Author Archives: admin

2019-07-18: Social Media Postees

The Dark Side of the Moon Mission
James Jeffrey | progressive.org | 2019-07-18
"For that kind of money," Vonnegut cracked on the CBS Evening News, "the least [NASA] can do is discover God." Civil rights activists, anti-Vietnam War protesters and even top scientists were skeptical of the Apollo moon mission at the time.
progressive.org/dispatches/dark-side-of-moon-mission-jeffrey-190718/

Thousands join vigil at Los Angeles detention center
Katerina Moore | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-18
On July 12, members of ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation joined thousands of people for a vigil outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles.
liberationnews.org/thousands-join-vigil-at-los-angeles-detention-center/

Trump's Anti-Immigrant Policies Are a Voter Suppression Strategy
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-07-18
| Republicans lose when the vote expands. We saw this with the record turnout in the 2018 midterms, and we've seen it in the drop in Republican Party affiliation over time. This is why Republicans are tirelessly devoted to voter ID laws, disenfranchising people caught in the criminal punishment…
truthout.org/articles/trumps-anti-immigrant-policies-are-a-voter-suppression-strategy/

4 Sentenced For Murder of Bolivian Government Minister
telesurenglish.net | 2019-07-18
4 cooperative miners have been handed jail sentences for their involvement in the murder of Bolivian government minister Rodolfo Illanes in 2016. The 4 were part of anti-government protests against a mining law which they say benefited union miners over 'cooperative' ones. | RELATED: | Evo Gives Free Modern Farming Equipment to Bolivian Campesinos | On Thursday, Rene Cochi Trujillo, Silvestre Flores Ruiz, Carlos Castro Manuel y Julián Pinto Condori were each handed 5 y…
telesurenglish.net/news/4-Sentenced-For-Murder-of-Bolivian-Government-Minister-20190718-0013.html

Japanese Americans and allies protest the unjust detention of children at Fort Sill
Mike Ishii | indybay.org | 2019-07-18
Fort Sill | 2999 N.W. Sheridan Road | Lawton, Oklahoma…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/07/16/18824794.php

Jewish Activists of 'Never Again' Action Oppose Immigrant Detention Centers
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-07-18
Molly Amster of Jews United for Justice explains why the concentration camp analogy is more than just rhetoric when it comes to Trump's detention camps and policies…
therealnews.com/stories/jewish-activists-of-never-again-action-oppose-immigrant-detention-centers

The vindictive campaign against Chelsea Manning, America's political prisoner
wsws.org | 2019-07-18
Daily fines placed on Manning for refusing to testify against Julian Assange doubled on Tuesday, threatening the courageous whistleblower with personal bankruptcy. She has been jailed for more than four months.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/18/pers-j18.html

Why Is Homeownership Among Blacks Lower Than Ever?
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-07-18
Segregation and housing discrimination are affecting Black homeownership today as much as in the days before the 1964 Civil Rights Act. What happened and how can this be reversed?
therealnews.com/stories/why-is-homeownership-among-blacks-lower-than-ever

"They Didn't Do Their Job": Eric Garner Family Outraged DOJ Won't Prosecute His Death by Police
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-17
It's been five years since Eric Garner, an African-American father of six, was killed when a white New York City police officer wrestled him to the ground and applied a fatal chokehold, while Garner, who was unarmed, said "I can't breathe" 11 times. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced they will not bring civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer implicated in Garner's death. The move reportedly came after Attorney General William Barr ordered that the case be dropped. Earlier this year, a medical examiner testified that it was a chokehold that triggered an asthma attack that led to Ga…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/17/eric_garner_justice_dept_no_charges

Five years after Eric Garner's death, no charges will be filed
Michelle Zacarias | peoplesworld.org | 2019-07-17
The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday, July 16, that it will not pursue federal civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City police officer who placed Eric Garner in the chokehold that killed him. The decision brings to a close the criminal portion of the case and came just a day prior …
peoplesworld.org/article/five-years-after-eric-garners-death-no-charges-will-be-filed/

SPLC sues Trump administration over new rule that makes migrants who pass through other countries ineligible for asylum
splcenter.org | 2019-07-17
The SPLC and its partners filed a lawsuit and an emergency motion this week seeking to block a new Trump administration rule that categorically bars asylum for migrants who cross the southern border without applying for and being denied asylum in any country that they pass through on their way to the U.S.
splcenter.org/news/2019/07/17/splc-sues-trump-administration-over-new-rule-makes-migrants-who-pass-through-other

The Warden Tried to Cover Up a Crisis at His Freezing Brooklyn Jail — Then He Got Promoted
Nick Pinto | theintercept.com | 2019-07-17
The Bureau of Prisons hasn't released its investigation into what went wrong at the New York jail, but the man in charge just got promoted anyway.
theintercept.com/2019/07/17/mdc-brooklyn-jail-warden-promoted/

Drug lord 'El Chapo' sentenced to life in US prison
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-07-17
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín " El Chapo" Guzmán has been sentenced to life behind bars in a US prison, a humbling end for a crime lord once notorious for his ability to kill, bribe or tunnel his way out of trouble.A federal judge in Brooklyn handed down the sentence on Wednesday, five months after Guzmán's conviction in an epic drug-trafficking case.The 62-year-old, who had been protected in Mexico by an army of gangsters and an elaborate corruption operation, was taken to the US to stand trial after he twice esc…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2019/07/17/drug-lord-el-chapo-sentenced-to-life-in-us-prison/

