(2019-12-09). Under Attack by Trump, Immigrant Justice is Advancing in the States. aclu.org This year was another of devastating attacks on immigrants' rights | by the Trump administration. However, in both red and blue states, we fought | and won new measures that stymie Trump's deportation machine. These local wins, | though often overshadowed by the president's xenophobia, are powerful. Here are | some of the most surprising and significant of our 2019 immigrant justice victories | in the states. | In | Michigan, a former marine's arrest prompts police reform | Grand Rapids, Michigan police kept veteran and U.S. citizen Jilmar | Ramos-Gomez in immigration detention for 3 days — even though <...
(2019-12-09). Immigrants have been denied due process for years. In New England, that's about to change. aclu.org One of the bedrock principles of our judicial | system is that the government can't just lock people up without showing why | it's necessary. | For noncitizens caught up in Trump's deportation | machine, though, that principle doesn't always apply. But now because of our | litigation in New England that's about to change. | Gilberto Pereira Brito was detained in March by ICE | — snatched from his wife and three children, all of whom are U.S. citizens — and | brought before an immigration judge for a bond hearing. To keep him in | detention, the government had to prove nothing, whereas Gilberto had…
(2019-12-09). Hundreds of journalists around the world sign open letter demanding freedom for Assange. wsws.org The signatories declare: "As journalists and journalists' organizations that believe in human rights, freedom of information and of the public's right to know, we demand the immediate release of Julian Assange."
(2019-12-09). UN Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer: "With censorship inevitably comes tyranny" wsws.org The World Socialist Web Site interviewed Nils Melzer, who denounced the role of governments and the mainstream media in the persecution of Julian Assange and warned of the dangerous consequences of the erosion of democratic rights.
(2019-12-09). Question for Kirbymoorside UK Hustings Meeting: Would you stand up for Julian Assange? dissidentvoice.org To those candidates who are putting themselves forward as MPs to become a voice within the UK Parliament — would you stand up for Julian Assange and for those who. in speaking truth, have the audacity to challenge the dialogue of power? I am disappointed that my question relating to the arbitrary detention of Julian …
(2019-12-09). Arizona educators, progressives confront ALEC summit and Betsy DeVos. fightbacknews.org Tucson, AZ – On December 4, a coalition of union educators, immigrant rights, police crimes, and climate change activists confronted the agenda of corporations like UPS and energy industry giants and billionaires like Charles Koch and Sheldon Achelson. At its height the crowd numbered around 200 with signs reading: "ALEC: Oligarchy in progress" and "Privatization, criminalization, incarceration, climate change, imperialism: #ALECisBehindIt." | The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a notorious organization of hardcore conservatives, was holding its States and Nation Policy Summit in Arizona. ALEC hoste…
(2019-12-09). Hunger-striker in Serious Condition. imemc.org Ahmad Zahran, a Palestinian administrative detainee held in Israeli jails who has been on hunger strike for 78 consecutive days, in protest against his incarceration without charge or trial, is in serious health condition and has been admitted to an Israeli hospital, today, said the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS). Zahran, …
(2019-12-09). On Human Rights Day, Let's Abolish Nuclear Weapons. progressive.org A nuclear war would create one of the worst humanitarian crises imaginable, one for which no nation would have an adequate emergency or health response.
(2019-12-09). Monday's Daily Brief: increasing inequality, human rights and climate, civil war crimes, Ethiopia reforms. news.un.org New UN development report warns global inequality breeding a "new generation of inequalities"; human rights linked to climate change by senior UN official; intentional starvation in civil wars classified as a war crime, UN rights expert calls for Ethiopia reform support.
(2019-12-09). Celebrate Human Rights Day in S.F. at City Hall! indybay.org San Francisco City Hall east steps (address: 1 Carlton B Goodlett Place, which is the name of Polk Street on that block)…
(2019-12-09). Human Rights Day celebrates 'tremendous activism' of the world's young people. news.un.org The United Nations is highlighting the role of young people in leading the way to a better future for all people for this year's observance of Human Rights Day, celebrated on Tuesday.
