(2018-09-11). Trump Administration Threatens International Criminal Court Judges and Prosecutors for Doing Their Jobs. aclu.org John Bolton's threats against ICC judges and prosecutors give solace and comfort to war criminals. | In an unprecedented attack on one of the most important judicial bodies in the world, National Security Advisor John Bolton on Monday threatened to sanction the International Criminal Court and its staff if the court approves a full investigation into U.S. torture in Afghanistan. The U.S. is not a member of the court, but it has supported the court's efforts to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable — as long as those efforts don't involve U.S. or close allies. | In a (2018-09-11). The Original 9/11: 45 Years After Pinochet's Coup. counterpunch.org 
On this day in 1973 the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende, was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet. In the aftermath, 3000 leftists were murdered, tens of thousands tortured and hundreds of thousands driven from the country. Since it doesn't serve to justify further domination by the powerful few in the Canadian media will commemorate More
(2018-09-11). Psychologists Are Standing Up Against Torture at Gitmo. thenation.com Psychologists Are Standing Up Against Torture at Gitmo appeared first on The Nation.
(2018-09-11). John Bolton Threatens International Criminal Court Judges for Probing U.S. Torture in Afghanistan. democracynow.org 
President Trump's national security adviser John Bolton has threatened U.S. sanctions against International Criminal Court judges if they proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. In 2016 an ICC report accused the U.S. military of torturing at least 61 prisoners in Afghanistan during the ongoing war. The report also accused the CIA of subjecting at least 27 prisoners to torture, including rape, at CIA prison sites in Afghanistan, Poland, Romania and Lithuania. Bolton said in a speech at the Federalist Society Monday, "We will let the ICC die on its own. After a…
(2018-09-11). Arreaza: Venezuela Will Continue to 'Fully Collaborate' With UN Human Rights Council. telesurtv.net At the U.N., Venezuela's Jorge Arreaza compared the economic blockade to the economic war waged against Chile's socialist government in the seventies.
(2018-09-11). Trump Admin Punishes PLO for Trying to Prosecute Alleged Israeli War Crimes in International Court. democracynow.org 
On Monday President Trump's national security adviser John Bolton announced the administration will close the Palestine Liberation Organization's office in Washington as retaliation for the Palestinians' efforts to bring alleged Israeli military war crimes to the International Criminal Court. Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat called the move "an affirmation of the U.S. administration's determination to continue its policies of blackmail and extortion and undermining the peace process and the two state solution." We speak with Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Human Rights Program.
(2018-09-11). Washington's ICC hypocrisy 'without limits,' US doesn't care about human rights — analysts to RT. rt.com 
Washington's threats against the International Criminal Court (ICC) are evidence of American hypocrisy, as the US is "continually calling for the heads of others" and doesn't actually care about human rights, analysts told RT. |
(2018-09-11). Sessions Instructs Judges to Show Less Sympathy for Detained Immigrant Children. truthout.org With around 500 families still separated and hundreds of children still in detention as a result of the Trump administration's cruel "zero tolerance" policy and as the White House moves ahead with a proposal one critic called " Gitmo for children," Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday lectured incoming immigration lawyers to show less "sympathy" for immigrants trapped in President Donald Trump's mass deportation dragnet. | "When we depart from the law and create nebulous legal standards out of a sense of sympathy for the personal circumstances of a respondent in our immigration courts, we do violence to the rule of law and constitutional fabric that bind this great nation," Sessions declared in a speech delivered to 44 new judges in Virginia. "Your job is to apply the law — even in tough cases." | Sessions' comments, which come…
(2018-09-10). Nike's Bad Air. counterpunch.org 
The place is in Honduras, a so-called free-trade zone or maquiladora—little more than a ragged swath hacked out of the rainforest and ringed by a tall fence, tipped with razor-sharp wire. Inside a clump of factories produce cut-rate apparel for American companies. Armed guards, many of them veterans of the Honduran defense forces (accused by human right groups of assassinations, drug-running, and torture of political prisoners), patrol the borders. More
(2018-09-10). Reinforcing US Status As 'Bully And Hegemon,' Bolton To Threaten ICC Over Probes Into America's War Crimes. iranian.com Human rights advocates decried the Trump administration's attack on the International Criminal Court as "another low point" in its effort to skirt accountability for war crimes [dropcap]R[/dropcap]einforcing the worldwide perception of the U.S. as "a bully and a hegemon" that will not tolerate attempts by the global community to hold it accountable for its deadly actions overseas, […]
(2018-09-09). Canada's Yemeni Community Calls on Trudeau Government to End Arms Sales to Saudis. therealnews.com 
Hamza Shaiban says arms sales to Saudis cannot be reconciled with Canada's commitment to 'stand up for human rights'
(2018-09-07). Repealing the Death Penalty in New Hampshire Is Personal. aclu.org The state's legislature has an opportunity to override the governor's veto and finally repeal the death penalty. | New Hampshire is the only state in New England that still puts people to death. The Northeast region, and much of the nation, has recognized capital punishment for what it is: a practice of a bygone era that is inherently unjust, often racially charged, and has resulted in the torture of individuals put to death. | This could change for New Hampshire on Sept. 13, when state legislators have an opportunity to override
(2018-09-07). Headlines for September 7, 2018. democracynow.org Sen. Cory Booker Releases Kavanaugh Documents in Act of "Civil Disobedience", New Documents Contradict Kavanaugh's Sworn Testimony, Kavanaugh Conflates Birth Control with Abortion, Trump Admin Seeks to Allow Indefinite Detention of Immigrant Families, ICE, DOJ Subpoena Millions of North Carolina Voting Records, Top Trump Admin Officials Deny They Penned Scathing Anonymous Op-Ed, Baghdad Massacre Trial for Blackwater Mercenary Ends in Hung Jury, Gunman Kills Three at Cincinnati Bank, Then Shot Dead by Police, Cincinnati Officer Who Tased 11-Year-Old Girl Will Face Discipline, Jury Gives $1 Fine to Man Who Punched…
