shadowproof--2020-05-01--New York Is Denying Incarcerated Women Food, Says Grassroots Coalition

New York Is Denying Incarcerated Women Food , Says Grassroots Coalition Incarcerated individuals at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility , the state of New York ’ s only maximum-security facility for women , say they are being denied food , according to Survived and Punished New York , a grassroots coalition .
Multiple sources within the facility have shared information with Survived and Punished New York on this development and conditions are deteriorating as staff continue a lockdown that is supposedly aimed at protecting prisoners from the spread of the coronavirus .
Maria Iskaros , an organizer with Survived and Punished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In terms of the meals that people have been getting , we heard that infirmary people weren ’ t getting breakfast until 10 a.m. , and they had to yell and kick doors to even get that at all.
” “ People believe that they ’ re running out of food because whatever is leftover from the main meal they end up giving that to the new set of people.
” “ One morning , everyone got a half of a glass of milk in a small styrofoam cup , ” Iskaros added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for breakfast without anything else.
” No one has starved to death , but Iskaros said prisoners definitely are feeling the effects of hunger .
Iskaros could not say which unit is being denied food without exposing sources to possible retaliation .
Yet , the coalition ’ s press release indicates multiple people have informed them they are not being fed properly .
Prisoners in the facility were on 23-hour lockdown .
After a phone call campaign against the prison , the facility gave prisoners two additional hours outside their cells .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Some folks only received a mask after they got infected and were positive , ” according to Iskaros .
“ Folks still aren ’ t getting tested for COVID .
The COs and guards there are giving limited information about what ’ s going on.
” Iskaros also said guards have told prisoners , “ Hey , we read what your emailing .
So watch what you ’ re writing in your emails .
They ’ re trying to intimidate people inside in that way.
” According to the New York State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NYSDOCCS ) , 38 prisoners at Bedford Hills have tested positive for the coronavirus .
One prisoner has died from COVID-19 .
State facilities are not engaged in the mass testing of prisoners and so numbers reported by the state of New York should be viewed with an appropriate level of skepticism .
“ It seems like we ’ re hitting that point where they didn ’ t act fast enough to release folks , and so now people are catching the virus .
And then the people who are most vulnerable are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Survived and Punished New York launched a commissary fundraiser for women inside Bedford Hills .
They also engaged in phone zaps for the past week directed at the facility ’ s temporary superintendent to protest the lockdown , “ non-coercive testing and treatment for free , ” “ full medical policy transparency , ” and “ free complete meals to all.
” “ What we ’ re seeing now is an escalation of the intentional violence that prisons have always inflicted on our loved ones , friends , and neighbors , and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Diana Colavita , an organizer with Survived and Punished NY .
“ This is why Governor [ Andrew ] Cuomo MUST grant mass clemencies without conditions now [ emphasis not added ] .
” Thus far , according to NYSDOCCS , the state has released 791 people from state facilities .
There are over 40,000 people in state custody .
Cuomo responded to pressure on and authorized the release of pregnant women , who are less than six months away from the day they would be released from prison .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuomo and other officials to release prisoners .
“ We agree with the hundreds of medical and public health experts and advocates across the country : the only effective way to prevent the unending spread of COVID-19 is to release people from the confines of prison .
If you do not act now , we must prepare for a catastrophic loss of life behind bars.
” While other state governors have used their broad clemency powers to release individuals from prison , Cuomo has been extremely reluctant to release vulnerable people as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steve Zeidman , a professor at CUNY School of Law , wrote , “ Governor Cuomo was asked whether he had any plans to grant broad clemencies to people in prison , particularly to vulnerable populations .
His testy and dismissive response – ’ How about if they are violent and just started their sentence ?
’ —was telling.
” “ Presumably , the governor meant to remove from consideration people he believed remained a threat to public safety and had not been sufficiently punished.
” “ The governor ’ s apparent disregard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime is reminiscent of times when convicted people were sent to places like Devil ’ s Island where leprosy and other diseases flourished , and tens of thousands of incarcerated people died , ” Zeidman concluded .

Incarcerated individuals at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, the state of New York’s only maximum-security facility for women, say they are being denied food, according to Survived and Punished New York, a grassroots coalition.
Multiple sources within the facility have shared information with Survived and Punished New York on this development and conditions are deteriorating as staff continue a lockdown that is supposedly aimed at protecting prisoners from the spread of the coronavirus.
Maria Iskaros, an organizer with Survived and Punished New York, told Shadowproof, “In terms of the meals that people have been getting, we heard that infirmary people weren’t getting breakfast until 10 a.m., and they had to yell and kick doors to even get that at all.”
“People believe that they’re running out of food because whatever is leftover from the main meal they end up giving that to the new set of people.”
“One morning, everyone got a half of a glass of milk in a small styrofoam cup,” Iskaros added. “People have been served milk for breakfast without anything else.”
No one has starved to death, but Iskaros said prisoners definitely are feeling the effects of hunger.
Iskaros could not say which unit is being denied food without exposing sources to possible retaliation. Yet, the coalition’s press release indicates multiple people have informed them they are not being fed properly.
Prisoners in the facility were on 23-hour lockdown. After a phone call campaign against the prison, the facility gave prisoners two additional hours outside their cells.
“They had to fight to get masks. Some folks only received a mask after they got infected and were positive,” according to Iskaros. “Folks still aren’t getting tested for COVID. The COs and guards there are giving limited information about what’s going on.”
Iskaros also said guards have told prisoners, “Hey, we read what your emailing. So watch what you’re writing in your emails. They’re trying to intimidate people inside in that way.”
According to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS), 38 prisoners at Bedford Hills have tested positive for the coronavirus. One prisoner has died from COVID-19.
State facilities are not engaged in the mass testing of prisoners and so numbers reported by the state of New York should be viewed with an appropriate level of skepticism.
“It seems like we’re hitting that point where they didn’t act fast enough to release folks, and so now people are catching the virus. And then the people who are most vulnerable are unfortunately dying,” Iskaros suggested.
Survived and Punished New York launched a commissary fundraiser for women inside Bedford Hills. They also engaged in phone zaps for the past week directed at the facility’s temporary superintendent to protest the lockdown, “non-coercive testing and treatment for free,” “full medical policy transparency,” and “free complete meals to all.”
“What we’re seeing now is an escalation of the intentional violence that prisons have always inflicted on our loved ones, friends, and neighbors, and a weaponization of COVID-19 against incarcerated people,” said Diana Colavita, an organizer with Survived and Punished NY. “This is why Governor [Andrew] Cuomo MUST grant mass clemencies without conditions now [emphasis not added].”
Thus far, according to NYSDOCCS, the state has released 791 people from state facilities. There are over 40,000 people in state custody.
Cuomo responded to pressure on and authorized the release of pregnant women, who are less than six months away from the day they would be released from prison.
On May 1, forty-seven state lawmakers urged Cuomo and other officials to release prisoners. “We agree with the hundreds of medical and public health experts and advocates across the country: the only effective way to prevent the unending spread of COVID-19 is to release people from the confines of prison. If you do not act now, we must prepare for a catastrophic loss of life behind bars.”
While other state governors have used their broad clemency powers to release individuals from prison, Cuomo has been extremely reluctant to release vulnerable people as the virus spreads in state facilities.
As Steve Zeidman, a professor at CUNY School of Law, wrote, “Governor Cuomo was asked whether he had any plans to grant broad clemencies to people in prison, particularly to vulnerable populations. His testy and dismissive response –’How about if they are violent and just started their sentence?’—was telling.”
“Presumably, the governor meant to remove from consideration people he believed remained a threat to public safety and had not been sufficiently punished.”
“The governor’s apparent disregard for anyone recently convicted of a violent crime is reminiscent of times when convicted people were sent to places like Devil’s Island where leprosy and other diseases flourished, and tens of thousands of incarcerated people died,” Zeidman concluded.


shadowproof--2020-05-04--Amazon Web Services Executive Resigns In Protest Against Firing Of Whistleblowers

