(2019-11-28). Trump backs Hong Kong protesters, signs 'human rights' bill… 'out of respect for President Xi'? rt.com 
President Donald Trump has approved legislation backing Hong Kong's 'pro-democracy' protest movement, disregarding Beijing's repeated warnings for Washington to mind its own business and stop meddling in China's internal affairs. | Dubbed the 'Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,' the bill blazed through both houses of Congress earlier this month with virtually unanimous consent from lawmakers. In addition to threatening sanctions over human rights violations, the law requires the State Department to "certify" once a year whether Hong Kong enjoys sufficient "autonomy," though exactly how officials will qu…
(2019-11-27). "If I Could Just Look at Her" aclu.org 
Watch the journey of two separated parents trying to cross the border and reunite with their children.: | " data-whitelisted="false" data-domain="www.youtube.com"> | In October, the Trump administration admitted that in a 12-month period, beginning in July 2017, it separated 4,370 immigrant children from their parents at the border. Since then, over 1,000 more have been separated under a dubious loophole that all…
(2019-11-27). Storied national civil rights group re-founded at Chicago gathering. peoplesworld.org 
CHICAGO — "We share a vision for community control of the police, freedom for all political prisoners and the wrongfully convicted. Abolishing the police and prisons, is part of a larger vision of changing and abolishing governments that oppress us," declared Frank Chapman, to a gathering here Nov. 22-24 to re-establish the National Alliance Against …
(2019-11-27). Australian PM rejects Pamela Anderson's appeal that his government defend Assange. wsws.org The refusal of the Coalition and Labor to uphold Assange's rights as an Australian citizen is inextricably tied to their support for the US alliance and their own turn to police state measures.
(2019-11-27). 20 Years After Battle of Seattle, Activists Reflect on Historic WTO Protests. truthout.org Twenty years ago this week, tens of thousands of activists gathered in Seattle to shut down a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization. Grassroots organizers successfully blocked world leaders, government trade ministers and corporate executives from meeting to sign a global trade deal that many called deeply undemocratic, harmful to workers' rights, the environment and Indigenous people globally. On November 30, 1999, activists formed a human chain around the Seattle convention center…
(2019-11-27). Why the Trump Regime Toppled Bolivia's Evo Morales. "He Wasn't Our Guy" globalresearch.ca In a word, he wasn't "our guy" in La Paz, Bolivia's political capital. | He didn't surrender the sovereign rights of the nation and people to US interests. | He was democratically elected and reelected four times, serving from January 22, 2006 …
(2019-11-27). Iran's Barter Trade Deals with China, By-Passing the US-Dollar, "Dedollarizing" Her Economy. globalresearch.ca According to a PressTV Report of 24 November, 2019, Iran and China are working on a trade or barter deal that would circumvent US sanctions. It would bypass US-dollar denominated transactions, exchanging Iranian oil for Chinese goods and services and …
(2019-11-27). A New Pipeline Could Undo America's Influence in Asia. globalresearch.ca From the moment that the U.S. re-imposed sanctions in earnest on Iran late last year, Pakistan has been looking at ways to resuscitate a deal that had been agreed in principle before the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive …
(2019-11-27). World AIDS Day at GLIDE. indybay.org Sanctuary at GLIDE Church, 330 Ellis Street at Taylor St. (enter through Taylor St. gates), San Francisco…
(2019-11-27). 20 Years After The Battle of Seattle: Vandana Shiva & Lori Wallach on Historic 1999 WTO Protests. democracynow.org 
Twenty years ago this week, tens of thousands of activists gathered in Seattle to shut down a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization. Grassroots organizers successfully blocked world leaders, government trade ministers and corporate executives from meeting to sign a global trade deal that many called deeply undemocratic, harmful to workers' rights, the environment and Indigenous people globally. On November 30, 1999, activists formed a human chain around the Seattle convention center and shut down the city's downtown. Police responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the mostly peaceful cro…
(2019-11-27). Headlines for November 27, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Knew of Whistleblower Complaint When He Released Ukraine Aid, Colombian Protesters Call for Second General Strike, Chilean President Seeks to Deploy Military to Streets Amid Protests, IACHR Says Commission Should Investigate Human Rights Abuse in Bolivia, Pompeo Calls on Egypt to Respect Press Freedom, After Raid of Mada Masr, Videos Emerge of Iran's Bloody Crackdown Against Protesters, Jeremy Corbyn Condemns Anti-Semitism, After Criticism from Top Rabbi, Chemical Plant Explodes in Texas; Wildfires Rage near Santa Barbara, CA, New York City Council Votes to Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes…