(2019-12-09). Renters' Rights Workshop: The California Tenant Protection Act. indybay.org Louden Nelson Community Center (301 Center Street) Room 4…
(2019-12-09). Brown University Corporate Responsibility Committee Votes to Divest from Companies Connected to Israeli Occupation. imemc.org December 2019 / Mondoweiss / United States Michael Arria On Dec 2, Brown University's Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) voted to recommend that the school divest from companies that facilitate Israeli human rights violations. Six ACCRIP members voted in favor of divestment, two voted against it, and …
(2019-12-09). West Seeks Control over Asian Rivers. globalresearch.ca At first glance the human rights and environmental issues surrounding a proposed dam seem like serious objections to their construction. In some cases they may be. | In other cases — these concerns are manufactured, promoted, and cynically exploited by foreign …
(2019-12-09). Meet Virgil Griffith: America's Newest Political Prisoner. counterpunch.org On November 29, FBI agents arrested hacker and cryptocurrency developer Virgil Griffith. His alleged crime: Talking. Yes, really. The FBI alleges that Griffith "participated in discussions regarding using cryptocurrency technologies to evade sanctions and launder money." Griffith, a US citizen who lives in Singapore, gave a talk at conference on blockchain technology in April. Because More
(2019-12-09). America's torturers and their co-conspirators must be prosecuted. wsws.org Five years after the release of the Senate report on CIA torture, the gruesome drawings contained in the Seton Hall Law School paper on "How America Tortures" are a powerful indictment of the entire US political establishment.
(2019-12-09). The Government Has Taken At Least 1,100 Children From Their Parents Since Family Separations Officially Ended. theintercept.com Border Patrol agents, untrained in child welfare, decide that some parents are unfit to stay with their children based on brief interactions in detention.
(2019-12-09). Israel's Case Against Human Rights Watch Reveals How Its Normalizing West Bank Land Theft. mintpressnews.com 
The argument made by an Israeli court has been defacto reality in Israel since 1967: there is no West Bank, instead, the region is called Judea and Samaria, legitimate parts of the State of Israel.
(2019-12-09). EU leaders to prolong sanctions against Russia over Ukraine — German FM Maas. rt.com 
European Union leaders will renew economic sanctions against Russia over Ukraine when they meet for a summit this week, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday. | "At the moment, for me there is no reason to change anything in the sanctions policy of the EU towards Russia," AFP quoted the minister as saying in Brussels. | The statement comes as France hosts a four-way summit with Ukraine, Russia and Germany on Monday. The meeting in Paris is the first 'Normandy Format' summit on the conflict in eastern Ukraine in three years. | It seeks to implement accords signed in Minsk in 2015, which call for the…
(2019-12-09). Three Ways the "Fairness for All Act" Doesn't Protect LGBTQ People from Discrimination. aclu.org On Friday, Congressman Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and | several of his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives introduced | the so-called "Fairness for All Act." The bill is being described by its | supporters as a compromise that protects both LGBTQ people and religious | liberty. | In reality, the bill facilitates the Trump | administration's ongoing efforts to give a greenlight to those who would turn | LGBTQ people away from jobs, health care, housing, even taxpayer-funded | programs, simply because of who they are. The bill also weakens some | longstanding protections in federal and state laws…
(2019-12-09). Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron & BP Could Be Legally & Morally Liable for Climate Crisis in Philippines. democracynow.org 
The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has just determined that 47 major companies, including Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Total, could be found legally and morally liable for human rights harms to Filipinos resulting from climate change. The commission found the companies could be held accountable under civil and criminal laws. Climate activists have hailed the decision as a landmark victory for climate justice. According to Greenpeace, this marks the first time big polluting companies have been found responsible for human rights harms resulting from the climate crisis. We speak to Yeb Saño, exe…
