Daily Archives: December 4, 2020

2020-12-04: News Headlines

Tony McKenna (2020-12-04). Death of a Liberal and Black Lives Matter. counterpunch.org The criminalization of black people had been shaped as a clear strategy on the part of the state to target and cripple expressions of popular power, to coerce labour along explicitly racial and class lines, while facilitating the enrichment of an elite which — ever more parasitical — grew bloated and septic having gorged itself on such unremitting suffering. It is in this context that the horror of what had happened to George Floyd forms a link in a chain of systematic oppression and mass murder.

Ajamu Baraka (2020-12-04). Will This Be the Radicalization of Black Lives Matter? counterpunch.org On Monday a group of local Black Lives Matter chapters issued a statement to the public calling for more transparency and accountability from the Black Lives Matter Global Network (BLMGN), the umbrella structure for the Black lives matter structures. In what appears to be an ongoing internal discussion, the chapters claimed that BLMGN not only

The Canary (2020-12-04). Priti Patel is furious that campaigners are daring to challenge deportation flights. thecanary.co Home secretary Priti Patel has called comments from campaigners who linked the deportation of Black people to Jamaica "deeply offensive" because they linked it to the Windrush scandal. Said scandal involved the deportation of Black people to Jamaica.The government has defended the action as it claims those deported are criminals with no right to be in the UK. Campaigners argue there should be no deportations until "justice has been delivered for all Commonwealth Windrush victims".Thirteen prisoners were deported to Jamaica in a flight on 2 December, but lawyers successfully moved to have another 23 removed from t…

Mumia Abu-Jamal (2020-12-04). Mumia Abu-Jamal on: Lessons from the first abolition movement. workers.org This article is part of Abolition for the People, a series brought to you by a partnership between Kaepernick Publishing and LEVEL, a medium publication for and about the lives of Black and Brown men. In 1981, Black Panther Party member Mumia Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death by a "hanging . . . |

Tony Pecinovsky (2020-12-04). REVIEW: 'Ballad of an American'—Civil rights giant Paul Robeson's illustrated bio. peoplesworld.org This has been a tumultuous year. Millions marched in the streets against police brutality and violence after the killing of George Floyd. They were tear-gassed, shot with rubber bullets and percussion grenades, and run over, among any number of other civil liberties abuses. Their demand was "Black Lives Matter!" Their persistence has scored some gains. …

Defense for Children International, Palestine (2020-12-04). Isolated and Alone. Palestinian Children Held in Solitary Confinement by Israeli Authorities for Interrogation. globalresearch.ca Overview | Between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019, Defense for Children International — Palestine (DCIP) documented 108 cases in which Palestinian children arrested by the Israeli military were held in isolation for two or more days during the interrogation …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-04). Ola Bini's pre-trial hearings suspended for two weeks. peoplesdispatch.org The hearings are set to resume on December 16, but without any observers. Ola Bini, a digital privacy rights activist and software developer, was arrested in April 2019…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-03). Palestinian student activist released from Israeli prison after 15 months. peoplesdispatch.org 23-year-old Mays Abu Ghosh, a student of Birzeit university, was arrested by the Israeli security forces on charges of being a member of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole, a student group affiliated to the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)…

Ben Slowey (2020-12-03). Protesters gather in Milwaukee to demand Common Council reject COPS grant. liberationnews.org "During a pandemic the last thing we need is more funding for police, while the health department has 60 unfilled positions."

Ramzy Baroud (2020-12-03). Moving Past Apartheid: One-State is not Ideal Justice, but It is Just and Possible. counterpunch.org Once again, Europe's top diplomats expressed their 'deep concern' regarding Israel's ongoing illegal settlement expansion, again evoking the maxim that Israeli actions "threaten the viability of the two-state solution". This position was communicated by EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell, on November 19, during a video-conference with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki. All Israeli

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-03). Protesters demand president Alejandro Giammattei's resignation in Guatemala. peoplesdispatch.org On November 30, thousands of Guatemalans once again hit the streets in rejection of corruption, austerity and police brutality, as well as to demand the resignation of right-wing president Alejandro Giammattei, his ministers and the members of the congress. | The Indigenous communities of Sololá department and members of various social organizations organized blockades on the Inter-American highway, which connects the capital to western Guatemala, at several points across the department to demand structural changes in the country. Indigenous people in María Tecún, San Juan Argueta and La Cuchilla, among other vil…

Victoria Law (2020-12-03). The Graying of Mass Incarceration. progressive.org Prisons, ill-suited for providing health care, are facing an explosion of elderly inmates.

