(2019-05-23). How ICE is using solitary confinement to punish asylum seekers, including LGBT & disabled immigrants. nationofchange.org The United Nations special rapporteur on torture says solitary confinement should only be used in exceptional circumstances, and defines extended use of solitary as "inhuman and degrading treatment."
(2019-05-23). Why Are Leading Democrats Supporting Trump on Venezuela? thenation.com Why Are Leading Democrats Supporting Trump on Venezuela?
(2019-05-23). US Is About to Sanction the World if They Don't Stop Purchasing Russian Weapons. globalresearch.ca The CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) sanctions concept of economically punishing countries that continue to purchase Russian and Chinese arms is about to become much more effective after the forthcoming global application of the "European Recapitalisation Incentive Programme", …
(2019-05-23). 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.
(2019-05-23). "India Loses Again, and the World Loses with It": Siddhartha Deb on Modi's Landslide Re-election. democracynow.org 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to enter a second term in a landslide victory. Election results show Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP party leading in 325 of the 543 seats in Parliament. At this rate, these numbers will give him an even greater majority than in 2014, when his party claimed the first outright majority in decades. Most analysts had predicted Modi's BJP party would lose seats in this election. Modi's government has been criticized for a crackdown on civil society, targeting political opponents, journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and writers. Human rights groups have also raised…
(2019-05-23). In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wins in Landslide Re-election. truthout.org Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to enter a second term in a landslide victory. Election results show Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP party leading in 325 of the 543 seats in Parliament. At this rate, these numbers will give him an even greater majority than in 2014, when his party claimed the first outright majority in decades. Most analysts had predicted Modi's BJP party would lose seats in this election. Modi's government has been criticized for a crackdown on civil society, targeting political opponents, journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and writers. Human rights groups have also rai…
(2019-05-23). 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.
(2019-05-23). Flu outbreak leads to quarantine at Texas immigrant detention center. wsws.org The death of a migrant teenager on Monday has highlighted the inhumane conditions at one of the largest immigration detention centers in the US.
(2019-05-23). Calling All Handmaids: Stop Fascist Attacks on Reproductive Rights. indybay.org Larkin Street side of Main Library, San Francisco…
(2019-05-23). New York City's early voting plan will favor white, affluent voters, advocacy groups say. nationofchange.org In a letter, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause New York and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said the plan "will impose a severe burden on many of the City's low-income voters."
(2019-05-23). How the U.S. Crackdown on Abortion Laws Influences Other Countries. therealnews.com 
As Americans struggle to decide the fate of reproductive rights state by state, the U.S. government has imposed a "Gag Rule" that would remove U.S. federal funding from any country or international organization that provides abortions or even advises women that abortion is their choice…
(2019-05-23). The EU Opens to Colonialism Reparations. "Fundamental rights of people of African descent" globalresearch.ca Colonialism Reparation welcomes that the European Parliament has approved by a large majority the resolution on the "Fundamental rights of people of African descent" recognising the current situation of structural racism and asks that the former colonising Member States follow …
(2019-05-23). 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."
(2019-05-23). Politicizing a Woman's Body. commondreams.org The harm begins with the dehumanization itself—the stripping of one's rights. (Photo: a katz / Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-05-23). Washington declared 'sanctuary state' as governor looks to stand out in crowded 2020 race. rt.com 
Washington has passed a law barring authorities from questioning people's immigration status — what Governor Jay Inslee boasts is the strongest 'sanctuary state' law in the US, netting him progressive cred for the 2020 election.
(2019-05-22). How ICE Is Using Solitary Confinement to Punish Asylum Seekers, Including LGBT & Disabled Immigrants. democracynow.org 
Since 2012, ICE has used solitary confinement as a routine punishment for thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers locked up in immigration jails across the country. We look at a new, damning investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that has revealed this widespread abusive use of solitary confinement in immigration jails overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture says solitary confinement should only be used in exceptional circumstances, and defines extended use of solitary as "inhuman and degrading treatment." Despit…
(2019-05-22). US shutters large migrant facility in Texas amid flu outbreak. rt.com 
The US border control agency has halted intake at a migrant holding facility in Texas after an outbreak of a "flu-related illness." The closure comes just one day after a 16-year-old detainee died in custody.