Amazon Web Services Executive Resigns In Protest Against Firing Of Whistleblowers A vice president and distinguished engineer at Amazon Web Services resigned in protest against the corporation ’ s firing of whistleblowers who spoke out against deplorable warehouse conditions .
Tim Bray wrote in a post on his personal website that terminating whistleblowers was “ evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture .
I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison.
” Bray ’ s narrative further confirms how executives are creating a chilling effect against workers who dare to dissent .
He estimated taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million dollars in salary and shares .
As the coronavirus spread through Amazon warehouses in March , workers grew more and more afraid of risks to their safety .
By April , Christian Smalls organized a demonstration on Staten Island for better workplace conditions and was fired .
Leaked executive meeting notes showed Amazon ’ s plans to demonize Smalls in order to discredit employees demanding changes .
Bray recalled warehouse workers “ reached out ” to Amazon Employees for Climate Justice ( AECJ ) “ for support .
They responded by internally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call for Thursday , April 16 , featuring warehouse workers from around the world , with guest activist Naomi Klein.
” “ An announcement sent to internal mailing lists on Friday , April 10 , was apparently the flashpoint .
Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa , two visible AECJ leaders , were fired on the spot that day , ” Bray added .
“ The justifications were laughable .
It was clear to any reasonable observer that they were turfed for whistleblowing.
” Bray went “ through the proper channels ” and engaged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” but he was left with no choice other than to resign .
“ Remaining an Amazon VP would have meant , in effect , signing off on actions [ he ] despised.
” He lists off several employees , who in addition to Smalls were fired because they raised their voice : Courtney Bowden , Gerald Bryson , Maren Costa , Emily Cunningham , and Bashir Mohamed .
The corporation informed Bryson , who was a warehouse employee on Staten Island , that he was fired for using “ vulgar language.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amazon for a year and a half , told CNET , “ It was just retribution for me organizing and protesting .
I ’ m disgusted .
I feel violated.
” Bowden was fired after she advocated for paid vacation for part-time workers .
Mohamed , who is of Somali descent , was involved in organizing workers at a warehouse in Minnesota , and Buzzfeed reported he pushed for “ more rigorous cleaning and other measures to protect against the transmission of the coronavirus.
” According to CNN , “ Mohamed distributed paper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and said he expressed concerns to management about what he called the impossibility of practicing social distancing in the facility .
To his surprise , Mohamed said he was given a ‘ final warning ’ in late March for allegedly not following the recommendation for six feet of social distancing while speaking to a colleague in the parking lot , an incident he said he asked for proof of but was not given.
” “ They fired me to make others scared , ” Mohamed declared .
“ I was the top target.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their organizing in 2019 against Amazon ’ s climate policies .
They were part of AECJ ’ s effort to promote a shareholders ’ resolution that urged the corporation to take dramatic action to confront the “ global climate emergency.
” “ I ’ m sure it ’ s a coincidence that every one of them is a person of color , a woman , or both , ” Bray quipped .
Smalls was involved in a protest that demanded a facility on Staten Island close after cases of the coronavirus were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ James has investigated Amazon ’ s retaliation against workers .
Her office confirmed in a letter to Amazon that workers are more fearful of speaking out since Smalls was fired .
“ This is a particularly dangerous message to send during a pandemic , when chilling worker speech about health and safety practices could literally be a matter of life and death , ” her office contended .
Bray recognized whistleblower retaliation is a result of a larger problem—that “ Amazon treats humans in the warehouses as fungible units of pick-and-pack potential .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s how 21st Century capitalism is done.
” “ Amazon is exceptionally well-managed and has demonstrated great skill at spotting opportunities and building repeatable processes for exploiting them .
It has a corresponding lack of vision about the human costs of the relentless growth and accumulation of wealth and power.
” “ If we don ’ t like certain things Amazon is doing , we need to put legal guardrails in place to stop those things , ” Bray proposed .
“ We don ’ t need to invent anything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ living wage and worker empowerment legislation , rigorously enforced , offers a clear path forward .
”

A vice president and distinguished engineer at Amazon Web Services resigned in protest against the corporation’s firing of whistleblowers who spoke out against deplorable warehouse conditions.
Tim Bray wrote in a post on his personal website that terminating whistleblowers was “evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture. I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison.”
Bray’s narrative further confirms how executives are creating a chilling effect against workers who dare to dissent. He estimated taking a stand would cost him over a million dollars in salary and shares.
As the coronavirus spread through Amazon warehouses in March, workers grew more and more afraid of risks to their safety. By April, Christian Smalls organized a demonstration on Staten Island for better workplace conditions and was fired. Leaked executive meeting notes showed Amazon’s plans to demonize Smalls in order to discredit employees demanding changes.
Bray recalled warehouse workers “reached out” to Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ) “for support. They responded by internally promoting a petition and organizing a video call for Thursday, April 16, featuring warehouse workers from around the world, with guest activist Naomi Klein.”
“An announcement sent to internal mailing lists on Friday, April 10, was apparently the flashpoint. Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, two visible AECJ leaders, were fired on the spot that day,” Bray added. “The justifications were laughable. It was clear to any reasonable observer that they were turfed for whistleblowing.”
Bray went “through the proper channels” and engaged in discussions with the “appropriate people,” but he was left with no choice other than to resign. “Remaining an Amazon VP would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions [he] despised.”
He lists off several employees, who in addition to Smalls were fired because they raised their voice: Courtney Bowden, Gerald Bryson, Maren Costa, Emily Cunningham, and Bashir Mohamed.
The corporation informed Bryson, who was a warehouse employee on Staten Island, that he was fired for using “vulgar language.” But Bryson, who worked for Amazon for a year and a half, told CNET, “It was just retribution for me organizing and protesting. I’m disgusted. I feel violated.”
Bowden was fired after she advocated for paid vacation for part-time workers. Mohamed, who is of Somali descent, was involved in organizing workers at a warehouse in Minnesota, and Buzzfeed reported he pushed for “more rigorous cleaning and other measures to protect against the transmission of the coronavirus.”
According to CNN, “Mohamed distributed paper petitions to workers in Somali and English and said he expressed concerns to management about what he called the impossibility of practicing social distancing in the facility. To his surprise, Mohamed said he was given a ‘final warning’ in late March for allegedly not following the recommendation for six feet of social distancing while speaking to a colleague in the parking lot, an incident he said he asked for proof of but was not given.”
“They fired me to make others scared,” Mohamed declared. “I was the top target.”
Costa and Cunningham were targeted because of their organizing in 2019 against Amazon’s climate policies. They were part of AECJ’s effort to promote a shareholders’ resolution that urged the corporation to take dramatic action to confront the “global climate emergency.”
“I’m sure it’s a coincidence that every one of them is a person of color, a woman, or both,” Bray quipped.
Smalls was involved in a protest that demanded a facility on Staten Island close after cases of the coronavirus were confirmed.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has investigated Amazon’s retaliation against workers. Her office confirmed in a letter to Amazon that workers are more fearful of speaking out since Smalls was fired.
“This is a particularly dangerous message to send during a pandemic, when chilling worker speech about health and safety practices could literally be a matter of life and death,” her office contended.
Bray recognized whistleblower retaliation is a result of a larger problem—that “Amazon treats humans in the warehouses as fungible units of pick-and-pack potential. Only that’s not just Amazon, it’s how 21st Century capitalism is done.”
“Amazon is exceptionally well-managed and has demonstrated great skill at spotting opportunities and building repeatable processes for exploiting them. It has a corresponding lack of vision about the human costs of the relentless growth and accumulation of wealth and power.”
“If we don’t like certain things Amazon is doing, we need to put legal guardrails in place to stop those things,” Bray proposed. “We don’t need to invent anything new; a combination of antitrust and living wage and worker empowerment legislation, rigorously enforced, offers a clear path forward.”


shadowproof--2020-05-05--Fight To Tax Amazon Regains Momentum As Corporation Thrives During COVID-19