(2019-12-09). Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal of Kentucky's Forced Ultrasound Law, Allowing Law Intended to 'Shame' Patients Stand. commondreams.org Kentucky will uphold a law reproductive rights groups say is intended only to "shame and intimidate" patients who seek abortion care, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Monday not to hear an appeal to H.B. 2, or what the ACLU calls a "forced narrated ultrasound law." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2019-12-08). 'I plan to seek justice': Max Blumenthal vows legal action after US govt drops 'bogus' assault charges against him. rt.com 
The US government has dropped all charges against Max Blumenthal, after arresting the journalist over a dubious 5-month-old warrant. But the Grayzone editor says the case is far from closed. | Blumenthal was detained for nearly two days after police raided his Washington, DC home in October. The month-old warrant for his arrest listed the journalist as "armed and dangerous," and police carrying out the warrant reportedly threatened to kick down his door.The government's case was based solely on an unsubstantiated claim made by a right-wing Venezuelan opposition activist, Naylet Pacheco, who alleged that Blumen…
(2019-12-08). Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Reinstates Angela Davis' Award. bdsmovement.net 
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Reinstates Angela Davis' Award: In the NewsThe organization faced backlash and internal dissension after previously rescinding the honor—a decision Davis and allies attributed to the racial justice activist's support for Palestinians' rights and BDS. | Right To BoycottJanuary 25, 2019 | By: | | COLORLINES
(2019-12-07). Dear Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Is an Engine of Anti-Muslim Hate the World Over. Don't You Care? theintercept.com 
What happened to the guy who told his Muslim employees in 2015 that he would "fight to protect your rights and create a peaceful and safe environment"?
(2019-12-07). 'We all must step up' collective action on disability inclusion — UN deputy chief. news.un.org The international community has agreed truly ground-breaking frameworks to advance the rights of persons with disabilities, including in the context of development, but there remains a significant gap between these ambitions and the reality experienced daily by millions of persons with disabilities, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a conference in Doha on Saturday.
(2019-12-07). US Claims "Fresh Intelligence" Of Iran Attacks Yet Provides Zero Evidence — MSM Blindly Regurgitates. thelastamericanvagabond.com Here we go again with "fresh intelligence" to justify the continued sanctions and destabilization of Iran. It's a plan that has been well documented even by their own writings (See Which Path to Persia? — 2009). Of course, complicating U.S. foreign policy is the involvement of Israel. The Last American Vagabond covers the latest political posturing, distortion, and general …
(2019-12-07). 'We can make a deal together': Trump thanks Iran for 'very fair negotiation' that led to prisoner swap. rt.com 
In a reprieve from the usual bellicose rhetoric, President Donald Trump thanked the leaders of Iran for swapping an American prisoner with a detained Iranian scientist. Senior officials, however, told a different story. | Princeton scholar Xiyue Wang left Iran for the US on Saturday morning, while Iranian Scientist Massoud Soleimani returned to Tehran from America. Wang had been in Iranian custody since 2016 and was serving a ten-year term on espionage charges, while Soleimani was arrested in Chicago last year for sanctions violations and was awaiting trial. | The prisoner exchange came after weeks of negotiat…
(2019-12-06). UN rights chief 'extremely concerned' over deadly crackdown on protesters in Iran. news.un.org In the wake of recent protests in Iran, the top United Nations human rights official expressed alarm on Friday over multiple human rights violations which have reportedly taken place across the country.
(2019-12-06). Rise in Caribbean children displaced by storms shows climate crisis is a child rights issue: UNICEF. news.un.org The number of Caribbean children displaced by storms has risen approximately six-fold in the past five years, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reveals in a new report released on Friday.
