NAACP Commends House Passage of For the People Act — H.R. 1 Election Reform Bill
Rachel Johnson | naacp.org | 2019-03-08
Contact: Malik Russell /mrussell@naacpnet.org BALTIMORE (March 8, 2019)–The nation's leading civil rights organization issued the following statement regarding today's passage of groundbreaking election reform bill For the People Act/H.R. 1 by the U.S. House of Representatives. "The For the People Act represents a powerful effort to reinforce the truest principles of our democracy and pushes …
naacp.org/latest/naacp-commends-house-passage-people-act-h-r-1-election-reform-bill/

Immigrant Advocates Just Got JPMorgan Chase to Stop Financing Private Prisons
Javier H. Valdés, Ana María Archila | thenation.com | 2019-03-08
Javier H. Valdés, Ana María Archila Immigrant Advocates Just Got JPMorgan Chase to Stop Financing Private Prisons…
thenation.com/article/jpmorgan-chase-private-prisons-detention/

International Women's Day 2019: We have had enough of Trump and the war on women
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-03-08
Enough is enough. Trump, his administration, and his backers are waging war on women, and millions of women are making it clear that we are not going to be pushed backwards. From the massive Women's Marches, to the midterm elections, to the constant, everyday resistance, women are standing up against Trump's reactionary agenda. | Trump and his supporters in the Senate want to pack the Supreme Court and roll back reproductive rights, and they have gotten a start by appointing the drunken misogynist Brett Kavanaugh. Accompanying the administrations outrageous policy of placing immigrants in detention, Trump's Justi…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/3/8/international-women-s-day-2019-we-have-had-enough-trump-and-war-women

International Women's Day–Made in the U.S.A
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn | peoplesworld.org | 2019-03-08
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890-1964), known as "The Rebel Girl," was one of the premier labor activists and leaders of the struggle for women's equality in the 20th century. She was an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, a founding member of the ACLU, and later in life the Chairperson of the Communist Party …
peoplesworld.org/article/international-womens-day-made-in-the-u-s-a/

Debate over Ilhan Omar Highlights New Willingness in U.S. to Question Power of Pro-Israeli Lobby
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-03-08
Following a week of debate surrounding Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar's comments about U.S. foreign policy in Israel, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, white supremacy and other forms of hate. We host a discussion with Gideon Levy, Haaretz columnist and member of the newspaper's editorial board; Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies who serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace; and Remi Kanazi, a Palestinian-American poet, writer and organizer based in New York City.
www.democracynow.org/2019/3/8/debate_over_ilhan_omar_highlights_new

NAACP'S RESPONDS TO GEORGIA STATE SENATE'S DECISION TO PROTECT CONFEDERATE STATUES
Rachel Johnson | naacp.org | 2019-03-08
BALTIMORE — President and CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson issued the following statement regarding the Georgia State Senate's passage a bill this week that will further protect Confederate monuments, increase penalties for vandalism and prevent local governments from removing them: "The NAACP stands with its Georgia State Conference and branches in condemning the Georgia Senate's …
naacp.org/latest/naacps-responds-georgia-state-senates-decision-protect-confederate-statues/

Champion U.S. women's soccer team sues soccer federation for sexual discrimination
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-03-08
LOS ANGELES–The medal-winning U.S. women's soccer team may be repeat champions on the field, but they've been treated like chumps by the U.S. Soccer Federation. And now they've gone to court to prove it and to stop it. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on March 8–International Women's Day–all 28 …
peoplesworld.org/article/champion-u-s-womens-soccer-team-sues-soccer-federation-for-sexual-discrimination/

Trump's Former Campaign Boss Manafort Sentenced to 47 Months
STAFF | truthdig.com | 2019-03-08
ALEXANDRIA, Va.–Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, a significant break from sentencing guidelines that called for a 20-year prison term. | Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair as he deals with complications from gout, showed no visible reaction as he heard the 47-month sentence. | The sentence caps the only jury trial following indictments stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. It was not related to Manafort's role in Donald Trump's presidential campa…
truthdig.com/articles/ex-trump-campaign-boss-manafort-sentenced-to-47-months/