Fight To Tax Amazon Regains Momentum As Corporation Thrives During COVID-19 During the coronavirus pandemic , Seattle City Council members have launched another effort to tax Amazon and other large corporations .
Amazon poured $ 1.5 million into Seattle City Council races in 2019 after it managed to repeal a head tax in June 2018 to raise around $ 20 million annually .
It came up short in its attempt to oust City Council members who led that tax movement While the outbreak remains intense , Amazon ’ s dominance in the retail industry in the United States has grown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over 25 percent from March to April .
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ’ wealth increased by at least $ 24 billion .
But the corporation has faced scrutiny from workers over its response to the pandemic , firing at least six workers who openly criticized Amazon for inadequate safety protections .
“ What we are talking about is taxing the largest two percent of corporations in the city .
These are corporations that are the most stable , ” said Kshama Sawant , one of the Seattle City Council members championing legislation to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corporations with massive cash reserves in contrast to households with no income because the vast majority live paycheck to paycheck.
” Under the proposal , Amazon would face a 1.3 percent payroll tax , which Sawant equates to less than a one percent tax overall .
City Council members seek to raise $ 500 million annually , including $ 200 million in coronavirus cash assistance immediately , with the rest of the funds used to support affordable housing units and “ Green New Deal ” infrastructure .
“ We have to pinpoint these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big business when they cry foul on this tax .
Oh , the sky is going to fall if you tax us .
Really ?
It is less than a one percent tax rate .
Don ’ t tell me you are so fragile you won ’ t survive when a household that makes $ 25,000 per year is taxed at a staggering 17 percent tax rate , ” added Sawant .
Washington state has one of the most regressive tax codes .
The Tax Amazon movement is an effort to reform that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ income inequality , and provide the funding and resources necessary to help poor and working families recover from the pandemic .
Public hearings were held on April 22 and April 29 , with a city council vote expected to occur on May 13 .
Karla Esquivel has owned Andaluz , an independent clothing store and gift shop in Seattle , for 16 years , and she supports the proposal to tax Amazon .
Thus far , Esquivel hasn ’ t been able to obtain any of the relief fundsdirected to businesses to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t have access to unemployment benefits and taking on more debt through a loan isn ’ t a viable option for her small business to survive .
“ If these economic issues and disparities are not addressed now , things will only get worse , and I am afraid we will see big box stores , chains , and Amazon [ take ] the place of our small business landscape , ” said Esquivel .
Nearly 900,000 people in Washington have filed for state unemployment benefits during the pandemic , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million over the next week .
The City of Seattle ’ s Budget Office estimates up to a $ 300 million shortfall in its budget by the end of 2020 .
Before the pandemic , the Seattle area already faced an affordable housing crisis and about one in nine residents lived in poverty .
Outside of New York and Los Angeles , Seattle has the largest homeless population in the U.S. , with around 12,000 residents experiencing homelessness at any given time .
“ This is fundamentally about addressing the deep structural problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ services in the city , ” said Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales , a leader in the push to pass the “ Tax Amazon ” legislation .
“ This crisis has shown us our economic infrastructure , our social safety net is full of cracks .
Small businesses can ’ t go two weeks without collapsing , households are going without income.
” Morales continued , “ Everything in the way we structured our society is really favoring the wealthy , the well connected , powerful interests .
It ’ s a really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local services , how we pay for local services and once we get through this crisis , how we rebuild our communities.
” However , the “ Tax Amazon ” movement faces significant opposition from corporate business leaders and some elected officials in Seattle .
In a recent local news interview , Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan , a Democrat , said taxing Amazon will never happen .
“ I think it ’ s irresponsible for anyone to say that that ’ s even possible.
” Alex Pedersen , the proposal ’ s most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was backed by the Civil Alliance for a Sound Economy ( CASE ) when he campaigned for election in 2019 .
Pedersen received nearly $ 1.5 million in donations from Amazon .
Pedersen wrote an op-ed opposing the tax in the Seattle Times with Matthew Gardner , the chief economist for Windermere Real Estate , the largest regional real estate company in the western United States .
The op-ed argued the tax will cost residents jobs , like opponents of Seattle ’ s $ 15 minimum wage bill argued in 2014 .
Gardner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relief programs are strong enough to address structural problems .
Sawant and progressive proponents of the “ Tax Amazon ” proposal disagree .
They contend the coronavirus pandemic has further exposed glaring racial and wealth inequities in the U.S. , and the crisis demands emergency legislation to address inequality .
“ We won ’ t accept the burden of this crisis being placed on our shoulders .
We ’ re done with that .
We ’ re done with austerity politics .
We ’ re opposed to the neoliberal agenda .
We want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concluded Sawant .

During the coronavirus pandemic, Seattle City Council members have launched another effort to tax Amazon and other large corporations.
Amazon poured $1.5 million into Seattle City Council races in 2019 after it managed to repeal a head tax in June 2018 to raise around $20 million annually. It came up short in its attempt to oust City Council members who led that tax movement
While the outbreak remains intense, Amazon’s dominance in the retail industry in the United States has grown.
Amazon’s stock price soared over 25 percent from March to April. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ wealth increased by at least $24 billion. But the corporation has faced scrutiny from workers over its response to the pandemic, firing at least six workers who openly criticized Amazon for inadequate safety protections.
“What we are talking about is taxing the largest two percent of corporations in the city. These are corporations that are the most stable,” said Kshama Sawant, one of the Seattle City Council members championing legislation to tax Amazon. “It’s corporations with massive cash reserves in contrast to households with no income because the vast majority live paycheck to paycheck.”
Under the proposal, Amazon would face a 1.3 percent payroll tax, which Sawant equates to less than a one percent tax overall.
City Council members seek to raise $500 million annually, including $200 million in coronavirus cash assistance immediately, with the rest of the funds used to support affordable housing units and “Green New Deal” infrastructure.
“We have to pinpoint these numbers because it exposes the lies of big business when they cry foul on this tax. Oh, the sky is going to fall if you tax us. Really? It is less than a one percent tax rate. Don’t tell me you are so fragile you won’t survive when a household that makes $25,000 per year is taxed at a staggering 17 percent tax rate,” added Sawant.
Washington state has one of the most regressive tax codes. The Tax Amazon movement is an effort to reform that regressive tax code, combat wealth and income inequality, and provide the funding and resources necessary to help poor and working families recover from the pandemic.
Public hearings were held on April 22 and April 29, with a city council vote expected to occur on May 13.
Karla Esquivel has owned Andaluz, an independent clothing store and gift shop in Seattle, for 16 years, and she supports the proposal to tax Amazon.
Thus far, Esquivel hasn’t been able to obtain any of the relief fundsdirected to businesses to keep them afloat during the pandemic. She doesn’t have access to unemployment benefits and taking on more debt through a loan isn’t a viable option for her small business to survive.
“If these economic issues and disparities are not addressed now, things will only get worse, and I am afraid we will see big box stores, chains, and Amazon [take] the place of our small business landscape,” said Esquivel.
Nearly 900,000 people in Washington have filed for state unemployment benefits during the pandemic, and that number is expected to surpass 1 million over the next week. The City of Seattle’s Budget Office estimates up to a $300 million shortfall in its budget by the end of 2020.
Before the pandemic, the Seattle area already faced an affordable housing crisis and about one in nine residents lived in poverty.
Outside of New York and Los Angeles, Seattle has the largest homeless population in the U.S., with around 12,000 residents experiencing homelessness at any given time.
“This is fundamentally about addressing the deep structural problem we have in the way we fund services in the city,” said Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales, a leader in the push to pass the “Tax Amazon” legislation.
“This crisis has shown us our economic infrastructure, our social safety net is full of cracks. Small businesses can’t go two weeks without collapsing, households are going without income.”
Morales continued, “Everything in the way we structured our society is really favoring the wealthy, the well connected, powerful interests. It’s a really important time to rethink how we provide local services, how we pay for local services and once we get through this crisis, how we rebuild our communities.”
However, the “Tax Amazon” movement faces significant opposition from corporate business leaders and some elected officials in Seattle.
In a recent local news interview, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a Democrat, said taxing Amazon will never happen. “I think it’s irresponsible for anyone to say that that’s even possible.”
Alex Pedersen, the proposal’s most vocal opponent on the City Council, was backed by the Civil Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE) when he campaigned for election in 2019. Pedersen received nearly $1.5 million in donations from Amazon.
Pedersen wrote an op-ed opposing the tax in the Seattle Times with Matthew Gardner, the chief economist for Windermere Real Estate, the largest regional real estate company in the western United States.
The op-ed argued the tax will cost residents jobs, like opponents of Seattle’s $15 minimum wage bill argued in 2014.
Gardner and Pedersen also maintained federal and state relief programs are strong enough to address structural problems.
Sawant and progressive proponents of the “Tax Amazon” proposal disagree. They contend the coronavirus pandemic has further exposed glaring racial and wealth inequities in the U.S., and the crisis demands emergency legislation to address inequality.
“We won’t accept the burden of this crisis being placed on our shoulders. We’re done with that. We’re done with austerity politics. We’re opposed to the neoliberal agenda. We want to fight for our rights,” concluded Sawant.


