Daily Archives: July 13, 2019

2019-07-13: News Headlines

C.J. Atkins (2019-07-13). Close the immigrant concentration camps, free the children. peoplesworld.org In Houston, Texas, a 9-year-old Guatemalan boy sits at the Shiloh Treatment Center, a private facility licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to house detained migrant children. He's likely wondering when, or if, he'll ever see his family again. It's been 14 months since government agents took him from his father at the Arizona …

David Rovics (2019-07-13). Embargoes and Other Acts of War. dissidentvoice.org The war between the United States and Japan began with a US-enforced oil embargo against the Japanese Empire. Right now, in the United States, huge detention camps are being constructed for the increasingly criminalized refugee and migrant population, a campaign of government-sponsored domestic terror run by a supposedly temporary, "acting" head of the department created …

Leon Kunstenaar (2019-07-13). Marin County Supervisors Hear Moving Testimony at TRUTH Forum. indybay.org ICE Out Of Marin demands sheriff end ICE cooperation and that Supervisors declare Marin a sanctuary. | Photos and text: Leon Kunstenaar…

Lights for Liberty San Jose (2019-07-13). Lights for Liberty San Jose: End The Detention Camps & ICE Raids. indybay.org San Jose City Hall Plaza | 200 E Santa Clara St, San Jose 95113…

RT (2019-07-13). ICE protesters take down American flag & replace it with Mexican flag (VIDEOS, PHOTOS). rt.com A group of protesters removed the American flag from outside an ICE detention building in Denver and replaced it with a Mexican flag and a graffitied Blue Lives Matter flag.

Claudia Andrade (2019-07-12). Miscarriage criminalized: racist charges against Marshae Jones. liberationnews.org This incendiary indictment marks a fresh level to the ongoing attacks on women's rights.

teleSUR (2019-07-12). ICE to Launch Nationwide Raids to Arrest Undocumented Migrants. telesurenglish.net The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will carry out raids onJuly 14th to detain undocumented migrants in ten large cities, an operation which is expected to be focused mainly on those having final deportation orders. | RELATED: | Migrants Protest Against Bribe Requests by Mexican Officials | These raids were expecte…

Kevin Gosztola (2019-07-12). Then CIA is Invoking Wikileaks to Push for the Expansion of a Cold War Era Secrecy Law. mintpressnews.com Three decades ago, the CIA mobilized to protect itself from radical acts of transparency, and now, with the internet and organizations like WikiLeaks, it hopes to be able to further isolate and criminalize those who challenge it.

Staff (2019-07-12). Know Your Rights: How Immigrant Rights Activists Are Preparing for Looming ICE Deportation Raids. democracynow.org Immigrant communities across the country and their allies are preparing for nationwide raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to begin Sunday that will target undocumented members of immigrant families in at least nine major cities. The cities where raids will take place are said to be Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. New Orleans had been on the list, but the city announced this weekend that ICE was temporarily postponing the raids due to Tropical Storm Barry. We speak with a roundtable of immigrants' rights activists: Adelina Nicholls, th…

Roger D. Harris (2019-07-12). The Glaring Holes in Michelle Bachelet's Venezuela Human Rights Report. mintpressnews.com UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's report on Venezuela echoes the US government's talking points, which are designed to terminate the two-decade-old Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. The report fails to acknowledge Venezuela's manifest accomplishments or even recognize victims of US-backed right-wing violence in Venezuela. The US economic war against Venezuela, US threats of a "military option," and opposition violence are treated in the Bachelet report as figments of the imagination, "alleged internal and external threats." | Mean…

Staff (2019-07-12). Know Your Rights: Immigration Activists Prepare for Looming ICE Raids. truthout.org Immigrant communities across the country and their allies are preparing for nationwide raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to begin Sunday that will target undocumented members of immigrant families in at least nine major cities. The cities where raids will take place are said to be Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. New Orleans had been on the list, but the city announced this weekend that ICE was temporarily postponing the raids due to Tropical Storm Barry. We speak with a roundtable of immigrants' rights activists: Adelina Nicholls,…

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2019-07-12). Venezuela: 'Progress' Reported in Gov't-Opposition Talks as US Sanctions Counter-Intelligence Agency. venezuelanalysis.com The agenda of the talks has not been disclosed but the topic of elections is reportedly being left for last.

ACLU (2019-07-12). Pompeo's New "Human Rights" Commission is Up To No Good. aclu.org The Trump administration appears to be trying to find new moral footing for the president's discriminatory policies. | This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally announced the creation of a "Commission on Unalienable Rights." Its stated purpose, according to a notice published in the Federal Register in May, is to provide "fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation's founding principles of natural law and natural rights." | Th…

United Nations (2019-07-12). Friday's Daily Brief: UN chief meets cyclone survivors in Mozambique, Human Rights Council investigates Philippines state violence, UN weather agency tracks Arctic fires. un.org In today's Daily Brief: UN chief António Guterres condemns airstrikes on Syrian hospitals and meets survivors of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique; the UN Human Rights Council votes to investigate the "war on drugs" in the Philippines; and UN weather agency tracks fires…in the Arctic.

