cyclideon:

I’ve seen almost nothing on my dashboard about the prison strike so far, so I thought I’d make a post about it.

On August 21st, prisoners throughout 17 states began a prison strike, after a riot in Lee Correctional Institute in South Carolina. The strike is supposed to last until September 9th. The strikers issued ten demands:

• Immediate improvements to the conditions of prisons and prison policies that recognize the humanity of imprisoned men and women.
  
• An immediate end to prison slavery. All persons imprisoned in any place of detention under United States jurisdiction must be paid the prevailing wage in their state or territory for their labor.
  
• The Prison Litigation Reform Act must be rescinded, allowing imprisoned humans a proper channel to address grievances and violations of their rights.
  
• The Truth in Sentencing Act and the Sentencing Reform Act must be rescinded so that imprisoned humans have a possibility of rehabilitation and parole. No human shall be sentenced to Death by Incarceration or serve any sentence without the possibility of parole.
• An immediate end to the racial overcharging, over-sentencing, and parole denials of Black and brown humans. Black humans shall no longer be denied parole because the victim of the crime was white, which is a particular problem in southern states.
  
• An immediate end to racist gang enhancement laws targeting Black and brown humans.
  
• No imprisoned human shall be denied access to rehabilitation programs at their place of detention because of their label as a violent offender.
  
• State prisons must be funded specifically to offer more rehabilitation services.
  
• Pell grants must be reinstated in all US states and territories.
  
• The voting rights of all confined citizens serving prison sentences, pretrial detainees, and so-called “ex-felons” must be counted. Representation is demanded. All voices count.

Corporations like Whole Foods, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Walmart, Starbucks, and more have used prison slave labor, where prisoners are paid $1.00 a day to make millions for bosses. In a country where slavery is abolished in name only, where we imprison more people than any other country, and where the majority of inmates (despite a recent decline) remain people of color, it’s important for outsiders to assist any way we can.  

If you want information about the strike, as well as actions you can take, check out It’s Going Down. The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee is also posting updates on Twitter.

brainstatic:

Undeserved cynicism is annoying, but in some cases it can be dangerous. The people saying Trump’s corruption is standard for a politician are doing actual harm. He’s the most corrupt president we’ve ever had, there is no remotely close competition. He owns a business that’s almost certainly a money laundering front for Russian oligarchs (which is a fancy word for Putin’s state-sponsored mobsters.) Seemingly every one of his cabinet members is a con artist with scandals that would consume any other presidency. You’re not showing off how wise you are by saying this is all normal, because it’s simply not. You can’t normalize this just to look cool and jaded.

thathopeyetlives:

tradfems:

I’d also just like to say something that absolutely rocked my world when I heard it. Please be wary when donating to charities you are not familiar with. This is not an anti-charity or anti-donation post, but there are some not-so-honest people out there.

I used to volunteer at a cancer outreach office with some of the best women I’ve ever met. And one of them told us about a particularly gut-wrenching story and I think it has a really good lesson.

I can’t remember the organizations she listed off-hand, but she was recalling a meeting she was in once that made her stop donating to places she didn’t know about in-depth. They were talking about other cancer-related “charities”.

There are countless organizations that are absolute frauds. Some spring up, take donations, and then disappear. Others might take money and spend it horribly. Some, like Susan G. Komen, are way more corporate than they ever are charity. They are very good at appealing to empathy and getting people to think they’re helping, when in reality they aren’t doing all that much at all. Or worse – nothing.

Don’t feel bad saying no to a cashier who asks if you want to donate to a charity you aren’t familiar with. I’d even go so far as to say you shouldn’t, unless you are familiar enough with the charity. Learn about charities you’re thinking about donating your time or money to. There are some that are absolutely terrible and take advantage of people’s generosity, and there are others who actually strive to make a difference in the world.