shadowproof--2020-05-05--Rest In Power To Drummer And Afrobeat Master Tony Allen

Rest In Power To Drummer And Afrobeat Master Tony Allen For the May 3 newsletter , Shadowproof managing editor Kevin Gosztola paid tribute to Nigerian drummer Tony Allen .
Tony Allen developed a signature way of playing the drums , including polyrhythms , that defined some of the most revolutionary music ever produced .
And right up until his death at the age of 79 , he experimented with styles and collaborated with various artists on albums .
On April 30 , the Nigerian drummer died in Paris after suffering an aortic aneurysm .
He was most known for his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Afrika ’ 70 band .
Their music challenged rampant political corruption in Nigeria , as well as Western colonialism .
“ Afrobeat has different varieties of rhythm , ” Allen said in 2017 , while describing how he created rhythms .
“ Maybe because I ’ m in control of that , I don ’ t know how to stop inventing different beats because when I ’ m bored with the patterns of the beat , I need to create another one.
” Art Blakey , Elvin Jones , Philly Joe Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to find a new way of playing drums that incorporated hi-hats .
“ I had to practice , to adapt this movement of the hi-hat plus what we were doing before , and that changed my movement , my way of playing , directly , you know ?
Every drummer in the country at that time…when I was playing in the local highlife band , they would come to watch , asking me , ‘ What [ are you ] doing ?
What is that ?
’ ” recalled Allen .
“ Just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sound .
It made a big difference for the other drummers , because they never did it , until I tried it.
” Allen added , “ I didn ’ t want to play like others .
I just wanted to make sure I used this instrument the way it was put in front of me .
Meaning that it ’ s four limbs : you have to use your four limbs .
Which was very rare for the other drummers to use their four limbs .
Maximum was three.
” By using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to give the revolutionary music of Fela the dynamism and energy that made it impactful .
“ Confusion ” drew people ’ s attention to Allen ’ s drumming , as the band performed it in 1974 , and it dealt with the impact of colonialism on working people ( at the time , Nigeria did not have a single currency ) : Directed at Nigerian elites , “ Colonial Mentality ” said living with a colonial mindset is slavery .
Allen gave the beat a triple-kick-drum pattern .
“ We were playing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liked that one because Fela ’ s composition was so nice that it made me flow.
” As Randall F. Grass wrote in 1986 , Fela ’ s disrespect of the “ powers-that-be ” in Nigeria escalated into violence , especially after his album , “ Zombie , ” in 1976 , which called out the Nigerian military .
Kalakuta Republic , the zone where his “ communal household ” lived , was attacked by the military in 1977 .
“ One of Fela ’ s boys clashed with soldiers and fled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ house , demanding that Fela hand over the man .
When he refused , the soldiers charged , and Fela charged the electrified fence encircling the compound .
But the power supply was cut off and soldiers poured onto the ground , ” Grass recounted .
“ Fela and his extended family were beaten ; many of the women were raped , ” Grass added .
“ Musical equipment , master tapes , and films were destroyed ; finally , the house was set afire , and Fela was temporarily imprisoned.
” This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would persist so long as Fela called out corrupt politicians by name , led Allen to leave Nigeria for Paris .
But he did not change his views on greed and power .
In 2016 , Allen told the Guardian , “ If you check most of [ Fela ’ s ] lyrics that he sang in the 70s and 80s , that is what is happening right now .
War everywhere .
And because of what ?
Power .
And power that is lopsided.
” “ There is no leader in Africa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Not for the people .
That is what [ Fela ] sang that and that is still the case .
Europe has their own style of manipulating the people but it ’ s not like [ in Africa ] .
We have the junglish way of manipulating .
Very junglish , you know ?
Like in a jungle .
That ’ s what we have , ” Allen suggested .
“ No Accommodation For Lagos ” was released in 1978 , around the time that he was ready to leave Fela .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , clearing them out and bulldozing their houses without offering alternative housing.
” “ You used to see many people sleeping underneath the bridge .
People thought because I was talking about corruption that the police would come for me but they never did , ” Allen shared .
“ I never mentioned anyone ’ s name individually .
I accused all of them.
” Later in the 2000s and 2010s , Allen collaborated with Damon Albarn and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers .
Allen , Albarn , Paul Simonen , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tong , guitarist and keyboardist for The Verve , formed a supergroup called The Good , the Bad , & The Queen .
Their debut album was released in 2007 .
It featured several tracks with socially conscious lyrics that dealt with life in the United Kingdom during the Iraq War .
The supergroup ’ s follow-up album , “ Merrie Land , ” which was released in 2017 , confronted the fallout from Brexit and the right-wing existential crisis that British people feel they are having , which has fueled opposition to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Film of Life ” included a song called “ Go Back ” that Albarn wrote and recorded with him .
It showed solidarity with refugees who left Libya and wound up in a shipwreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa .
“ There are many places I can take my drumming , and I try to make my drums sing and turn them into an orchestra , ” Allen shared .
“ I don ’ t bash my drums .
Instead of bashing , I caress .
If you caress your wife @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from your wife ; if you beat her up , I ’ m sure she ’ ll be your enemy.
” “ I ’ m creating different patterns with my four limbs .
They are all playing something different , which means you need to split your mind into four elements with the one central idea running through.
” Some drummers spend their whole life trying to perfect the rhythms they can play with two of their limbs .
Allen mastered the art of drumming with four limbs and created music that pulsed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of any lyrics written for justice and liberation .
Listen to “ Colonial Mentality ” by Fela Kuti & the Afrika 70 ( with Tony Allen on the drums ) :