Samuel Moyn (2019-07-12). Can Pompeo Redefine Human Rights for the Trump Era? commondreams.org Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the State Department in Washington. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa via AP Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

teleSUR (2019-07-12). Turkey Receives S-400 System Amid Sanctions Threat from US. telesurenglish.net Russia has completed its first delivery of their S-400 missile system to Turkey, making the latter the first NATO nation to receive this advanced weapon. | RELATED: | Russian-Made S-400 Air Defense System is En Route to Turkey | According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the first parts of the Russian-made S-400 system were flown to an airbase near the capital city of Ankara. | The United States says the Russian military hardware is not compatible with NATO systems and that th…

Staff (2019-07-12). Race Becomes New Flashpoint With Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez. truthdig.com WASHINGTON—The debate between Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other House Democrats over migrant children in detention at the border was wrenching enough. Then it became about race. | First, the freshman's chief of staff compared more centrist Democrats to 1940s segregationists. Then Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., accused Speaker Nancy Pelosi of "singling out" her and fellow newcomers, all women of color. | By Thursday, the rhetoric escalated, overshadowing the agenda and pushing House Democrats way off message with the most divisive upheaval since they took control of the chamber this year. Longtime lawmakers were st…

teleSUR (2019-07-12). First Foreign Bank To Stop Financing Migrant Detention Centers. telesurenglish.net France's BNP Paribas said Friday it will no longer finance U.S. private prison operators, making it the first foreign bank to distance itself from a sector shunned by domestic peers amid controversy over the Donald Trump administration detention policies for immigrants and asylum seekers. | RELATED: | Rashida Tlaib Witnesses Migrants Abuse in ICE Detention | Company spokesman Ilias Catsaros told Reuters of the change in policy. The decision does not effect existing…

United Nations (2019-07-12). In aftermath of Libya airstrike deaths, UN officials call for refugees and migrants to be freed from detention. un.org "As a priority, we ask that 5,600 refugees and migrants currently held in centres across Libya be freed in an orderly manner and their protection guaranteed" the UN refugee and migrants chiefs said in a joint statement, released on Friday.

Russell Rickford (2019-07-12). Lights of Liberty Vigil Remarks. counterpunch.org Many folks have said "this is not who we are." This is precisely who we are. American concentration camps are not new. Look at our criminal justice system, a leviathan devoted to criminalizing, degrading and discarding masses of black and brown people. American torture is not new. Rape. Ripping families apart. This country was founded More

WSWS (2019-07-12). UN calls on Spain to free jailed Catalan nationalist politicians. wsws.org The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for the "immediate release" of Catalan nationalist political prisoners held in a show trial in Madrid.

Staff (2019-07-12). De Zayas: UN Human Rights Council's Report on Venezuela is 'Unbalanced' (1/2). therealnews.com Former lawyer for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Alfred de Zayas, says that High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet's report on human rights in Venezuela mostly ignores the severity and responsibility of US sanctions against Venezuela…

susan_p (2019-07-12). Venezuelan government slams 'biased' UN human rights report. greenleft.org.au The Venezuelan government has disputed the findings of a report released by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). | Having seen the report in advance of its publication, Caracas issued a 70-point statement pointing towards what Venezuelan authorities term a "selective and openly biased" view of the human rights situation in the Caribbean country. | "The distorted view of the report is a result…

pip.hinman (2019-07-12). Dutton's rights-eroding law bonanza. greenleft.org.au The 46th Parliament of Australia opened on July 2 to finance minister Mathias Cormann waving about the Tax Relief So Working Australians Keep More of Their Money Bill. One might be forgiven for translating the legislation's title to "progressively robbing the poor to give to the rich". | As the Grattan Institute analysis puts it, while the first two stages of low-end tax cuts are sustainable, it is the third stage o…

United Nations (2019-07-12). UN Human Rights Council stands firm on LGBTI violence, Syria detainees and Philippines 'war on drugs'. un.org The 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council ended on Friday with measures taken to address worrying developments in Eritrea, Syria and the Philippines, along with other issues of global concern, such as violence and discrimination against the LGBTI community.