(2019-11-27). In defence of human rights in Chile: An open letter to the Australian community. greenleft.org.au 
international solidarityIssue 1247 Australia ChileNovember 27, 2019We express our deep concerns about human rights violations taking place in Chile, including the de facto war that billionaire President Sebastian Piñera has unleashed on his people. | On October 18, Chilean students took to the streets to protest a hike in public transport…
(2019-11-27). HRW: Deporting Omar Shakir "Will Not Succeed in Siding [Israel's] Human Rights Abuses." imemc.org Human Rights Watch (HRW) vowed, on Tuesday, to continue documenting Israeli abuses of the Palestinians, despite the deportation of its Palestine director Omar Shakir, according to an HRW statement, saying the deportation "reflects the [Israeli] authorities' intensifying assault on human rights." HRW said Shakir will continue to monitor human rights …
(2019-11-27). Julian Assange will 'disappear for the rest of his life' inside 'inhumane' US prison, UN envoy warns… if he makes it that far. rt.com 
The UN rapporteur on torture has accused British and American authorities of waging a one-sided war against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, "violating due process at every step," as Assange's condition in prison deteriorates. | Speaking at a demonstration in Berlin on Wednesday, rapporteur Nils Melzer told RT that if the judicial institutions prosecuting Assange were "doing their job according to the law," then they would take the WikiLeaks head's declining health into account in their extradition efforts. However, Melzer does not expect any reprieve for Assange. | The whole system is skewed against him. It'
(2019-11-27). UNHCR chief urges Greece to improve conditions in refugee camps. rt.com 
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees urged the Greek government on Wednesday to improve living conditions in migrant camps. Greece's new conservative government said it would "shut the door" to people not entitled to stay in the country and announced plans to close overcrowded refugee camps. | They could be replaced with detention centers to be used both for deporting failed asylum seekers and as a reception and processing center for new arrivals. | "We cannot accept that [refugees] live in such miserable living conditions. The conditions are very challenging and need urgent improvement," Commissi…
(2019-11-26). Chilean Communists Reject Sebastian Piñera's Proposal. telesurenglish.net The Chilean Communist Party (CP) on Tuesday described the proposal to use the Army to safeguard the country's infrastructure as a way of resorting to the military when the government runs out of policies. | Related: | HRW Denounces Human Rights Violations in Chile for Police Abuse | In a seven-point public statement, the political group called on the government 'to stop the repression, to gather the demands of the people and open channels for t…
(2019-11-26). Waging War Against the Rule of Law. counterpunch.org There is no doubt about it: at our present moment in history it is embarrassingly hard to be a defender of the rule of law. This is particularly so when such laws seek to assert and protect human rights. It is embarrassing because being supportive of such regulations should be a "no-brainer." Instead, it pits More
(2019-11-26). Betrayed by Joe Biden: a Personal History. counterpunch.org Even at age 77, Joe Biden cuts a dashing figure. In 1972, when he was 29 and I was 15, he spoke at my high school in suburban Wilmington Delaware. I practically swooned over the handsome, charismatic young Biden as he spoke passionately about civil rights, environmental protection, womens' rights and ending the Viet Nam More
(2019-11-26). "An Attack on the Human Rights Movement": Israel Deports Human Rights Watch Monitor. democracynow.org 
The Israeli government deported the director of Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine office, Omar Shakir, on Monday. The organization said the move places Israel in an "ugly club" of authoritarian regimes. Israel has accused Shakir of supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a nonviolent global campaign aiming to pressure Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. A 2017 Israeli law bans foreigners from Israel if they publicly support the BDS movement. Omar Shakir joins us from Stockholm to discuss his recent deportation and his plans to address the European Parliament regarding Israel's sy…
(2019-11-26). Footballers' union registers record growth after huge equal pay win. greenleft.org.au 
sport workers' rights & unions women's liberation Kerry SmithIssue 1247 AustraliaNovember 26, 2019The Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the union representing Australia'..