(2019-12-06). UK Labour Party votes to stop arms trade with Israel, apply international law to trade, and support refugee return. bdsmovement.net 
UK Labour Party votes to stop arms trade with Israel, apply international law to trade, and support refugee return: In the NewsAt the UK Labour party's annual conference, the party voted overwhelmingly for refugees right to return, to stop "any arms trade with Israel that is used in violation of the human rights of Palestinians" and to apply international law to UK trade wi…
(2019-12-05). A Border Officer Told Me I Couldn't Opt Out of the Face Recognition Scan. They Were Wrong. aclu.org 
"Look at the camera," a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) | officer told me as I approached the primary inspection point at the Paso del | Norte port of entry. | "Is that the face recognition technology?" I asked. "If so, I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | "I want to opt-out." | "Look at the camera." | On the evening of November 25, 2019, I crossed from Mexico into the United States. Signs in the port noted the new use of face recognition technology and United States citizens' option to "undergo alternative procedures." After handing over my U.S. passport card, and despite my repeated protests…
(2019-12-05). New Legislation Aims to End the "School to Confinement Pathway" theintercept.com Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts introduced new legislation Thursday aimed at ending the "school to confinement pathway." The bill targets discriminatory and punitive school discipline policies that push black and brown students out of schools at disproportionately high rates, often directly into the criminal justice system. | The bill offers incentives to states and schools that commit to ban most suspensions and expulsions, as well as corporal punishment and the physical restraint of students. It also allots resources to the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights at a time when the Trump administrat…
(2019-12-05). Donald Trump Keeps Navy SEALs Above the Law. theintercept.com Rear Admiral Collin Green had a problem. Green, a Navy SEAL and commander of Naval Special Warfare, knew that his community — 3,000 active duty SEALs, their families, and the several thousand former and retired SEALs who make up their elite military tribe — was locked in a culture war over one notorious SEAL. What could he do about Eddie Gallagher? | Gallagher, a sniper and medic, was accused of stabbing an injured and unarmed ISIS detainee who may have been as young as 14 during a deployment in Mosul, Iraq, in 2017. The case had made headlines internationally, and Gallagher had won prominent support…
(2019-12-05). Aminatou Haidar Honored For Decades of Peaceful Resistance in Western Sahara, Africa's Last Colony. democracynow.org 
In Stockholm, Democracy Now! sat down with one of the winners of this year's Right Livelihood Award: Sahrawi human rights leader Aminatou Haidar. For over three decades, Haidar has led a peaceful campaign to resist the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, which is often called Africa's last colony. Morocco has occupied Western Sahara — a small region just south of Morocco in northwest Africa — since 1975. Thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the occupation. Peaceful protesters, led by women, are routinely beaten in the streets. Despite this violent repress…
(2019-12-05). Edward Snowden: If I Came Back to the U.S., I Would Likely Die in Prison for Telling the Truth. democracynow.org 
The Right Livelihood Awards celebrated their 40th anniversary Wednesday at the historic Cirkus Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, where more than a thousand people gathered to celebrate this year's four laureates: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; Chinese women's rights lawyer Guo Jianmei, Brazilian indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa and the organization he co-founded, the Yanomami Hutukara Association; and Sahrawi human rights leader Aminatou Haidar, who has challenged the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara for decades. The Right Livelihood Award is known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize." Over the past four deca…
(2019-12-05). Rights for workers means no going soft on Hansonism. greenleft.org.au 
union rights Sam WainwrightIssue 1248 Australia Ensuring Integrity Bill ACTUDecember 5, 2019Supporters of workers' rights breathed a big sigh of relief when the Coalition's union-busting Fair Work (…
(2019-12-04). Immigrant rights activists protest ICE detention at Sherburne County commissioners' meeting. fightbacknews.org Elk River, MN – Immigrant rights activists mobilized to the Sherburne County commissioners' meeting at 9: 00 in the morning Tuesday, December 3 in Elk River, a town of around 20,000 people an hour northwest of Minneapolis. They held signs throughout the meeting, and several of them spoke passionately during the public comment section of the agenda, appealing to the commissioners to stop participating in and profiting from immigrant detention in the Sherburne County Jail. | The Sherburne County Jail has a contract for 300 beds to detain immigrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it the la…
(2019-12-04). Activists decry Minnesota investments in border militarization, climate destruction. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) held its quarterly meeting at the State Capitol December 2 and got sharp criticism from immigrant rights and anti-war activists, as new documents revealed a nearly $1 million increase in investment in a controversial military technology company. Youth climate strikers also highlighted the SBI's inaction over state ties to environmental destruction. Both groups were met with vacillation and excuses from the board which is tasked with the responsible investment of public pensions and related funds. | At issue was Elbit Systems, an Israel-based manufacture…
(2019-12-04). TIAR Countries Blacklist Top Venezuelan Officials as US Slaps New Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Venezuela of "hijacking" mass anti-neoliberal protests in "our own backyard."
