(2019-05-21). Detained, Abused & Denied Medical Care: How Trump Immigration Policies Led to Child Deaths at Border. democracynow.org 
A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy died in U.S. custody Monday after spending a week in immigration jail. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez was found dead at a Border Patrol station at Weslaco, Texas, just one day after being diagnosed with the flu. He was not hospitalized. This marks the fifth death of a Guatemalan child apprehended by Border Patrol since December. Before last year, it had been more than a decade since a child died in the custody of U.S. immigration officials. We speak with Fernando Garcia, the founding director of the Border Network for Human Rights, an advocacy organization based in El Paso, and Jen…
(2019-05-21). How Trump's Immigration Policies Led to Child Deaths at Border. truthout.org A 16 year-old Guatemalan boy died in U.S. custody Monday after spending a week in immigration jail. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez was found dead at a Border Patrol station at Weslaco, Texas, just one day after being diagnosed with the flu. He was not hospitalized. This marks the fifth death of a Guatemalan child apprehended by Border Patrol since December. Before last year, it had been more than a decade since a child died in the custody of U.S. immigration officials. We speak with Fernando Garcia, the founding director of the Border Network for Human Rights, an advocacy organization based in El Paso, and…
(2019-05-21). Children of ISIL terrorists likely held in 'secret detention facilities', UN human rights office warns. un.org In Syria, it is suspected that children whose fathers fought for terrorist group ISIL are being held in unidentified "settlements" and "secret detention facilities" away from their mothers, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
(2019-05-21). Human Rights Defender Paula Rosero Killed in Colombia. telesurenglish.net Human rights defender Paula Andrea Rosero Ordóñez was murdered Monday night by a group of strangers in the department of Nariño, in southwestern Colombia, official sources said. | Rosero Ordóñez, 47 years old, was the representative of the Public Ministry of the town of Samaniego, in Nariño, and had previously warned she was receiving threats against her life. | According to a police report, the lawyer was approached by two hit men, who shot her at close range. | Although she was given first aid almost immediately, it was impossible to save his life, the reports said. The Attorney General of the Nation and t…
(2019-05-21). Jennifer Harbury: Deaths of Guatemalan Children at Border Have Roots in Decades of U.S.-Backed Genocide. democracynow.org 
Five Guatemalan children have died after being apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol since December. We look at the humanitarian crisis unfolding on the border and its ties to decades of bloody U.S. intervention in Latin America with human rights attorney Jennifer Harbury. Her husband, Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, was a Mayan comandante and guerrilla who was disappeared after he was captured by the Guatemalan army in the 1980s. After a long campaign, she found there was U.S. involvement in the cover-up of her husband's murder and torture. "We trained them. We taught them torture techniques. We funded them, and we armed t…
(2019-05-21). Family of Jailed Saudi Feminist Loujain Al-Hathloul: She Was Waterboarded, Flogged & Electrocuted. democracynow.org 
It's been a year since women's right activist Loujain Al-Hathloul was detained and jailed in Saudi Arabia for leading a movement to lift the kingdom's ban on female drivers and overhaul its male "guardianship" system. Despite international outcry, she's been imprisoned ever since. During that time, her family says, she's been held in solitary confinement and faced abuse, including electric shocks, flogging and threats of sexual violence. The Saudi government has resisted calls from human rights groups and lawmakers from around the world to release Loujain and the other jailed activists. We speak with two of Louja…
(2019-05-21). Saudi Feminist Loujain al-Hathloul Was Waterboarded, Flogged and Electrocuted. truthout.org It's been a year since women's right activist Loujain al-Hathloul was detained and jailed in Saudi Arabia for leading a movement to lift the kingdom's ban on female drivers and overhaul its male "guardianship" system. Despite international outcry, she's been imprisoned ever since. During that time, her family says, she's been held in solitary confinement and faced abuse, including electric shocks, flogging and threats of sexual violence. The Saudi government has resisted calls from human rights groups and lawmakers from around the world to release Loujain and the other jailed activists. We speak with two of Lo…
(2019-05-21). We the Scattered in the Insult Society. indybay.org Hans-Peter Martin is the author of "Game Over. Prosperity for a Few, Democracy for No One, and Nationalism for Everyone" (2018). Now it is Game Over for the West, for our civilization model. Capitalism functions even without democracy and without observing liberal human rights.
