(2019-06-14). US Supreme Court refuses to hear Guantanamo detainee's habeas corpus appeal. wsws.org The court's refusal to hear the case of a man who has been imprisoned and tortured for nearly two decades without ever being convicted of a crime corresponds to the inexorable lurch by the entire political establishment towards dictatorship and barbarism.
(2019-06-14). European Union threatens to sanction Italy over budget deficit. wsws.org The dispute over Italy's state debt has flared up once again following the European elections.
(2019-06-14). US Repeats Same Script against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. plenglish.com 14 de junio de 2019, 09: 53New York, US, Jun 14 (Prensa Latina) The United States is repeating the same script against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, as it tries to discredit those countries" social achievements and to punish them with sanctions that affect their economies and their peoples.
(2019-06-14). Behind the Syrian Network for Human Rights: How an opposition front group became Western media's go-to monitor. thegrayzone.com Top media outlets turn to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) for figures on deaths and detentions, never noting…
(2019-06-14). Horror on the Border: Slew of Recent Incidents Highlight Human Rights Crisis. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-14). Venezuela: UN Leader Michelle Bachelet to Meet With Maduro. telesurenglish.net U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet announced Friday she will visit Venezuela from June 19-21 and hold separate talks with both President Nicolas Maduro and the United States-backed, self-declared interim president, Juan Guaido. | RELATED: | 38 Accused of Assassination Attempt on President Maduro | Her visit, at the invitation of the Maduro administration, comes ahead of the U.N. Human Rights Council opening a three-week session starting June 24. Venezuela has suffered loss of…
(2019-06-14). German boat captain faces 20 years in prison for saving refugees. greenleft.org.au 
A German boat captain faces a long and costly trial in Italy for charges targeting her humanitarian efforts on behalf of refugees. | Captain Pia Klemp told Basler Zeitung on June 7 that her upcoming trial in Italy for years of efforts with the civilian lifeboat Iuventa that saved at least 1000 lives, will take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. | Klemp faces up to 20 years in prison, but whether or not she ends up in jail, she would challenge any conviction in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, if necessary. | "The worst has already come to pass," said Klemp. "Sea rescue missions have be…
(2019-06-14). #ImpeachTrump & Women's Rights Rally in San Jose. indybay.org San Jose City Hall, 200 E Santa Clara St., San Jose, 95113…
(2019-06-14). Campaigners Launch Legal Challenge over UK's 'Secret Trade Talks' with United States. globalresearch.ca Global Justice Now has launched a legal challenge at the Information Rights Tribunal over the Department for International Trade's failure to release details of numerous trade meetings it has held with the United States and other countries since the EU …
(2019-06-14). 75+ Arrested as 600 Animal Rights Activists Converge on Petaluma Slaughterhouse. indybay.org Over 75 Arrested on Felony Charges as 600 Animal Rights Activists Converge on Slaughterhouse, Lock Necks to Slaughter Line, Rescue Ducklings…
(2019-06-14). Biggest, youngest and loudest march for abortion rights. greenleft.org.au 
The biggest and youngest and loudest abortion rights march for years was organised in Sydney on June 9. | The protest was initiated by a high school student Bella Ziade, who told Green Left Weekly the march sent a "message of hope for progressive change" and it was "just the beginning" of what was needed for change. | Abortion is still governed by the NSW Crimes Act, which does not mean it is not accessible for a price, but it does mean that those procuring or giving abortions can be prosecuted. | Several young women speakers made salient points about needing abortion to be treated as a health issue, and suggeste…
(2019-06-14). Video from Animal Rights Activists Convergence at Petaluma Slaughterhouse. indybay.org Over 75 Arrested on Felony Charges as 600 Animal Rights Activists Converge on Slaughterhouse, Lock Necks to Slaughter Line, Rescue Ducklings…
(2019-06-14). Hong Kong extradition bill debate delayed as additional protests called. wsws.org None of the demands for democratic rights in Hong Kong or throughout China will be won through the "pan-democratic" opposition parties or by appeals to US imperialism.