Lawyer beat oil giant in court, but now faces jail and millions in fines
Joe Emersberger | thecanary.co | 2019-07-17
From 1964 to 1990, Texaco (later absorbed by Chevron) dumped 16 billion gallons of toxic waste in Ecuador's Amazon. The CIA played a key role in bringing to power the dictatorship that first allowed Texaco to work in Ecuador. Philip Agee, the great whistleblower of that era, descr…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2019/07/17/lawyer-beat-oil-giant-in-court-but-now-faces-jail-and-millions-in-fines/

Migrants Are Fleeing Something Worse
Megan Klein | progressive.org | 2019-07-16
Clearly, if the appalling conditions in detention centers are an improvement from what they are fleeing, these migrants have a sufficient basis for seeking asylum in the United States.
progressive.org/op-eds/migrants-are-fleeing-something-worse-Klein-190516/

2020 Hopeful Julián Castro Vows to Break Up ICE & Calls Trump's New Asylum Rule Unconstitutional
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-16
As Trump faced national rebuke for his racist comments against four progressive congresswomen, his administration announced a new rule essentially banning most immigrants from seeking refuge in the United States. The rule, which the ACLU has already vowed to challenge in court, would deny asylum to any migrant who failed to apply for protection in another country they passed through on the way to the U.S. border–including children traveling alone. If enacted, the law would effectively block people from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, as well as Haitians, Cubans and many people from African countries, who…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/16/julian_castro_trump_racist_attacks

Cruelty Is the Point: Communities Fight Back as Threat of ICE Raids Terrorize Immigrant Families
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-15
This weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched a handful of raids across the country as part of President Trump's push to detain and deport thousands of undocumented migrants in 10 major cities. Agents in Chicago reportedly arrested a mother and her children only to quickly release them. Arrests were also attempted in New York City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Harlem, where immigrants reportedly refused to open their doors to ICE agents because they did not have warrants. Authorities say more raids are planned this week, prompting fear but also generating mass protests on the ground. We speak…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/15/immigration_detention_ice_raids_elora_mukherjee

Hundreds join united action in Palo Alto, Calif., to shut down Palantir Technologies for complicity with ICE
Jon Britton | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-15
In a great show of unity in action, more than a dozen groups from all over the San Francisco Bay Area joined together July 19 to protest at Palantir Technologies in Palo Alto for the company's provision of software facilitating ICE raids, detentions and deportations.
liberationnews.org/hundreds-join-united-action-in-palo-alto-calif-to-shut-down-palantir-technologies-for-complicity-with-ice/

Author of 'Emanuel Nine' church massacre book to speak at Civil Rights Memorial Center
splcenter.org | 2019-07-15
As the prosecution made its closing argument, photos of the nine people that Dylann Roof had shot to death in a Charleston, South Carolina, church appeared on the screen in bloody, gruesome detail.
splcenter.org/news/2019/07/18/author-emanuel-nine-church-massacre-book-speak-civil-rights-memorial-center

How Some Florida Prosecutors Are Pushing Back Against GOP Voter Suppression Efforts
Maryam Saleh | theintercept.com | 2019-07-15
The GOP legislature is trying to take the vote away from people with past legal woes — and some prosecutors are looking for ways around a new restriction.
theintercept.com/2019/07/15/florida-voting-rights-amendment-4/

Activists in Oshkosh, WI call for closure of Trump's concentration camps
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-07-14
Oshkosh, WI – On the evening of July 12, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Students for a Democratic Society (UWO SDS) hosted a Lights for Liberty rally, demanding an end to the Trump administration's detention policy and the closure of the concentration camps, where tens of thousands of immigrants are being held in clear breach of international law. The call to action drew roughly 30 people from Oshkosh and the surrounding Fox Valley area. | The event started with a silent candlelight vigil to help bring awareness to the disastrous conditions in the camps. The action featured 12 different people speaking…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/7/14/activists-oshkosh-wi-call-closure-trumps-concentration-camps

Pompeo's New "Human Rights" Commission is Up To No Good
aclu.org | 2019-07-12
The Trump administration appears to be trying to find new moral footing for the president's discriminatory policies. | This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally announced the creation of a "Commission on Unalienable Rights." Its stated purpose, according to a notice published in the Federal Register in May, is to provide "fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation's founding principles of natural law and natural rights." | Th…
aclu.org/blog/human-rights/pompeos-new-human-rights-commission-no-good

"Unconscionable & Unacceptable": Rep. Barragán Decries Detention of Migrant Children in Prison Cells
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-11
Yazmin Juárez, the Guatemalan mother whose child died from a lung infection after being held in an ICE detention center, testified before members of a congressional panel Wednesday. She shared the story of her daughter, 19-month-old Mariee, who died last year shortly after being released from the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. Juárez filed a $60 million lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Health and Human Services. The House subcommittee convened to examine the treatment of refugees in U.S.
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/11/nanette_barragan_immigration_jails_dismantling_dhs

CBP Can't Detain Domestic Flight Passengers for Refusing Suspicionless ID Checks
aclu.org | 2019-07-11
The Constitution protects passengers deplaning domestic flights just as it protects people on the street or in a car. | In February 2017, two U.S. CBP officers stood on a jet bridge at New York's JFK Airport to meet Delta Flight 1583 as it taxied to the gate upon arrival from San Francisco. As passengers prepared to deplane, they were told by flight attendants — at the direction of the two officers — that all passengers would have to show identification documents to the officer…
aclu.org/blog/national-security/cbp-cant-detain-domestic-flight-passengers-refusing-suspicionless-id-checks