(2019-05-21). Selected Articles: Backlash in US-China Trade War. China Defies Sanctions against Iran. globalresearch.ca 
A future without independent media leaves us with an upside down reality where according to the corporate media "NATO deserves a Nobel Peace Prize", and where "nuclear weapons and wars make us safer". | . | . | | | If, like us, this is …
(2019-05-21). Backlash in US-China Trade War. China Defies Sanctions against Iran, Resumes Purchase of Iran Oil. globalresearch.ca On May 5, Donald Trump announced a devastating 25% tariff on Chinese commodity imports valued at 200 billion dollars. | According to Trump: | "China is cheating the system". | "Dirty Bureaucrats in Washington have allowed China to take advantage of our great …
(2019-05-21). Thousands of Immigrants Suffer in Solitary Confinement in ICE Detention. theintercept.com Dulce Rivera lived for the one hour a day she was allowed outside, to pace alone on a patch of concrete encased in metal fencing. | They called it "the yard," but it was really a metal cage. Still, it was far better than the misery she endured the other 23 hours a day, locked alone in a cell with no one to talk to and nothing to distract her from her increasingly dark thoughts. | Rivera, a 36-year-old transgender woman from Honduras and a longtime U.S. resident, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2017. She was placed in the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico, and moved into s…
(2019-05-21). A Homeland Security Whistleblower Goes Public About ICE Abuse of Solitary Confinement. theintercept.com 
Ellen Gallagher was stunned when she first learned that immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were sometimes placed in isolation with no human contact for 22 hours a day. It was February 2014, only a few months into her stint as a policy adviser at the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, where she thought she'd be empowered to ensure that the department did not violate the rights of those who came into its crosshairs. | For the next several months, Gallagher educated herself on solitary confinement, a controversial practice used frequently in penal i…
(2019-05-21). Tuesday's Daily Brief: Libya civil war, African displacement, global trade tensions, terrorists' children 'secretly detained', and more. un.org Tuesday's stories include: Libya facing "permanent division", regional war; Africa event highlights forcible displacement; terrorists' children 'secretly detained' in Syria; Venezuelans need protection; global trade tensions rise.
(2019-05-21). India's Opposition Parties Allege Vote Machine Fraud. telesurenglish.net India's main opposition parties Tuesday alleged voting fraud in the country's general election, days after exit polls predicted a comfortable win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling far right-wing party. | RELATED: | India's Brutal Torture of Kashmiri Prisoners an 'Instrument of Control': Report | Members of as many as 22 parties…
(2019-05-21). 'This Is Not A Drill': Amid GOP Attack, Pro-Choice #StopTheBans Rallies Take Place Nationwide. commondreams.org A week after the Alabama legislature sparked outrage that spread across the country with its approval of a near-total ban on abortion care in the state, reproductive rights advocates across the country are holding "Stop the Bans" rallies on Tuesday to demand that state Republican lawmakers end their attacks on abortion rights. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-05-21). Despite Lawsuit, TBSC Leader Calls for Hosing Down a Sleeping Homeless Man. indybay.org Samantha Olden, a leader of the "public safety" group Take Back Santa Cruz (TBSC), recently made a comment on social media suggesting a homeless man be hosed down with water to discourage him from trespassing in the area in which he was sleeping. The comment from Olden comes just over a month after homeless residents in Santa Cruz named Take Back Santa Cruz in a federal civil rights lawsuit, which calls for TBSC to, "be enjoined from dangerous inflammatory hate speech and ordered to publicly alert its members and followers to refrain from performing or inciting acts of physical violence against homeless persons."
(2019-05-21). US media silent on re-jailing of Chelsea Manning. wsws.org The attack on Manning and Assange is part of much broader global assault on basic democratic rights, including freedom of speech, the press and the internet.
