A couple of weeks ago, we ran a piece in the Phoenix by Malcolm Burnley, a Brown University student and occasional contributor, who had uncovered a long-lost speech by Malcolm X at Brown in 1961. "Few audio recordings, if any, exist of his public speeches prior to 1963," Burnley wrote, "and this one is particularly compelling — offering a glimpse of the anti-colonial, internationalist agenda that would characterize his later talks."

As the RI ACLU prepares to hold a news conference today regarding the Wyatt Detention Center and the death of Jason Ng, the Boston Globe reports on how some other prisons, including the nearby Bristol County Jail, have enhanced their revenue by jailing immigrant detainees:

Bristol and other cash-strapped county jails are increasingly embracing the immigration business, capitalizing on the soaring number of foreign-born detainees and the millions of federal dollars a year paid to incarcerate them.

Tomorrow, at Brown:

2009 Physicians for Human Rights National Student Conference

Health & Human Rights in 2009: Global Problems, Local Solutions

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is proud to host the only health professional and human rights-focused conference in the country. Students, health professionals and human rights activists will meet to discuss the critical health and human rights issues of today.

As we know, there were lots of dubious claims cast against Obama during the bygone presidential election. Such talk has mostly dissipated, perhaps because of the largely centrist course pursued by the president-elect in the run-up to his inauguration. My Boston Phoenix colleague Adam Reilly looks at what's ahead (in a sidebar, Adam also writes on why tightening up on anti-Obama speech is a bad idea):

Ariel returns to the pages of the Phoenix with a look at Stronger than Their Walls, the Family Life Center's new documentary about the need for probation reform and the word on some upcoming screenings.

A precondition for state inmates' release to probation is their promise to "preserve the peace and be of good behavior."

Marriage Equality RI has a benefit tonight . . .

Cranston - Although the Ocean State is now officially the "Island of Inequality" when it comes to equal marriage rights for its gay and lesbian citizens, hope abounds. On Friday November 14 at the RISD Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island, the Marriage Equality Rhode Island Education Fund (MERIEF) will host a celebration of the recent landmark decision in Connecticut allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry with a special meet and greet reception and the Rhode Island premiere of the newly released documentary, Saving Marriage.

Last week, as many Americans were celebrating the victory of Barack Obama, Heather Klink and a group of her classmates at Roger Williams University staged a vigil to protest the continued imprisonment of the Egyptian blogger known as Kareem Amer.

Klink, a senior, says she learned about Amer's case after taking PEN, a class taught by novelist Adam Braver in which students discuss the plight of imprisoned writers.

There will be a debate watch tonight at Obama's RI HQ. I came up empty while looking for details of a counterpart event on the RI Republican Party and the Ocean State Republican sites.

Anyway, in case you missed it, Rick Massimo had a piece Saturday about how local rapper Sage Francis is trying to help some of those arrested at the RNC earlier this year.

Politics ain't bean bag, as we know, and there's plenty of muck on both sides of our election process. Yet some longtime admirers of John McCain, like Washington Post op-ed columnist Richard Cohen, have offered withering indictments of how the "Straight Talk" Republican is conducing his quest for the presidency.

Three days after N4N broke the news that Miriam Inocencio, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island, had resigned, PPRI has released an official statement. The move comes after the organization's Connecticut chapter gave an oblique description of what was happening, and after a few key board members either declined to comment or, like Dr.

The Phoenix this week devotes a special issue to the Beijing games. Here are some of the highlights:

Peter Kadzis talks with Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman.

Not everyone who is critical of China is an unqualified supporter of the Dalai Lama. Some say that he represents a feudal tradition that has seen its day.

Rod Driver might have some appreciation for how Ice-T used to say, "Freedom of speech -- just watch what you say."

From the ACLU:

Ruling in an ACLU case, a federal judge has struck down a state law that was used by the Town of Richmond to repeatedly remove former Congressional candidate Rod Driver’s political signs from private property during the 2006 election.

Best wishes to Jenn -- a forceful advocate -- with her departure from MERI:

Executive Director Jenn Steinfeld will be leaving the organization on August 1, 2008. Steinfeld has been involved with MERI since its inception as the Campaign for Marriage Equality in 2003, having served as a co-chair prior to becoming Executive Director in December 2006.

Pretty funny, and a bit sad, via Belo's Sports Blog:

Christian Web site changes Tyson Gay's name to Tyson Homosexual

Michael David Smith of FanHouse reports: The Web site One News Now, which describes itself as providing "your latest news from a Christian perspective," has been running stories that refer to the Olympic springer Tyson Gay as "Tyson Homosexual."

In time for the Fourth of July, the Phoenix this week offers the 11th annual Muzzle Awards, which recognize efforts to squelch free speech and step on the first Amendment. The excellent Dan Kennedy, as usual, helms Muzzle Central, and he has two winners in Rhode Island.

ROBERT WATSON
He led the fight to make anonymous political speech illegal in Rhode Island