(2020-07-10). Two more monuments to racism bite the dust in Boston. workers.org 
By G. Lechat Boston Black Lives Matter rebellion power brought down two controversial statues here, one of Christopher Columbus in the traditionally Italian-American North End, and the Downtown "Freedman's Memorial," a replica of a better-known bronze statue in Washington D.C. Boston is a famously parochial "city of neighborhoods" — historically . . . |
(2020-07-10). Scheer Intelligence: The Price Of Ignoring The Ferguson Uprising. popularresistance.org August 9 will mark six years since 18-year-old Michael Brown was murdered by policeman Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Miss. Since then, Wilson has walked free and the systemic issues that have plagued this nation throughout its history have gone unaddressed. That changed with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which so thoroughly shocked Americans and established that the lessons from Ferguson and the Black Lives Matter movement that rose from it never had been absorbed. | Now, at a moment of heightened awareness about racism, Black Lives Matter leaders and Black activists and artists such as t…
(2020-07-10). Twitter data-mining tool Dataminr fed police real-time info on Black Lives Matter protesters, despite promises not to spy. rt.com 
An analytics firm parsing Twitter data in real time for law enforcement and media has been caught funneling detailed info on anti-police-brutality marches to the very agencies users are protesting, despite promises not to. | Dataminr, a CIA-funded artificial intelligence startup that mines Twitter's real-time content stream for behavioral patterns and other analytics, has been caught feeding info on police brutality protesters from that "firehose" stream back to law enforcement. While the developers had promised they wouldn't enable domestic surveillance after a series of scandals in 2016, Dataminr is once aga…
(2020-07-10). NYC mayor bans 'large events' through end of September — except BLM protests. rt.com 
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has banned all large public events for the next three months, citing the Covid-19 pandemic — only to make a belated exception for Black Lives Matter rallies, incensing Americans far outside the city. | Fresh from painting a giant "Black Lives Matter" mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower, the mayor took to CNN to expand on his office's order to cancel all large gatherings through September 30 on Thursday. But when host Wolf Blitzer asked him about "protests," de Blasio couldn't resist taking the day's pandering even further. | "We understand, at this moment in histor…
(2020-07-10). Robert Fuller 'lynching' rumors dismissed as probe finds hanging victim heard voices & was hospitalized for suicidal thoughts. rt.com 
The death of Robert Fuller, declared a lynching by Black Lives Matter activists after he was found hanging from a tree outside Los Angeles, was confirmed as a suicide — but many are hesitant to trust the probe's result. | Fuller, a 24-year-old black man discovered hanging from a tree near City Hall in the Los Angeles suburb of Palmdale, heard voices telling him to kill himself and was repeatedly hospitalized for suicidal ideation before his death, according to the LA County Sheriff's Department, which revealed the results of its investigation at a press conference on Thursday. | While Fuller's death had…
(2020-07-10). Saturday 7/11: Black Lives Matter. indybay.org Slade Park, Novato…
(2020-07-10). Santa Cruz Grand Jury Suggests Transitioning Juvenile Hall into a Homeless Services Center. indybay.org In it's report, "Homelessness: Big Problem, Little Progress: It's Time To Think Outside The Box," the 2019-2020 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury suggests transitioning Juvenile Hall in Felton into a, "treatment and multi-faceted supportive services center for homeless individuals". The Civil Grand Jury report cited low incarceration numbers at Juvenile Hall in Felton compared to the number of staff members required to operate the facility, and noted that decreasing youth incarceration rates across the State of California has led to other counties closing their juvenile detention centers. "The Grand Jury believe…
(2020-07-10). Seven years too long: Nationwide protests on July 19 to end detention and free the refugees. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-07-10). Private Prison Simulation Game Goes Viral on Apple App Store. thealtworld.com With over two million people locked up across a sprawling network of private and public prisons, the US has by far the highest incarceration rate in the world, significantly worse than brutal dictatorships in Africa, Latin America or Central Asia. | MPN— A new game called "Prison Empire Tycoon" is going viral. Released in late May, it has risen to become the current number one strategy game in Apple's
(2020-07-10). BLM Protests Captured In Black And White. therealnews.com 
TRNN's Aman Azhar captured these photos June 7-8 shortly after thousands took to the streets of Washington, D.C. demanding an end to racial discrimination and police brutality.