(2019-05-21). Walmart Workers Invite Bernie Sanders to Speak at Annual Event. telesurenglish.net Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will attend Walmart's annual shareholder meeting in Arkansas next month after being invited by the workers to speak on their behalf. | RELATED: | Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Propose Radical Reforms on Wall Street's Loan Sharks | He will speak for…
(2019-05-21). Telecom shill Ajit Pai shills for telecom. nationofchange.org WASHINGTON — Today Ajit Pai, the former Verizon lawyer turned least | popular FCC chairman in history, announced his support for the T-Mobile / | Sprint mega merger. The $26.5 billion deal has faced widespread | opposition from Internet freedom, labor, civil rights, and consumer | groups. It would reduce the number of national wireless carriers from | four to three, leading to higher prices and worse plans, with the | biggest impact felt by low income people and communities of color. | Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer (pronouns: she/her) said, "Ajit Pai doesn't even try to pretend that he w…
(2019-05-21). Taking Action to #StopTheBans. progressive.org Across the country this week, advocates for reproductive justice and women's rights are rallying to put a stop to the onslaught of restrictive abortion laws.
(2019-05-21). The Fight Against PAR, The Attack On Teachers & Worker Rights With Educator Brian Crowell. indybay.org Educator and former Berkeley Federaton of Teachers steward Brian Crowell talks about his experience with the Peer Assisted Program PAR and how he discovered it was being used to target senior teachers, African American teachers and Latino teachers. He also found out that his union president of the BFT Cathy Cambell was being paid by the district to discipline and terminate teachers.
(2019-05-21). Judge orders new union vote at Kumho Tire plant in Georgia. fightbacknews.org Washington D.C. – An administrative law judge ordered a new union vote at a Kumho Tire factory in Macon, Georgia, after finding that company officials violated workers' rights during the first election in October 2017. | The first vote resulted in a narrow loss for the workers, who were seeking to join the United Steelworkers (USW) union. After that vote, the USW filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the company of illegal conduct in its effort to suppress the union. | In his ruling, Administrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan wrote that the company's illegal conduct was "pervasive" and…
(2019-05-21). Calling All Handmaids: Stop Fascist Attacks on Reproductive Rights. indybay.org Larkin Street side of Main Library, San Francisco…
(2019-05-21). Let's Shut Down the Economy to Fight for Abortion Rights. truthout.org In recent weeks, several states have passed incredibly restrictive laws against abortion. The specifics of these laws vary, but the end result is the same: abortion is becoming illegal again. In many cases, these laws threaten anyone who gets or performs an abortion with prison time. | The Alabama bill (HB 314) reclassifies performing an abortion at any stage of the pregnancy as a Class A felony, meaning that doctors will face a minimum of 10 years and up to 99 years in prison. The law states tha…
(2019-05-21). 'We Need More DAs Standing Up Like This': Georgia Prosecutors Vow Not to Charge Women Under State's Unconstitutional Abortion Ban. commondreams.org Women in Georgia's four largest counties may be protected from the state's recently-passed six-week abortion ban—which has been condemned as part of the Republican Party's recent ramped-up attack on reproductive rights—even if the law goes into effect next year. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-05-21). American corporations are helping fund the war on women. nationofchange.org Despite using rhetoric to suggest otherwise, American corporations are giving big to extremist politicians that have a hand in pushing abortion bans in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri. | Revealed by journalist Judd Legum, formerly of ThinkProgress, mega-corporations like AT&T, Walmart, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, and Aetna are backing these politicians that fight against reproductive rights. Although these corporations publicly promote equality and women's rights, behind closed doors they seem to do be doing the opposite. | "In their corporate literature, these companies prese…
(2019-05-21). 'We're Still Going to Be Making Sure People Have Access to Abortions They Want and Need' – CounterSpin interview with Jill Heaviside and Oriaku Njoku on reproductive rights assaults. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Jill Heaviside and Oriaku Njoku about resisting assaults on reproductive rights for the May 17, 2019, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2019-05-21). Mobilize the working class in defense of abortion rights. wsws.org The Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality are distributing this statement at demonstrations across the US on Tuesday to defend the right to an abortion.
(2019-05-21). Trump administration shipping immigrants to sanctuary cities as fifth child dies in ICE custody. wsws.org Trump is seeking to further inundate processing centers and jails to justify the border wall as the fifth Guatemalan child has died in ICE custody since December.