Manuel Duran, journalist who reported on ICE, freed from detention
splcenter.org | 2019-07-11
Manuel Duran, an investigative journalist who was detained after reporting on the collusion between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, was released today from ICE detention and will be reunited with his fiancée.
splcenter.org/news/2019/07/11/manuel-duran-journalist-who-reported-ice-freed-detention

Activists, students protest outside largest ICE prison in California
Cristian Alcaraz | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-11
Demonstrators call for the abolition of ICE, closure of concentration camps.
liberationnews.org/activists-students-protest-outside-largest-ice-prison-in-california/

The U.S. Women's Soccer World Cup Win Was a Victory for Title IX & the Fight for Equal Pay
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-11
Thousands gathered in Manhattan Wednesday to celebrate the U.S. women's national soccer team's fourth World Cup championship at a ticker tape parade that stretched up Broadway and past Wall Street. Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle and their teammates rode floats through New York City's Canyon of Heroes, ending their celebrations at a ceremony at City Hall. Supporters chanted "U.S.A.!" and "Equal pay!" The U.S women's World Cup victory came just months after members of the 2015 women's team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation over gender discrimination. Their high-profile fight for pay equity is focusing the s…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/11/uswnt_world_cup_win_title_ix

The Inhumane Treatment of Migrants Is Not New. It's a Key Part of a Decades-Old Bipartisan Policy
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-10
More than a week after lawmakers flocked to the U.S.-Mexico border to observe the horrible treatment of refugee children and families in immigration jails, reports of unsafe and unsanitary conditions for asylum seekers are continuing. In Clint, Texas, the Border Patrol station that garnered international attention for jailing hundreds of migrant children without access to sufficient food, water, beds or medical care now has a spreading outbreak of scabies, shingles and chickenpox, according to border agents. In Yuma, Arizona, NBC reports that jailed migrant children have been subjected to mistreatment and sexual…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/10/john_carlos_frey_immigration_detention_conditions

'Horrified at the sights': Coloradans protest ICE facilities and detention profiteers
Jonathan Flowers | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-07
Human rights abuses are not just restricted to the border.
liberationnews.org/horrified-at-the-sights-coloradans-protest-ice-facilities-and-detention-profiteers/

Japanese Internment Camp Survivor: 'Never Again Is NOW!'
Dennis J Bernstein | progressive.org | 2019-07-03
A filmmaker and therapist tells of her family's internment in a maximum security camp during World War II, and her views on the current imprisonment of people from south of the border.
progressive.org/dispatches/never-again-is-now-internment-camps-protest-bernstein-190703/

I Spent 16 Months in Solitary Confinement and Now I'm Fighting to End It
aclu.org | 2019-07-03
A new report proves that the degrading conditions in solitary confinement continue to harm people and communities. | I was just 17 years old when I was sent to solitary confinement in "Camp J," one of the most severe lockdown units at one of America's most brutal prisons, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. I languished in solitary for 16 months. | Back then I didn't know that Louisiana was the solitary confinement capital of the world. All I knew was that I'd been convicted of a crime I didn't commit, and I had to maintain my humanity in one of the most dehumanizing places on earth. | It's called "23 and…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/solitary-confinement/i-spent-16-months-solitary-confinement-and-now-im

Thousands of Voices Are Telling the Supreme Court: Don't Roll Back LGBTQ Rights
aclu.org | 2019-07-03
Businesses, women CEOs, civil rights organizations, Republicans tell the Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ employees like Aimee Stephens and Don Zarda. | President Trump has told the Supreme Court it should be legal to fire someone just because they're LGBTQ. The President may be a bully, but he's just one voice. Today, more than 2,000 voices from across the country joined together to tell the Supreme Court: Don't roll back our rights. | The message came in the form of friend-of-the-court briefs–nearly 50 in all–filed in a…
aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/lgbt-nondiscrimination-protections/thousands-voices-are-telling-supreme-court-dont

SPLC sues Florida officials to keep citizens from losing right to vote again
splcenter.org | 2019-07-02
After completing her prison sentence and probation time, Rosemary McCoy had her voting rights restored and cast a ballot in the Jacksonville, Florida, runoff city council election earlier this year.
splcenter.org/news/2019/07/02/splc-sues-florida-officials-keep-citizens-losing-right-vote-again

Smart Ass Cripple: Happy Birthday Olmstead
Mike Ervin | progressive.org | 2019-06-29
Twenty years ago, a civil rights victory helped disabled people escape institutional life.
progressive.org/dispatches/smart-ass-cripple-happy-birthday-olmstead-ervin-190629/

Working in Prison, I Witnessed the Inhumane Conditions of Solitary for Incarcerated Women
aclu.org | 2019-06-28
Solitary confinement can amount to torture. One practitioner witnessed this first hand, and shares her story and her journey to action. | At the first checkpoint at Tennessee Prison for Women, there was a large, scrolling television screen behind the desk displaying the image of two pairs of hands — one pair with a key and one pair in handcuffs. The message read, "You can either be one of us or one of them." I had been working in the facility for less than a year, but this message exemplified an uneasiness I had long felt without articulating: The prison's faàßade of "rehabilitation" masked a system s…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/solitary-confinement/working-prison-i-witnessed-inhumane-conditions-solitary