(2020-07-10). What Coronavirus Teaches Us About Inequality, Discrimination and the Importance of Caring. counterpunch.org 
They say coronavirus doesn't discriminate, that it puts us all at risk, that it dictates an equally threatening future for all humankind. But the measures that have been implemented in Central America to deal with the pandemic are proof of the monumental, pre-existing inequality of our societies, and how quickly the neoliberal capitalist system takes
(2020-07-10). Federal executions set to resume before Republicans convene. workers.org 
The federal government plans to execute four people this summer in Terre Haute, Ind., even though the condemned prisoners have not been able to meet with their attorneys for more than three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced the executions to take place on . . . |
(2020-07-10). COVID-19 pandemic sweeps California prisons, San Quentin hit hardest. peoplesworld.org 
OAKLAND, Calif.—One of COVID-19's most dramatic consequences in California has been its impact on the state's prison population. As of July 8, nearly 2,300 of the 115,000 people incarcerated in the state's historically overcrowded prison system had tested positive for the disease, and at least 31 had died. Over 600 prison workers have also tested …
(2020-07-10). California sues Trump over rules to deport foreign students if colleges offer online-only classes. rt.com 
California has joined several Ivy League schools in challenging immigration rules that would send foreign students back if they can't attend classes in person, claiming such a requirement would only spread Covid-19. | Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Thursday that the state will file a legal challenge against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), over their recent clarification of the rule that foreign exchange students would have to leave the US if their schools operate online-only classes. | "Today's lawsuit rests on America's enduring princip…
(2020-07-10). California sues Trump over rules to deport foreign students home if colleges offer online-only classes. rt.com California has joined several Ivy League schools in challenging immigration rules that would send foreign students back if they can't attend classes in person, claiming such a requirement would only spread Covid-19. | Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Thursday that the state will file a legal challenge against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), over their recent clarification of the rule that foreign exchange students would have to leave the US if their schools operate online-only classes. | "Today's lawsuit rests on America's enduring princip…
(2020-07-10). Lawsuit Launched to Protect Endangered Wildlife in California Redwood Forest. indybay.org GUALALA, Calif., July 9, 2020 — Conservation groups today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and a timber company for failing to protect threatened and endangered fish, birds and frogs from a redwood logging project near northern California's Gualala River.
(2020-07-09). Lives are at Stake. Will Congress Act? aclu.org As COVID-19 infection rates soar across the country, Congress is running out of time to take further actions to protect us all. Our government must do more: Lives are at stake. Black and Brown communities are
(2020-07-09). Police in Schools Continue to Target Black, Brown, and Indigenous Students with Disabilities. The Trump Administration Has Data That's Likely to Prove It. aclu.org Across the country, communities are pushing their schools to divest funding from police and reinvest those funds in student mental health care and other supportive services. But in making their case to their respective school boards, these parents, students, and advocates have run into one significant barrier — outdated data on policing in schools. , , Every other year, the Department of Education collects and eventually releases to the public data that shows the number of student referrals and arrests made by police (including school resource officers (SROs)) in public schools, and which students are m…
(2020-07-09). 'Strike for Black Lives': Planned July 20 walkout unites BLM and unions. peoplesworld.org 
NEW YORK (AP)—A national coalition of labor unions, along with racial and social justice organizations, will stage a mass walkout from work this month, as part of an ongoing reckoning on systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. Dubbed the "Strike for Black Lives," tens of thousands of fast food, ride-share, nursing home, and airport workers …