(2019-06-14). Pramila Jayapal, Motivated by Wave of Right-Wing Attacks on Reproductive Rights, Draws Praise for Sharing Her Abortion Story. commondreams.org Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal's decision to share the story of her abortion in a New York Times op-ed Thursday—as right-wing politicians enact a series of anti-choice laws that ultimately aim to end the right to terminate a pregnancy nationwide—was met with admiration and gratitude from fellow lawmakers, 2020 presidential candidates, reproductive rights advocates, healthcare providers, and the Washington Democrat's constituents. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-14). Study Linking US Sanctions to Venezuelan Deaths Buried By Reuters for Over a Month. commondreams.org Reuters depiction (6/7/19) of Venezuelan refugees. (Photo: Pilar Olivares/Reuters) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-13). Chicago Police Tortured Victims With Electric Shocks, Burns and Beatings. truthout.org Flint Taylor, a founding partner of the People's Law Office in Chicago, has spent almost 50 years defending some of the most vulnerable people within the criminal legal system. In his new book, The Torture Machine: Racism and Police Violence in Chicago, Taylor describes the history of systemic violence running rampant within the Chicago Police Department. It's a history he knows all too well from his work with the Fred Hampton assassination case, among many others. This excerpt recounts some of the torture unleashed by police in Chicago during the 1980s, under Police Commander Jon Burge. During this time, Burg…
(2019-06-13). US Coalition Demands the End of Sanctions against Cuba. plenglish.com Washington, June 13 (Prensa Latina) In Washington, Metro DC Coalition in Solidarity with Cuban Revolution demanded on Thursday the end of all US sanctions against Cuba, including the new travel restrictions imposed last week.
(2019-06-13). Israeli Intel Agents Key Part of Anti-BDS Activities: Documents. telesurenglish.net Israeli government documents disclosed Wednesday have revealed that the national intelligence agency of Israel, Mossad, has collaborated over the past years with Israeli government through its Strategic Affairs Ministry, to sabotage the international pro-Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement on a global scale. | RELATED: | Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, AOC Sign Bill to Stop US Aid to Israel over Children Detention | The Strategic Affairs M…
(2019-06-13). US to Jail 1,400 Immigrant Children at WWII Japanese Internment Site. globalresearch.ca The Pentagon announced yesterday that the Trump administration will detain 1,400 immigrant children at the site of a World War II-era Japanese internment camp, Fort Sill Army Base in Lawton, Oklahoma. | The decision, announced Tuesday as Trump denounced immigrants and …
(2019-06-13). REPRESSION FAILS TO QUELL OPPOSITION TO CAMEROON REGIME. blackstarnews.com 
June 10, 2019 (GIN) — Facing a growing pro-democracy movement, Cameroon is resorting to an old formula — namely unleashing government power in the form of threats, arrests and excessive force. | This week, hundreds of supporters of Maurice Kamto, leader of the opposition Cameroon Resistance Movement, filled the streets, demanding his release from detention but were detained themselves by security forces. | According to his lawyer, Kamto could be charged with: insurrection, hostility against the homeland, criminal association, threats to public order, rebellion, group rebellion, and inciting insurrecti…
(2019-06-13). US Gov't Plans to Detain Migrant Children at WW2 Japanese Internment Camp. theantimedia.com (CD) — Lending even greater significance to the parallels commentators and historians have drawn between U.S. migrant detention centers and concentration camps of the past, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to hold more than a thousand immigrant children at an Oklahoma army base that was used as an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. …
(2019-06-13). Overcrowding, rotten food & nooses: DHS watchdog confirms horrific conditions at immigrant jails. nationofchange.org Now Homeland Security's own inspector general has revealed how detained immigrants are subjected to rotten food, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and broken and overflowing toilets.