Refusing to "Snitch," Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Becomes Two-Time Political Prisoner
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-03-08
"I will not participate in a secret process that I morally object to, particularly one that has been historically used to entrap and persecute activists for protected political speech." — Chelsea Manning…
mintpressnews.com/refusing-to-snitch-whistleblower-chelsea-manning-becomes-two-time-political-prisoner/256031/

It's Time to Tell the Truth: Israeli Journalist Gideon Levy Supports Ilhan Omar's Critique of Israel
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-03-08
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, white supremacy and other forms of hate, following a week of debate among congressional Democrats. The controversy began after some lawmakers accused Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar of invoking anti-Semitic tropes while questioning U.S. foreign policy on Israel. The House leadership initially drafted a resolution condemning anti-Semitism in what was seen as a direct rebuke of Omar. But many progressive Democrats said Omar, one of the first two Muslim Congresswoman in U.S. history, wa…
www.democracynow.org/2019/3/8/its_time_to_tell_the_truth

Ilhan Omar in Her Own Words: I Know What Hate Feels Like
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-03-08
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, white supremacy and other forms of hate. The vote was 407 to 23, with nearly two dozen Republicans voting against it. The vote capped a week of intense debate among congressional Democrats that began after some lawmakers accused Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar of invoking anti-Semitic tropes while questioning U.S. foreign policy on Israel at an event last week. Omar said, "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegianc…
www.democracynow.org/2019/3/8/ilhan_omar_in_her_own_words

Sparked by Ilhan Omar's 'Valid Criticism' of Israel, House Passes 'Anti-Hate' Resolution
Jake Johnson | mintpressnews.com | 2019-03-08
"We're happy to see a resolution that condemns real bigotry, rather than going after Rep. Ilhan Omar and her vision of a world free of racism and oppression."
mintpressnews.com/sparked-by-ilhan-omars-valid-criticism-of-israel-house-overwhelmingly-passes-anti-hate-resolution/256029/

Forced Blood Draws & Implied Consent Laws Make a Mockery of the Fourth Amendment
John W. Whitehead | counterpunch.org | 2019-03-08
"The Fourth Amendment was designed to stand between us and arbitrary governmental authority. For all practical purposes, that shield has been shattered, leaving our liberty and personal integrity subject to the whim of every cop on the beat, trooper on the highway and jail official." –Herman Schwartz, The Nation You think you've got rights? Think…
counterpunch.org/2019/03/08/forced-blood-draws-implied-consent-laws-make-a-mockery-of-the-fourth-amendment/

Chelsea Manning Jailed for Refusing to Testify on WikiLeaks
STAFF | truthdig.com | 2019-03-08
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been sent to jail for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. | U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ordered Manning to jail for contempt of court on Friday after a brief hearing in which Manning confirmed she has no intention of testifying. She told the judge she "will accept whatever you bring upon me." | Manning has said she objects to the secrecy of the grand jury process, and that she already revealed everything she knows at her court martial. | The judge said she will remain jailed until she testifies or until the…
truthdig.com/articles/chelsea-manning-jailed-for-refusing-to-testify-on-wikileaks/

Labour's Fight Over Israel Long Time in Coming
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-03-08
The party is being dragged into the modern world by Corbyn's anti-racist leadership towards Palestinians, writes Jonathan Cook. By JonathanCook Jonathan-Cook.net An announcement this week by the Jewish Labour Movement that it is considering splitting from the British Labour Party… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/03/07/labours-fight-over-israel-long-time-in-coming/

On Bernie, Trump, and Racism
Cornel West | zcomm.org | 2019-03-08
Interview on Sanders' presidential chances and how he has progressed on race issues…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/on-bernie-trump-and-racism/

Socialist Alliance candidate: 'Help us build a new society'
kathy_f | greenleft.org.au | 2019-03-08
Lead Socialist Alliance candidate for the Legislative Council in the NSW election Rachel Evans gave this speech to a Justice Action election forum on February 25. | *** | Australia was once the "Lucky Country". Now it has become the "Lucky-If-You-Are-Rich Country". | Banks and big corporations are ripping us off. Their profits are soaring while wages are falling. The richest 1% now own more wealth than the bottom 70% combined. | Poverty has risen and has been criminalised. More people are being imprisoned, often for minor crimes committed while on remand and awaiting trial. | Prisons are being privatised and ther…
greenleft.org.au/content/socialist-alliance-candidate-%E2%80%98help-us-build-new-society%E2%80%99