(2018-09-07). As 400+ Children Remain Separated from Parents, Trump Admin Wants to Detain Kids Indefinitely. democracynow.org 
The Trump administration is attempting to remove court-imposed time limits on the detention of immigrant children. The administration's proposal would allow immigrant families to be held in detention indefinitely, ending the long-standing 1997 Flores agreement which says that children cannot be jailed for more than 20 days. More than 400 children remain separated from their parents more than a month after a court-imposed deadline requiring the Trump administration to reunite all of the separated families. The American Civil Liberties Union says it appears ICE officials had access to the phone numbers of hundreds…
(2018-09-06). The Kavanaugh Cover-up? Role in Torture & Domestic Spying Policy Remains Unknown as Papers Withheld. democracynow.org 
Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing enters its third day today. On Wednesday Capitol Police arrested 73 people protesting Kavanaugh's nomination. The protests began almost immediately when Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley tried to start the hearing. Protesters included Women's March organizers from 26 states. Among them was a teenager who stood on a chair and said, "I'm 18, and I'm here for the youth of the country. You're ruining my future." We speak to Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project, and Vince Warren, executive direct…
(2018-09-06). Arundhati Roy: The U.S. Is Growing Closer to India Militarily as Modi Expands Crackdown on Dissent. democracynow.org 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are in New Delhi today for talks aimed at deepening military and trade ties between India and the United States. India is the largest weapons importer in the world. The trip comes just a week after the Indian government conducted raids across the country targeting prominent human rights activists, lawyers, poets and critics of the Narendra Modi government. At least five people were arrested. Critics say the arrests are part of a broader attempt by Modi's government to silence dissidents ahead of next year's general election. We speak with the prize-w…
(2018-09-05). Congress, Don't Throw More Money at Donald Trump's Weaponized Department of Homeland Security. aclu.org A bigger DHS budget would reward the White House's cruel immigration enforcement policies of detention and deportation. | As summer ends, the country's political eyes are focusing even more intently on midterm elections. Although a new Congress is not far away, there remain major budgetary issues to resolve. The most immediate deadline for people concerned about President Trump's immigration policies is September 30, when fiscal year 2018 ends. , , For the Department of Homeland Security, reports (2018-09-03). NAACP Supports Prisoners Across the Nation Protesting Long Sentences, Inhumane Conditions, and Forced Labor. naacp.org As the nation celebrates Labor Day, we must recognize those that labor every day for pennies per hour in prisons, jails, and detention centers across the country. Many imprisoned individuals are conducting peaceful protests to call for an end to unnecessarily long sentences, prison conditions that respect human rights, and fair wages for a day's […]
(2018-09-03). Hatewatch Headlines 9/4/18. splcenter.org Human rights groups urge senators to grill Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as hearings begin today; should Trump's evangelical advisers be exempt from disclosure laws? Mollie Tibbetts family says don't use her death to advance racism, and more.
(2018-08-31). Four Days in Occupied Western Sahara—A Rare Look Inside Africa's Last Colony. democracynow.org 
In this exclusive broadcast, Democracy Now! breaks the media blockade and goes to occupied Western Sahara in the northwest of Africa to document the decades-long Sahrawi struggle for freedom and Morocco's violent crackdown. Morocco has occupied the territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. Thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation. A 1,700-mile wall divides Sahrawis who remain under occupation from those who fled into exile. The international media has largely ignored the occupation—in part because M…
(2018-08-31). From Venezuela to McCain, Media and Human Rights Industry on Same Page. fair.org 
On August 20, the Economist ran an article on Venezuela saying that "forced migration from the country might surpass the Syria crisis." The magazine reported: The UN's International Organization for Migration estimates that at the end of 2017 approximately 1.6 million Venezuelans were living outside their country. Today that number is likely to be far […]…
(2018-08-30). Update on Prison Strike Demanding End of "Slave Labor": After 10 Days, Protests Spread to 11 States. democracynow.org 
Prisoners across the country join work stoppages, hunger strikes and commissary boycotts in at least 11 states to protest prison conditions and demand the end of what they call "prison slavery." Organizers report prisoners in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Indiana are demonstrating. Individuals in Texas, California and Ohio have gone on hunger strike, including some in solitary confinement. Meanwhile, at least six people have been hunger-striking inside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, for more than a week. We speak with Amani Sawari, prison strike organizer working on behalf of Jailhou…
(2018-08-27). Labour Party Must Reject Biased IHRA Definition That Stifles Advocacy For Palestinian Rights. bdsmovement.net 
Labour Party Must Reject Biased IHRA Definition That Stifles Advocacy For Palestinian Rights: UpdatePalestinian civil society issues a statement urging the UK Labour Party and trade unions to reject IHRA's false, anti-Palestinian definition of antisemitism which seeks to conflate antisemitism with criticism of Israel. This definition aims to silence criticism of Israeli policies that clearly violate Palestinian human rights. | Right To BoycottAugust 27, 2018 | By: | | Palestinian civil society groups
(2018-08-08). Top 70 Moments of Solidarity & BDS for Palestine in 2018. bdsmovement.net 
Top 70 Moments of Solidarity & BDS for Palestine in 2018: UpdateHere's a short-list of moments in 2018 demonstrating growing recognition of Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people and inspiring efforts around the world to hold Israel accountable for its gross violations of human rights. Support for Palestinian rights has grown in parliaments, city c…