(2019-06-03). NAACP to Host 110th National Convention in Detroit. naacp.org 
NAACP to Highlight 110 Years of Civil Rights History, and the Current Fight for Voting Rights, Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Opportunity, Education Equality & More BALTIMORE — Thousands are expected to gather in Detroit to commemorate the NAACP's 110th National Convention from July 20-24, 2019. With the theme, "When We Fight, We Win," the convention …
(2019-06-03). Switzerland turns to courts after Nigeria drops anchor over detained oil-tanker it seized. cgtn.com 
Nigerian naval vessel christianed Centenary sails in high sea during Obangame Express, a multinational maritime exercise involving 33 countries off the coast of Lagos on March 20, 2019. — Thirty-three countries are participating in Obangame Express, a multinational maritime exercise sponsored by the United States Africa Command to test multinational maritime forces in a broad range of operations to increase capability and capacity to respond, check piracy, illicit trafficking, and other maritime threats in the Gulf of Guinea. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP) (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Ge…
(2019-06-03). Britain and Australia dismiss UN report that Assange has been tortured. wsws.org The brazen responses demonstrate the criminality of the US-led vendetta against Assange, which is proceeding in violation of due process and the fundamental tenets of international law.
(2019-06-03). How Venezuelans Turn to Collective Action to Defy US Blockade. telesurenglish.net As the United States government intensifies its unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela, its people have turned to one another to push ahead and deal with economic sanctions. Local Colectivos (Collectives) and demonstrations of popular support have come to represent the unbreakable will of the Bolivarian Republic. | RELATED: | Timeline of Half a Decade of US Economic War Against Venezuela | Yet the economic blockade keeps piling up, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arre…
(2019-06-03). With a premature death every five seconds, air pollution is violation of human rights, says UN expert. un.org An independent UN expert said on Monday that the failure of governments across the world to ensure clear air, constitutes a "violation of the rights to life, health and well-being, as well as the right to live in a healthy environment."
(2019-06-03). Human Rights, The Expelled Chagos Islanders, and Britain's Hypocrisy. counterpunch.org On May 20 the United Kingdom appointed its first human rights ambassador to the United Nations and two days later the General Assembly of the United Nations overwhelmingly condemned the UK for its continuing colonial treatment of the Chagos Islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, whose inhabitants it expelled fifty years ago. The irony escaped the UK's More
(2019-06-03). Israeli Strikes Hit Iranian and Hezbollah Positions in Syria, Killing 10. theantimedia.com (MEE) — Israeli strikes on positions in Syria killed 10 people on Sunday, including three Syrian soldiers and seven foreign fighters, according to an activist group, and they were later followed by further strikes in Homs province, state media said. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli missiles fired from warplanes struck areas south …
(2019-06-03). A Demagogue, Fascist, and Serious Threat: UK Mobilizes to Make Sure Trump Knows He 'Is Not Welcome'. commondreams.org "Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far-right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-03). How Voter Suppression & Gerrymandering Cleared the Path for Unprecedented Abortion Bans. democracynow.org 
As Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia attempt to outlaw abortions after six weeks, Missouri legislators approve an eight-week ban and Alabama passes a near total ban on abortions, we speak to journalist Ari Berman about how the widespread attack on abortion rights across the country is tied directly to voter suppression. He writes in a recent piece for Mother Jones, "These states have something else in common: a systematic effort to distort the democratic process through voter suppression and gerrymandering. These tactics have greased the way for near-total bans on abortion and for other extreme r…
(2019-06-03). Clarence Thomas Cited This Author's Book to Link Abortion to Eugenics. He Says "It's Just Not True" democracynow.org 
Justice Clarence Thomas sparked harsh rebuke last week after claiming that abortion rights can be traced back to the 20th century eugenics movement. He made the comments in a 20-page opinion after the Supreme Court declined last week to take up a provision of an Indiana law that bars abortions based on the sex, race or disability of the fetus. The decision keeps in place a lower court injunction on the measure. But Justice Thomas indicated that he supports the law, writing in his opinion, "Enshrining a constitutional right to an abortion based solely on the race, sex, or disability of an unborn child, as Planned…