John Pilger: The prisoner says no to Big Brother
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-03-08
Whenever I visit Julian Assange, we meet in a room he knows too well. There is a bare table and pictures of Ecuador on the walls. There is a bookcase where the books never change. The curtains are always drawn and there is no natural light. The air is still and fetid. | This is Room 101. | Before I enter Room 101, I must surrender my passport and phone. My pockets and possessions are examined. The food I bring is inspected. | The man who guards Room 101 sits in what looks like an old-fashioned telephone box. He watches a screen, watching Julian. There are others unseen, agents of the state, watching and listening…
greenleft.org.au/content/john-pilger-prisoner-says-no-big-brother

Chelsea Manning Sent Back to Prison
Eoin Higgins | theantimedia.com | 2019-03-08
(CD) — Chelsea Manning won't be bullied by the federal government, she told supporters on Friday. In a move her defenders called "an outrageous government overreach and absolutely inhumane," Manning was remanded to federal prison for contempt on Friday morning due to her refusal to testify in a secret grand jury hearing Wednesday. "I will not comply with this, or …
theantimedia.com/chelsea-manning-prison-grand-jury-refusal/

'Grand alliance' threatens Venezuela
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-03-08
Capitalist party politics in the United States remains in turmoil. There are investigations into President Donald Trump's alleged collusion with Russia to steal the 2016 elections, and into his corrupt business practices on one side, and Trump's mobilisation of his white racist base on the other. Republicans and Democrats are at each other's throats. Factionalism exists in both parties. | It may seem surprising, then, that almost all Democratic members of Congress are joining with the likes of Donald Trump, Mike Pence, John Bolton and Elliot Abrams in support of the Washington-organised attempt to overthrow the g…
greenleft.org.au/content/%E2%80%98grand-alliance%E2%80%99-threatens-venezuela

Day Before Women's Day, SF City Workers Speak Out Against Discrimination & Racism
Labor Video Project | indybay.org | 2019-03-08
One day before Women's Day, hundreds of San Francisco city workers protested against the attacks on public workers and public services in San Francisco. Many talked about systemic discrimination, racism and outsourcing and privatization by the Mayor and Micki Callahan, the Human Resources Director.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/03/08/18821764.php

Ilhan Omar in Her Own Words: I Know What Hate Feels Like
Shared by Cherise | truthout.org | 2019-03-08
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, white supremacy and other forms of hate. The vote was 407 to 23, with nearly two dozen Republicans voting against it. The vote capped a week of intense debate among congressional Democrats that began after some lawmakers accused Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar of invoking anti-Semitic tropes while questioning U.S. foreign policy on Israel at an event last week. Omar said, "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegi…
truthout.org/video/ilhan-omar-in-her-own-words-i-know-what-hate-feels-like/

Parents, Civil Rights Groups Sue Maryland For Underfunding Public Schools
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2019-03-08
The State of Maryland is facing fresh allegations of failing to adequately fund majority black schools, according to a brief jointly filed by parents, American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and NAACP Legal Defense fund on Thursday, March 7.
therealnews.com/columns/parents-civil-rights-groups-sue-maryland-for-underfunding-public-schools

Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify on WikiLeaks
RT | rt.com | 2019-03-08
US army whistleblower Chelsea Manning has been taken into custody for contempt of court after refusing to testify in front of a grand jury in what's believed to be the case against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange. | …
rt.com/usa/453352-chelsea-manning-custody-assange/

'I Will Not Comply': Chelsea Manning Sent Back to Prison Over Grand Jury Refusal
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-03-08
Chelsea Manning was remanded to federal prison on Friday morning, sparking outrage from supporters. "For making the American people aware of crimes committed by their government in their name the US government has repeatedly persecuted her. " | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/chelsea.manning.remand_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/03/08/i-will-not-comply-chelsea-manning-sent-back-prison-over-grand-jury-refusal?cd-origin=rss