(2019-11-26). HRW Denounces Human Rights Violations in Chile for Police Abuse. telesurenglish.net Chilean security forces committed "serious human rights violations" during the now seven-week long protests against the neoliberal policies of President Sebastian Piñera and the lack of social rights in the South American nation, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch. | RELATED: | Over 2,800 People Wounded in Chile Since Start of Protests | "There are hundreds of worrying complaints about excessive use of force in the streets and abuses against detainees, incl…
(2019-11-26). We're Grateful for the Constitution. aclu.org Thanksgiving is here: that time of year when we pause to take stock of all we're grateful for. At the ACLU, we're saying thanks for all the crucial wins from our legal teams — and for the Constitution. | In just the last few months, we've racked up many essential victories in the ongoing battle to protect civil liberties and civil rights. The scope of these victories is breathtaking: they span criminal justice, privacy, religious freedom, reproductive rights, due process for immigrants, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and the right to protest the Keystone pipeline, among others. We've won crucial victories…
(2019-11-26). Make the world pay for it? 'Green New Deal' sponsor wants to sanction everyone for climate change 'crimes'. rt.com 
Green New Deal sponsor Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) is seeking to expand US sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act to foreign individuals and companies involved in "significant actions that exacerbate climate change." | While Democrats have denounced President Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on the southern US border and make Mexico pay for it, Markey's proposal seems to take that approach and apply it to the entire world, when US climate change efforts are concerned. | "As we fight to enact a Green New Deal here at home, we must use all of the tools or our foreign policy to change the behavior of…
(2019-11-26). 'Erdogan thumbs his nose at Trump': US senator says Turkey crossed 'another red line' with S-400 test, calls for new sanctions. rt.com 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is mocking the US and has crossed a new "red line" as Ankara decided to start testing its S-400 air defense systems, a US senator said, calling for new sanctions against Turkey. | Turkey's persistence in its desire to actually use the armaments it procured from Russia was bemoaned by US Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen in a bitter tweet.The official said that Ankara's push for testing radars of the S-400 systems just two weeks a…
(2019-11-26). PETA mocked over demand for University of Georgia to retire 'miserable' bulldog mascot. rt.com 
The militant animal rights group PETA has called for the retirement of University of Georgia's bulldog mascot, posting a video supposedly showing him looking miserable. The message backfired among the offended Dawgs fans. | "He looks miserable," tweeted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on Monday, posting a video of Uga X at a rainy-day football game. Uga was sitting dry in a dog house while people around him endured the wet and cold weather. | HE LOOKS MISERABLE! | No dog deserves to be packed up, carted from state to state, and paraded in front of a stadium full of screaming fans. | Animals…
(2019-11-26). There's one crucial sentence missing from the mainstream media's coverage of the Chief Rabbi's comments. thecanary.co 
Antisemitism in the Labour Party is dominating the headlines again after the Chief Rabbi decided to intervene in the election. Ephraim Mirvis described the antisemitism 'crisis' in the Times: A new poison — sanctioned from the top — has taken root in the Labour Party. | Mirvis further claimed that: It is not my place to tell any person how they should vote. I regret being in this situation at all. I…
(2019-11-25). Blinded Palestinian Journalist Exposes Israel's Increasing Violence Against Media. mintpressnews.com 
2018 saw a 52 percent increase in the number of violations against Palestinian press, the majority of them comprised physical abuse, arrests or detentions, questioning, preventing coverage and shutting down websites and social media accounts.
(2019-11-25). In Nicaragua, She Dodged Bullets. Now She's Stuck at the Border. aclu.org 
(Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) The sting of tear gas was still in Julia's eyes when she ran into a public park in the center of the Nicaraguan city of Estelí on June 20, 2018. Earlier that day, she'd wrapped her face in a blue-and-white bandanna — the colors of the Nicaraguan flag — and joined a student-led march against the government of President Daniel Ortega, whose proposed cuts to social benefits were sparking tense street demonstrations across the country. [Note: 'Julia' is a pseudonym; the ACLU is protecting her identity for her safety.] | As the students marched through the streets, paramilitary p…
(2019-11-25). The Trump Administration is Unlawfully Detaining a U.S. Resident Without Charge. aclu.org Adham | Hassoun completed his criminal sentence and was set to be released from prison almost | three years ago. But the government — now claiming unprecedented and | unconstitutional powers under the USA Patriot Act — continues to hold Adham in | detention, indefinitely and without charge. | We're | in court to secure his freedom. | Adham | has called the United States home for 30 years. Born in Lebanon to Palestinian | refugees, Adham and his family — like many other refugees — suffered…
(2019-11-25). Violence against women a barrier to peaceful future for all. news.un.org Senior officials from across the United Nations on Monday stood in solidarity with survivors of violence against women and activists working to end the all-too common human rights violation.