(2019-06-03). New government powers are 'a serious abuse of civil liberties', according to rights groups. thecanary.co A frightening new law is now in force in the UK. It literally criminalises people simply for travelling to a specific area on the planet. And rights groups have called it "a serious abuse of civil liberties". | A presumption of guilt: | The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 (CTS) passed in February. It…
(2019-06-03). #NoMiddleGround Goes Viral as Sanders Backers Say Democrats Can't Afford to Compromise on Medicare for All, Reproductive Rights, and Bold Climate Agenda. commondreams.org "We cannot go back to the old ways, we have got to go forward with a new and progressive agenda," Sen. Bernie Sanders said at the California Democratic Party convention | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-03). How Voter Suppression and Gerrymandering Cleared the Path for Abortion Bans. truthout.org As Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia attempt to outlaw abortions after six weeks, Missouri legislators approve an eight-week ban and Alabama passes a near total ban on abortions, we speak to journalist Ari Berman about how the widespread attack on abortion rights across the country is tied directly to voter suppression. He writes in a recent piece for Mother Jones, "These states have something else in common: a systematic effort to distort the democratic process through voter suppression and gerrymandering. These tactics have greased the way for near-total bans on abortion and for other extrem…
(2019-06-03). Hundreds of Animal Rights Activists Descend on Slaughterhouse, Locking Necks to Slaughter Line. indybay.org Over 600 activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) are marching to a massive duck slaughterhouse (facebook live video), with dozens planning to lock their necks to the slaughterhouse shackles and other machinery.
(2019-06-03). Not discussed at MoveOn presidential candidate forum: Impeachment, workers' rights. peoplesworld.org 
SAN FRANCISCO—It was a forum of Big Ideas. But two of them were missing. One by one, eight Democratic presidential hopefuls marched to the stage of an auditorium in San Francisco the weekend of June 1-2, there — in five minutes apiece — to tell hundreds of MoveOn activists one "Big Idea" that motivates their …
(2019-06-03). NAACP President and CEO Addresses Graduates at STCL Houston Commencement. naacp.org NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson gave an inspiring commencement address at his alma mater, South Texas College of Law Houston, on May, 25, 2019. ### About the NAACP Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the …
(2019-06-03). 30+ Arrested as Hundreds of Animal Rights Activists Descend on Slaughterhouse, Locking Necks to Slaughter Line. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-06-03). Raising Some Issues at Oral Communications. indybay.org Continued delay and inaction on providing homeless shelter and services (to say nothing of civil rights) for homeless folks was the silent part of yesterday's Santa Cruz City Council agenda. Several of us raised issues at Oral Communications…
(2019-06-03). Who Controls Our Genes? Congress Is Deciding Right Now And It Could Harm Our Health. aclu.org Draft legislation will try to undo Supreme Court precedent forbidding patenting of human genes. | This morning the ACLU, along with 169 other civil rights, medical, scientific, patient advocacy, and women's health organizations, including the Mayo Clinic, Breast Cancer Action, Lung Cancer Research Foundation, the Huntington's Disease Society of America, the Women's March, University of Washington, and many others sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Intellectual Property strong…
(2019-06-02). US History Is Defined by the Use of Torture. truthout.org Soon after 9/11, the US began holding people in secret prisons around the world in places called "black sites." Black sites were secret and what happened within them was unknown. When we did learn about the techniques our government was using to extract information, we were told it was not torture but something called "enhanced interrogation." It sounded new and not so brutal. But it was torture. An updated version of it, but torture nonetheless, which forced us to think about what we were willing to do to other human beings in a state of war. In this episode, Rebecca Gordon argues that enhanced interrogation…
(2019-06-02). Cuba's New Blockade. globalresearch.ca On 2 May 2019, the Trump administration implemented Title III of the 1996 Helms Burton Act. In doing so, it unleashed the most severe economic sanctions against Cuba since the blockade was first introduced by President Kennedy in 1962. | Title …