(2019-12-04). Wednesday's Daily Brief: 2020 humanitarian plan, malaria latest, greener tourism, people key to SDGs, Fall Armyworm. news.un.org A recap of Wednesday's stories: A record number of people will need humanitarian aid in 2020; WHO calls for more funding to protect women and children from malaria; the transport and tourism sectors are urged to tackle carbon emissions; a group of rights experts want to see more people helping make the SDGs a reality; Fall Armyworm pest sparks new global action plan; and how the UN is helping impoverished landlocked nations develop.
(2019-12-04). Seventeen Years After His Arrest, Alleged USS Cole Plotter Is Still Fighting to See Records of His CIA Torture. theintercept.com Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri's lawyers say that details of his torture are essential to defending him against death penalty charges.
(2019-12-04). "Alternative Nobel Prize:" Right Livelihood Award Celebrates 40 Years Honoring Grassroots Activists. democracynow.org 
The Right Livelihood Award is marking its 40th anniversary. The award was established in 1980 to honor and support those "offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us." It has since become known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize." Over the past four decades, the award has been given to activists and grassroots leaders around the globe. A number of them have gone on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. This year's winners are: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; Sahrawi human rights leader Aminatou Haidar, who has challenged the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara for decades; Chi…
(2019-12-04). U.N. Report Finds Over 7 Million Children Worldwide Are Being Held in Various Kinds of Detention. democracynow.org 
A damning United Nations report says that 7 million children are deprived of their liberty worldwide, from children imprisoned on the U.S.-Mexico border to the missing children of ISIS fighters. The Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty says that at least 410,000 of those children are detained in jails and prisons, where violence is "endemic." The study also found that the number of children detained in the context of armed conflict has dramatically risen. The global study was published in November, on the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the landmark international treaty affi…
(2019-12-04). Headlines for December 4, 2019. democracynow.org House Impeachment Report Accuses Trump of Soliciting Foreign Interference in 2020 Election, Report: Europe Could Face Annual Extreme Heat Waves Due to Climate Change, Kamala Harris Ends Her 2020 Presidential Campaign, ProPublica: McKinsey Helped Trump Speed Up Mass Deportation Program, Detained Asylum Seekers Protest in Winnfield, Louisiana, House Votes for Bill to Punish China over Mass Imprisonment of Muslims, ICC Begins Hearing over Alleged U.S. Military Torture in Afghanistan, Rikers Island Officers Stood By as Teenager Attempted to Hang Himself, Today Marks 50th Anniversary of Assassination of Fred Hampton…
(2019-12-03). Congress Must Act to Protect the Right to Vote. aclu.org Update 12/06/19: The House passed the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would update the Voting Rights Act for the first time since it was last reauthorized in 2006. | Read the ACLU's report to Congress on the importance of restoring the Voting Rights Act. | This week, the House is expected to vote on H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019. The bill would help ensure racial barriers to voting are removed from elections across the country. Passing the VRAA will advance needed protections for people whose right to vote is under attack based…
(2019-12-03). Meet Yetnebersh Nigussie: A Blind Ethiopian Lawyer Fighting for Global Disability Rights. democracynow.org 
December 3 is International Day of Persons With Disabilities. "Unfortunately, disability-based discrimination is still a global phenomenon," says Yetnebersh Nigussie, a lawyer and disability rights activist from Ethiopia who in 2017 received the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize." Nigussie is the director for advocacy and rights at Light for the World and the former chair of the Ethiopian National Association of the Blind women's wing. She has been blind since the age of five. Yetnebersh Nigussie speaks with us in Stockholm. She is one of many former Right Livelihood Award recipie…
(2019-12-02). Venezuela's PDVSA Secures Temporary Lease Extension for Curacao Refinery. venezuelanalysis.com Despite the extension, refinery owners are looking to end the 34-year cooperation under pressure from US sanctions.
(2019-12-02). Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities. splcenter.org …
(2019-12-01). The Sanctuary Strategy. progressive.org Policies and activism that work to shelter undocumented immigrants have spread across the country—and are remarkably effective.