(2020-07-09). How Black And Brown Workers Are Redefining Strikes. popularresistance.org During George Floyd's funeral on June 9th, Black dockworkers in Charleston, S.C., shut down the nation's 4th busiest port and gathered to show their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. | "All operations stopped, the terminals were shut down, no machines were working, trucks were backed up for miles along the interstate because we weren't moving anything on the terminal," said Ken Riley, a Black dockworker and President of ILA Local 1422. | The actions were part of a nationwide effort in which the International Longshore Association, which is 65% Black, shut down all the ports on the East and Gulf Sho…
(2020-07-09). The State And White Supremacy. popularresistance.org As an ongoing phenomenon, the analysis of what is referred to as the George Floyd, or now the "Black Lives Matter" demos, must be necessarily tentative. It has been instructive to observe how the energy and passion of the spontaneous militant response to the murder of George Floyd went from a movement that saw the burning of a police station transformed into one in which, according to Martin Schoots-McAlpine , the most militant demand was to make "minor amendments to municipal budgets." I will resist the temptation of attempting to address all the components and will only focus on one central element in this shor…
(2020-07-09). 'Coping' mechanism: Ford workers request company stops providing US police with vehicles amid reckoning on cop violence. rt.com 
The Great Awokening has finally pulled into the automobile industry amid the growing Black Lives Matter movement. Ford's CEO is apparently not on board with the idea though, praising the role of law enforcement. | In the United States, two-thirds of police cars are Fords. Now, some Ford employees The internal letter is…
(2020-07-09). 'Liberating 5th Avenue': New York mayor paints BLACK LIVES MATTER outside Trump Tower. rt.com 
Signaling where his priorities lie amid an epidemic of coronavirus and violence, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a stretch of 5th Avenue outside Trump Tower to be painted with the words 'Black Lives Matter'. | City workers closed off the street on Thursday morning and began painting the mural, as De Blasio boasted about "liberating 5th Avenue" and finally giving credit to African-Americans for building New York and the US. | | "We are not denigrating anything, we are liberating Fifth Avenue." | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasi…
(2020-07-09). California Reparations Bill AB 3121 – Senate Process in flow… indybay.org The signs and symbols surrounding the California State Capitol are coming down and few know the reason they were put in place. Reparative Justice hidden, cloaked in secrecy and does not mention Slavery thoroughout the State of California… limited narrow focus may do additional harm… yet not sure it matters because the Black Lives "in the building" is all that matters.
(2020-07-09). Belgian Princess Condemns Her Family's Brutal Colonial History in Congo & Calls for Reparations. democracynow.org 
Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. have sparked a reckoning about racism and colonialism across the world, including in Belgium, where a growing movement is demanding the country address systemic racism and make amends for its violent colonial legacy. King Philippe issued an unprecedented statement "expressing regret" for Belgium's brutal colonial rule in Congo under Leopold II, who ran the country as his personal fiefdom and under whose command millions of Congolese were enslaved and killed. "It's an erased history," says Belgo-Congolese journalist and activist Gia Abrassart. We also speak with Princess Esm…
(2020-07-09). The Dangers of Persecuting Doctors. counterpunch.org The detention in Egypt of nine doctors and paramedical personnel is only the latest attack on doctors dealing with the corona virus pandemic. The doctors were denouncing the deaths of front-line health care workers, as the country is struggling to control the pandemic and energize the economy with limited resources. The doctors were also critical
(2020-07-09). South Africa: Health Minister Warns on COVID-19 Cases Increase. telesurenglish.net South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warned about a hospital occupancy increase despite the optimistic outlook on COVID-19 development. | RELATED: | South Africa's government enforced a strict lockdown and virus outbreak tracing through extensive screening as precautionary measures. Nevertheless, tests and supplies scarcity limits cases detention. | With a 58 million population, then daily new cases average went from 1,0…
(2020-07-09). Federal judge backs Democrats, rules against SEP challenge to Michigan ballot access requirements during pandemic. wsws.org A Republican-appointed federal judge sided with Michigan Democrats on Wednesday and ruled against the Socialist Equality Party in its lawsuit to block the state's unconstitutional rules for ballot access in the 2020 presidential elections.