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-07-12). 'Visit the Camps Yet?' Campaign Urges Pelosi to See for Herself the Horrific Conditions at Trump Detention Centers. commondreams.org "Speaker Pelosi, visit the camps! And bring the conservative Democrats with you—so you can all see why Trump's child abuse at the border needs to be reined in now." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Jon Queally, staff writer, Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2019-07-12). Powerful and Emotional Testimony From Escobar, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, and Pressley on Family Separation and Child Imprisonment. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

pip.hinman (2019-07-12). Protecting rights requires confronting privilege. greenleft.org.au No sooner had the government won re-election its own actions once again showed politics is, after all, fundamental to how you live. | Shortly after home affairs minister Peter Dutton was re-elected, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which falls within his ministry, executed search warrants against journalists who have investigated allegations of soldiers unlawfully killing Afghan civilians and government plans to spy on us. | The police claimed their target was the journalist's sources. But the raids were also a public show of force against whistleblowers in general, much like the prosecution of Witness K and…

ACLU (2019-07-11). CBP Can't Detain Domestic Flight Passengers for Refusing Suspicionless ID Checks. aclu.org The Constitution protects passengers deplaning domestic flights just as it protects people on the street or in a car. | In February 2017, two U.S. CBP officers stood on a jet bridge at New York's JFK Airport to meet Delta Flight 1583 as it taxied to the gate upon arrival from San Francisco. As passengers prepared to deplane, they were told by flight attendants — at the direction of the two officers — that all passengers would have to show identification documents to the officer…

Bryan Wall (2019-07-11). Left-wing Israeli activist suffers knife attack due to pro-Palestine views. thecanary.co A left-wing Israeli activist has been injured in a knife attack. Jonathan Pollak, a longtime pro-Palestine and Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions ( BDS) activist, was attacked by two people who called him a "leftist asshole". A right-wing Israeli group had previously targeted him for his support of Palestinian rights. | The attack: | In an interview, Polla…

Editor (2019-07-11). Im/migrants and the repressive state. workers.org A grassroots movement has been growing across the U.S. to counter the government's brutal campaign targeting im/migrants. As more people of all ages die horrible deaths in the desert north of the border, in the border rivers and in detention camps — including the hellholes set up to warehouse small . . . | Continue reading Im/migrants and the repressive state at Workers.org

Staff (2019-07-11). "Unconscionable & Unacceptable": Rep. Barragán Decries Detention of Migrant Children in Prison Cells. democracynow.org Yazmin Juárez, the Guatemalan mother whose child died from a lung infection after being held in an ICE detention center, testified before members of a congressional panel Wednesday. She shared the story of her daughter, 19-month-old Mariee, who died last year shortly after being released from the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. Juárez filed a $60 million lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Health and Human Services. The House subcommittee convened to examine the treatment of refugees in U.S.

splcenter (2019-07-11). Manuel Duran, journalist who reported on ICE, freed from detention. splcenter.org Manuel Duran, an investigative journalist who was detained after reporting on the collusion between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, was released today from ICE detention and will be reunited with his fiancée.

Staff (2019-07-11). ICE's Expanded Use of Facial Recognition Threatens All Our Civil Liberties. therealnews.com Evan Greer of Fight for the Future discusses how giving ICE access to the DMV databases of driver's license photos poses universal risks. Facial recognition technology is risky, unreliable, and has the potential to cause mass false arrests, violating the rights of refugees, immigrants, and citizens alike…

Staff (2019-07-10). The Inhumane Treatment of Migrants Is Not New. It's a Key Part of a Decades-Old Bipartisan Policy. democracynow.org More than a week after lawmakers flocked to the U.S.-Mexico border to observe the horrible treatment of refugee children and families in immigration jails, reports of unsafe and unsanitary conditions for asylum seekers are continuing. In Clint, Texas, the Border Patrol station that garnered international attention for jailing hundreds of migrant children without access to sufficient food, water, beds or medical care now has a spreading outbreak of scabies, shingles and chickenpox, according to border agents. In Yuma, Arizona, NBC reports that jailed migrant children have been subjected to mistreatment and sexual…

Mirinda Crissman (2019-07-10). Acts of solidarity with migrants grow. workers.org The United States government is waging a white-supremacist, imperialist, neocolonial war on multiple fronts. While this war on oppressed people rages on, people across the country and the world are taking a stand against state violence. Violence abroad can take many forms like resource extraction, economic sanctions and regime change. . . . | Continue reading Acts of solidarity with migrants grow at Workers.org

Minnie Bruce Pratt (2019-07-10). 'Policing the womb' in Alabama. workers.org Marshae Jones The intensified attack on women, the gender-oppressed and reproductive justice, denounced as "policing the womb" by reproductive rights advocate and activist Michelle Goodwin, has reached a new level of violence in Alabama. On July 3, Marshae Jones, a young pregnant African-American woman, was arrested after being indicted by . . . | Continue reading 'Policing the womb' in Alabama at Workers.org

Staff (2019-07-10). Headlines for July 10, 2019. democracynow.org Children Recount Mistreatment, Sexual Abuse at Yuma, AZ Migrant Jail, Scabies, Shingles & Chickenpox Spreading Among Children at Clint, TX Migrant Jail, Jewish Activists Arrested After Protesting Migrant Detention on Capitol Hill, Judge Rejects DOJ Move to Replace Legal Team Charged with Census Citizenship Battle, Court Says Trump Cannot Block Critics on Twitter, U.K. Ambassador Resigns After Leaked Cables Scandal, Afghan Peace Talks Close as Deadly Attacks Continue, Appeals Court Hears Arguments on Constitutionality of Affordable Care Act, Megan Rapinoe to Trump: "Your Message Is Excluding People", Calls Grow fo…

Cynthia Kao (2019-07-10). Jewish protesters stand in solidarity with detainees in S. California. liberationnews.org "All of our liberation is connected."