Russiagate won't die: Moscow will 'shank' Paul Manafort in prison, MSNBC analyst predicts
RT | rt.com | 2019-03-08
Paul Manafort's 4-year prison sentence will allow Moscow to more easily murder him, MSNBC's favorite Russia expert has declared — never mind that the presiding judge said the case had nothing to do with "Russian collusion." | …
rt.com/usa/453355-nance-manafort-russia-murder-prison/

Chelsea Manning Faces Contempt Charge After Refusal to Answer Grand Jury Questions
Julia Conley | theantimedia.com | 2019-03-08
(CD) — Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning expressed no regrets Thursday when she revealed that she faces a contempt hearing– and possible jail time–after declining to answer a grand jury's questions. Manning appeared before a grand jury Wednesday after being subpoenaed, apparently to discuss her 2010 disclosure of government and military documents about the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq …
theantimedia.com/chelsea-manning-contempt-charge-grand-jury/

Chelsea Manning Is Jailed After Refusal to Answer Questions
Shared by Cherise | truthout.org | 2019-03-08
Editor's Note: Manning has since been taken into police custody.Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning expressed no regrets Thursday when she revealed that she faces a contempt hearing — and possible jail time — after declining to answer a grand jury's questions. | Manning appeared before a grand jury Wednesday after being subpoenaed, apparently to discuss her 2010 disclosure of government and military documents about the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to Wikileaks.
truthout.org/articles/chelsea-manning-faces-contempt-hearing-after-refusal-to-answer-questions/

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify against Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-03-08
A federal judge ordered Manning to prison Friday on contempt charges for refusing to provide testimony against WikiLeaks and its publisher Julian Assange.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/03/08/mann-m08.html

'We Deserved to Be Paid Equally': Reigning Women's World Cup Champions Sue US Soccer Over Gender Discrimination
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-03-08
As the global community celebrated International Women's Day on Friday, all 28 members of the World Cup-winning U.S. women's national soccer team filed a federal class-action lawsuit accusing the United States Soccer Federation of "institutionalized gender discrimination." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/world_cup_2015_gettyimages-479601018.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/03/08/we-deserved-be-paid-equally-reigning-womens-world-cup-champions-sue-us-soccer-over?cd-origin=rss

Following sustained campaign, JP Morgan Chase and Co divests from private prison operators
Muhammed Shabeer | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-03-07
More than 85 civil rights groups in the country had formed a coalition and urged the bank to stop lending to firms which run private prisons for profit. Firms such as GEO Group and CoreCivic have reportedly spent USD 25 million on lobbying over the past three decades to push for harsher criminal justice and immigration laws…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/03/07/following-sustained-campaign-jp-morgan-chase-and-co-divests-from-private-prison-operators/

SPLC joins civil rights groups in friend-of-the-court brief urging Supreme Court to uphold fair, non-partisan redistricting principles
splcenter | splcenter.org | 2019-03-07
The U.S. Supreme Court this month will hear oral arguments in two cases that will test the court's readiness to tackle the issue of partisan gerrymandering.
splcenter.org/news/2019/03/07/splc-joins-civil-rights-groups-friend-court-brief-urging-supreme-court-uphold-fair-non

NAACP Joins NABJ in Criticism of CNN's Lack of Diversity in Leadership Positions
Aba Blankson | naacp.org | 2019-03-07
Civil Rights Group Voices Concerns over Diversity Failure to CNN BALTIMORE — The nation's foremost civil rights organization issued the following response to CNN President Jeff Zucker's refusal to address the lack of diversity in leadership positions: "It is vital that news organizations reflect the diversity of our country, which includes people of color in …
naacp.org/latest/naacp-joins-nabj-criticism-cnns-lack-diversity-leadership-positions/

The Government Is Detaining and Interrogating Journalists and Advocates at the US-Mexico Border
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-03-07
DHS created a list of people who were reporting on or working with the migrant caravan to flag for lengthy questioning at the U.S. border. | In what looks like a coordinated attack on constitutional rights, the U.S. government has reportedly been targeting journalists, activists, and lawyers working to raise awareness of issues facing migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. | On Wednesday, the NBC affiliate in San Diego revealed leaked docu…
aclu.org/blog/free-speech/freedom-press/government-detaining-and-interrogating-journalists-and-advocates-us