(2019-06-13). China Invites UN To Visit 'Education Centers' in Xinjiang. telesurenglish.net The Chinese envoy to the United Nations has formally welcomed U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to visit China, including Xinjiang, where Beijing has been accused of putting more than one million ethnic Uyghurs in mass detention centers. | RELATED: | Floods Kill 16, Affect Millions in China, With More Rain To Come | According to the Chinese envoy, the U.N. human rights chief is more than welcome to visit their "education training centers", which Beijing claims is helpin…
(2019-06-13). Syrian Families Released from the Infamous Rukban Concentration Camp. globalresearch.ca Dozens of Syrian families have been released from the US-controlled Rukban Concentration Camp in Al-Tanf, southeast of Syria. | The released families arrived at the Jaligam crossing in Homs eastern countryside after spending years in forced displacement and detention by the …
(2019-06-13). Wyden Bill to Strip Tax Breaks From Private Prison Industry Profiting From Child Detentions. commondreams.org "Companies that profit off of putting children in cages shouldn't get tax breaks." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-13). Justice for Layleen Polanco: Community Demands Answers After Trans Black Latinx Woman Died at Rikers. democracynow.org 
Outrage is mounting over the death of Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. Her family, friends and transgender rights activists are now demanding answers for the conditions that led to the 27-year-old's death. The city says the cause of death has not yet been determined. Polanco was held in a unit for transgender women while jailed at Rikers, but a week before her death she was transferred to so-…
(2019-06-13). New York Activists Are Leading the Charge on Sex Work Decriminalization. truthout.org The struggle for sex workers' rights is ramping up around the U.S. Over the winter, the Decrim NY coalition came together in New York City to win sex workers the right to survive and not be harassed by state law enforcement. In May, 100 current and former sex workers, trafficking victims and advocates who were part of the coalition traveled to Albany, where they spoke to legislators about how the existing laws governing the industry enable the profiling of trans people for allegedly selling sex. They also pushed for expanding relief for those with criminal records. | Thi…
(2019-06-13). Trans communities are being left out of abortion debate. peoplesworld.org 
Trans men and non-binary individuals are being left out of reproductive rights conversations. During the last four months, a number of draconian bills have swept the nation. States like Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Ohio voted on and passed near-total abortion bans. Since then, several of the bills have been challenged in lower courts. But it's …
(2019-06-13). Invoking FDR, Sanders lays out his agenda for "democratic socialism" peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Invoking the "unfinished business" of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders laid out a comprehensive "democratic socialist" platform of an "Economic Bill of Rights" to benefit the entire country, rather than the oligarchs, right-wing politicians, and corporate elite at the top. That platform would mandate "quality health care for all," …
(2019-06-13). Sexual abuse of elderly likely to 'grow dramatically', UN expert says. un.org As the world prepares to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day this Saturday, the UN independent human rights expert mandated with defending the rights of older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, has stressed that they are often victims of sexual abuse and rape, although it remains rarely detected, reported or exposed.
(2019-06-13). New Zealand protest opposes persecution of Julian Assange and Australian journalists. wsws.org Tom Peters of the Socialist Equality Group warned that press freedom and democratic rights are "not compatible with endless war and endless attacks on living standards."