(2019-06-02). Despite Sanctions Venezuelan Gov't Secures Right to Housing. telesurenglish.net The Venezuelan government announced on Sunday that it will continue to defend and secure the right to adequate housing despite the ongoing economic blockade imposed by the Trump administration. | RELATED: | UN Recognizes Venezuela Among Top Nations for Right to Housing | "We are proud that Venezuela has taken on a creative formula to demonstrate that governing by placing human beings above goods and capital is possible," Minister of Habitat and Housing, Ildelmaro Villarroel sai…
(2019-06-02). Turkey's road into the EU is blocked. uwidata.com The European Union published its regular report on the situation Turkey. The Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Expansion, Johannes Hahn, stated that no new developments in the framework of the negotiation process with Ankara. According to Euronews, Hahn stressed worsening human rights in Turkey, regress in many areas such as the economic sphere, and …
(2019-06-02). Biden Declares LGBTQ Rights His Top Priority. truthdig.com 
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden declared Saturday that the Equality Act would be his top legislative priority, an effort to enshrine LGBTQ protections into the nation's labor and civil rights laws. | The former vice president shared his hopes of signing the legislation as part of a keynote address to hundreds of activists at the Human Rights Campaign's annual Ohio gala on the first day of Pride Month. In a half-hour at the lectern, his remarks ranged from emotional…
(2019-06-02). Dramatic Increase in Political Violence in Colombia due to Abandonment of Peace Agreement. therealnews.com 
Recent human rights reports show that murders of social leaders have skyrocketed since Colombia's right-wing President Ivan Duque came into office in 2017. Activist Manuel Rozental speaks to us about the situation from one of the most affected areas…
(2019-06-02). Three Years After Rushing Bernie Sanders Event, Animal Rights Activist Takes Mic From Kamala Harris at MoveOn Event. commondreams.org The action, which saw a white man taking the microphone from a black woman, was panned by some observers | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-01). US watchdog finds 900 immigrants jammed into jail designed for 125. wsws.org The inspector general found detainees "standing on toilets in the cells to make room and gain breathing space, thus limiting access to the toilets."
(2019-06-01). US uses solitary confinement as weapon against detained immigrants. wsws.org An International Consortium of Investigative Journalists report documents the widespread use of solitary confinement by the US government against detained immigrants.
(2019-06-01). Findings of Torture: The UN Rapporteur and Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org Another crude and sad chapter, yet more evidence of a system's vengeance against its challengers. Julian Assange, like they dying Roman emperor Vespasian, may be transforming into a god of sorts, but the suffering of his mortal physical is finding its mark. While some in the cynical, narcissistic press corps still find little to commend …
(2019-06-01). Findings of Torture: The UN Rapporteur and Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca Another crude and sad chapter, yet more evidence of a system's vengeance against its challengers. Julian Assange, like they dying Roman emperor Vespasian, may be transforming into a god of sorts, but the suffering of his mortal physical is …
(2019-06-01). Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic Safe for Now Under Judge's Order. truthout.org A federal judge in Missouri stepped in Friday to allow the state's last remaining abortion clinic to continue operating. | The 11th-hour decision followed mass protests in St. Louis on Thursday, with rights advocates demanding that Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region be permitted to stay open, lest Missouri become the first state in more than four decades to make it impossible for women to access safe, legal abortion care without crossing state lines. | BREAKING: Mi…
(2019-06-01). 'Beyond Barbaric': Internal Government Report Reveals Migrants Forced to Stand on Toilets for Breathing Space at Overcrowded US Detention Center. globalresearch.ca "This is insane. Not only can they not move, they can't breathe, they can't eat, they can't do anything like this. Children have died and will continue to die if this is not stopped now." | *** | A federal immigrant detention …
(2019-05-31). WikiLeaks: Assange indictments 'the gravest attack on press freedom'. greenleft.org.au 
In response to the news on May 24 that the United States government is seeking to lay multiple espionage charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the organisation accused US President Donald Trump's administration of launching "an unprecedented attack on the global free press". | The unsealed Espionage Act charges carry combined sentences of 175 years in prison and relate to disclosures of war crimes and human rights abuses by the US government, including the groundbreaking Collateral Murder video, Iraq War Logs, Afghan War Diaries, Cablegate, and the Guantanamo Bay Detainee Manuals, published in 2010 an…