Dear Young Doris Ann
Rachel Johnson | naacp.org | 2019-03-07
It's Women's History Month! The NAACP will be sharing letters written by our regional Women In the NAACP (WIN) Coordinators to their younger self. Our first highlight comes from Doris Ann Cabaniss Shipman of Region 5. Dear Ann, Knowing you as a strong-willed young girl, with unending potential, I am giving you this message, to …
naacp.org/latest/dear-young-doris-ann/

Andrew Bacevich: The U.S.-Saudi Relationship Is a Principal Source of Instability in the Middle East
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-03-07
We look at a number of recent developments in U.S.-Saudi relations, a day after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a confirmation hearing for retired four-star general John Abizaid to become U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia. On Monday, the Trump administration gave a private briefing to senators on the investigation into the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October. Senators slammed the briefing for providing no new information. Meanwhile, The New York Times has revealed new details about the jailing and torture of a doctor with…
www.democracynow.org/2019/3/7/andrew_bacevich_the_us_saudi_relationship

Chelsea Manning Jailed for Not Testifying Against WikiLeaks
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-03-07
Wikileaks whistleblower, Chelsea Manning, was jailed Friday after refusing to testify to a secret grand jury two days earlier in an on-going investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. | RELATED: | Chelsea Manning Challenges Subpoena to Testify Against Assange | On Friday Manning returned to a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia for a closed contempt hearing where U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton told Manning that she would remain in federal custody "until she pu…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chelsea-Manning-Jailed-for-Not-Testifying-Against-WikiLeaks-20190307-0031.html

Anti-Semitism vs. Anti-Zionism in France
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-03-07
Lawrence Davidson dismantles Macron's equation of apples and oranges. By Lawrence Davidson TothePointAnalysis.com We are at a new stage of the fight to realize Palestinian rights and free both Palestinians and Jews from the consequences of Zionist racism. There was… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/03/06/anti-semitism-vs-anti-zionism-in-france/

Cornel West on Bernie, Trump, and Racism
Deconstructed | theintercept.com | 2019-03-07
Taking a lesson from his 2016 loss to Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders is dedicating more time in his speeches to discussing systemic racism and discrimination. Will it be enough to win over black voters?
theintercept.com/2019/03/07/cornel-west-on-bernie-trump-and-racism/

Manafort gets 4 years in prison for financial crimes unrelated to Russia
RT | rt.com | 2019-03-07
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison for fraud and other financial crimes entirely unrelated to Russia, in the only trial so far to emerge from Robert Mueller's 'Russiagate' probe. | …
rt.com/usa/453298-manafort-sentenced-mueller-russiagate/

South Florida students rally on anniversary of Trayvon Martin's murder
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-03-06
Tampa, FL – On February 28, the Tampa Bay chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a Black Lives Matter rally at the University of South Florida for the seventh anniversary of Trayvon Martin's death. In 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, after returning from a nearby gas station. The trial of Zimmerman became a national phenomenon with him walking free due to Florida's 'stand your ground' law. The shooting is still fresh on Florida's mind, with many questioning the judicial system that let a man off with murder. | The protest was aimed at the jud…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/3/6/south-florida-students-rally-anniversary-trayvon-martin-s-murder

As National Socialist Movement Falls Into Disarray, League of the South, Neo-Nazi Billy Roper Seek To Pick Off Members
splcenter | splcenter.org | 2019-03-06
After a black civil rights advocate took over the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM), Kynan Dutton had enough.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/03/06/national-socialist-movement-falls-disarray-league-south-neo-nazi-billy-roper-seek-pick

Kirstjen Nielsen Continues to Insist That There Is No Family Separation Policy
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-03-06
During her congressional testimony, Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen dodged questions about her department's vicious border policies. | Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified on Wednesday before the House Committee on Homeland Security, just days after the House passed a resolution to overturn President Trump's emergency declaration on the border wall. | Nielsen has helped Trump push lies and fabrications about the supposed security crisis at the border, when in fact the only crisis…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/kirstjen-nielsen-continues-insist-there-no