(2020-07-09). Revolution and proletarian democracy. workers.org 
A socialist revolution is an uprising of the proletariat — the working class, those who do not own the property necessary to run a business but must instead work for someone else. A socialist revolution is an awakening that causes the mass of workers to resist their oppression. In order . . . |
(2020-07-09). Racism in America: Police Choke-hold is Not the Issue. counterpunch.org While the abject inhumanity of slavery may have been legally mitigated to some extent, the institutions, practices and values of exclusion, exploitation and devaluation were not. Constitutional guarantees, and Supreme Court decisions, could be cleverly subverted by States. For example, Black people were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, arbitrary registration requirements, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries and so on. In 1940, 70 years after they had received the right to vote, only 3% of Blacks in the South were registered as voters. Less overt voter suppression efforts continue to t…
(2020-07-09). Racism in America: Police Choke-Holds Are Not the Issue. counterpunch.org 
While the abject inhumanity of slavery may have been legally mitigated to some extent, the institutions, practices and values of exclusion, exploitation and devaluation were not. Constitutional guarantees, and Supreme Court decisions, could be cleverly subverted by States. For example, Black people were denied the right to vote through poll taxes, arbitrary registration requirements, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries and so on. In 1940, 70 years after they had received the right to vote, only 3% of Blacks in the South were registered as voters. Less overt voter suppression efforts continue to t…
(2020-07-09). Release San Quentin prisoners immediately! workers.org 
Oakland, Calif. July 5 — After a large prisoner transfer to San Quentin State Prison dramatically increased the COVID infection rate there, prisoners and advocates have stepped up their campaign to win the release of thousands of elderly, ill and vulnerable people inside. COVID-19 infections are spiking at astronomical levels . . . |
(2020-07-09). Theresa May accused of 'breathtaking' hypocrisy after complaining about discrimination against black people. rt.com 
Former UK PM Theresa May has sparked anger after lamenting the rise in discrimination against black people in Britain, with some saying she is complicit for having overseen the government's 'hostile environment' policy. | During an interview with BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, May contended that the increasing number of black people being stopped by police was evidence that individuals were being apprehended based on the color of their skin, adding that there was a "wider" societal issue at play. | I fundamentally believe that you should not be stopped on the streets of our country simply because of the colour of yo…
(2020-07-09). Lady Antebellum, renamed 'Lady A' in woke PR move, sues black artist who already has the name. rt.com 
Tennessee country rock band Lady A — known as Lady Antebellum before officially renaming itself amid 2020's cultural purge of references to the Confederacy — is suing a black artist with the same name in a case of peak woke irony.
(2020-07-09). Headlines for July 9, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Posts Another Record Daily High in New Coronavirus Cases, Anthony Fauci Absent from Coronavirus Task Force Briefing After Drawing Criticism from Trump, Trump Attacks CDC Guidance on School Reopenings During Pandemic, Hundreds Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona For-Profit Immigration Jail, Tulsa, OK Health Official Links Explosion of Coronavirus Cases to Trump Rally, HHS Secretary Claims Medical Workers "Don't Get Infected" After 95,000 Test Positive for Coronavirus, COVID-19 Cases Spike in Africa, While Melbourne, Australia, Is Placed Back on Lockdown, Bolivians Buried in Mass Graves as Hospitals "Collaps…
(2020-07-09). Lawsuit Seeks Documents on President Trump's Order 'Expediting' Fossil Fuel Project Approvals. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-09). Israeli Forces Abduct Eighteen Palestinians, Including Female University Student. imemc.org Overnight Wednesday, until dawn Thursday, the Israeli army detained eighteen Palestinian civilians, including former prisoners, and a young female student, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said in a statement. In the southernmost West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli forces detained four Palestinian civilians, including two brothers, identified as; 1. Wajdi …
(2020-07-09). Historic Climate Liability Case In Colorado Against Exxon And Suncor. popularresistance.org Washington, D.C.—Today, the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit ruled that a case launched by Boulder County, San Miguel County, and the City of Boulder will proceed in state, rather than federal court. Marco Simons, General Counsel of EarthRights International, which is representing the municipalities in the case, issued the following statement in response: | "We applaud today's decision as an important step forward in our lawsuit against Suncor and Exxon. Federal courts have consistently ruled that these climate cases belong in state courts — which makes sense because these cases are about…
(2020-07-09). Former Trump Fixer Cohen Back in Federal Custody After Being Spotted at NYC Restaurant. sputniknews.com Michael Cohen, the former attorney of US President Donald Trump, is back in federal custody after reportedly refusing to comply with conditions necessary for his home confinement agreement with the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
(2020-07-08). Facebook's Civil Rights Audit Shows Need for Reforms. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-08). Facebook Pressured Towards Censorship Based on Civil Rights Claims. sputniknews.com On this episode of the Critical Hour, host Garland Nixon talks to Margaret Kimberley about pressure Facebook is facing to censor by Civil Rights groups and others.