(2019-05-31). UN Torture Report: "Demonized" Assange Has Faced "Psychological Torture" theantimedia.com (CN) — The UN special rapporteur on torture has issued a stinging rebuke to the United States, Great Britain, Sweden and Ecuador for "deliberately" exposing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to years of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," which can only be described as "psychological torture." "In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political …
(2019-05-31). UN Special Rapporteur On Torture: 'The Collective Persecution Of Julian Assange Must End Here And Now'. shadowproof.com In a blistering statement against democratic countries collaborating to prosecute and enable the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture condemned the "collective persecution" against him. "In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence, and political persecution, I have never seen a…
(2019-05-31). Cleveland's Cuyahoga County Jail Guards Pepper-Spray Black Woman Strapped to Torture Chamber Restraint Chair. blackstarnews.com 
Chantelle Glass is being victimized above by guards inside Cuyahoga County Jail torture chamber… | A newly released video shows a Black Ohio woman being pepper-sprayed and assaulted by corrections officers inside Cleveland's Cuyahoga County Jail—while she was strapped to a restraint chair, in July 2018. | The Cuyahoga County Jail has been in the news recently because of the suspicious deaths of nine inmates over the past year. Two corrections officers have been arrested and charged in connection with one of those deaths–that of inmate Joseph Arquillo. Several others have also been arrested and charged wi…
(2019-05-31). UN Says Assange Tortured: Watch the Webcast. consortiumnews.com Julian Assange was "psychologically tortured" by four nations ganging up on him, said the UN special rapporteur on torture. Watch the replay with Pentagon Papers whistle blower Dan Ellsberg, and other guests. The 32nd webcast vigil for Julian Assange was… Read more →
(2019-05-31). The UN Torture Report on Assange Is an Indictment of Our Entire Society. dissidentvoice.org 
On the eighth of April, shortly before London police forcibly carried WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorian embassy, a doctor named Sondra S Crosby wrote a letter to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights requesting that the office look into Assange's case. Today, following a scorching rebuke of multiple …
(2019-05-31). U.N. Special Rapporteur Calls for Julian Assange to Be Freed, Citing "Psychological Torture" democracynow.org 
The United Nations special rapporteur on torture is warning that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is suffering from the effects of "psychological torture" due to his ongoing detention and threats of possible extradition to the United States. The U.N. expert, Nils Melzer, also warned that Assange would likely face a "politicized show trial" if he were to be extradited to the United States. Melzer writes, "In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize and abuse a single individual for such a lo…
(2019-05-31). UN Torture Report: 'Demonized' Assange Has Faced 'Psychological Torture'. consortiumnews.com The UN special rapporteur on torture has blasted four nations for imposing psychological torture on Julian Assange. 'A Relentless and Unrestrained Campaign of Public Mobbing, Intimidation and Defamation' Warns of 'Criminalization of Journalism' By Joe Lauria Special to Consortium News… Read more →
(2019-05-31). Minnesotans say "No coup! No war! Hands off Venezuela!" fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – 30 people held signs reading "Hands off Venezuela" and a big banner saying "No coup – no sanctions – no war – hands off Venezuela" on a bridge from Loring Park to the Walker Sculpture Garden over Interstate 94 in Minneapolis during rush hour, May 30. Ten lanes of traffic filled with rush hour traffic traveled underneath. The protesters heard hundreds of honks of agreement that the U.S. shouldn't intervene in Venezuela. | Afterwards protesters gathered to hear from Tracy Molm, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, to hear an update from Venezuela, "Today we were seen by thousands of people in Mi…
(2019-05-31). UN expert criticizes States for 'ganging up' on Wikileaks' Assange; warns against extradition, fearing 'serious' rights violations. un.org After visiting Julian Assange in a London prison, an independent UN human rights expert expressed urgent concern on Friday, for the Wikileaks co-founder's well-being, accusing "a group of democratic States" of "ganging up" on the prisoner to "isolate, demonize and abuse" him and warned against extraditing the controversial publisher to the United States.