Why the ACLU Is Suing Florida For Its New Poll Tax
aclu.org | 2019-06-28
The law forces returning citizens with criminal records to pay for the right to vote. | On November 6, 2018, nearly 65 percent of Florida voters–more than 5 million people–resoundingly approved Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to over a million of their fellow citizens. By passing Amendment 4, Floridians successfully ushered in the largest expansion of the electorate in nearly 50 years. The people of Florida did it on their own, using a constitutional ballot initiative, to finally achieve change where Florida politicians had failed. | Instead of celebrating this progress, Florida politicians are t…
aclu.org/blog/voting-rights/voter-restoration/why-aclu-suing-florida-its-new-poll-tax

Georgia Tried to Ban Abortion, So We Sued
aclu.org | 2019-06-28
Abortion bans place people in danger, and Georgia's is no exception. | Alabama. Arkansas. Kentucky. Ohio. And today, Georgia. That's the list of states where the ACLU has had to go to court over the last few months to challenge laws banning abortion. | The Georgia law bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy and is in clear violation of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. In fact, that is the whole point of the law. Georgia politicians, including Governor Brian Kemp, emboldened by President Trump's appointment of two new justices to the Supreme Court, think this is their chance to get the court to take aw…
aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/abortion/georgia-tried-ban-abortion-so-we-sued

How to Help Families at the Border Right Now
aclu.org | 2019-06-28
We know that a better future is possible, and we at the ACLU, along with our supporters and allies, are daring to create it. | The images of Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Valeria, who lost their lives trying to seek refuge in the United States, have left us haunted. They serve as an ever-important reminder of the urgency of the fight for immigrant justice on our southern border and the need to stand up to the Trump administration's policies denying humanitarian protection and basic due process to families fleeing for their lives. | We remain at the frontlines of the family separation fight…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/how-help-families-border-right-now

SPLC: Sentencing of James Alex Fields Jr., who killed Heather Heyer at 'Unite the Right,' will not heal victims or their families
Keegan Hankes, Intelligence Project | splcenter.org | 2019-06-28
James Alex Fields Jr., who was sentenced to life in prison today for murdering a woman who was protesting a white supremacist rally two years ago, is a remorseless killer and a domestic terrorist.
splcenter.org/news/2019/06/28/splc-sentencing-james-alex-fields-jr-who-killed-heather-heyer-unite-right-will-not-heal

Charlottesville Federal Court Sentences James Alex Fields to Life in Prison for 'Unite the Right' Killing
splcenter.org | 2019-06-28
A neo-Nazi sympathizer from Ohio received two consecutive and 27 concurrent life sentences in federal prison for killing a counterprotester and injuring others in the aftermath of 2017's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/06/28/charlottesville-federal-court-sentences-james-alex-fields-life-prison-unite-right-killing

UN Human Rights Head Visits Venezuela, Meets Maduro and Guaido
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-06-24
Michelle Bachelet commented on access to food and medicine, allegations of political prisoners, and the impact of sanctions, among other issues.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14554

Brian Mier on Brazilian Political Scandal
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2019-06-21
The Brazilian anti-corruption crusade, called Car Wash or Lava Jato, that put popular ex-president Lula da Silva in prison and paved the way for fascist president Jair Bolsanaro–all while being celebrated in the US corporate press–was actually, as critics contended, less interested in corruption than in keeping Lula's Workers Party out of power.
fair.org/home/brian-mier-on-brazilian-political-scandal/

The Coming Show Trial of Julian Assange
Chris Hedges | truthdig.com | 2019-06-17
LONDON–On Friday morning I was in a small courtroom at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. Julian Assange, held in Belmarsh Prison and dressed in a pale-blue prison shirt, appeared on a video screen directly in front of me. Assange, his gray hair and beard neatly trimmed, slipped on heavy, dark-frame glasses at the start of the proceedings. He listened intently as Ben Brandon, the prosecutor, seated at a narrow wooden table, listed the crimes he allegedly had committed and called for his extradition to the United States to face charges that could result in a sentence of 175 years. The charges include…
truthdig.com/articles/the-coming-show-trial-of-julian-assange/

Patrick Gaspard to Receive Prestigious NAACP Spingarn Medal
Austyn Ross | naacp.org | 2019-06-17
BALTIMORE — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation's foremost civil rights organization, has announced that Ambassador Patrick Gaspard will be awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal on July 24, 2019, during the 110th NAACP Annual Convention, taking place in Detroit, Michigan. The award recognizes Gaspard's lifelong commitment to equality and …
naacp.org/latest/patrick-gaspard-receive-prestigious-naacp-spingarn-medal/

Behind the Syrian Network for Human Rights: How an Opposition Front Group Became Western Media's Go-To Monitor
Max Blumenthal | mintpressnews.com | 2019-06-17
Top media outlets turn to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) for figures on deaths and detentions, never noting the group's seamless connection to Syria's opposition, the support it receives from states that waged war on the country, or its open lobbying for US military intervention.
mintpressnews.com/behind-syrian-network-human-rights-syria-opposition-front-group/259233/

"16 Shots": Chicago Police Killing of Laquan McDonald Exposed a System Built on Lies
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-06-17
The documentary "16 Shots" examines the 2014 murder of African-American teenager Laquan McDonald in Chicago and the attempt by the city's police department to cover up the events. McDonald, who was 17, was shot 16 times by former police officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was found guilty in 2018 of second-degree murder and sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for McDonald's murder. He was also found guilty on 16 counts of aggravated battery–one count for each of the 16 bullets he fired at McDonald. The film is screening on Showtime. We speak with Rick Rowley, director of "16 Shots."
www.democracynow.org/2019/6/17/16_shots_rick_rowley_showtime_documentary