Editor’s Note We’re pleased to publish this preview of our member newsletter, “Keeping The Issues Alive,” which provides a closer look at stories we’re following and helps us fund more journalism. You can subscribe for $5/month and receive this weekly newsletter: SUBSCRIBE NOW
For the May 3 newsletter, Shadowproof managing editor Kevin Gosztola paid tribute to Nigerian drummer Tony Allen.
***
Tony Allen developed a signature way of playing the drums, including polyrhythms, that defined some of the most revolutionary music ever produced. And right up until his death at the age of 79, he experimented with styles and collaborated with various artists on albums.
On April 30, the Nigerian drummer died in Paris after suffering an aortic aneurysm. He was most known for his collaboration with Fela Kuti, leader of the Afrika ’70 band. Their music challenged rampant political corruption in Nigeria, as well as Western colonialism.
“Afrobeat has different varieties of rhythm,” Allen said in 2017, while describing how he created rhythms. “Maybe because I’m in control of that, I don’t know how to stop inventing different beats because when I’m bored with the patterns of the beat, I need to create another one.”
Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, and other jazz drummers inspired Allen to find a new way of playing drums that incorporated hi-hats.
“I had to practice, to adapt this movement of the hi-hat plus what we were doing before, and that changed my movement, my way of playing, directly, you know? Every drummer in the country at that time…when I was playing in the local highlife band, they would come to watch, asking me, ‘What [are you] doing? What is that?’” recalled Allen. “Just because I had added hi-hats to the sound. It made a big difference for the other drummers, because they never did it, until I tried it.”
Allen added, “I didn’t want to play like others. I just wanted to make sure I used this instrument the way it was put in front of me. Meaning that it’s four limbs: you have to use your four limbs. Which was very rare for the other drummers to use their four limbs. Maximum was three.”
By using all four limbs, Allen was able to give the revolutionary music of Fela the dynamism and energy that made it impactful.
“Confusion” drew people’s attention to Allen’s drumming, as the band performed it in 1974, and it dealt with the impact of colonialism on working people (at the time, Nigeria did not have a single currency):
Dem be three men wey sell for roadside-o Dem three speak different language-o Dem speak Lagos, Accra, and Conakry One white man come pay them money-o He pay them for pounds, dollars and French money-o For the thing wey he go buy from them He remain for them to share am-o Me I say, na confusion be that-o He go say he pafuka o
Directed at Nigerian elites, “Colonial Mentality” said living with a colonial mindset is slavery. Allen gave the beat a triple-kick-drum pattern. “We were playing that one around 1976. I really liked that one because Fela’s composition was so nice that it made me flow.”
As Randall F. Grass wrote in 1986, Fela’s disrespect of the “powers-that-be” in Nigeria escalated into violence, especially after his album, “Zombie,” in 1976, which called out the Nigerian military.
Kalakuta Republic, the zone where his “communal household” lived, was attacked by the military in 1977.
“One of Fela’s boys clashed with soldiers and fled to the Kalakuta compound. Soldiers surrounded the house, demanding that Fela hand over the man. When he refused, the soldiers charged, and Fela charged the electrified fence encircling the compound. But the power supply was cut off and soldiers poured onto the ground,” Grass recounted.
“Fela and his extended family were beaten; many of the women were raped,” Grass added. “Musical equipment, master tapes, and films were destroyed; finally, the house was set afire, and Fela was temporarily imprisoned.”
This sort of violence, and threats that would persist so long as Fela called out corrupt politicians by name, led Allen to leave Nigeria for Paris. But he did not change his views on greed and power.
In 2016, Allen told the Guardian, “If you check most of [Fela’s] lyrics that he sang in the 70s and 80s, that is what is happening right now. War everywhere. And because of what? Power. And power that is lopsided.”
“There is no leader in Africa, only president, there for himself. Not for the people. That is what [Fela] sang that and that is still the case. Europe has their own style of manipulating the people but it’s not like [in Africa]. We have the junglish way of manipulating. Very junglish, you know? Like in a jungle. That’s what we have,” Allen suggested.
“No Accommodation For Lagos” was released in 1978, around the time that he was ready to leave Fela. The album talked about “slum clearances, clearing them out and bulldozing their houses without offering alternative housing.”
“You used to see many people sleeping underneath the bridge. People thought because I was talking about corruption that the police would come for me but they never did,” Allen shared. “I never mentioned anyone’s name individually. I accused all of them.”
Later in the 2000s and 2010s, Allen collaborated with Damon Albarn and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Allen, Albarn, Paul Simonen, bassist for The Clash, and Simon Tong, guitarist and keyboardist for The Verve, formed a supergroup called The Good, the Bad, & The Queen. Their debut album was released in 2007. It featured several tracks with socially conscious lyrics that dealt with life in the United Kingdom during the Iraq War.
The supergroup’s follow-up album, “Merrie Land,” which was released in 2017, confronted the fallout from Brexit and the right-wing existential crisis that British people feel they are having, which has fueled opposition to immigration.
Allen’s 2014 album “Film of Life” included a song called “Go Back” that Albarn wrote and recorded with him. It showed solidarity with refugees who left Libya and wound up in a shipwreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa.
“There are many places I can take my drumming, and I try to make my drums sing and turn them into an orchestra,” Allen shared. “I don’t bash my drums. Instead of bashing, I caress. If you caress your wife, you’ll get good things from your wife; if you beat her up, I’m sure she’ll be your enemy.”
“I’m creating different patterns with my four limbs. They are all playing something different, which means you need to split your mind into four elements with the one central idea running through.”
Some drummers spend their whole life trying to perfect the rhythms they can play with two of their limbs. Allen mastered the art of drumming with four limbs and created music that pulsed with controlled energy—enhancing the grit and power of any lyrics written for justice and liberation.
Listen to “Colonial Mentality” by Fela Kuti & the Afrika 70 (with Tony Allen on the drums):


shadowproof--2020-05-06--As COVID-19 Spreads Through Prisons, Officials Use Solitary Confinement To Silence Protests

