instead of standing by their principles, the NRA continues to demonize and […]
(2018-12-10). Only Congress can ultimately deal with Trump's crimes. peoplesworld.org 
There was an explosion of court filings last Friday that involved prosecutors accusing the President of ordering felonious violations of campaign finance law during his campaign and recommending prison sentences for Paul Manafort, his campaign manager and for Michael Cohen, his lawyer and "fixer." The news of the Trump crimes got pretty complicated as Friday …
(2018-12-10). Campaigning Underway in Bangladesh Polls amid Opposition Arrests. telesurenglish.net There is no opposition candidate for prime minister, hundreds have been arrested and incumbent premier Sheikh Hasina stands accused of ignoring democratic checks on her power, but Bangladesh began campaigning Monday for a year-end election. | RELATED: | Bangladesh Creating Island 'Prison Camps' for Rohingya Refugees | As the election campaign was launched, with candidates holding processions and distributing leaflets, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which hopes to deny Has…
(2018-12-10). WATCH NOW: NAACP Represents Communities of Color at United Nations Climate Conference in Poland. naacp.org Katherine Egland, Member NAACP National Board of Directors and Chairwoman, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, was among an NAACP delegation at the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties #24.
(2018-12-10). Saudi opposition joins forces in London to tackle 'oppression'. aljazeera.com Speakers at Second Saudi Diaspora Conference say time to unite is now after murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
(2018-12-10). As Polish Gov't Promotes Coal, Advocate Warns Coal Hastens Climate Change, Devastates Human Health. democracynow.org 
This year's U.N. climate summit is in Katowice, Poland, and the Polish government is using the summit to promote coal, with several state-owned Polish coal companies sponsoring parts of the talks. Democracy Now! visited the Guido coal mine near Katowice, which has been turned into a mining museum, to speak with Polish environmental lawyer Bartosz Kwiatkowski. He is the director of the Frank Bold Foundation, which is involved in numerous lawsuits challenging the expansion of coal mining in Poland.
(2018-12-10). Driven to Consumption and Money out of Nothing. indybay.org Growth originally created a material prosperity about which earlier generations could only dream. However, more economic growth does not lead to people being happier anymore. We are prisoners of a system that forces us to permanent growth. Banks create credits at the touch of a button, wages stagnate, schools decay and Goldman Sachs is in the government. Who benefits from this?>
(2018-12-10). A GOP Governor Has a Chance to Fix a Blue State's Draconian Approach to Paroling Juvenile Offenders. theintercept.com 
Larry Hogan, re-elected to his second and final term, should give juveniles with life sentences a real chance at parole, criminal justice reformers urge.
(2018-12-10). China summons American ambassador over detention of Huawei executive. wsws.org The highly provocative actions of the US are part of the Trump administration's wider campaign to prevent Chinese corporate giants from challenging American technological supremacy.