United Nations (2019-07-10). UN experts voice 'deep concern' over Iran's 'consistent pattern' of denying life-saving medical treatment to detainees. un.org Despite repeated calls, Iran continues to deny medical treatment to detainees in what amounts to "a consistent pattern", according to eight UN human rights experts, in a statement on Wednesday.

Federico Fuentes (2019-07-10). Amid crisis and sanctions, LGBTI activists continue to demand change. mronline.org One of the sectors hardest hit by Venezuela's economic crisis is the nation's LGBTI community. Lacking access to life-saving medicines and denied certain rights, activists say there is still much to be done within the revolution. | Source

Staff (2019-07-09). "This Is Not a Surprise": U.S. Sanctions and Saber Rattling Led to Iran's Renewed Uranium Enrichment. democracynow.org In ongoing fallout from the Trump administration's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear accord, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on Monday that Iran has begun enriching uranium above the level agreed to by the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has threatened to continue to increase their production of enriched uranium if European signatories of the nuclear deal do not help ease the impact of the U.S. sanctions. We speak with Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the new think tank, the Quincy Institute, and author of "Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy."

United Nations (2019-07-09). Tuesday's Daily Brief: #GlobalGoals progress, essential meds, updates from Cox's Bazar, Sudan and DR Congo. un.org This Tuesday's UN top stories are: high-level discussions on the progress made towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals; falling behind on universal education dream; the UN list of essential medicines updated; life-threatening floods in Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; and human rights in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

splcenter (2019-07-09). Detained Journalist Manuel Duran's Case Ordered Reopened. splcenter.org The Board of Immigration Appeals has ordered detained journalist Manuel Duran's case reopened, paving the way for an asylum claim and possible release after over 15 months in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

unitedEditor (2019-07-08). Georgian protests, military parade, Libya and Turkey. uwidata.com Georgian protests New protests took place this week in Georgia. On July 4, the Georgian Interior Ministry announced the detention of four people accused of assaulting police officers during rallies in central Tbilisi on June 20-21. On Thursday, the Prosecutor General's Office announced that it was investigating a meeting about organizing mass riots and an …

Staff (2019-07-08). Charges Dropped Against Pregnant Shooting Victim Amid Outcry over the Criminalization of Pregnancy. democracynow.org Following immense public pressure, prosecutors in Alabama have dropped manslaughter changers against Marshae Jones, a 28-year-old African-American woman whose pregnancy ended after she was shot in the stomach by a coworker. Local police accused Jones of starting the fight that led to the shooting in the parking lot of a Dollar General store outside of Birmingham. A grand jury then indicted Jones on manslaughter but dismissed any charges against the shooter. The case drew national outcry from women's rights advocates concerned about the criminalization of pregnant women and the legal implications of so-called feta…

James Goodman (2019-07-08). Putting the Brakes on the Deportation Machine. progressive.org A determined detainee stands up for her rights, with a little help from her friends.

Jonathan Flowers (2019-07-07). 'Horrified at the sights': Coloradans protest ICE facilities and detention profiteers. liberationnews.org Human rights abuses are not just restricted to the border.

Ricardo Vaz (2019-07-07). Venezuelan Government Slams 'Biased' UN Human Rights Report. venezuelanalysis.com Despite recognizing the negative impact of US sanctions, the report contains no recommendation for the measures to be lifted.

Anya Parampil (2019-07-06). 'Weaponizing human rights': UN chief Bachelet's Venezuela report follows US regime change script. thegrayzone.com Former UN special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas slams UN High Commissioner Bachelet's report on Venezuela as a politicized collection of…

2019-07-13: Social Media Postees

Close the immigrant concentration camps, free the children
C.J. Atkins | peoplesworld.org | 2019-07-13
In Houston, Texas, a 9-year-old Guatemalan boy sits at the Shiloh Treatment Center, a private facility licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to house detained migrant children. He's likely wondering when, or if, he'll ever see his family again. It's been 14 months since government agents took him from his father at the Arizona …
peoplesworld.org/article/close-the-immigrant-concentration-camps-free-the-children/

Embargoes and Other Acts of War
David Rovics | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-07-13
The war between the United States and Japan began with a US-enforced oil embargo against the Japanese Empire. Right now, in the United States, huge detention camps are being constructed for the increasingly criminalized refugee and migrant population, a campaign of government-sponsored domestic terror run by a supposedly temporary, "acting" head of the department created …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/07/embargoes-and-other-acts-of-war/