As COVID-19 Spreads Through Prisons , Officials Use Solitary Confinement To Silence Protests *The following was originally published at Solitary Watch .
In early April , as reports of deaths from COVID-19 began to emerge from U.S. prisons and jails , Aaron Campell posted a desperate 20-minute Facebook Live video shot using a contraband cell phone .
The video showed sick people gasping and coughing on his unit in the low-security federal FCI Elkton in Ohio , and one of the small bottles of soap that was supposed to last each person two weeks .
Campbell said that three people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and that a prison nurse told them to prepare for more deaths on the unit .
He claimed that people who met the criteria for home confinement , including himself , were being refused release .
Staring into the camera , he said , “ We ’ re people .
People shouldn ’ t have to die like this.
” “ Y ’ all might not see me again , ” Campbell said , telling family members he loved them and asking his viewers to pray .
But most of all , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ They might try to put me in the hole or something , ” he said .
“ But do what y ’ all got to do .
Spread the word on what ’ s going on to people in prison .
Because this shit ’ s serious.
” The video went viral .
Four days later , Campbells ’ brother Adrian heard from another incarcerated person ’ s family that Aaron had been sent to solitary confinement as punishment for using the contraband phone , where he is locked down 23 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the facility phones .
Nearly a month later , Adrian said in an interview , Aaron is still in solitary , with no end date .
In prisons , jails , and ICE detention facilities around the country , incarcerated people who express their fears to the public , refuse to follow rules that put them at risk , or protest unsafe conditions are being silenced and retaliated against , often by being thrown in solitary confinement .
Typically , the official reason for punishment is breaking rules—such as possessing a contraband phone—that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first place .
A growing number of people behind bars appear willing to risk retaliatory punishments because they are rightfully terrified for their lives .
The coronavirus infection rate in prisons is nearly three times higher than in the population at large , and cases exploded threefold over a recent one-week period in April .
On April 7 , Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine announced he was sending the Ohio National Guard on a medical mission into Campbell ’ s facility , where by April 27 , 96 people tested positive and seven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to their plight , many across the country are turning to protests and forbidden forms of communication .
“ Perilous , ” a project that tracks demonstrations in American and Canadian prisons going back to 2010 , has documented more than 90 protests during the coronavirus crisis .
“ That phone is their lifeline to the outside , ” said Adrian Campbell .
“ They share that phone to contact their girlfriends , to message people through Whatsapp , call family members , because it ’ s so expensive to use the regular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that and got it taken ?
That phone is worth like a million dollars in there .
So it was a desperate situation at that point.
” He said contraband is taken seriously , but Aaron ’ s swift and severe punishment seems disproportionate .
“ That ’ s why you know it ’ s a punishment for what he was doing on the phone versus actually being caught with the phone.
” Nine days after Campbell posted his video , the San Diego Union-Tribune ran an article discussing the county jail ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quoted in the story , whose brother is in the jail , provided the newspaper with a photograph of three men hoisting a bedsheet painted with the words , “ We don ’ t deserve 2 die.
” Soon after the article was published , the woman ’ s brother and another man were sent to solitary confinement for four days for “ breaking facility rules , including misusing a bed sheet.
” A family member of another person in one of the county ’ s seven jails said deputies cut out the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people : “ They were censoring the news so the inmates wouldn ’ t see it.
” In early April , VICE published a cell phone video of a man in a California state prison describing the protocols for preventing the spread of the virus .
With his face blurred out and his name withheld , the man explained that the policies looked good “ on paper…but that ’ s not the reality in here.
” He said a nurse visited every day , but that most people “ would be afraid to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ automatically is going to result in them being isolated in the hole.
” Pointing the camera at men gathering in the dayroom , he said , “ We ’ re sitting ducks in here.
” Officials at Solano State Prison accused Ivan Kilgore of being the whistleblower and locked down his entire unit following the video ’ s release .
Though officials did not find a contraband cell phone when they raided Kilgore ’ s cell , he now faces disciplinary action and the threat of transfer to Pelican Bay State Prison , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Kilgore ’ s supporters characterizes the potential transfer as a threat “ to bury Ivan deeper into the system , essentially making him disappear to his loved ones , and restrict him from being heard.
” The authors note , “ It is not uncommon for people in prison to be shipped from prison to prison or put in solitary confinement as a method of silencing.
” This concern rings especially true amid the high stakes of the current pandemic .
Stephen Wilson , held at Pennsylvania ’ s SCI-Fayette , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after officials intercepted a message he sent through the prison ’ s electronic messaging service , which contained a draft of a blog post in support of hunger strikers at New York City ’ s Rikers Island and their demands for basic protection from the virus .
During his first five days in solitary , Wilson reportedly had no access to the shower , clean clothes , or a blanket .
A supporter who called the facility said they were told by an officer that Wilson would “ die in the hole.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his release from solitary .
Mendy Forbes faced similar retaliation when she was thrown in administrative segregation , a form of solitary confinement , after she spoke with KERA News about the dire conditions at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Texas .
“ I don ’ t see why she ’ s being punished for trying to help herself and other people , ” her father told the news station .
In the original interview , Forbes , who has a chronic medical condition , told KERA : “ We have run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run out of pads .
We ’ ve had no soap for our bathrooms .
It is crazy .
We get out one time a day for ten minutes…The conditions are really bad for us , we ’ re all really scared and they aren ’ t telling us anything.
” Around the country , people also face solitary for protesting unsafe policies .
In March , a man in Florida ’ s Martin Correctional Institution was handcuffed and put in restrictive housing while awaiting a disciplinary hearing for refusing to take off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prohibited officers from wearing masks in early April , according to an anonymous state Department of Corrections staff member .
By April 27 , the Florida state prison system had counted 126 positive COVID-19 test results .
Protests have erupted across the immigration detention system as well , and the response of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) staff has mirrored the retaliatory response in prisons and jails .
Detainees went on hunger strike at Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego , which is privately operated by CoreCivic and reported the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICE facility in the country in mid-April .
“ You ’ re talking about one hundred people passing through common areas , using the same facilities , phones , tables , microwaves .
Nothing is cleaned after each use , ” said Joyce Noche , a director at Immigrant Defenders .
“ I ’ ve heard stories about people not using PPE when they ’ re preparing their food .
It ’ s just ridiculous.
” Noche said her client at the facility was prohibited from making legal calls while he participated in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called after more than a week of silence , he told Noche , “ I broke my fast so that they would let me call you.
” Several other hunger strikers at Otay Mesa were sent to solitary confinement .
And human rights organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras released audio of a woman at the facility screaming while officers shot pepper spray into her cell and those around her .
She and a group of other women had refused to sign a contract that would potentially absolve CoreCivic of responsibility for their health , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to receive masks without conditions , at least one woman—an asylum seeker from Mexico—was placed in solitary confinement .
Noche said , based on the lag time of ICE reports , she estimates there are now more than 100 positive cases at Otay Mesa .
“ These people are essentially being sentenced to death , in some cases.
” In March , more than 300 detained immigrants engaged in a hunger strike at Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma , Washington , demanding that ICE follow necessary health protocols .
The participants were isolated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even deported .
Although the strike lasted nearly a month , Maru Mora-Villalpando , an organizer with La Resistencia immigrants rights group , told the Spokesman Review , “ The number of detainees participating in the hunger strike in March declined quickly because there was immediate retaliation.
” At Southern Texas Processing Center , an ICE facility operated by GEO Group , 60 detained kitchen and janitorial workers went on strike after new immigrants transferred to the facility in March were not tested or screened for the virus .
When the workers refused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were all released from custody , officers responded with pepper spray .
Nine of the labor strikers were sent to restricted housing and now face disciplinary charges .
Physical intimidation and abuse , as well as solitary confinement , are visited upon incarcerated people when they protest or even seek medical help .
On Rikers Island , correctional officers pepper sprayed eight people without warning in March after they asked to have their temperatures checked at a jail clinic , which was considered defiance of a “ lock in ” order .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lauderdale , when individuals tried to get medical attention by covering their windows or flooding their cells , they were threatened with tasers .
In FCI Oakdale in Louisiana , where the first federal prison deaths from the coronavirus took place , incarcerated individuals were handcuffed and pepper sprayed for protesting when officials returned formerly sick people to general population .
And when people at Oakland County Jail in Michigan complained about unsafe conditions , the facility threatened to transfer them to a building holding people infected with coronavirus , according to an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawsuit .
At Washington ’ s Monroe Correctional Complex , more than 100 men protested after finding out that six fellow incarcerated people had tested positive for coronavirus , demonstrating in the yard and setting off fire extinguishers .
Officers shot rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd .
A man incarcerated at the facility told Tomas Keene , an incarcerated journalist writing for the Crime Report , that “ even though it ’ s the officers that carry in the virus , staff look at us as if we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the untouchables.
” Keene noted that society already “ acts as if certain people are dangerous vectors of disruption that need to be sequestered… It ’ s not surprising therefore that many correctional officers come to think of inmates as hosts of a contagion , as a threat.
” Of course , the majority of incarcerated people living in isolation as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are not facing retaliation , but experiencing quarantine or medical segregation behind bars .
Many facilities have failed to take steps to distinguish medically necessary separation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guidelines for doing so have been developed .
Some prisons are operating on total lockdown for extended periods , and others are quarantining sick people in solitary confinement cells , state supermaxes , or formerly shuttered units with histories of torturous conditions .
Putting people in solitary confinement for speaking out , on the other hand , is not an unintended side effect , but a deliberate act of silencing and retaliation .
Solitary has long been a tool used by prisons and jails to squash protests and punish those who speak out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 , after people in 17 states participated in a strike organized by the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee .
It happened again the following year , in retaliation for a strike protesting prison labor conditions organized by Jailhouse Lawyers Speak .
And in early 2019 , when people in Brooklyn ’ s federal Metropolitan Detention Center suffered for a week without heat or electricity in the dead of winter , officials yet again retaliated against those who protested by putting them in solitary .
Even during normal times , prisons and jails routinely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limit their communications with the outside world .
People behind bars are prohibited from accessing the internet , and their letters , phone calls , and electronic communications are constantly monitored .
Most prison systems limit the ability of journalists to enter facilities or communicate with incarcerated people .
In fact , The Intercept recently reported that jails and prisons in at least three states are using software to flag messages that mention coronavirus .
While the software company and correctional officials claim this will help identify sick people , advocates worry it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ censor what incarcerated people tell the world outside prison walls .
Solitary confinement in the United States has always essentially been a control measure that correctional systems employ at will with little or no due process or oversight .
It is no surprise , then , that at a time when the public ’ s eyes have been drawn toward prisons , jails , and detention centers , solitary is being used to strike back at those who stand up for their own health and the lives of those around them , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat that COVID-19 poses for incarcerated people .