(2018-12-10). Iran Jails 30 Men For Economic Crimes After Public Outcry Against Corruption. iranian.com Fast-track courts set up in Iran to fight economic crime have jailed 30 men for as long as 20 years each, the judiciary said on Sunday, as the country faces renewed US sanctions and a public outcry against profiteering and corruption. The new Islamic revolutionary courts – whose rulings cannot be appealed, except for death […]
(2018-12-08). A day after a neo-Nazi is convicted of murder, associates of the country's oldest, most violent skinhead groups charged with hate crimes. splcenter.org Individuals associated with some of the country's oldest and most violent racist skinhead groups have been charged with hate crimes in Washington state, just hours after a jury convicted a neo-Nazi of murder for his actions at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2018-12-08). Myanmar: Quash Conviction of Kachin Activists. hrw.org 
| | People displaced in the conflict between the Burmese military and the Kachin Independence Army are seen at a church in Tanai Township, Kachin State, June 14, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | (Bangkok) — Myanmar authorities should quash the convictions of three ethnic Kachin activists found guilty of defaming the military, Human Rights Watch said today. Zau Jat, Lum Zawng, and Nang Pu were each sentenced to six months in prison and a 500,000 kyat…
(2018-12-07). The McCain and Bush Death Tours: Establishment Rituals in How to be a Proper Ruler. counterpunch.org 
The prolonged nationally televised commemorations of the racist, corporatist, and imperialist killers John McCain and George H.W. Bush — both privileged sons of the United States military industrial complex — have been nauseating for any decent and historically knowledgeable human being to behold. But the national rituals attached to the deaths of these monstrous butchers More
(2018-12-07). No Relief: William Barr Is as Bad as Jeff Sessions — if Not Worse. aclu.org Barr's record suggests he will continue the former attorney general's worst policies while promoting a sweeping view of executive power. | Donald Trump's nomination of William Barr to succeed Jeff Sessions as attorney general ought to raise alarm bells across the country. Barr is as bad as Sessions was on the full range of civil rights issues that fall with the Justice Department's purview. And he's a longstanding advocate of expansive executive power. | It's almost certainly the latter view that attracted President Trump, whose own power is likely to be called into question should the Mueller investigation…
(2018-12-07). New NYPD Drone Policy Represents a Serious Threat to Privacy. aclu.org The police department's drone policy places no meaningful restrictions on the invasive technology's use and threatens New Yorkers' privacy. | The New York Police Department announced this week that it will deploy 14 new drones as part of its policing activities across New York City. The use of this highly invasive technology represents a new frontier for both public safety and abuses of power. | The department did reach out to the NYCLU to ask us for input on a draft of the policy governing the use of its dr…
(2018-12-07). Neo-Nazi sympathizer found guilty in 'Unite the Right' trial of murdering Heather Heyer. splcenter.org James Alex Fields Jr., a young neo-Nazi sympathizer from Ohio, was found guilty of first-degree murder and multiple other charges on Friday in a trial stemming from last year's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2018-12-07). CIA Torture Killed My Father. I Want to Know What They Did With His Body. aclu.org The truth hurts, but it also helps. | This piece was originally published by The Washington Post. | I believe there are two paths in life — the paths of right and wrong — and that all people know the right path in their hearts. So I believe that people in America, if they can read this, will know the right thing for their government to do is tell me and my family what happened to my father's body. | My father was Gul Rahman. Sixteen ye…
(2018-12-07). A Team With a Racist Name Passes Judgment on Colin Kaepernick. thenation.com A Team With a Racist Name Passes Judgment on Colin Kaepernick…
(2018-12-07). Russia: Human Rights Defender Jailed. hrw.org 
| | Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomarev at an All-Russian convention on the protection of human rights. | © 2017 Anton Novoderezhkin\TASS via Getty Images |
| (December 10) Lev Ponomarev filed a court petition to attend the funeral on December 11, 2018 for Ludmila Alexeeva, the champion of Russia's human rights movement and Ponomarev's close friend and colleague. | On December 10, the Tverskoy District Court in Moscow r…
(2018-12-06). Americans Endorsed Voting Rights in 2018, but Some State Lawmakers Want to Sabotage These Victories. aclu.org 
State legislators are ignoring their voters' wishes and engaging in new tactics to suppress the vote. | The 2018 election ushered in a wave of voting rights victories. Voters in Florida, Michigan, Maryland, and Nevada all made it easier to register and vote, showing that voters reject voter suppression efforts and <...
(2018-12-06). Triumph of the Swill: New Doc Puts Roger Ailes in the No Spin Zone. progressive.org The best exposé on Fox in years dives into its former chief's history of racism and the sexual misconduct that would ultimately be his undoing.