Chicago Police Killing of Laquan McDonald Exposed a System Built on Lies
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-06-17
The documentary 16 Shots examines the 2014 murder of African-American teenager Laquan McDonald in Chicago and the attempt by the city's police department to cover up the events. McDonald, who was 17, was shot 16 times by former police officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was found guilty in 2018 of second-degree murder and sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for McDonald's murder. He was also found guilty on 16 counts of aggravated battery — one count for each of the 16 bullets he fired at McDonald. The film is screening on Showtime. We speak with Rick Rowley, director of 16 Shots. | TRANSCR…
truthout.org/video/chicago-police-killing-of-laquan-mcdonald-exposed-a-system-built-on-lies/

Drugs deaths linked to people facing considerable adversity, study finds
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-06-17
The majority of drugs deaths occur among people who have experienced considerable adversity in their lives, often from a young age, research has found. | In a report focused on drug deaths in Tayside last year, published by the local health board, 62 out of 78 people (79.5%) who died as a result of using drugs were recorded as having experienced at least one adverse event during their lifetime. | The study also found that just under half (46.1%) of the total number of drug death casualties had been in prison or had been on remand at least once in adulthood. | A majority of those who died from drug consumption wer…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2019/06/17/drugs-deaths-linked-to-people-facing-considerable-adversity-study-finds/

Trump Offered to Suspend Sanctions While Negotiating with Iran, Khamenei Rejected the Offer: More Attacks Expected
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2019-06-17
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo conveyed a message from US President Donald Trump to the Iranian leadership, asking the release of 5 US prisoners and inviting Iran to sit around a negotiation table, adding "he [Donald Trump] would be ready …
globalresearch.ca/trump-offered-suspend-sanctions-while-negotiating-iran-khamenei-rejected-offer-more-attacks-expected/5680867

Lawsuit Seeks Info on Trump Administration Eliminating Environmental Grades
commondreams.org | 2019-06-17
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2019/06/17/lawsuit-seeks-info-trump-administration-eliminating-environmental-grades?cd-origin=rss

2019-07-17: News Headlines

Workers World New York bureau (2019-07-17). 'We're doing this for Sandra Bland'. workers.org People's Power Assemblies NYC organized its fifth annual rally and march in Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 13 to demand justice for Sandra Bland. The 28-year-old African-American woman was found hanging in a Waller County, Texas, jail cell on the same date in 2015. Bland had been abused and then . . . | Continue reading 'We're doing this for Sandra Bland' at Workers.org

Mike Ishii (2019-07-17). Japanese Americans and allies protest the unjust detention of children at Fort Sill. indybay.org Fort Sill | 2999 N.W. Sheridan Road | Lawton, Oklahoma…

Staff (2019-07-16). 2020 Hopeful Julián Castro Vows to Break Up ICE & Calls Trump's New Asylum Rule Unconstitutional. democracynow.org As Trump faced national rebuke for his racist comments against four progressive congresswomen, his administration announced a new rule essentially banning most immigrants from seeking refuge in the United States. The rule, which the ACLU has already vowed to challenge in court, would deny asylum to any migrant who failed to apply for protection in another country they passed through on the way to the U.S. border—including children traveling alone. If enacted, the law would effectively block people from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, as well as Haitians, Cubans and many people from African countries, who…

Megan Klein (2019-07-16). Migrants Are Fleeing Something Worse. progressive.org Clearly, if the appalling conditions in detention centers are an improvement from what they are fleeing, these migrants have a sufficient basis for seeking asylum in the United States.

Staff (2019-07-16). 'Somewhere People Just Accepted What's Going On as Normal'. truthdig.com The Border Patrol agent, a veteran with 13 years on the job, had been assigned to the agency's detention center in McAllen, Texas, for close to a month when the team of court-appointed lawyers and doctors showed up one day at the end of June. | Taking in the squalor, the stench of unwashed bodies, and the poor health and vacant eyes of the hundreds of children held there, the group members appeared stunned. | Then, their outrage rolled through the facility like a thunderstorm. One lawyer emerged from a conference room clutching her cellphone to her ear, her voice trembling with urgency and frustration. "There's a…

Staff (2019-07-16). Headlines for July 16, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Announces Radical Plan to Bar Almost All Migrants from Seeking Asylum at U.S. Border, Squad Rejects Trump's Racist Attacks & Calls for Impeachment as House Plans Resolution to Condemn, Protesters Call for Exit of Puerto Rican Gov. Rosselló After Leaked Text Messages, El Salvador Rape Survivor Being Retried for Homicide for Having Stillbirth, U.N. Report Accuses Venezuela's Special Forces of 1000s of Extrajudicial Killings, Workers and Activists Protest Amazon, Calling for an End to Labor Abuses, Collaboration with ICE, Washington Activist Protesting Immigrant Detention Shot Dead, Historian and Civil Rights…