(2019-06-13). TROUBLE BREWING IN LIBERIA FOR PRESIDENT WEAH. blackstarnews.com 
June 10, 2019 (GIN) — Liberian President George Weah is having a few bad days. And more may be on their way. | A citizen action group — the Council of Patriots (COP) — has a long list of demands covering governance, human rights and the rule of law, national peace and reconciliation, integrity and accountability, among others. | The group has called on President Weah to part ways with some of his close lieutenants they believe are not up to the task and may cause him more harm politically. | Thousands of Liberians turned out on June 7 to protest corruption and economic decline that many blame on…
(2019-06-13). Despite Police Crackdown, Historic Hong Kong Protests Against New Extradition Law Continue. democracynow.org 
Authorities in Hong Kong have shut down government offices and postponed debate in the Legislative Council, one day after riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at tens of thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets to protest a bill that would allow the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. On Wednesday, demonstrators attempted to storm the Legislative Council Building, where lawmakers are debating the extradition bill. Human Rights Watch criticized Hong Kong authorities for using what it described as "excessive force" to suppress peaceful demonstrations. Protesters de…
(2019-06-13). Community Demands Answers After Trans Black Latinx Woman Died at Rikers. truthout.org Outrage is mounting over the death of Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. Her family, friends and transgender rights activists are now demanding answers for the conditions that led to the 27-year-old's death. The city says the cause of death has not yet been determined. Polanco was held in a unit for transgender women while jailed at Rikers, but a week before her death she was transferred to…
(2019-06-13). Despite Police Crackdown, Historic Hong Kong Protests Against New Extradition Law Continue. democracynow.org Authorities in Hong Kong have shut down government offices and postponed debate in the Legislative Council, one day after riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at tens of thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets to protest a bill that would allow the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. On Wednesday, demonstrators attempted to storm the Legislative Council Building, where lawmakers are debating the extradition bill. Human Rights Watch criticized Hong Kong authorities for using what it described as "excessive force" to suppress peaceful demonstrations. Protesters de…
(2019-06-13). Oceana Shines Light on Possible Illegal Fishing and Human Rights Abuses at Sea. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-06-13). New York's Top Leaders, De Blasio and Jumaane Williams, Hail Rent Bill Boosting Tenants' Rights. blackstarnews.com 
Jumaane Williams. Photo: Twitter | | New York City's top elected officials including Mayor Bill de Blasio and Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams have hailed the bill that will significantly increase tenants rights. | | The new bill which could be voted on as early as Friday includes several protections such as: protection against evictions from apartments so long as a tenant occupies the unit in a preferential unit and blocking landlords from exponentially increasing rents; the so-called vacancy bonus whereby landlords could increase rent by as much as 20% when a unit is vacant has been eliminated; lan…
(2019-06-13). Bernie Sanders Proposes New Economic Bill of Rights. truthout.org Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders delivered a full-throated defense of democratic socialism in his June 12 speech at George Washington University. Sanders quoted FDR's 1944 State of the Union address: "We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without e…
(2019-06-13). Justice for Layleen Polanco: Community Demands Answers After Trans Black Latinx Woman Died at Rikers. democracynow.org Outrage is mounting over the death of Layleen Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latinx woman who was found dead in a cell at Rikers Island on Friday. Polanco was arrested on misdemeanor charges and jailed on Rikers in April when she was unable to post $500 bail. Nearly two months later, she was dead. Her family, friends and transgender rights activists are now demanding answers for the conditions that led to the 27-year-old's death. The city says the cause of death has not yet been determined. Polanco was held in a unit for transgender women while jailed at Rikers, but a week before her death she was transferred to so-…
(2019-06-13). Six new books for an ecosocialist bookshelf. greenleft.org.au 
System Change Not Climate Change: A Revolutionary Response to Environmental Crisis
| Edited by Martin Empson
| Bookmarks, 2019 | Marxist essays on the global crisis. It includes Ian Angus on Metabolic Rift; Kohei Saito on Marx's Ecosocialism; Camilla Royle on the Anthropocene; Martin Empson on agriculture; Amy Leather on plastic; Sarah Ensor on biodiversity; Ian Rappel on 'Natural Capital'; Suzanne Jeffery on social movements; Michelle Robidoux and Carolyn Egan on tar sands and Indigenous rights. It is availabl…
(2019-06-13). Germany Passes Deportation Legislation. therealnews.com 