(2018-12-06). Re-education Camps, Infiltration, Surveillance: China Criticized over Persecution of Uyghur Muslims. democracynow.org 
The United Nations and human rights groups have accused China's government of setting up massive anti-Muslim "re-education" camps in the northwest Xinjiang province to disappear, jail and brainwash Uyghur Muslims. Some estimates put the population in the camps at up to 2 million. After months of denials, China acknowledged their existence in October, saying they are part of efforts to counter extremism. But Uyghurs say it's a form of collective punishment—and that they live under a high-tech surveillance state designed to eradicate Islam. We speak to Rushan Abbas, a Uyghur-American activist based in Washing…
(2018-12-06). How George H.W. Bush and Other Conservatives Undermined his Americans with Disabilities Act Legacy. progressive.org Bush deserves credit for what he did to make the ADA happen. But federal civil rights laws are just empty symbolic gestures unless the executive branch vigorously enforces them and judges take them seriously.
(2018-12-05). Headlines for December 5, 2018. democracynow.org Senators Say Crown Prince Is Guilty in Khashoggi Murder After CIA Briefing, Mueller Not Seeking Jail Time for Flynn, Cites "Substantial Assistance", Politico: NRCC Emails Hacked in 2018 Midterms, Georgia Voters Elect Republican Secretary of State, Congressmembers Call for Labor Sec. Acosta Probe over Epstein Plea Deal, DOJ Senior Official Allowed to Get Away with Sexual Assault, Federal Gov. Shuts Down for Nat'l Day of Mourning, Somalia: U.S. Reopens Permanent Diplomatic Presence, Pompeo Gives Russia 60 Days to Comply with Nuclear Treaty, West Bank: Israeli Forces Kill Disabled Palestinian in Overnight Raid, Moro…
(2018-12-05). Why I Ended the Horror of Long-Term Solitary in Colorado's Prisons. aclu.org 
Long-term isolation has disastrous physical and mental health effects that can amount to torture. The practice must be abandoned across the nation. | In Colorado, long-term solitary confinement used to be a tool that was regularly used in corrections. The problem is that it was not corrective at all. It was indiscriminate punishment that too often amounted to torture and did not make anyone safer. | The practice was pervasive because it was considered reasonable and effective. It was neither. In practice, long-term isolation punished people in a way that not only lacked humanity but sense. And when a program lack…
(2018-12-05). Does the Second Amendment Protect Only White Gun Owners? aclu.org Recent police killings of Black men for possessing guns they were legally carrying shows the racial double standards of "the good guy with a gun." | The most common refrain from gun rights supporters in the wake of mass shootings or other gun violence is that the best response to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Yet in recent weeks, we have seen two Black men, a group already disproportionately victimized by police use of lethal force, shot and killed by police while protecting those around them w…
(2018-12-05). This State Agency Is Refusing to Help a Trans Woman Who Says She Was Assaulted by Police. aclu.org New York's Division of Human Rights says it cannot investigate alleged police and corrections abuses because they are not public accommodations. | DeAnna LeTray of Watertown, New York, was arrested in September 2017 during a domestic dispute with her daughter's boyfriend, who she says pointed a gun at her. | LeTray, who is trans, says the Watertown police officers who arrested her mocked her gender expression and questioned her gender identity. Then, at the police station, LeTray says police ripped her hair off her head and, once she got to the jail, she was stripped naked and sexually assaulted. | LeTray filed…
(2018-12-05). President Trump Is Accelerating the Militarization of the Southwest Border. aclu.org Under President Trump, the slide toward a fully militarized border between the U.S. and Mexico is happening rapidly to the detriment of civil rights. | For decades, the ACLU has fought back against the militarization of domestic law enforcement agencies and the use of the military in our communities. Nowhere is this militarization more pronounced than on the border between the U.S. and Mexico — and President Trump is only making it worse. | The creation of the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11 accelerated the government's operations on the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP…
(2018-12-04). Five things to know from the third day of testimony in the 'Unite the Right' murder trial. splcenter.org The injuries that took Heather Heyer's life after last year's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia captivated the court on the third day of testimony in the first-degree murder trial of neo-Nazi sympathizer James Alex Fields Jr.