Staff (2019-07-16). Julián Castro: Trump's Asylum Ban Is Unconstitutional. truthout.org As Trump faced national rebuke for his racist comments against four progressive congresswomen, his administration announced a new rule essentially banning most immigrants from seeking refuge in the United States. The rule, which the ACLU has already vowed to challenge in court, would deny asylum to any migrant who failed to apply for protection in another country they passed through on the way to the U.S. border — including children traveling alone. If enacted, the law would effectively block people from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, as well as Haitians, Cubans and many people from African countries,…

commondreams (2019-07-16). Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Response to Justice Department's Decision to Not Prosecute N.Y.P.D. Officer Responsible for Death of Eric Garner. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Ilana Novick (2019-07-16). Trump Blocks Clinics From Making Abortion Referrals. truthdig.com Federally funded family planning clinics can no longer provide referrals for abortions, according to the Trump administration's " Protect Life Rule," which went into effect Monday. Clinics that continue to do so will lose their funding. | The rule, which could affect many clinics that serve low-income Americans, is considered a particular attack on Planned Parenthood, which stands to lose approximately $60 million in federal funding. | The American Medical Association (AMA) and 21 states have filed lawsuits against the policy. According to the AMA,…

teleSUR (2019-07-16). No Charges for New York Policeman Who Killed Eric Garner. telesurenglish.net The New York police officer who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold during an attempted arrest in 2014, fueling the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, will not face federal criminal charges, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn said Tuesday. | RELATED: | Cop Who Killed Eric Garner Had 'Chronic History of Complaints' | Garner's death on a sidewalk during an arrest for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes, and his gasped final words "I can't breathe" caught on bystander vi…

Chauncey K. Robinson (2019-07-16). 'Rigged': Film targets the villains behind voter suppression. peoplesworld.org

Patricia J. Williams (2019-07-16). Artificial Intelligence Is Failing Humans. thenation.com Artificial Intelligence Is Failing Humans…

commondreams (2019-07-16). Groups File Federal Lawsuit Challenging New Trump Asylum Restrictions. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2019-07-16). D.C. Court Asked to Dismiss SLAPP Lawsuit Against Academic Boycott of Israel. commondreams.org ______________________________…

RT (2019-07-16). #Resistance fawns over Antifa 'martyr' killed while attempting to set ICE facility on fire. rt.com Impassioned tributes for Willem Van Spronsen, the seasoned Antifa activist who was shot dead by police after attacking an ICE detention center in Tacoma on Saturday, have flooded Twitter, praising him as a "hero" and a "martyr."

teleSUR (2019-07-16). 'More Urgency' Needed in AIDS Fight as Funding Fades: UN Report. telesurenglish.net The global fight against AIDS is stalling due to lower investment, marginalized communities missing vital health services, and new HIV infections rising in some areas, the United Nations warned Tuesday. | RELATED: | Nicaragua Steps Up Fight Against HIV, Finds Fewer Overall Cases | More than half of all new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in 2018 were among sex workers, drug users, men who have sex with men, transgender people, prisoners and the sexual partners of…

RT (2019-07-16). NYPD cop who used chokehold on Eric Garner 'won't be charged' as case times out. rt.com The NYPD officer who put an unarmed African-American man Eric Garner in a chokehold, contributing to his death, won't be charged with any crime, an AP report said. Garner's case galvanized the Black Lives Matter protest movement.

Julia Conley, staff writer (2019-07-16). NYPD Must #FirePantaleo Now, Eric Garner's Family Says After DOJ Announces It Will Not Prosecute Officer Accused of Using Chokehold. commondreams.org Civil rights advocates decried the U.S. Justice Department's announcement on Tuesday that it would not prosecute a New York police officer in the death of Eric Garner as a "gross injustice" and demanded that the officer be fired. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-11558997441.jpg

Jon Britton (2019-07-15). Hundreds join united action in Palo Alto, Calif., to shut down Palantir Technologies for complicity with ICE. liberationnews.org In a great show of unity in action, more than a dozen groups from all over the San Francisco Bay Area joined together July 19 to protest at Palantir Technologies in Palo Alto for the company's provision of software facilitating ICE raids, detentions and deportations.

Staff (2019-07-15). Cruelty Is the Point: Communities Fight Back as Threat of ICE Raids Terrorize Immigrant Families. democracynow.org This weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched a handful of raids across the country as part of President Trump's push to detain and deport thousands of undocumented migrants in 10 major cities. Agents in Chicago reportedly arrested a mother and her children only to quickly release them. Arrests were also attempted in New York City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Harlem, where immigrants reportedly refused to open their doors to ICE agents because they did not have warrants. Authorities say more raids are planned this week, prompting fear but also generating mass protests on the ground. We speak…

Maryam Saleh (2019-07-15). How Some Florida Prosecutors Are Pushing Back Against GOP Voter Suppression Efforts. theintercept.com The GOP legislature is trying to take the vote away from people with past legal woes — and some prosecutors are looking for ways around a new restriction.

Eds. (2019-07-15). Close the concentration camps. mronline.org The U.S. government is detaining thousands of migrants, in what can only be described as a system of 21st century concentration camps. Justin Akers Chacón—professor of U.S. History and Chicano Studies in San Diego and author, with Mike Davis, of No One is Illegal—examines the background to this horrific story, suggesting that Trump's detention centres […] | Source

Fight Back (2019-07-14). Activists in Oshkosh, WI call for closure of Trump's concentration camps. fightbacknews.org Oshkosh, WI – On the evening of July 12, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Students for a Democratic Society (UWO SDS) hosted a Lights for Liberty rally, demanding an end to the Trump administration's detention policy and the closure of the concentration camps, where tens of thousands of immigrants are being held in clear breach of international law. The call to action drew roughly 30 people from Oshkosh and the surrounding Fox Valley area. | The event started with a silent candlelight vigil to help bring awareness to the disastrous conditions in the camps. The action featured 12 different people speaking…

United Nations (2019-07-12). In aftermath of Libya airstrike deaths, UN officials call for refugees and migrants to be freed from detention. un.org "As a priority, we ask that 5,600 refugees and migrants currently held in centres across Libya be freed in an orderly manner and their protection guaranteed" the UN refugee and migrants chiefs said in a joint statement, released on Friday.