(2019-05-21). Inmate Dies at Rountree Rehabilitation and Re-Entry Facility in Watsonville. indybay.org According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, 35-year-old inmate Carlos Bolanos was found dead at 5: 30 am today in the Rehabilitation and Re-entry Facility located at the Rountree Lane Sheriff's Detention Facilities in Watsonville. Carlos was in custody at the Rehabilitation and Re-Entry facility since December of 2018.
(2019-05-20). Venezuela: Widespread Gasoline Shortages as Sanctions Take Toll on Oil Sector. venezuelanalysis.com Long queues have been seen at gas pumps around the country in recent days.
(2019-05-20). Greenpeace Blocks BP HQ Against Oil and Gas Exploration. telesurenglish.net London police said Monday they had detained all 10 Greenpeace activists who had blocked the entrances to BP's global headquarters to convince the British energy giant to halt oil and gas exploration. | RELATED: | Fake Blood Flows at Anti-extinction Protest in Paris | The environmental organisation encased activists in five heavy containers that were manoeuvred into place during the night. | Abseilers also set about…
(2019-05-20). Indian Dalit Killed for Eating in Front of Upper-Caste Men. telesurenglish.net A 23-year-old Indian man belonging to the Dalit – the lowest-caste formerly known as untouchables – was killed by a group of upper-caste men, after the victim allegedly ate in front of them at a wedding celebration in the northern state of Uttarakhand, the Times of India reported. | RELATED: | India's Brutal Torture of Kashmiri Prisoners an 'Instrument of Control': Report | "It was our cousin's marriage. My brother made the mistake of taking food from the same coun…
(2019-05-20). Border Patrol Museum Demonstrators Targeted In Crackdown On Immigrant Rights Protests. shadowproof.com Four activists turned themselves in to El Paso police on May 13 after the police issued warrants for their arrest related to a nonviolent demonstration inside a United States Border Patrol museum.
(2019-05-20). Headlines for May 20, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Threatens "Official End of Iran" Via Tweet If It Provokes the U.S., First Phase of Kushner's Middle East Peace Plan to Focus on Palestinian Economy, Sweden Requests Detention of Assange as WikiLeaks Accuses U.S. of Illegally Seizing His Property, Australian Voters Choose Conservative PM Morrison Over Opponent Who Vowed to Tackle Climate Change, Austria Calls Snap Election After Far-Right Leader Caught in Corruption Scandal, Protesters Take to the Streets Ahead of European Parliament Elections, Narendra Modi on Track for Second Term as Prime Minister as Voting Ends in India, Taiwan Legalizes Same-Sex Marriag…
(2019-05-19). The Treasury Department and Moves Towards War on Iran. dissidentvoice.org As Patrick Cockburn has observed in a recent Counterpunch column, "At the end of the day, the US Treasury is a more powerful instrument of foreign policy than the Pentagon for all its aircraft carriers and drones." He refers, of course, to the success of U.S. sanctions on Iran and secondary sanctions on any corporations …
(2019-05-19). Trump-Bolton Aggression Against Iran Contained by Russia, Japan, China, and EU. therealnews.com 
Vijay Prashad says the very dangerous statements, economic sanctions and military aggression unleashed by Washington this week against Iran was countered by cool headed diplomacy by Japan, Russia, EU and China…
(2019-05-19). Coalition win makes fightback urgent. greenleft.org.au 
The right-wing dominated Coalition's win in the May 18 federal election is a major setback for the climate action movement, the union movement and the interests of working people in Australia. | It will no doubt lead to an acceleration of attacks on union rights, the living standards of workers and the poor and is a serious blow to the growing climate action movement among youth and the population generally. | We must now urgently take steps to unite and step up the fight to defend the movements for progressive change in this country. | Despite this electoral setback, which occurred in the face of opinion po…
(2019-05-19). Minnesotans reject Trump's plan for Palestine. fightbacknews.org Columbia Heights, MN – About 40 Palestinian-Americans, Palestine solidarity activists and immigrant rights activists rallied in Columbia Heights on May 16, to draw attention to the U.S. negative role in Palestine. Central Avenue in Columbia Heights is a main street for the Arab and Muslim community in the suburbs north of Minneapolis. The protest got a significant response from people returning home after work and shopping for food for their upcoming iftars. | The protest was the week of the 71st anniversary of Al Nakba, which is marked in Palestine and throughout the Palestinian diaspora every year. | Reem Salem…
(2019-05-19). New Abortion Laws 'Go Against Common Sense'. therealnews.com 
Conservatives have launched a new attack on abortion rights, which go against both medical science and common sense, says Anoa Changa, but the point is to bring the issue to the new conservative Supreme Court majority…
(2019-05-19). Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Is Being Pushed By 'Islamophobia Industry'. therealnews.com 
Civil rights lawyer and activist Arjun Singh Sethi says, "Even the CIA actually came out and said it would be a mistake, because in many ways the Muslim Brotherhood more recently has been a force of moderation and democratization in the Middle East."