(2018-12-04). Thomas Farr's Judicial Nomination Defeated. naacp.org Late in the afternoon on Thursday, November 29, 2018, Senator Tim Scott (SC) announced that he intended to vote against NAACP-opposed Attorney Thomas Farr's nomination to a life-time appointment to the Federal Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Senator Scott's decision, along with the objections of 50 of his colleagues, was the deciding […]
(2018-12-04). Sorry To Bother You offers rich lessons in seeking radical social change. greenleft.org.au 
Sorry to Bother You
| Written & directed by Boots Riley
| In cinemas now | This review includes mild spoilers. | As an Australian living abroad, incidents of Australians being racist and/or misogynistisic that attract attention from international media outlets are frequently forwarded to me in anticipation of a seething refrain. | My response is typically motivated by a mix of rage and embarrassment, as well as a deep concern for how racial capitalism has been almost completely normalised. I am deeply concerned by the fact that not only is our social and political climate ill-equipped to address racism, i…
(2018-12-03). Mehdi Hasan on George H.W. Bush's Ignored Legacy: War Crimes, Racism and Obstruction of Justice. democracynow.org 
George H.W. Bush died in Houston on Friday night at the age of 94. Bush was elected the 41st president of the United States in 1988, becoming the first and only former CIA director to lead the country. He served as Ronald Reagan's vice president from 1981 to 1989. Since Bush's death, the media has honored the former president by focusing on his years of service and his call as president for a kinder, gentler America. But the headlines have largely glossed over and ignored other parts of Bush's legacy. We look at the 1991 Gulf War, Bush's pardoning of six Reagan officials involved in the Iran-Contra scandal and ho…
(2018-12-03). SPLC brings first lawsuit challenging Florida sheriffs' latest collaboration agreements to detain people for ICE. splcenter.org The SPLC sued Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay today for illegally holding a U.S. citizen in the county jail on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold.
(2018-12-03). Hatewatch Headlines 12/3/2018. splcenter.org Black workers recount Tesla factory racism; Facebook report targeted George Soros; Milo's court documents reveal he is deep in debt; and more.
(2018-11-30). The five most compelling moments so far in the 'Unite the Right' murder trial. splcenter.org A juror clasped his hand over his mouth in court on Thursday as prosecutors played a video showing a young neo-Nazi sympathizer plowing his car into a group of anti-racist protestors after last year's "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2018-11-30). Not So Black & White: NYT Touts Rural Voters, Buries Racism in Mississippi Election Analysis. fair.org 
The New York Times ( 11/24/18) warns that Democrats speaking "boldly" risk turning off approximately one-seventh of the electorate. | Stop me if you've heard this one before: During a high-profile election, a major newspaper decides to stubbornly focus its coverage on an increasingly narrow sliver of white voters, while minimizing the racism that colors the electorate and the eventual Republican victor's campaign. | If this sounds like a repeat of the mainstream press's response to Trump's 2016 campaign, well, it is.
(2018-11-30). US condemned for tear-gassing refugees, children. greenleft.org.au 
Legal experts and human rights advocates have denounced the tear gassing of children and other asylum seekers by US forces at the Mexico border on November 25. | "The migrants at our southern border include mothers and small children exercising their legal, human right to seek asylum," declared the ACLU in a tweet on November 26. It told the US Customs and Border Protection agency: "Tear gassing children is out…
(2018-11-29). Hatewatch Headlines 11/30/2018. splcenter.org Vote-suppressing judge's appointment falls shy; GOP offended by its racists being called out; Tucker Carlson is neo-Nazi site's favorite pundit; and more.
(2018-10-18). A Tribute to Ron Dellums, Radical. zcomm.org Ron Dellums appreciated the struggle against racism is permanently joined with those against sexism, militarism, and capitalism…
(2018-10-18). Trump Administration's Warped View of Religious Freedom Abroad. zcomm.org Religious freedom arguments are increasingly being used to challenge anti-discrimination policies and access to services…