(2020-07-08). Civil Rights Groups Say Internal Facebook Audit Confirms Company Business Model 'Relies on Racism and Hate'. commondreams.org "There are real-life consequences when social media networks provide platforms for violent white supremacists, allowing them to incubate, organize, and recruit new followers to their hateful movements." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/facebook_1.jpeg …
(2020-07-08). George F. Will Disposes of Dumbshit Progressives. thealtworld.com We can add to Will's list Greek, Roman, and other ancient artifacts from slave-owning societies in museums throughout the Western world. The Roman statues in the Met celebrate slave-holders and must be defaced and destroyed. The Roman colosseum and other remains must be pulled down along with the Acropolis in Athens. Even though the slaves were white, these architectural and historically significant ruins are offensive to blacks and must go. Blacks will never recover from slavery until all signs of Western civilization are obliterated. From the standpoint of Antifa and Black Lives Matter—essentially white o…
(2020-07-08). Black Lives Matter protests continue in cities across the US. peoplesdispatch.org Over a month after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, protests continue to rage on in dozens of cities across the United States with demands for structural change…
(2020-07-08). Black Lives Matter rewrites history. workers.org 
July 7 — A people's tidal wave against white supremacy has swept through the U.S. since the police murder of George Floyd on May 25. The assertion of power by the people against racist oppression has defied curfews, teargas, deadly weapons, mass arrests and unjust laws. A statue of Christopher . . . |
(2020-07-08). WATCH: SUV drives through crowd of BLM protesters in New York, but driver released without charge. rt.com 
A motorist panicked after being surrounded by Black Lives Matter protesters in New York's Times Square, speeding through the crowd and trapping a bicycle under the vehicle's chassis. No charges have been filed as yet, however. | "We have bikes that go in the front and block off the intersection and redirect traffic so we don't have to worry about things happening like what just happened," one protest organizer explained after protesters pursued the driver for two blocks. | The group of cyclists were attempting to stop traffic to allow the BLM protesters through when the driver suddenly panicked after their Dod…
(2020-07-08). California couple charged with HATE CRIME for painting over city-approved BLM mural. rt.com 
The couple who attempted to paint over the City of Martinez's "Black Lives Matter" mural on the 4th of July have been charged with a hate crime and two other misdemeanors by a controversial "progressive" prosecutor. | Nichole Anderson and David Nelson have been hit with three misdemeanor charges over their efforts to paint over a Black Lives Matter mural in front of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse just hours after the original painting was completed with the full blessing of the city of Martinez, a statement from Contra Costa District Attorney Diane Becton's office revealed on Tuesday. The pair could face up t…
(2020-07-08). Thursday 7/9: Scotts Valley: Black Lives Matter Peaceful Protest. indybay.org 5: 30pm: Meet at Skypark, 361 Kings Village Rd, Scotts Valley | March to MacDorsa Park, 1 Civic Center Drive, Scotts Valley…
(2020-07-08). US must tear down 'whole system of oppression,' says Democrat Ilhan Omar. Dems have 'given up' on America, Republicans reply. rt.com 
Ilhan Omar has called on the US "to tear down systems of oppression." But the Minnesota Democratic representative's remarks have outraged Republicans, who say she wants to ruin the whole American system. | Oppression is seen pretty much across the board in the American system, Omar claimed in a speech in Minnesota on Tuesday. | "We are fighting to tear down systems of oppression that exist in housing, in education, in healthcare, in employment, in the air we breathe," she said. | "We cannot stop at the criminal justice system. We must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression wherever we fin…
(2020-07-08). GOP Has Unhinged Meltdown After Ilhan Omar Makes Simple Call to 'Dismantle All Systems of Oppression'. commondreams.org "Just to be clear, Ilhan Omar is under attack by the rightwing media machine for statements that are utterly normal and totally uncontroversial when they're delivered by white, non-Muslim politicians." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ilhan_omar_3.jpg …