(2019-05-18). The plot to kill Venezuela. mronline.org 
Vijay Prashad looks at the purpose and impact of sanctions against Venezuela. | Source
(2019-05-18). Ellen & Rachel Meeropol and Boots Riley on art and resistance. mronline.org 
Ellen Meeropol is the author of two novels about law, justice, and government surveillance. Her most recent book, "On Hurricane Island," explores a fictional secret domestic detention camp for citizens. | Source
(2019-05-17). Repatriation of extremist fighters and families to Kazakhstan, welcomed by UN rights expert. un.org Stressing the need for some Governments to reform their laws and policies on fighting terrorism and extremism, an independent UN human rights expert welcomed on Friday Kazakhstan's repatriation of 231 of its citizens from conflict sites in Syria and Iraq, earlier this month.
(2019-05-17). Border Official Admits Targeting Journalists and Human Rights Advocates With Smuggling Investigations. theintercept.com 
When first confronted with evidence that it was collaborating with Mexican law enforcement in a sweeping intelligence-gathering operation targeting journalists, activists and attorneys along the U.S.-Mexico divide, Customs and Border Protection was silent. When still more evidence emerged, in the form of documents leaked by a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower, the agency dismissed the significance of the revelations as routine law enforcement work. | Now, more than four months after the story broke, CBP is owning up to its operations — in a way — and raising new questions about its treatme…
(2019-05-17). Rocky Hill decision rocks mining lobby. greenleft.org.au 
The ruling by the NSW Land and Environment Court on February 8 to reject the Rocky Hill coalmine outside Gloucester is being felt beyond its local community and will have implications for human rights as well as climate change policy. | According to Lock the Gate Alliance: "Mining company KEPCO's new submission to the Independent Planning Commission on its proposed Bylong Valley coal project is recognition the Rocky Hill judgement changed the way the IPC should consider new coalmines in New South Wales." | KEP…
(2019-05-17). German Parliament Criminalizes Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement. therealnews.com 
Germany becomes the first country in the world to criminalize the BDS movement. Shir Hever, TRNN Correspondent in Germany and expert on Palestine-Israel, responds…
(2019-05-17). Friday's Daily Brief: Syria, Yemen airstrikes, Anti-torture panel, Gay rights, Climate change, #Vesak Day. un.org On Friday, we cover: Fighting in Syria's Idlib province; UN condemnation of airstrikes in Yemen; UK's forced-return policy; LGBTI rights; the UN chief's climate action trip to Tuvalu; and Vesak Day.
(2019-05-17). United States: Resisting Trump's attacks on migrants. greenleft.org.au 
Green Left Weekly's Jacob Andrewartha and Zane Alcorn spoke to Justin Akers Chacón, a Mexican-based, US immigrant rights activist, in Melbourne for the Marxism conference in April. | What can you tell us about the current situation in the US regarding immigration, particularly as we enter the second half of US President Donald Trump's term in office? | The situation is really dire in many ways. Trump has ratcheted up the attack on immigrants, including trying to prevent thousands of Central American asylum-seekers from even reaching the border where they could apply for asylum. | He has done this by essentially s…
(2019-05-17). New York Passes a Bill to Ensure No One Loses Their Home for Calling the Police. aclu.org 
Americans shouldn't be threatened with losing housing because they called for help. | In cities and towns across New York state — and around the country — you can be evicted just for calling for police or emergency assistance. Fortunately, that's about to change in New York. The State Legislature recently passed a bill — unanimously in the Assembly and 58 to 1 in the Senate — to prote…