ICE protesters take down American flag & replace it with Mexican flag (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)
rt.com | 2019-07-13
A group of protesters removed the American flag from outside an ICE detention building in Denver and replaced it with a Mexican flag and a graffitied Blue Lives Matter flag. | …
rt.com/usa/464087-ice-us-mexican-flag/

Lights for Liberty San Jose: End The Detention Camps & ICE Raids
Lights for Liberty San Jose | indybay.org | 2019-07-13
San Jose City Hall Plaza | 200 E Santa Clara St, San Jose 95113…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/07/11/18824591.php

Marin County Supervisors Hear Moving Testimony at TRUTH Forum
Leon Kunstenaar | indybay.org | 2019-07-13
ICE Out Of Marin demands sheriff end ICE cooperation and that Supervisors declare Marin a sanctuary. | Photos and text: Leon Kunstenaar…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/07/10/18824571.php

Know Your Rights: How Immigrant Rights Activists Are Preparing for Looming ICE Deportation Raids
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-12
Immigrant communities across the country and their allies are preparing for nationwide raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to begin Sunday that will target undocumented members of immigrant families in at least nine major cities. The cities where raids will take place are said to be Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. New Orleans had been on the list, but the city announced this weekend that ICE was temporarily postponing the raids due to Tropical Storm Barry. We speak with a roundtable of immigrants' rights activists: Adelina Nicholls, th…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/12/trump_ice…

Venezuela: 'Progress' Reported in Gov't-Opposition Talks as US Sanctions Counter-Intelligence Agency
Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-07-12
The agenda of the talks has not been disclosed but the topic of elections is reportedly being left for last.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14584

The Glaring Holes in Michelle Bachelet's Venezuela Human Rights Report
Roger D. Harris | mintpressnews.com | 2019-07-12
UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's report on Venezuela echoes the US government's talking points, which are designed to terminate the two-decade-old Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. The report fails to acknowledge Venezuela's manifest accomplishments or even recognize victims of US-backed right-wing violence in Venezuela. The US economic war against Venezuela, US threats of a "military option," and opposition violence are treated in the Bachelet report as figments of the imagination, "alleged internal and external threats." | Mean…
mintpressnews.com/glaring-holes-michelle-bachelet-venezuela-human-rights-report/260552/

ICE to Launch Nationwide Raids to Arrest Undocumented Migrants
telesurenglish.net | 2019-07-12
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will carry out raids onJuly 14th to detain undocumented migrants in ten large cities, an operation which is expected to be focused mainly on those having final deportation orders. | RELATED: | Migrants Protest Against Bribe Requests by Mexican Officials | These raids were expecte…
telesurenglish.net/news/ICE-to-Launch-Nationwide-Raids-to-Arrest-Undocumented-Migrants-20190712-0001.html

Know Your Rights: Immigration Activists Prepare for Looming ICE Raids
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-07-12
Immigrant communities across the country and their allies are preparing for nationwide raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to begin Sunday that will target undocumented members of immigrant families in at least nine major cities. The cities where raids will take place are said to be Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. New Orleans had been on the list, but the city announced this weekend that ICE was temporarily postponing the raids due to Tropical Storm Barry. We speak with a roundtable of immigrants' rights activists: Adelina Nicholls,…
truthout.org/video/know-your-rights-immigration-activists-prepare-for-looming-ice-raids/

Pompeo's New "Human Rights" Commission is Up To No Good
aclu.org | 2019-07-12
The Trump administration appears to be trying to find new moral footing for the president's discriminatory policies. | This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally announced the creation of a "Commission on Unalienable Rights." Its stated purpose, according to a notice published in the Federal Register in May, is to provide "fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation's founding principles of natural law and natural rights." | Th…
aclu.org/blog/human-rights/pompeos-new-human-rights-commission-no-good

Can Pompeo Redefine Human Rights for the Trump Era?
Samuel Moyn | commondreams.org | 2019-07-12
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the State Department in Washington. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa via AP Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/07/12/can-pompeo-redefine-human-rights-trump-era?cd-origin=rss

Friday's Daily Brief: UN chief meets cyclone survivors in Mozambique, Human Rights Council investigates Philippines state violence, UN weather agency tracks Arctic fires
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-12
In today's Daily Brief: UN chief António Guterres condemns airstrikes on Syrian hospitals and meets survivors of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique; the UN Human Rights Council votes to investigate the "war on drugs" in the Philippines; and UN weather agency tracks fires…in the Arctic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1042371

Turkey Receives S-400 System Amid Sanctions Threat from US
telesurenglish.net | 2019-07-12
Russia has completed its first delivery of their S-400 missile system to Turkey, making the latter the first NATO nation to receive this advanced weapon. | RELATED: | Russian-Made S-400 Air Defense System is En Route to Turkey | According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the first parts of the Russian-made S-400 system were flown to an airbase near the capital city of Ankara. | The United States says the Russian military hardware is not compatible with NATO systems and that th…
telesurenglish.net/news/Turkey-Receives-S-400-System-Amid-Sanctions-Threat-from-US-20190712-0003.html

