By David Harris-Gershon (@David_EHG)
From 1999-2010, the total U.S. prison population rose 18 percent, an increase largely reflected by the “drug war” and stringent sentencing guidelines, such as three strikes laws and mandatory minimum sentences.
However, total private prison populations exploded fivefold during this same time period, with federal private prison populations rising by 784 percent
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From A Better World Is Probable:
Over the past several days President Barack and Michelle Obama delivered commencement speeches at two historically black universities. At both they gave the same condescending lecture to Black students about dismissing racism and embracing personal responsibility. For instance, here’s what President Obama’s had to say to Morehouse’s class of 2013:
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- Jon Queally of Common Dreams
Seattle teachers who took a strong and public stance by refusing to administer a “flawed” but mandatory standardized test earlier this school year are celebrating a victory after an announcement by the school district saying the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test will not be given to high school students next year.
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Originally posted at Democracy Now:
A joint investigation by the Washington Monthly and the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute has found over the past five years U.S. border agents have shot across the border at least 10 times, killing a total of six Mexicans on Mexican soil. The killings have gone unpunished after a court ruled the Mexican victims have no standing to sue in U.S. courts since they died on their own soil. Investigative reporter John Carlos Frey writes: “The picture that emerges from this investigation is of an agency operating with thousands of poorly trained rookies and failing to provide the kind of transparency, accountability, and clear rules of engagement that Americans routinely expect of law enforcement agencies.” Frey joins us to discuss the shootings and why he fears that the current immigration consensus in Washington on “border security” could increase Mexico’s civilian toll.
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By Terri Judd of the Independent:
Emaciated and frail, more than 100 men lie on concrete floors of freezing, solitary cells in Guantánamo, silently starving themselves to death.
Stripped of all possessions, even basics such as a sleeping mat or soap, they lie listlessly as guards periodically bang on the steel doors and shout at them to move an arm or leg to prove they are still conscious.
The notorious detention centre is in crisis, suffering a rebellion of unprecedented scale, with most of the camp on lockdown and around two-thirds of the 166 detainees on hunger strike.
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Hunger-striking detainees at the Guantanamo detention facility are being force-fed through tubes inserted into their noses twice a day — causing them to gag for air and vomit — during a procedure that a U.S. military defense lawyer just returned from the U.S. base in Cuba described as “brutal” and agonizing.
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By Joseph Lowndes of HuffPost:
The FBI’s recent announcement that it has placed former Black Panther and escaped prisoner Assata Shakur at the top of its Most Wanted list and the doubling of the reward for her capture by the State of New Jersey is a development that we should not ignore.
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By Sebastian Garrett Singh of Fifth Avenue Seattle:
Last year a handful of activists put downtown Seattle in the national limelight as smoke rose from the federal courthouse, and windows were smashed at Niketown, banks, and storefronts. On April 25, Puget Sound Anarchists, released a statement regarding FBI agents visiting activists. FAS has spoken with the FBI on these visits, and learned how they’re planning for May Day 2013 as well as prep being taken by the Downtown Seattle Association, SPD, and activists.
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By Glen Greenwald of The Guardian:
News reports yesterday indicated that Bradley Manning, widely known to be gay, had been selected to be one of the Grand Marshals of the annual San Francisco gay pride parade, named by the LGBT Pride Celebration Committee. When the predictable backlash instantly ensued, the president of the Board of SF Pride, Lisa L Williams, quickly capitulated, issuing a cowardly, imperious statement that has to be read to be believed.
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By Arturo Garcia of the RawStory:
Hundreds of fast food and retail employees in Chicago began a mass walkout Wednesday morning, calling for the city’s minimum wage to be raised to $15 an hour.
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