*The following was originally published at Solitary Watch.
In early April, as reports of deaths from COVID-19 began to emerge from U.S. prisons and jails, Aaron Campell posted a desperate 20-minute Facebook Live video shot using a contraband cell phone. The video showed sick people gasping and coughing on his unit in the low-security federal FCI Elkton in Ohio, and one of the small bottles of soap that was supposed to last each person two weeks.
Campbell said that three people he knew had died in the facility, and that a prison nurse told them to prepare for more deaths on the unit. He claimed that people who met the criteria for home confinement, including himself, were being refused release. Staring into the camera, he said, “We’re people. People shouldn’t have to die like this.”
“Y’all might not see me again,” Campbell said, telling family members he loved them and asking his viewers to pray. But most of all, he asked them to share the video. “They might try to put me in the hole or something,” he said. “But do what y’all got to do. Spread the word on what’s going on to people in prison. Because this shit’s serious.”
The video went viral. Four days later, Campbells’ brother Adrian heard from another incarcerated person’s family that Aaron had been sent to solitary confinement as punishment for using the contraband phone, where he is locked down 23 hours a day with no access to the facility phones. Nearly a month later, Adrian said in an interview, Aaron is still in solitary, with no end date.
In prisons, jails, and ICE detention facilities around the country, incarcerated people who express their fears to the public, refuse to follow rules that put them at risk, or protest unsafe conditions are being silenced and retaliated against, often by being thrown in solitary confinement. Typically, the official reason for punishment is breaking rules—such as possessing a contraband phone—that exist to limit outside interaction in the first place.
A growing number of people behind bars appear willing to risk retaliatory punishments because they are rightfully terrified for their lives. The coronavirus infection rate in prisons is nearly three times higher than in the population at large, and cases exploded threefold over a recent one-week period in April. On April 7, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced he was sending the Ohio National Guard on a medical mission into Campbell’s facility, where by April 27, 96 people tested positive and seven had died. Desperate to call attention to their plight, many across the country are turning to protests and forbidden forms of communication. “Perilous,” a project that tracks demonstrations in American and Canadian prisons going back to 2010, has documented more than 90 protests during the coronavirus crisis.
“That phone is their lifeline to the outside,” said Adrian Campbell. “They share that phone to contact their girlfriends, to message people through Whatsapp, call family members, because it’s so expensive to use the regular phone. So when he actually used that and got it taken? That phone is worth like a million dollars in there. So it was a desperate situation at that point.” He said contraband is taken seriously, but Aaron’s swift and severe punishment seems disproportionate. “That’s why you know it’s a punishment for what he was doing on the phone versus actually being caught with the phone.”
*
Nine days after Campbell posted his video, the San Diego Union-Tribune ran an article discussing the county jail’s response to coronavirus. One woman quoted in the story, whose brother is in the jail, provided the newspaper with a photograph of three men hoisting a bedsheet painted with the words, “We don’t deserve 2 die.” Soon after the article was published, the woman’s brother and another man were sent to solitary confinement for four days for “breaking facility rules, including misusing a bed sheet.” A family member of another person in one of the county’s seven jails said deputies cut out the photo before distributing the newspapers to incarcerated people: “They were censoring the news so the inmates wouldn’t see it.”
In early April, VICE published a cell phone video of a man in a California state prison describing the protocols for preventing the spread of the virus. With his face blurred out and his name withheld, the man explained that the policies looked good “on paper…but that’s not the reality in here.” He said a nurse visited every day, but that most people “would be afraid to report [virus symptoms] because it automatically is going to result in them being isolated in the hole.” Pointing the camera at men gathering in the dayroom, he said, “We’re sitting ducks in here.”
Officials at Solano State Prison accused Ivan Kilgore of being the whistleblower and locked down his entire unit following the video’s release. Though officials did not find a contraband cell phone when they raided Kilgore’s cell, he now faces disciplinary action and the threat of transfer to Pelican Bay State Prison, the notorious supermax. A petition published by Kilgore’s supporters characterizes the potential transfer as a threat “to bury Ivan deeper into the system, essentially making him disappear to his loved ones, and restrict him from being heard.” The authors note, “It is not uncommon for people in prison to be shipped from prison to prison or put in solitary confinement as a method of silencing.”
This concern rings especially true amid the high stakes of the current pandemic. Stephen Wilson, held at Pennsylvania’s SCI-Fayette, was sent to the hole for 30 days after officials intercepted a message he sent through the prison’s electronic messaging service, which contained a draft of a blog post in support of hunger strikers at New York City’s Rikers Island and their demands for basic protection from the virus. During his first five days in solitary, Wilson reportedly had no access to the shower, clean clothes, or a blanket. A supporter who called the facility said they were told by an officer that Wilson would “die in the hole.” Wilson is now hunger striking to demand his release from solitary.
Mendy Forbes faced similar retaliation when she was thrown in administrative segregation, a form of solitary confinement, after she spoke with KERA News about the dire conditions at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Texas. “I don’t see why she’s being punished for trying to help herself and other people,” her father told the news station. In the original interview, Forbes, who has a chronic medical condition, told KERA: “We have run out of toilet paper, we have run out of pads. We’ve had no soap for our bathrooms. It is crazy. We get out one time a day for ten minutes…The conditions are really bad for us, we’re all really scared and they aren’t telling us anything.”
Around the country, people also face solitary for protesting unsafe policies. In March, a man in Florida’s Martin Correctional Institution was handcuffed and put in restrictive housing while awaiting a disciplinary hearing for refusing to take off a mask. Supervisors across Florida also prohibited officers from wearing masks in early April, according to an anonymous state Department of Corrections staff member. By April 27, the Florida state prison system had counted 126 positive COVID-19 test results.
Protests have erupted across the immigration detention system as well, and the response of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff has mirrored the retaliatory response in prisons and jails. Detainees went on hunger strike at Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, which is privately operated by CoreCivic and reported the highest number of confirmed cases of any ICE facility in the country in mid-April. “You’re talking about one hundred people passing through common areas, using the same facilities, phones, tables, microwaves. Nothing is cleaned after each use,” said Joyce Noche, a director at Immigrant Defenders. “I’ve heard stories about people not using PPE when they’re preparing their food. It’s just ridiculous.” Noche said her client at the facility was prohibited from making legal calls while he participated in the hunger strike. When he finally called after more than a week of silence, he told Noche, “I broke my fast so that they would let me call you.”
Several other hunger strikers at Otay Mesa were sent to solitary confinement. And human rights organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras released audio of a woman at the facility screaming while officers shot pepper spray into her cell and those around her. She and a group of other women had refused to sign a contract that would potentially absolve CoreCivic of responsibility for their health, in exchange for masks. After demanding to receive masks without conditions, at least one woman—an asylum seeker from Mexico—was placed in solitary confinement. Noche said, based on the lag time of ICE reports, she estimates there are now more than 100 positive cases at Otay Mesa. “These people are essentially being sentenced to death, in some cases.”
In March, more than 300 detained immigrants engaged in a hunger strike at Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, demanding that ICE follow necessary health protocols. The participants were isolated in solitary confinement, and some were even deported. Although the strike lasted nearly a month, Maru Mora-Villalpando, an organizer with La Resistencia immigrants rights group, told the Spokesman Review, “The number of detainees participating in the hunger strike in March declined quickly because there was immediate retaliation.”
At Southern Texas Processing Center, an ICE facility operated by GEO Group, 60 detained kitchen and janitorial workers went on strike after new immigrants transferred to the facility in March were not tested or screened for the virus. When the workers refused to go back to their cells until they were all released from custody, officers responded with pepper spray. Nine of the labor strikers were sent to restricted housing and now face disciplinary charges.
Physical intimidation and abuse, as well as solitary confinement, are visited upon incarcerated people when they protest or even seek medical help. On Rikers Island, correctional officers pepper sprayed eight people without warning in March after they asked to have their temperatures checked at a jail clinic, which was considered defiance of a “lock in” order. At the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale, when individuals tried to get medical attention by covering their windows or flooding their cells, they were threatened with tasers.
In FCI Oakdale in Louisiana, where the first federal prison deaths from the coronavirus took place, incarcerated individuals were handcuffed and pepper sprayed for protesting when officials returned formerly sick people to general population. And when people at Oakland County Jail in Michigan complained about unsafe conditions, the facility threatened to transfer them to a building holding people infected with coronavirus, according to an ACLU attorney who represented them in a lawsuit.
At Washington’s Monroe Correctional Complex, more than 100 men protested after finding out that six fellow incarcerated people had tested positive for coronavirus, demonstrating in the yard and setting off fire extinguishers. Officers shot rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd. A man incarcerated at the facility told Tomas Keene, an incarcerated journalist writing for the Crime Report, that “even though it’s the officers that carry in the virus, staff look at us as if we’re the ones infected—as if we’re the untouchables.” Keene noted that society already “acts as if certain people are dangerous vectors of disruption that need to be sequestered… It’s not surprising therefore that many correctional officers come to think of inmates as hosts of a contagion, as a threat.”
*
Of course, the majority of incarcerated people living in isolation as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are not facing retaliation, but experiencing quarantine or medical segregation behind bars. Many facilities have failed to take steps to distinguish medically necessary separation from punitive solitary confinement, although clear guidelines for doing so have been developed. Some prisons are operating on total lockdown for extended periods, and others are quarantining sick people in solitary confinement cells, state supermaxes, or formerly shuttered units with histories of torturous conditions.
Putting people in solitary confinement for speaking out, on the other hand, is not an unintended side effect, but a deliberate act of silencing and retaliation. Solitary has long been a tool used by prisons and jails to squash protests and punish those who speak out to the public. It happened in 2017, after people in 17 states participated in a strike organized by the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. It happened again the following year, in retaliation for a strike protesting prison labor conditions organized by Jailhouse Lawyers Speak. And in early 2019, when people in Brooklyn’s federal Metropolitan Detention Center suffered for a week without heat or electricity in the dead of winter, officials yet again retaliated against those who protested by putting them in solitary.
Even during normal times, prisons and jails routinely enforce policies that silence incarcerated people and limit their communications with the outside world. People behind bars are prohibited from accessing the internet, and their letters, phone calls, and electronic communications are constantly monitored. Most prison systems limit the ability of journalists to enter facilities or communicate with incarcerated people. In fact, The Intercept recently reported that jails and prisons in at least three states are using software to flag messages that mention coronavirus. While the software company and correctional officials claim this will help identify sick people, advocates worry it will be used to increasingly surveil and censor what incarcerated people tell the world outside prison walls.
Solitary confinement in the United States has always essentially been a control measure that correctional systems employ at will with little or no due process or oversight. It is no surprise, then, that at a time when the public’s eyes have been drawn toward prisons, jails, and detention centers, solitary is being used to strike back at those who stand up for their own health and the lives of those around them, and to hide from public view the fatal threat that COVID-19 poses for incarcerated people.