Germany's parliament adopted the first part of a new legislation packet to restrict the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees in Germany, denying them the right to work, sending them to prison once room in the deportation centers runs out, and even allowing apartment raids in search of "illegal" immigrants…
(2019-06-13). Founding member of Dublin Pride says it's 'become a cheap opportunity for businesses to promote themselves', backs alternative event. thecanary.co 
A founding member of Dublin's Pride celebration will not be attending this year's event. | An organisation called Queer Action Ireland is organising an alternative event in Dublin in protest over the inclusion of gardai (police officers) in this year's parade, as well as the festival's media partnership with state broadcaster RTE. | Queer Action Ireland says the inclusion of such groups takes away from the fundamental reason for LGBTQ pride parades worldwide, which is to remember, celebrate and continue to fight for rights. | Backing the alternative event is Izzy O Rourke, one of three people who began the curren…
(2019-06-12). Europe has no freedom but to choose "freedom gas" mronline.org 
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently renamed U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports "freedom gas." But freedom for who? For Europe who already has a cheap and reliable source of natural gas, but is being forced to switch over to more expensive U.S. gas under the threat of sanctions? Certainly not. Or freedom for […] | Source
(2019-06-12). Overcrowding, Rotten Food & Nooses: DHS Watchdog Confirms Horrific Conditions at Immigrant Jails. democracynow.org 
We look at horrific conditions for some 52,000 immigrants held in for-profit jails around the country. At least 24 immigrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, and at least four more died shortly after being released. Now Homeland Security's own inspector general has revealed how detained immigrants are subjected to rotten food, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and broken and overflowing toilets. This comes as a separate report recently documented "dangerous overcrowding" at a Border Patrol processing facility in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, the Trump administ…
(2019-06-12). Trump Administration Plans to Detain Children at Former Japanese Internment Camp. truthout.org Lending even greater significance to the parallels commentators and historians have drawn between U.S. migrant detention centers and concentration camps of the past, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to hold more than a thousand immigrant children at an Oklahoma army base that was used as an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. | According to Time, Fort Sill "
(2019-06-12). 'This Is Sick': Horror as Trump Administration Plans to Detain Migrant Children at Former Japanese Internment Camp. commondreams.org "It feels as though history can't yell any louder than this." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
(2019-06-12). DHS Watchdog Confirms Horrific Conditions at Immigrant Jails. truthout.org We look at horrific conditions for some 52,000 immigrants held in for-profit jails around the country. At least 24 immigrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, and at least four more died shortly after being released. Now Homeland Security's own inspector general has revealed how detained immigrants are subjected to rotten food, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and broken and overflowing toilets. This comes as a separate report recently documented "dangerous overcrowding" at a Border Patrol processing facility in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, the Trump admin…
(2019-06-12). US: Police Remove 'Haunting' Artwork of Caged Migrant Children. telesurenglish.net New York police are disassembling a collection of 24 pop-up art installations meant to bring awareness to the treatment of migrants in United States0 immigration detainment centers. | RELATED: | US State Sues Trump for Violating 'Safe Release' Migrant Policy | Wire cages containing life-size models of children wrapped in silver blankets dotted New York city streets Wednesday as recordings of sound of wailing echoed from the cage. Measuring 5 feet by 3 feet, the mannequin childre…
(2019-06-12). Overcrowding, Rotten Food & Nooses: DHS Watchdog Confirms Horrific Conditions at Immigrant Jails. democracynow.org We look at horrific conditions for some 52,000 immigrants held in for-profit jails around the country. At least 24 immigrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, and at least four more died shortly after being released. Now Homeland Security's own inspector general has revealed how detained immigrants are subjected to rotten food, severe overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and broken and overflowing toilets. This comes as a separate report recently documented "dangerous overcrowding" at a Border Patrol processing facility in El Paso, Texas. Meanwhile, the Trump administ…
(2019-06-12). New York Teachers Fight for Divestment From Prison Industry. truthout.org Teachers in Rochester, New York, recently discovered, to their horror, that their pensions are invested in the private prison and immigrant detention industry. After learning this from Basma Eid, an organizer with the group Freedom to Thrive, one teacher, Michelle Sapere, spearheaded the formation of a rank-and-file organization in her union called Teachers Against Student Exploitation ( TASE)…