Race Becomes New Flashpoint With Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-07-12
WASHINGTON–The debate between Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other House Democrats over migrant children in detention at the border was wrenching enough. Then it became about race. | First, the freshman's chief of staff compared more centrist Democrats to 1940s segregationists. Then Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., accused Speaker Nancy Pelosi of "singling out" her and fellow newcomers, all women of color. | By Thursday, the rhetoric escalated, overshadowing the agenda and pushing House Democrats way off message with the most divisive upheaval since they took control of the chamber this year. Longtime lawmakers were st…
truthdig.com/articles/race-becomes-new-flashpoint-with-pelosi-ocasio-cortez/

In aftermath of Libya airstrike deaths, UN officials call for refugees and migrants to be freed from detention
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-12
"As a priority, we ask that 5,600 refugees and migrants currently held in centres across Libya be freed in an orderly manner and their protection guaranteed" the UN refugee and migrants chiefs said in a joint statement, released on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1042321

First Foreign Bank To Stop Financing Migrant Detention Centers
telesurenglish.net | 2019-07-12
France's BNP Paribas said Friday it will no longer finance U.S. private prison operators, making it the first foreign bank to distance itself from a sector shunned by domestic peers amid controversy over the Donald Trump administration detention policies for immigrants and asylum seekers. | RELATED: | Rashida Tlaib Witnesses Migrants Abuse in ICE Detention | Company spokesman Ilias Catsaros told Reuters of the change in policy. The decision does not effect existing…
telesurenglish.net/news/First-Foreign-Bank-To-Stop-Financing-Migrant-Detention-Centers-20190712-0013.html

Miscarriage criminalized: racist charges against Marshae Jones
Claudia Andrade | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-12
This incendiary indictment marks a fresh level to the ongoing attacks on women's rights.
liberationnews.org/miscarriage-criminalized-racist-charges-against-marshae-jones/

Lights of Liberty Vigil Remarks
Russell Rickford | counterpunch.org | 2019-07-12
Many folks have said "this is not who we are." This is precisely who we are. American concentration camps are not new. Look at our criminal justice system, a leviathan devoted to criminalizing, degrading and discarding masses of black and brown people. American torture is not new. Rape. Ripping families apart. This country was founded…
counterpunch.org/2019/07/12/lights-of-liberty-vigal-remarks/

'Visit the Camps Yet?' Campaign Urges Pelosi to See for Herself the Horrific Conditions at Trump Detention Centers
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-07-12
"Speaker Pelosi, visit the camps! And bring the conservative Democrats with you—so you can all see why Trump's child abuse at the border needs to be reined in now." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2019/07/12/visit-camps-yet-campaign-urges-pelosi-see-herself-horrific-conditions-trump?cd-origin=rss

Venezuelan government slams 'biased' UN human rights report
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-07-12
The Venezuelan government has disputed the findings of a report released by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). | Having seen the report in advance of its publication, Caracas issued a 70-point statement pointing towards what Venezuelan authorities term a "selective and openly biased" view of the human rights situation in the Caribbean country. | "The distorted view of the report is a result…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuelan-government-slams-%E2%80%98biased%E2%80%99-un-human-rights-report

Protecting rights requires confronting privilege
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-07-12
No sooner had the government won re-election its own actions once again showed politics is, after all, fundamental to how you live. | Shortly after home affairs minister Peter Dutton was re-elected, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which falls within his ministry, executed search warrants against journalists who have investigated allegations of soldiers unlawfully killing Afghan civilians and government plans to spy on us. | The police claimed their target was the journalist's sources. But the raids were also a public show of force against whistleblowers in general, much like the prosecution of Witness K and…
greenleft.org.au/content/protecting-rights-requires-confronting-privilege

Dutton's rights-eroding law bonanza
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-07-12
The 46th Parliament of Australia opened on July 2 to finance minister Mathias Cormann waving about the Tax Relief So Working Australians Keep More of Their Money Bill. One might be forgiven for translating the legislation's title to "progressively robbing the poor to give to the rich". | As the Grattan Institute analysis puts it, while the first two stages of low-end tax cuts are sustainable, it is the third stage o…
greenleft.org.au/content/dutton%E2%80%99s-rights-eroding-law-bonanza

UN Human Rights Council stands firm on LGBTI violence, Syria detainees and Philippines 'war on drugs'
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-12
The 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council ended on Friday with measures taken to address worrying developments in Eritrea, Syria and the Philippines, along with other issues of global concern, such as violence and discrimination against the LGBTI community.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1042381

UN calls on Spain to free jailed Catalan nationalist politicians
wsws.org | 2019-07-12
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for the "immediate release" of Catalan nationalist political prisoners held in a show trial in Madrid.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/12/cata…