_____ (2020-12-03). Will This Be The Radicalization Of Black Lives Matter? popularresistance.org On Monday a group of local Black Lives Matter chapters issued a statement to the public calling for more transparency and accountability from the Black Lives Matter Global Network (BLMGN), the umbrella structure for the Black lives matter structures. | In what appears to be an ongoing internal discussion, the chapters claimed that BLMGN not only did not collaborate on political visioning and collective analysis with the chapters but shockingly, with the millions reported in the media that was raised from foundations and corporations, "most chapters have received little to no financial support since the launch in…

Glen Ford (2020-12-03). Black Lives Matter (BLM) Chapters Demand "Accountability" from Trio that Cashed in on the Movement. globalresearch.ca Ten chapters of the national Black Lives Matter organization are in open revolt against the individuals that have treated the mass movement as their personal vehicle for upward political, professional and financial advancement. | In 2013 three Black women social activist …

Andrew Korybko (2020-12-02). "Global Policeman": Why's the US in the South China Sea? globalresearch.ca America regards itself as the "global policeman", hence its arrogant actions, but it was never deputized by the international community to fulfill such a role. Rather, it's more like a dangerously delusional role player than a legitimate law enforcement officer….

Ted Kelly (2020-12-02). Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras released after 103-day hunger strike. workers.org Palestinian political prisoner Maher al-Akhras was released from Israeli prison Nov. 26. He had staged a hunger strike for 103 days in protest of his arrest and incarceration. He was held by occupation forces under "administrative detention" and was never charged with a crime. Akhras, who was transferred to a . . . |

Ted Kelly (2020-12-02). Palestinian prisoner Maher-al-Akhras released after 103-day hunger strike. workers.org Hunger striker Maher al-Akhras Palestinian political prisoner Maher al-Akhras was released from Israeli prison Nov. 26. He had staged a hunger strike for 103 days in protest of his arrest and incarceration. He was held by occupation forces under "administrative detention" and was never charged with a crime. Akhras, who . . . |

Ted Kelly (2020-12-02). Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras released after 103-day hunger strike. workers.org Hunger striker Maher al-Akhras Palestinian political prisoner Maher al-Akhras was released from Israeli prison Nov. 26. He had staged a hunger strike for 103 days in protest of his arrest and incarceration. He was held by occupation forces under "administrative detention" and was never charged with a crime. Akhras, who . . . |

Staff (2020-12-02). Black Panthers Eddie Conway and Paul Coates' revolution wasn't televised. therealnews.com Former Black Panthers Eddie Conway and Paul Coates talk about their new book, "The Brother You Choose," which delves deep into their friendship and their parallel lives as freedom fighters and family men, featuring an afterword from Paul's son, Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Staff (2020-12-02). "The Dead Are Arising": New Biography on Malcolm X's Childhood, Killing & Secret Meeting with KKK. democracynow.org We speak with the co-author of a major new biography of Malcolm X, "The Dead Are Arising," which recently won the 2020 National Book Award for Nonfiction and offers a sweeping account of Malcolm X's life by weaving together hundreds of interviews with Malcolm X's family, friends, colleagues and enemies. The book is based on decades of research by Les Payne, who died in 2018, and finished by his daughter, Tamara Payne. "The reason why he admired Malcolm is because Malcolm was dealing with the conditions that Black people are facing even internally and how we viewed ourselves in this situation," she says, and descr…

Ajamu Baraka (2020-12-02). Will This Be the Radicalization of Black Lives Matter? dissidentvoice.org On Monday a group of local Black Lives Matter chapters issued a statement to the public calling for more transparency and accountability from the Black Lives Matter Global Network (BLMGN), the umbrella structure for the Black Lives Matter structures. In what appears to be an ongoing internal discussion, the chapters claimed that BLMGN not only …

_____ (2020-12-02). France's New Security Law May Have Sparked A 'George Floyd' Moment. popularresistance.org Award-winning Syrian photographer Ameer Alhalbi lies dazed on the ground. His head is heavily bruised and bandaged, blood covers his face, arms, and much of his body. Lengths of cotton wool have been stuffed up his broken nose, giving him an almost comical appearance. Alhalbi has been badly beaten by police. But this is not Syria, it is Paris, where he was covering — ironically — huge, nationwide protests against police brutality this weekend.

oneworld.press (2020-12-02). Why's The US In The South China Sea?>. oneworld.press America regards itself as the "global policeman", hence its arrogant actions, but it was never deputized by the international community to fulfill such a role. Rather, it's more like a dangerously delusional role player than a legitimate law enforcement officer.

Haymarket Books (2020-12-02). Wednesday 12/2: #BLM Book Launch: "Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice" indybay.org Online Event…

_____ (2020-12-02). France's New Security Law May Have Sparked A 'George Floyd' Moment. popularresistance.org ward-winning Syrian photographer Ameer Alhalbi lies dazed on the ground. His head is heavily bruised and bandaged, blood covers his face, arms, and much of his body. Lengths of cotton wool have been stuffed up his broken nose, giving him an almost comical appearance. Alhalbi has been badly beaten by police. But this is not Syria, it is Paris, where he was covering — ironically — huge, nationwide protests against police brutality this weekend.