ACLU (2019-07-12). Pompeo's New "Human Rights" Commission is Up To No Good. aclu.org The Trump administration appears to be trying to find new moral footing for the president's discriminatory policies. | This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally announced the creation of a "Commission on Unalienable Rights." Its stated purpose, according to a notice published in the Federal Register in May, is to provide "fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation's founding principles of natural law and natural rights." | Th…

United Nations (2019-07-12). UN Human Rights Council stands firm on LGBTI violence, Syria detainees and Philippines 'war on drugs'. un.org The 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council ended on Friday with measures taken to address worrying developments in Eritrea, Syria and the Philippines, along with other issues of global concern, such as violence and discrimination against the LGBTI community.

Staff (2019-07-11). "Unconscionable & Unacceptable": Rep. Barragán Decries Detention of Migrant Children in Prison Cells. democracynow.org Yazmin Juárez, the Guatemalan mother whose child died from a lung infection after being held in an ICE detention center, testified before members of a congressional panel Wednesday. She shared the story of her daughter, 19-month-old Mariee, who died last year shortly after being released from the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. Juárez filed a $60 million lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Health and Human Services. The House subcommittee convened to examine the treatment of refugees in U.S.

Staff (2019-07-11). The U.S. Women's Soccer World Cup Win Was a Victory for Title IX & the Fight for Equal Pay. democracynow.org Thousands gathered in Manhattan Wednesday to celebrate the U.S. women's national soccer team's fourth World Cup championship at a ticker tape parade that stretched up Broadway and past Wall Street. Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle and their teammates rode floats through New York City's Canyon of Heroes, ending their celebrations at a ceremony at City Hall. Supporters chanted "U.S.A.!" and "Equal pay!" The U.S women's World Cup victory came just months after members of the 2015 women's team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation over gender discrimination. Their high-profile fight for pay equity is focusing the s…

ACLU (2019-07-11). CBP Can't Detain Domestic Flight Passengers for Refusing Suspicionless ID Checks. aclu.org The Constitution protects passengers deplaning domestic flights just as it protects people on the street or in a car. | In February 2017, two U.S. CBP officers stood on a jet bridge at New York's JFK Airport to meet Delta Flight 1583 as it taxied to the gate upon arrival from San Francisco. As passengers prepared to deplane, they were told by flight attendants — at the direction of the two officers — that all passengers would have to show identification documents to the officer…

splcenter (2019-07-11). Manuel Duran, journalist who reported on ICE, freed from detention. splcenter.org Manuel Duran, an investigative journalist who was detained after reporting on the collusion between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, was released today from ICE detention and will be reunited with his fiancée.

Staff (2019-07-10). The Inhumane Treatment of Migrants Is Not New. It's a Key Part of a Decades-Old Bipartisan Policy. democracynow.org More than a week after lawmakers flocked to the U.S.-Mexico border to observe the horrible treatment of refugee children and families in immigration jails, reports of unsafe and unsanitary conditions for asylum seekers are continuing. In Clint, Texas, the Border Patrol station that garnered international attention for jailing hundreds of migrant children without access to sufficient food, water, beds or medical care now has a spreading outbreak of scabies, shingles and chickenpox, according to border agents. In Yuma, Arizona, NBC reports that jailed migrant children have been subjected to mistreatment and sexual…

Staff (2019-07-10). Headlines for July 10, 2019. democracynow.org Children Recount Mistreatment, Sexual Abuse at Yuma, AZ Migrant Jail, Scabies, Shingles & Chickenpox Spreading Among Children at Clint, TX Migrant Jail, Jewish Activists Arrested After Protesting Migrant Detention on Capitol Hill, Judge Rejects DOJ Move to Replace Legal Team Charged with Census Citizenship Battle, Court Says Trump Cannot Block Critics on Twitter, U.K. Ambassador Resigns After Leaked Cables Scandal, Afghan Peace Talks Close as Deadly Attacks Continue, Appeals Court Hears Arguments on Constitutionality of Affordable Care Act, Megan Rapinoe to Trump: "Your Message Is Excluding People", Calls Grow fo…

unitedEditor (2019-07-08). Georgian protests, military parade, Libya and Turkey. uwidata.com Georgian protests New protests took place this week in Georgia. On July 4, the Georgian Interior Ministry announced the detention of four people accused of assaulting police officers during rallies in central Tbilisi on June 20-21. On Thursday, the Prosecutor General's Office announced that it was investigating a meeting about organizing mass riots and an …

Jonathan Flowers (2019-07-07). 'Horrified at the sights': Coloradans protest ICE facilities and detention profiteers. liberationnews.org Human rights abuses are not just restricted to the border.

Fight Back (2019-07-05). Over 1000 union educators protest Houston Detention Center. fightbacknews.org Houston, TX – July 4 saw union educators push for freedom for refugees and undocumented families. After a daylong meeting of the annual National Education Association's annual Representative Assembly, a massive group of educators demonstrated their anger at Trump's concentration camps for children and families. | Rank-and-file education workers organized the protest within less than 48 hours of arriving at the convention. The group marched around a detention center located in downtown Houston, holding signs reading "Free the children!" and "Close the camps!" As they marched, they chanted "Up up with education! Do…

Dennis J Bernstein (2019-07-03). Japanese Internment Camp Survivor: 'Never Again Is NOW!'. progressive.org A filmmaker and therapist tells of her family's internment in a maximum security camp during World War II, and her views on the current imprisonment of people from south of the border.