Powerful and Emotional Testimony From Escobar, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, and Pressley on Family Separation and Child Imprisonment
Jon Queally, staff writer, Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-07-12
commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/child_detention_hearing_ocasio-cortez_escobar_tlaib_pressley.jpg …

De Zayas: UN Human Rights Council's Report on Venezuela is 'Unbalanced' (1/2)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-07-12
Former lawyer for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Alfred de Zayas, says that High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet's report on human rights in Venezuela mostly ignores the severity and responsibility of US sanctions against Venezuela…
therealnews.com/stories/de-zayas-un-human-rights-councils-report-on-venezuela-is-unbalanced-1-2

Left-wing Israeli activist suffers knife attack due to pro-Palestine views
Bryan Wall | thecanary.co | 2019-07-11
A left-wing Israeli activist has been injured in a knife attack. Jonathan Pollak, a longtime pro-Palestine and Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions ( BDS) activist, was attacked by two people who called him a "leftist asshole". A right-wing Israeli group had previously targeted him for his support of Palestinian rights. | The attack: | In an interview, Polla…
thecanary.co/trending/2019/07/12/left-wing-israeli-activist-suffers-knife-attack-due-to-pro-palestine-views/

CBP Can't Detain Domestic Flight Passengers for Refusing Suspicionless ID Checks
aclu.org | 2019-07-11
The Constitution protects passengers deplaning domestic flights just as it protects people on the street or in a car. | In February 2017, two U.S. CBP officers stood on a jet bridge at New York's JFK Airport to meet Delta Flight 1583 as it taxied to the gate upon arrival from San Francisco. As passengers prepared to deplane, they were told by flight attendants — at the direction of the two officers — that all passengers would have to show identification documents to the officer…
aclu.org/blog/national-security/cbp-cant-detain-domestic-flight-passengers-refusing-suspicionless-id-checks

Manuel Duran, journalist who reported on ICE, freed from detention
splcenter.org | 2019-07-11
Manuel Duran, an investigative journalist who was detained after reporting on the collusion between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, was released today from ICE detention and will be reunited with his fiancée.
splcenter.org/news/2019/07/11/manuel-duran-journalist-who-reported-ice-freed-detention

Im/migrants and the repressive state
Editor | workers.org | 2019-07-11
A grassroots movement has been growing across the U.S. to counter the government's brutal campaign targeting im/migrants. As more people of all ages die horrible deaths in the desert north of the border, in the border rivers and in detention camps — including the hellholes set up to warehouse small . . . | Continue reading Im/migrants and the repressive state at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/07/11/im-migrants-and-the-repressive-state/

"Unconscionable & Unacceptable": Rep. Barragán Decries Detention of Migrant Children in Prison Cells
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-11
Yazmin Juárez, the Guatemalan mother whose child died from a lung infection after being held in an ICE detention center, testified before members of a congressional panel Wednesday. She shared the story of her daughter, 19-month-old Mariee, who died last year shortly after being released from the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. Juárez filed a $60 million lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Health and Human Services. The House subcommittee convened to examine the treatment of refugees in U.S.
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/11/nanette_b…

ICE's Expanded Use of Facial Recognition Threatens All Our Civil Liberties
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-07-11
Evan Greer of Fight for the Future discusses how giving ICE access to the DMV databases of driver's license photos poses universal risks. Facial recognition technology is risky, unreliable, and has the potential to cause mass false arrests, violating the rights of refugees, immigrants, and citizens alike…
therealnews.com/stories/ices-expanded-use-of-facial-recognition-threatens-all-our-civil-liberties

'Policing the womb' in Alabama
Minnie Bruce Pratt | workers.org | 2019-07-10
Marshae Jones The intensified attack on women, the gender-oppressed and reproductive justice, denounced as "policing the womb" by reproductive rights advocate and activist Michelle Goodwin, has reached a new level of violence in Alabama. On July 3, Marshae Jones, a young pregnant African-American woman, was arrested after being indicted by . . . | Continue reading 'Policing the womb' in Alabama at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/07/09/policing-the-womb-in-alabama/

Jewish protesters stand in solidarity with detainees in S. California
Cynthia Kao | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-10
"All of our liberation is connected."
liberationnews.org/jewish-protesters-stand-in-solidarity-with-detainees-in-s-california/

UN experts voice 'deep concern' over Iran's 'consistent pattern' of denying life-saving medical treatment to detainees
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-10
Despite repeated calls, Iran continues to deny medical treatment to detainees in what amounts to "a consistent pattern", according to eight UN human rights experts, in a statement on Wednesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1042141

Acts of solidarity with migrants grow
Mirinda Crissman | workers.org | 2019-07-10
The United States government is waging a white-supremacist, imperialist, neocolonial war on multiple fronts. While this war on oppressed people rages on, people across the country and the world are taking a stand against state violence. Violence abroad can take many forms like resource extraction, economic sanctions and regime change. . . . | Continue reading Acts of solidarity with migrants grow at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/07/09/acts-of-solidarity-grow-for-migrants/