(2019-11-25). Amnesty International Toes US Gov't Line in Urging Unrest in Iran. mintpressnews.com The US gov't has long attempted to foment popular uprisings and hijack or manipulate protests in Iran, now rights groups like Amnesty International, seem to be parroting the tactic.
(2019-11-25). Police Raid Egypt's Last Independent News Outlet Mada Masr Amid "Increasingly Hostile" Media Climate. democracynow.org 
Egyptian security forces raided the office of Mada Masr, the country's last independent media outlet, and arrested three of its journalists this weekend. The raid began Sunday afternoon, when nine plainclothes security officers entered the Mada Masr office in Cairo, seizing phones and laptops and holding the staff in the building for more than three hours. They then arrested editor-in-chief Lina Attalah, managing editor Mohamed Hamama and reporter Rana Mamdouh. It came just a day after security forces arrested senior editor Shady Zalat at his home. All four journalists were released from detention Sunday night. T…
(2019-11-25). Headlines for November 25, 2019. democracynow.org Navy Secretary Ousted amid Dispute over Accused War Criminal Eddie Gallagher, Released State Dept. Emails Implicate Pompeo in Giuliani Ukraine Plot, Bloomberg Jumps into 2020 Race by Buying Millions in Campaign Ads, Sen. Graham Blocked Armenian Genocide Resolution at White House Request, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Released from Hospital in Good Health, Hong Kong: Pro-Democracy Candidates Win Nearly 90% Seats in Local Elections, Security Forces Raid Offices of Egypt's Last Independent Media Outlet, Iraqi Security Forces Kill 13 Protesters amid Anti-Government Demonstrations, Israel Deporting Head of Human Rights Watch's…
(2019-11-24). A staggering one-in-three women, experience physical, sexual abuse. news.un.org Violence against women and girls is among the most widespread, and devastating human rights violations in the world, but much of it is often unreported due to impunity, shame and gender inequality, the UN highlighted ahead of Monday's World Day to stamp out abuse of women and girls.
(2019-11-22). Meet the Tucson 12: Under Trump, Protesters Are Being Hit With Felony Riot Charges. theintercept.com 
Illustration: Hanna Barczyk for The Intercept | On the night of August 14, a small group of around 20 Tucson, Arizona-based activists and community members stood outside the Pima County Adult Detention Complex, making noise. They sang, they chanted, they banged drums and pans loud enough to reach the ears of those caged behind the facility's beige concrete walls. Standing on a sidewalk, some lit small, handheld fireworks; others held up a large banner bearing the famed prison abolitionist refrain, "Fire to the prisons." The message to those inside, as with most every noise demonstration held outside a prison:…
(2019-11-22). New Report On FBI Spying Shows Need For Congressional Investigation. dissidentvoice.org 
Church Committee hearing. The Frank Church Papers, Special Collections and Archives, Boise State University. Clearing the FOG (forces of greed) hosts Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers interviewed Chip Gibbons, an expert on Constitutional Law and the legal and policy counsel for Defending Rights and Dissent about a recent right to protest victory in Washington, DC …
(2019-11-22). Congress Quietly Unites To Extend "Temporary" Patriot Act Under Cover Of The Impeachment Distraction. thelastamericanvagabond.com The only time Republicans and Democrats can agree is when they are discussing the expansion of the permanent war and surveillance state. The Last American Vagabond takes a closer look at the many layers of deception about how legislation gets pushed through which contains buried provisions that further erode the U.S. Constitution and liberty. This is …
(2019-11-22). U.N. Rapporteur: Julian Assange Has Faced Psychological Torture; He Should Not Be Extradited to U.S. democracynow.org 
This week Swedish prosecutors dropped an investigation into sexual assault allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, stemming from 2010. Assange, who has always denied the allegations, took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden on the charges. British authorities dragged him out of the Ecuadorian embassy in April and he has since been jailed in London's Belmarsh prison on charges related to skipping of bail in 2012, when he first entered the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over the now-dropped sexual assault charges. The United States…
(2019-11-22). Unions campaign for a jobs-rich energy transition. greenleft.org.au 
