"GOP strategists urge congressional candidates to campaign against a national abortion ban"
"Disturbed by tough election losses on Tuesday, Republicans say the party needs to make clear to voters, in speeches and TV ads, that it doesn't favor banning all abortions."
Their idea: Say the GOP is for "reasonable limits on late-term abortions" as opposed to Dems' "taxpayer-funded abortion without limits.”🙄
UK policing minister urges doubling down on face-scanning tech
English government is determined to push with face scanning/recognition technology. The DVLA and Passport Office images will probably become part of the data set, learning from China. The Met have already been accused of using face recognition technology unlawfully, but not prosecuted.
Don’t expect Labour to do anything different. See Blunkett and Straw.
How criminalisation is being used to silence climate activists across the world
"Criminalisation does not happen in isolation. Experts say that deploying the legal system is part of a spectrum or playbook of escalating tactics deployed by corporations and their allies to divide communities, distract leaders and weaken social movements. The tactics reported by activists include online attacks, defamation, police surveillance, security deployments and violence."
@TexasObserver "Reaffirm what ought to be. Get back to the truth; that’s old, but get back to it. Get back to what’s honest; tell the #government to do that. Affirm the #CivilLiberties of the people of this country. Do that." – #BarbaraJordan
This is what #journalism needs across the board, across all mediums, at every level.
This is what is lacking in a consistent way in every major #news outlet, in the #US and around the world.
A woman is being prosecuted for contempt of court for holding a sign informing jurors of their right to acquit on conscience, outside a trial of environmental protestors at Inner London Crown Court.
If the trial had been held at the Central Criminal Court, (the #OldBailey ) 1.5 miles north, jurors would have been able to read the plaque outside telling them about this right and its origin in Bushel’s Case, 1670.
Members of a jury have the absolute, unfettered right to decline to be the executioners of unjust laws.
The point of the exercise should be to introduce humanity to a system otherwise perfectly designed to repress, intimidate and make an example of deviants and rebels, and by extension the rest of us.
Otherwise, all the jury system does is ensure that lots more people are walking around with blood on their hands.
#BritishColumbia#CivilLiberties Association (BCCLA) has launched a new resource designed to support #students who are faced with a return of the School Liaison Officer (SLO) Program, or police in their schools. This new fact sheet contains information for youth rights related to searches and privacy, information on filing a human rights complaint, and safety tips for interacting with police at school.
Today in Labor History August 21, 1831: Nat Turner launched a 2-day slave revolt in Virginia. They killed over 50 whites. In response, scores of African-Americans were lynched, including many who did not participate in the revolt. Turner survived in hiding for more than two months. Mobs & militias killed around 120 enslaved and free African Americans. In the aftermath, state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting education of free and enslaved black people and restricted the civil liberties for free blacks.
The rebellion is referenced in “Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown.” Thomas R. Gray wrote an 1831 pamphlet, “The Confessions of Nat Turner,” based on his jailhouse interview with Turner. Harriet Beecher Stowe referenced Turner's Confessions in her 1855 novel “Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp.” Harriet Jacobs, an escaped slave, refers to the pogrom against blacks following Turner's rebellion in her 1861 classic, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” In the 1990s, Tupac Shakur honored Turner with a cross tattoo on his back "EXODUS 1831."
As the battle over #bookbans in #schools and #libraries continues to play out in various states across the U.S., the toll it’s taking on #librarians is coming at a great cost — personally and financially. Many librarians are speaking up about fearing for their jobs and safety. NPR’s Tovia Smith traveled to Louisiana where tensions have been flaring up — pitting librarians against book ban advocates in the local community. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1193446007#education#censorship#CivilLiberties
Powerful and Continuing #Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of #patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. #Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of #HumanRights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, and long incarcerations of prisoners.
Supremacy of the #Military
Even when there are widespread #domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant #Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional #gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to #abortion is high, as is #homophobia and anti-#gay legislation.
Controlled #MassMedia
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government #censorship and #secrecy especially in war time, are very common.
Obsession with #NationalSecurity
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
#Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
Protection of #Corporate Power
The #industrial and business #aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Suppression of #Labor Power
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor #unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
Disdain for #Intellectuals and the #Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to #HigherEducation and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other #academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with #Crime and #Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the #police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego #CivilLiberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant #Cronyism and #Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
#Fraudulent#Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
This post is a summary of Fascism, Anyone? by Lawrence W. Britt published in 2003 by Free Inquiry magazine."