(2019-05-22). Sixth Migrant, 10-Year-Old Girl, Dies While in US Custody. telesurenglish.net The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Wednesday the death of a sixth migrant child in U.S. custody, a young girl, who's death had gone previously unreported. | RELATED | 5th Migrant Minor Dies While in US Custody | The young girl, 10, was from El Salvador and had been detained by United States Border Patrol, an organization that has come under fire of late after the deaths of five other children, either while under their care or shortly after ha…
(2019-05-22). The UN gives the Lib Dems a massive headache just a day before the EU elections. thecanary.co The UN has given the Liberal Democrats a massive headache only a day before the EU elections, which take place on 23 May in the UK. | "Tragic" policies: | The Human Rights Council report, released on 22 May, states that "policies of austerity introduced in 2010" have had "tragic social consequences". With the Lib Dems gaining support through Remain protest votes…
(2019-05-22). Paraguay Prosecutes Campesinos who Protested Soy, Agrochemicals. telesurenglish.net Four Paraguayan Campesinos are in danger of being sentenced to preventative detention in a case where they, along with 30 other Campesinos, protested the planting of soy crops in their area of eastern Paraguay. | RELATED | Paraguay's Campesino's Join Indigenous People in Deman for Right to Land | The Coordinator of Human Rights of Paraguay (Codehupy), which is on the four women's defense, asserts that the Prosecutor's Office is "criminalizing people for defending a hea…
(2019-05-22). Canada's NDP MP Randall Garrison's Disgraceful Anti-Palestinian Politics. dissidentvoice.org Randall Garrison is an embarrassment to everyone who supports universal human rights. The Victoria area New Democratic Party MP's anti-Palestinian politics are beyond disgraceful. Earlier this month Garrison was reappointed vice-chair of the Canada Israel Interparliamentary Group (CIIG). As such, he's continuing to refuse to heed a call from Roger Waters, Noam Chomsky, Maher Arar, …
(2019-05-22). Thousands rally across the US to defend abortion rights. wsws.org The number of demonstrations reflect the broad popular support for the right of women to choose and in defense of democratic rights more generally.
(2019-05-22). Activists Push Back Against Conservative Threat to Safe and Legal Abortion. therealnews.com 
With abortion rights under threat across the country and conservative anti-abortion bills gaining momentum, women and activists are taking their protests to the streets to defend their right to privacy and bodily autonomy…
(2019-05-22). 'Dangerous and Disgraceful': HUD Proposal Would Let Homeless Shelters Turn Away Trans People. commondreams.org In what advocates for LGBTQ rights condemned as "yet another dangerous and disgraceful attack on transgender people from the Trump administration," the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday announced a proposal to allow taxpayer-funded homeless shelters to turn away trans individuals. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-05-22). Abortion rights rally in St. Paul, MN. fightbacknews.org Up to 500 people gathered at the state capitol building here, May 21, joining a national day of action in response to the new round of abortion restrictions and bans in Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri and Georgia. Chants of "Our bodies, our choice," and "No more" echoed across the capitol complex. | Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota helped organized the rally. There were a range of speakers and supportive politicians urging all to fight back on the attacks on women and choice. A woman spoke about a very hard personal decision she and her husband made in the second trimester. Doctors stated their…
(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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). 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). '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…
(2019-05-20). 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). 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…
(2019-05-20). 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.
(2019-05-19). 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). 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). 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."
(2019-05-19). 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). 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…
(2019-05-17). 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). 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). 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). Oriaku Njoku & Jill Heaviside on Abortion Rights in Georgia and Beyond. fair.org 
Abortions will happen, as they always have. The question is what they'll be like, for whom? If that's your question about the future, it makes sense to talk with the people who are doing the work now — of support, advocacy and funding to allow women to access safe and affordable abortion care.
(2019-05-17). NAACP and Civil Rights Groups Hold Rally on the 65th Anniversary of Brown v. Board. naacp.org 
On May 16, NAACP along with civil rights organizations and members of Congress held a rally on Capitol Hill to make the promise of Brown v. Board of Education a reality for all. In honor of the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, speakers addressed the still urgent struggle for education equity as well …
(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…
(2019-05-16). "Inside Syria's Secret Prisons": A Harrowing Account of How Assad's Torture Machine Crushed Dissent. democracynow.org 
A shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad's government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied running a secre…