Climate workers' rights Pip HinmanIssue 1246 AustraliaNovember 22, 2019Together with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), the Gippsland Trades and Labour Council and the Victorian Trades Hall Council, the Maritime Union…
(2019-11-22). Demanding a women's toilet at work should not be a crime. greenleft.org.au 
workers' rights Sue BullIssue 1246 AustraliaNovember 22, 2019When organisers from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) arrived at a Brighton construction site in April 2015, they found the lunch shed had no running water or electricity and no women's toilet. Workers decided to protest these substandar…
(2019-11-22). Coronial inquest finds no one to blame for David Dungay Jnr's death in custody. greenleft.org.au 
Indigenous rights Jonathan Lockhart Rachel EvansIssue 1246 Australia Black deaths in custody SydneyNovember 22,…
(2019-11-22). Hunter Workers: improving lives for more than 150 years. greenleft.org.au 
workers' rights Steve O'BrienIssue 1246 Australia NewcastleNovember 22, 2019One hundred and fifty years ago, about 80 bricklayers, plasterers, stonemasons, carpenters and labourers met to set up the Newcastle Eight Hours Committee, the forerunner to Hunter W…
(2019-11-22). Still no justice for Patrick Fisher. greenleft.org.au 
Indigenous rights Jonathan LockhartIssue 1246 Australia Black deaths in custody SydneyNovember 22, 2019Waka Waka man Patrick Fisher fell to his death while fleeing police trying to gain e…
(2019-11-21). Congress Just Temporarily Extended the Government's Spying Powers. aclu.org Congress today temporarily extended the NSA's spying powers that time and again have been used to violate our rights. Disturbingly, this three-month extension was snuck into a broader funding bill, forcing members of Congress to choose between extending this program and causing a government shutdown. The extension is an unnecessary lifeline to spying programs that are plagued with compliance violations, have no proven intelligence value, and violate our rights. | Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, one of the spying | powers extended, the government believes it has the right to collect our | personal inform…
(2019-11-21). Weekend Read: The struggle for Native American voting rights. splcenter.org November is Native American Heritage Month — a fitting time to honor the resistance and resilience of Native peoples, including their fight to be heard by and represented in the government that dispossessed them for centuries.
(2019-11-21). Inside Australia's refugee prison camp in PNG. greenleft.org.au 
refugee rights Chris SleeIssue 1246 Australia MelbourneNovember 21, 2019The Refugee Action Collective (RAC) Victoria held a forum on November 18 to discuss the situation facing asylum seekers in Bomana Immigration Centre, a detention centre attached to Bomana prison in…
(2019-11-20). Elizabeth Warren endorses Trump's economic war on Venezuela, then soft-pedals far-right Bolivia coup. thegrayzone.com In a nauseating interview on Pod Save America, Elizabeth Warren endorsed suffocating US sanctions on Venezuela, backing Trump's strategy to…
(2019-11-20). Transgender Day of Remembrance: "Celebrate the Living" While Honoring Loved Ones Lost to Hate. democracynow.org 
November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day that honors the thousands of transgender and gender nonconforming people who have been killed around the world. The Day of Remembrance is also a celebration of the community's resistance and a call to action to fight for policies and a shift in culture that protects trans lives. At least 22 transgender and gender nonconforming people have been killed in the United States this year, and over 3,000 transgender and gender nonconforming lives have been taken since 2008 around the world. We speak with LaLa B Zannell, longtime transgender rights advocate and the co-p…
(2019-11-20). Headlines for November 20, 2019. democracynow.org 4 Key Witnesses Testify in Impeachment Hearings, Amnesty Says Iranian Security Forces Killed Over 100 Protesters, Bolivian Military Carries Out Second Massacre Against Morales Supporters, Senate Approves Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, U.N. Affirms It Still Considers Israeli Settlements Violation of International Law, Pentagon Says ISIS Is Rebuilding in Northern Syria, NYT: Navy SEALs Expected to Oust Gallagher, Despite Trump Restoring His Rank, Report: Mike Pompeo Planning to Resign as Secretary of State, Trump Administration Can Now Send Asylum Seekers to Guatemala, Sweden Drops Sexual Assault Investi…
(2019-11-20). Human Rights Watch supports US-backed far-right coup in Bolivia, whitewashes massacre of indigenous protesters. thegrayzone.com Human Rights Watch refused to called the US-backed military overthrow of Bolviva's President Evo Morales a coup, and director Ken…