NAACP Calls for Justice in Stephon Clark Case
Regan Farley | naacp.org | 2019-03-05
Joins Sacramento Branch in Condemning DA's Failure to Charge Police Officers in Murder of Stephon Clark BALTIMORE (March 5, 2019)–The nation's foremost civil rights organization joins its NAACP Sacramento Branch in condemning Sacramento District Attorney Marie Schubert's decision to not charge Sacramento Police officers Terrence Mercadel and Jared Robinet with murder for the killing of …
naacp.org/latest/naacp-calls-justice-stephon-clark-case/

Ending the NSA's Massive Phone Spying Program Would Be a Good Start — But There's a Lot More to Do
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-03-05
The successor to the NSA's bulk surveillance program revealed by Snowden is reportedly being abandoned. Congress needs to make sure it stays dead. | We may be one step closer to putting the final nail in the coffin of the National Security Agency's massive phone records surveillance program, if a New York Times report bears out. Ending this program is a good first step, but as Congress debates expiring Patriot Act provisions this year, it needs to do much more to protect individual rights, including eliminating t…
aclu.org/blog/national-security/privacy-and-surveillance/ending-nsas-massive-phone-spying-program-would-be

Congress, Let's Fix the Problems in H.R. 1 So We Can Enact the Bill's Much-Needed Reforms
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-03-05
As currently drafted, the For the People Act of 2019 violates the First Amendment rights of American citizens and public-interest organizations. | Members of Congress are expected to vote this week on H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2019. There is a lot to like about the bill. , , To begin, its aim is to strengthen and expand participation in our democracy. We are at a crucial moment where our democratic institutions are not adequately protecting the will of the people, and we strongly support the goals of H.R. 1 to correct these infirmities. , , But, as we de…
aclu.org/blog/free-speech/campaign-finance-reform/congress-lets-fix-problems-hr-1-so-we-can-enact-bills-much

How Two Immigration Lawyers Created a Rapid-Response Team to Combat ICE
Alice Speri | theintercept.com | 2019-03-05
Sarah Gillman and Gregory Copeland were half way through a six-hour drive from Rochester to New York City last week when they got word that Baba Sillah, a father of five from the Bronx, was at John F. Kennedy International Airport, about to be deported to Gambia, a country he had left in the early 1990s. | It had been a long two days for the lawyers. On their way upstate, they had stopped by the Bergen County Jail, in New Jersey, to meet a Bangladeshi father facing imminent deportation. They had then driven to Buffalo, New York, where they trained a 21-year-old law student to argue the case of an Albany man, Kini…
theintercept.com/2019/03/05/ice-detention-legal-aid-rapid-response/

How award-winning Palestinian poet found her 'magic pen' in an Israeli jail
stuart_m | greenleft.org.au | 2019-03-05
Four months after her release from an Israeli prison, Palestinian poet and photographer Dareen Tatour received the Oxfam Novib PEN Award for Freedom of Expression in The Hague in January. Oxfam Novib, the Dutch affiliate of the international charity Oxfam, said it awarded Tatour the prize to highlight "the growing repr…
greenleft.org.au/content/how-award-winning-palestinian-poet-found-her-magic-pen-israeli-jail

The Infiltrators: How Undocumented Activists Snuck Into Immigration Jail to Fight Deportations
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-03-04
An immigrant rights activist has been detained in Florida just weeks after he appeared in an acclaimed film at the Sundance Film Festival about activists infiltrating and exposing for-profit immigrant detention jails. Claudio Rojas was apprehended on Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an annual check-in and is now being held at Krome Detention Center, where he faces immediate deportation. His lawyer says his arrest is linked to the film featuring his activism. It's called "The Infiltrators." The gripping hybrid documentary/dramatic feature was a smash success at Sundance and will play at the M…
www.democracynow.org/2019/3/4/the_infiltrators_how_undocumented_activists_snuck

The Prisoner Says 'No' to Big Brother
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-03-04
The refusal by Australia's foreign ministry to honor the UN's declaration that Julian Assange is the victim of "arbitrary detention" is a shameful breach of the letter and spirit of international law, says John Pilger. By John Pilger in Sydney,… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/03/04/the-prisoner-says-no-to-big-brother/