shadowproof--2020-05-06--Protest Song Of The Week: ‘How Far?’ By Gorillaz (Featuring Tony Allen And Skepta)

Protest Song Of The Week : ‘ How Far ?
’ By Gorillaz ( Featuring Tony Allen And Skepta ) The following was originally published at Ongoing History of Protest Songs .
Influential Nigerian drummer Tony Allen died on April 30 , 2020 , at the age of 79 .
He was considered a pioneer of the Afrobeat genre for his work with Fela Kuti as the drummer and music director of Fela ’ s backing band Afrika ’ 70 .
After parting ways with Fela in 1979 , he continued to be involved in a variety of different projects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Bad & the Queen , which featured Damon Albarn of Blur , Paul Simonon of The Clash , and Simon Tong of The Verve .
Also , Albarn had Allen collaborate with him on “ How Far ?
” for one of his projects known as Gorillaz .
The track was released in honor of Allen on May 2 .
The track features British M.C .
Skepta , and it includes socially conscious lyrics , like , “ Love how you live , remember the world , full of expensive shit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ cause you ’ re friends with the rich.
” Along with being a commentary on materialism , the words “ expensive shit ” likely are a call back to Fela & The Afrika 70 , which recorded an album and title track called “ Expensive Shit ” that was released in 1976 .
As a further tribute to Allen , the song refers to “ Zombie ” another classic Afrobeat album released by the band in 1976 .
“ How Far ?
” was posted on YouTube with the following quote from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care of youngsters – they have messages , and I want to bring them on my beat.
” *For more on Tony Allen , Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola wrote a bit of a retrospective for our member newsletter .
Read it here .

The following was originally published at Ongoing History of Protest Songs.
Influential Nigerian drummer Tony Allen died on April 30, 2020, at the age of 79. He was
considered a pioneer of the Afrobeat genre for his work with Fela Kuti as the drummer and music director of Fela’s backing band Afrika ’70.
After parting ways with Fela in 1979, he continued to be involved in a variety of different projects. This included the supergroup The Good, the Bad & the Queen, which featured Damon Albarn of Blur, Paul Simonon of The Clash, and Simon Tong of The Verve.
Also, Albarn had Allen collaborate with him on “How Far?” for one of his projects known as Gorillaz. The track was released in honor of Allen on May 2.
The track features British M.C. Skepta, and it includes socially conscious lyrics, like, “Love how you live, remember the world, full of expensive shit. Can’t forget the poor ’cause you’re friends with the rich.”
Along with being a commentary on materialism, the words “expensive shit” likely are a call back to Fela & The Afrika 70, which recorded an album and title track called “Expensive Shit” that was released in 1976.
As a further tribute to Allen, the song refers to “Zombie” another classic Afrobeat album released by the band in 1976.
“How Far?” was posted on YouTube with the following quote from Allen: “I want to take care of youngsters – they have messages, and I want to bring them on my beat.”
*For more on Tony Allen, Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola wrote a bit of a retrospective for our member newsletter. Read it here.


shadowproof--2020-05-07--Dissenter Weekly: Amazon Executive Quits Over Fired Whistleblowers, Officials Silence Whistleblowers

Dissenter Weekly: Amazon Executive Quits Over Fired Whistleblowers, Officials Silence Whistleblowers In Prison

On this edition of the “ Dissenter Weekly , ” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola highlights an Amazon Web Services executive who resigned in protest against the wider corporation ’ s whistleblower firings .
Tim Bray wrote in a post on his personal website that terminating whistleblowers was “ evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture.
” He added , “ I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison.
” Bray ’ s narrative gave additional weight to reporting on whistleblower retaliation by Amazon executives , which has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a report from Solitary Watch that provides an overview of how solitary confinement is being used by officials to silence whistleblowing prisoners or detainees .
Gosztola also provides updates on NSA whistleblower Reality Winner , the firing of an Amazon whistleblower , and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ’ s extradition case .
This show is brought to you by Shadowproof.com , a 100 % reader-funded press organization .
If you enjoy our work , you can support us with a donation or by subscribing for $ 5/month or more : https : //shadowproof.com/donate

On this edition of the “Dissenter Weekly,” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola highlights an Amazon Web Services executive who resigned in protest against the wider corporation’s whistleblower firings.
Tim Bray wrote in a post on his personal website that terminating whistleblowers was “evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture.” He added, “I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison.”
Bray’s narrative gave additional weight to reporting on whistleblower retaliation by Amazon executives, which has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic.
Later in the show, Gosztola discusses a report from Solitary Watch that provides an overview of how solitary confinement is being used by officials to silence whistleblowing prisoners or detainees.
Gosztola also provides updates on NSA whistleblower Reality Winner, the firing of an Amazon whistleblower, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition case.
This week’s stories:
Reality Winner Will Appeal Judge’s Decision Against Compassionate Release
***
Send tips and feedback to editor@shadowproof.com
This show is brought to you by Shadowproof.com, a 100% reader-funded press organization. If you enjoy our work, you can support us with a donation or by subscribing for $5/month or more: https://shadowproof.com/donate