ACLU (2019-07-03). I Spent 16 Months in Solitary Confinement and Now I'm Fighting to End It. aclu.org A new report proves that the degrading conditions in solitary confinement continue to harm people and communities. | I was just 17 years old when I was sent to solitary confinement in "Camp J," one of the most severe lockdown units at one of America's most brutal prisons, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. I languished in solitary for 16 months. | Back then I didn't know that Louisiana was the solitary confinement capital of the world. All I knew was that I'd been convicted of a crime I didn't commit, and I had to maintain my humanity in one of the most dehumanizing places on earth. | It's called "23 and…

ACLU (2019-07-03). Thousands of Voices Are Telling the Supreme Court: Don't Roll Back LGBTQ Rights. aclu.org Businesses, women CEOs, civil rights organizations, Republicans tell the Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ employees like Aimee Stephens and Don Zarda. | President Trump has told the Supreme Court it should be legal to fire someone just because they're LGBTQ. The President may be a bully, but he's just one voice. Today, more than 2,000 voices from across the country joined together to tell the Supreme Court: Don't roll back our rights. | The message came in the form of friend-of-the-court briefs—nearly 50 in all—filed in a…

splcenter (2019-07-02). SPLC sues Florida officials to keep citizens from losing right to vote again. splcenter.org After completing her prison sentence and probation time, Rosemary McCoy had her voting rights restored and cast a ballot in the Jacksonville, Florida, runoff city council election earlier this year.

Mike Ervin (2019-06-29). Smart Ass Cripple: Happy Birthday Olmstead. progressive.org Twenty years ago, a civil rights victory helped disabled people escape institutional life.

ACLU (2019-06-28). Georgia Tried to Ban Abortion, So We Sued. aclu.org Abortion bans place people in danger, and Georgia's is no exception. | Alabama. Arkansas. Kentucky. Ohio. And today, Georgia. That's the list of states where the ACLU has had to go to court over the last few months to challenge laws banning abortion. | The Georgia law bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy and is in clear violation of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. In fact, that is the whole point of the law. Georgia politicians, including Governor Brian Kemp, emboldened by President Trump's appointment of two new justices to the Supreme Court, think this is their chance to get the court to take aw…

ACLU (2019-06-28). How to Help Families at the Border Right Now. aclu.org We know that a better future is possible, and we at the ACLU, along with our supporters and allies, are daring to create it. | The images of Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Valeria, who lost their lives trying to seek refuge in the United States, have left us haunted. They serve as an ever-important reminder of the urgency of the fight for immigrant justice on our southern border and the need to stand up to the Trump administration's policies denying humanitarian protection and basic due process to families fleeing for their lives. | We remain at the frontlines of the family separation fight…

ACLU (2019-06-28). Working in Prison, I Witnessed the Inhumane Conditions of Solitary for Incarcerated Women. aclu.org Solitary confinement can amount to torture. One practitioner witnessed this first hand, and shares her story and her journey to action. | At the first checkpoint at Tennessee Prison for Women, there was a large, scrolling television screen behind the desk displaying the image of two pairs of hands — one pair with a key and one pair in handcuffs. The message read, "You can either be one of us or one of them." I had been working in the facility for less than a year, but this message exemplified an uneasiness I had long felt without articulating: The prison's faàßade of "rehabilitation" masked a system s…

ACLU (2019-06-28). Why the ACLU Is Suing Florida For Its New Poll Tax. aclu.org The law forces returning citizens with criminal records to pay for the right to vote. | On November 6, 2018, nearly 65 percent of Florida voters—more than 5 million people—resoundingly approved Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to over a million of their fellow citizens. By passing Amendment 4, Floridians successfully ushered in the largest expansion of the electorate in nearly 50 years. The people of Florida did it on their own, using a constitutional ballot initiative, to finally achieve change where Florida politicians had failed. | Instead of celebrating this progress, Florida politicians are t…

Keegan Hankes, Intelligence Project (2019-06-28). SPLC: Sentencing of James Alex Fields Jr., who killed Heather Heyer at 'Unite the Right,' will not heal victims or their families. splcenter.org James Alex Fields Jr., who was sentenced to life in prison today for murdering a woman who was protesting a white supremacist rally two years ago, is a remorseless killer and a domestic terrorist.

splcenter (2019-06-28). Charlottesville Federal Court Sentences James Alex Fields to Life in Prison for 'Unite the Right' Killing. splcenter.org A neo-Nazi sympathizer from Ohio received two consecutive and 27 concurrent life sentences in federal prison for killing a counterprotester and injuring others in the aftermath of 2017's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Paul Dobson (2019-06-24). UN Human Rights Head Visits Venezuela, Meets Maduro and Guaido. venezuelanalysis.com Michelle Bachelet commented on access to food and medicine, allegations of political prisoners, and the impact of sanctions, among other issues.

CounterSpin (2019-06-21). Brian Mier on Brazilian Political Scandal. fair.org The Brazilian anti-corruption crusade, called Car Wash or Lava Jato, that put popular ex-president Lula da Silva in prison and paved the way for fascist president Jair Bolsanaro—all while being celebrated in the US corporate press—was actually, as critics contended, less interested in corruption than in keeping Lula's Workers Party out of power.