Feel bad you can’t donate to ___ charity at walmart when you’re checking out? Go home, go to their website, read some testimonies and look to see where their money is going. If you’re happy with their operation, donate online! Many charities have online donation features now. It’s absolutely feasible to say “Not right now” and do your research and possible donations later. If anyone wants to guilt you about saying no, simply tell them that you’re going to go home and check out the charity for yourself. That’s a very fair and reasonable expectation.

When she told me about one “cancer organization” here in Canada that used the money to essentially host corporate tea parties every year and do not much else whatsoever, I learned to really make sure that whoever I’m supporting is a genuinely good charity, and that it genuinely cares about the cause it claims to fight for. Unfortunately there are too many people taking advantage, and it sucks. It really really sucks that people do these things just to get some money at the expense of charity and empathy.

Also, Charity Navigator and the like are not that great – they measure some important stuff like transparency, but they don’t do anything *like* comparing actual impact per dollar.

rowanthesloth:

A bipartisan report released by the CIA, FBI, NSA, and ODNI stated unequivocally that Russia, under orders from Putin, carried out a far-reaching cyber operation with the goal of interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections.

One branch of this attack involved fake Russian accounts spreading disinformation, discord, and inflammatory content (in a word, propaganda) across many social media platforms, most notably Facebook and Instagram, but also tumblr. The Department of Justice indicted 13 Russians and 3 Russian companies for these actions. The defendants referred to their activities as “information warfare”, and stated that their goal was to “spread distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general.”

In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, President Trump has dismissed reports of Russian meddling as “ridiculous”, and has publicly stated that he believes Putin’s assertions that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections.

We should all be concerned about outside powers seeking to interfere with the integrity of our elections, regardless of which candidates or parties benefit from such interference.

• As the midterms approach, be wary of voices sowing discord, fear, and despair. Look for solutions and ways to help instead.
• Be wary of anyone who says your vote doesn’t matter. It does.
• Be wary of anyone who says that “both sides” are the same. They’re not.
• Be wary of anyone who says an election result is a foregone conclusion. It isn’t.
• Be wary of anyone who argues for ideological purity and categorical rejection of “flawed” candidates. Perfect people do not exist.
• Be wary of sharing posts from sources you do not recognize or know to be trustworthy. Always corroborate with a reputable source.

These people want you to stay home on election day. They don’t want you to exercise your rights and your power at the ballot box. Remember, voter turnout is always lower in non-presidential years, which means your vote counts for more.

laurellynnleake:

thetwistedrope:

dizzy-redhead:

smallfragment:

for those who aren’t aware, the australian government has abandoned the manus island offshore detention facility where it’s been indefinitely holding over 600 refugees. they have no food, water or electricity and are at risk of malaria. you can donate here to the RISE refugee welfare organisation, and here for the asylum seeker resource centre #bringthemhere

As of 11/5/2017, this was one of the most recent news stories:

http://www.cbc.ca/1.4385659

“The United Nations human rights office called on Australia on Friday
to restore food, water and health services to about 600 interned
refugees and asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea, which Canberra cut off
three days ago.

The detainees in the Manus Island Centre have defied attempts by the
governments of both Australia and PNG to close the camp, saying they
fear violent reprisals from the local community if they are moved to
other “transit centres.” […]

For four years, Australia has paid Papua New Guinea, its nearest
neighbour, and Nauru to house asylum seekers who attempt to reach the
Australian coast by boat. They include Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar,
Afghans, Iranians, Sri Lankans and other nationalities, and are almost
entirely men.

The impending closure of the camp is part of an Australian government
plan to push refugees and asylum seekers to either return to their home
country, settle in PNG or move elsewhere, thereby disbanding part of
Australia’s controversial and expensive offshore detention program. […]

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday repeated her country’s offer to take up to 150 refugees. 

New Zealand citizens are typically allowed to work and live in
Australia, a pathway that Australia fears could be used by the refugees
to move to Australia.”

As of July 17, 2018, refugees have now been suffering on Australian prisons on isolated islands

for 5 long years.  Here
are the links
again to help by donating to RISE or ASRC.