(2019-05-31). Ecological Importance and Human Rights Be Damned, Trump Admin Says Fossil Fuel Pillaging in Arctic Refuge Coming Soon. commondreams.org Interior Dept. statement that "lease sale will happen in 2019" comes as oil companies face heat over possible extraction on previously protected public land | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-05-31). Peterloo: A defining moment in the struggle for democracy in Britain. greenleft.org.au 
Peterloo | Written & directed by Mike Leigh | Starring Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake & Pearce Quigley | In cinemas now | *** | The international release of British director Mike Leigh's new film Peterloo marks 200 years since the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, England. On August 16 that year, a crowd estimated at up to 80,000 gathered in St Peter's Fields to demand parliamentary reform and an extension of voting rights. | On the orders of the government in London and reactionary local magistrates, armed troops and militias arrested the protest leaders and then charged into the crowd. They killed at l…
(2019-05-31). Mass Demonstrations Against Saudi Summit and US "Deal" Mark Quds Day in Yemen. mintpressnews.com 
Quds Day demonstrations condemned the so-called U.S. Deal of the Century and vowed to support Palestinians facing the prospect of losing their rights under the U.S.-brokered plan.
(2019-05-31). Friday's Daily Brief: Fundraising for Mozambique, Assange's rights, Asia-Pacific development, Somalia and Sudan updates. un.org This Friday, we cover: a donor conference to support life-saving and recovery aid for Mozambique following two recent devastating cyclones; the need to respect Wikileaks' Assange's rights; how Asia-Pacific is working towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ; news from Somalia and Sudan; and a new stamp honouring Kofi Annan.
(2019-05-31). A Dead Republican Strategist's Work Could Destroy Voting Rights in America. therealnews.com 
A Common Cause court case opposing Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina revealed that Trump officials lied about the 2020 census citizenship question in order to maintain "White" and "Republican Power"
(2019-05-31). Stopping the abortion bans is a working-class fight—Here's why. peoplesworld.org 
There is an attack underway. A full-fledged assault on the rights of working people is happening in the United States of America. It is being spearheaded by a White House administration that has emboldened those who adhere to right-wing ideology and employ bigoted rhetoric in their effort to take away rights that have been fought …
(2019-05-31). Chelsea Manning's Legal Team Challenge Harsh Fines Levied Against Her By Federal Court. shadowproof.com The legal team for Chelsea Manning requested a hearing to challenge the harsh fines levied to force her to testify before the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. | On May 16, Judge Anthony Trenga held Manning in civil contempt and ordered her to be sent back to the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center in Alexandria. The court also imposed a fine of $500 per day after 30 days, and then a fine of $1000 per day after 60 days. | If Manning "persists in her refusal" for the next 16 months, her legal team points out she will face a total amount of fines that is over $440,000. This excessive amount may violate he…
(2019-05-30). Why the imperialists hate Huawei. workers.org 
The Chinese company Huawei has been targeted by the Donald Trump administration. At Washington's request, Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the company, last December. The charge? That the company did business with Iran, contrary to U.S. sanctions on that country. Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder . . . | Continue reading Why the imperialists hate Huawei at Workers.org