The Inhumane Treatment of Migrants Is Not New. It's a Key Part of a Decades-Old Bipartisan Policy
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-10
More than a week after lawmakers flocked to the U.S.-Mexico border to observe the horrible treatment of refugee children and families in immigration jails, reports of unsafe and unsanitary conditions for asylum seekers are continuing. In Clint, Texas, the Border Patrol station that garnered international attention for jailing hundreds of migrant children without access to sufficient food, water, beds or medical care now has a spreading outbreak of scabies, shingles and chickenpox, according to border agents. In Yuma, Arizona, NBC reports that jailed migrant children have been subjected to mistreatment and sexual…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/10/john_carl…

Amid crisis and sanctions, LGBTI activists continue to demand change
Federico Fuentes | mronline.org | 2019-07-10
One of the sectors hardest hit by Venezuela's economic crisis is the nation's LGBTI community. Lacking access to life-saving medicines and denied certain rights, activists say there is still much to be done within the revolution. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/07/10/amid-crisis-and-sanctions-lgbti-activists-continue-to-demand-change/

Tuesday's Daily Brief: #GlobalGoals progress, essential meds, updates from Cox's Bazar, Sudan and DR Congo
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-09
This Tuesday's UN top stories are: high-level discussions on the progress made towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals; falling behind on universal education dream; the UN list of essential medicines updated; life-threatening floods in Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; and human rights in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1042101

"This Is Not a Surprise": U.S. Sanctions and Saber Rattling Led to Iran's Renewed Uranium Enrichment
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-09
In ongoing fallout from the Trump administration's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear accord, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on Monday that Iran has begun enriching uranium above the level agreed to by the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has threatened to continue to increase their production of enriched uranium if European signatories of the nuclear deal do not help ease the impact of the U.S. sanctions. We speak with Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the new think tank, the Quincy Institute, and author of "Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy."
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/9/trump_admi…

Detained Journalist Manuel Duran's Case Ordered Reopened
splcenter.org | 2019-07-09
The Board of Immigration Appeals has ordered detained journalist Manuel Duran's case reopened, paving the way for an asylum claim and possible release after over 15 months in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
splcenter.org/news/2019/07/09/detained-journalist-manuel-durans-case-ordered-reopened

Georgian protests, military parade, Libya and Turkey
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-07-08
Georgian protests New protests took place this week in Georgia. On July 4, the Georgian Interior Ministry announced the detention of four people accused of assaulting police officers during rallies in central Tbilisi on June 20-21. On Thursday, the Prosecutor General's Office announced that it was investigating a meeting about organizing mass riots and an …
uwidata.com/4172-georgian-protests-military-parade-libya-and-turkey/

Putting the Brakes on the Deportation Machine
James Goodman | progressive.org | 2019-07-08
A determined detainee stands up for her rights, with a little help from her friends.
progressive.org/dispatches/putting-the-brakes-on-the-deportation-machine-goodman-190808/

Charges Dropped Against Pregnant Shooting Victim Amid Outcry over the Criminalization of Pregnancy
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-08
Following immense public pressure, prosecutors in Alabama have dropped manslaughter changers against Marshae Jones, a 28-year-old African-American woman whose pregnancy ended after she was shot in the stomach by a coworker. Local police accused Jones of starting the fight that led to the shooting in the parking lot of a Dollar General store outside of Birmingham. A grand jury then indicted Jones on manslaughter but dismissed any charges against the shooter. The case drew national outcry from women's rights advocates concerned about the criminalization of pregnant women and the legal implications of so-called feta…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/8/seg_3

'Horrified at the sights': Coloradans protest ICE facilities and detention profiteers
Jonathan Flowers | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-07
Human rights abuses are not just restricted to the border.
liberationnews.org/horrified-at-the-sights-coloradans-protest-ice-facilities-and-detention-profiteers/

Venezuelan Government Slams 'Biased' UN Human Rights Report
Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-07-07
Despite recognizing the negative impact of US sanctions, the report contains no recommendation for the measures to be lifted.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14575

Nurses picket in Long Beach, Calif., for workers' rights
Ian Matthews | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-07
"The hospital is trying to get as much out of them, with as little resources as possible."
liberationnews.org/nurses-picket-in-long-beach-ca-for-workers-rights/

'Weaponizing human rights': UN chief Bachelet's Venezuela report follows US regime change script
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2019-07-06
Former UN special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas slams UN High Commissioner Bachelet's report on Venezuela as a politicized collection of…
thegrayzone.com/2019/07/06/weaponizing-human-rights-un-high-commissioner-bachelets-venezuela-report-follows-us-regime-change-script/

Medicare for all means radical change, not just reforms
Esteban Guevara | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-06
Healthcare, along with education, jobs, and affordable housing, are essential human rights indispensable for everyone.
liberationnews.org/medicare-for-all-means-radical-change-not-just-reforms/