RT (2020-12-01). WATCH police arrest driver who plowed through pedestrians in central Trier, Germany. rt.com The moment police arrested a car driver who sped though a pedestrian area in the German town of Trier, killing at least four people and injuring several others, has been allegedly caught on video and shared online. | The clip circulating on social media appears to show three officers pinning the suspect to the ground and handcuffing him as several others secure the perimeter. | The dark grey Range Rover, which was apparently used in the attack, was also captured in the footage. The police allegedly had to ram the vehicle with a car in order to stop it. | WATCH police arrest driver who plowed through pedestrian…

Nur Ayoubi (2020-12-01). Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot | Latest instance of detentions by Egyptian forces over images of women deemed too 'provocative' has garnered mixed reactions online | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 52 | Model Salma al-Shimi in one of the images taken at the Saqqara site (Screengrab/Twitter) | Photos of an Egyptian model have sparked intense debate online, after both the ph…

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

RT (2020-12-01). Heavily-armed bank robbers launch 'MAJOR ASSAULT' on city in Brazil, before locals swoop in to pick up leftover cash (VIDEOS). rt.com A gang of armed thieves laid siege to a Brazilian city and assaulted banks in what the city's mayor called a "robbery of great proportions." Video footage caught the brazen criminals in action, before police arrested several. | The thieves,

Nur Ayoubi (2020-12-01). Egypt: Photographer and model arrested over pyramid photoshoot. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Photographer and model arrested over pyramid photoshoot | Latest instance of detentions by Egyptian forces over images of women deemed too 'provocative' has garnered mixed reactions online | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 52 | Model Salma al-Shimi in one of the images taken at the Saqqara site (Screengrab/Twitter) | Photos of an Egyptian model have sparked intense debate online, after both the photographer an…

teleSUR (2020-12-01). Guatemala: Indigenous People Block Roads Against Giammattei. telesurenglish.net Hundreds of Indigenous people Monday blocked the main highways of western Guatemala to demand President Alejandro Giammattei's resignation and reject austerity, corruption, and police brutality. | RELATED: | The Indigenous communities of the Solola Department, located 130 kilometers from Guatemala City, organized the blockades on the Inter-American highway, which leads to the capital. | "On November 24, our communit…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-12-01). Moving Past Apartheid: One-State is not Ideal Justice, but It is Just and Possible. dissidentvoice.org Once again, Europe's top diplomats expressed their 'deep concern' regarding Israel's ongoing illegal settlement expansion, again evoking the maxim that Israeli actions "threaten the viability of the two-state solution". This position was communicated by EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell, on November 19, during a video-conference with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki. All Israeli …

Jesse Hagopian (2020-12-01). Making Black Lives Matter at School. progressive.org The national movement has four key demands to eliminate racism in education.

Jonah Raskin (2020-12-01). SF's New DA, Chesa Boudin, Battles Criminal Injustice System on Two Fronts. counterpunch.org San Francisco District Attorney, Chesa Boudin, 40, is battling the criminal injustice system in his own balliwick where cops have literally been getting away with murder, and where they have also aimed to sabotage the orderly workings of law enforcement. Boudin is battling much the same system of injustice, thousands of miles from home at Shawangunk

Project Censored (2020-12-01). #25. Studies Document Links between Education, Incarceration, and Recidivism. projectcensored.org Two research studies document links between education, incarceration, and recidivism, as covered in articles published by ColorLines, Usable Knowledge, and Citizen Truth. In September 2019, ColorLines reported that attending a…

Kerry-anne Mendoza (2020-11-30). How to fight the witch hunt, and win. thecanary.co Anyone still arguing the antisemitism smear campaign is anything but a witch hunt is a liar, an idiot, or both. It is a cynical attempt to shutdown the anti-apartheid struggle of the Palestinian people and their allies. It is a horrific abuse of Jewish trauma and identity. And for a campaign claiming to act on behalf of Jewish people everywhere, it saves some of its cruellest abuse for anti-zionist and/or left wing Jews. Every capitulation emboldens them. And that's why it has to stop. | "We are being no platformed, we are being cancelled, we are being denied the freedom to express legitimate points of view. | Al…

Liberation Staff (2020-11-30). Houseless families forcibly evicted in El Sereno on Thanksgiving eve. liberationnews.org On Thanksgiving eve, California Highway Patrol evicted houseless families and arrested dozens in El Sereno. The CHP acted after organizers and community members tried to reclaim vacant, publicly owned houses. Unhoused families, which included children as young as three-months-old and adults as old as 70, were left nowhere to go and with no protections amidst …

Fight Back (2020-11-30). Minnesota: Car caravan to governor's mansion protests Nov. 4 mass arrest. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – On November 27, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar Clark organized a rally and car caravan to protest the mass arrests of November 4. The Black Friday protest started in the parking lot of JJ Hill elementary school, where Philando Castile worked before he was killed by police. During a brief rally, participants decorated their cars, then a caravan of 100 vehicles left for the governor's mansion, by way of the Grand Avenue. | Governor Tim Walz had mobilized hundreds of police from across the state to "teach a lesson" to protesters on November 4 who were part of a national day of protest…

WSWS (2020-11-30). Hundreds of thousands protest across France against police violence and Macron's police immunity law. wsws.org Opposition is growing to a law that would criminalize the filming of police officers, amid a series of incidents of police brutality over the past week.