Martin Luther King Jr. and the fight for social equality
wsws.org | 2020-01-23
King's conception of a mass democratic movement for civil rights based on the unified action of all the oppressed sections of the population is being replaced with an essentially racialist narrative that presents all of American history in terms of a struggle between whites and blacks.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/23/king…
Amendment 4 is Still on the Line. Here's What's New
Orion Danjuma | aclu.org | 2020-01-23
The right to vote cannot depend on how much money you have. That's what a federal court ruled in October, when it blocked Florida's attempt to force returning citizens
Deadly Distractions: Laying the Groundwork for the Next Civil War. "Deep State's Plot to Take Over America"
John W. Whitehead | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-23
" Pity the nation oh pity the people | who allow their rights to erode | and their freedoms to be washed away…" | –Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet | And so it continues. | This impeachment fiasco is merely the latest in a never-ending series …
globalresearch.ca/deadly-distractions-laying-groundwork-next-civil-war/5701452
Cyprus govt backtracks on claim Turkey 'stole offshore gas data'
rt.com | 2020-01-23
A government spokesman in Cyprus backpedaled Thursday on a claim that Ankara may have stolen technical data to pinpoint a target for gas drilling in waters where the island nation has exclusive economic rights. Kyriakos Koushos told AP that no such data theft had occurred and his use of the word "stolen" in a Wednesday program by Greece's state broadcaster was a mistaken "a slip of the tongue." | However, Koushos asserted that Turkey did obtain data that enabled it to send a drill ship to a specific location that two energy companies licensed by Cyprus, Eni and Total, had pre-selected to carry out their own ex…
rt.com/newsline/479022-cyprus-backtracks-turkey-offshore/
US imposes Iran-related sanctions on two people and six companies, mostly Chinese
rt.com | 2020-01-23
The United States applied new economic sanctions to two Iranian individuals and six companies, including four firms tied to Iran's national oil company, as tensions between the country peaked after the killing of Gen. Soleimani. | The United States has applied fresh economic sanctions to two Iranian individuals and six companies, including four firms tied to Iran's national oil company. The move comes following a military standoff between both countries. | The US Department of the Treasury accuses the four international petroleum and petrochemical firms of helping Tehran export "hundreds of millions of dollars…
rt.com/news/479019-us-sanctions-iran-china/
Americans Need to Hear More from Iranians. Here's Where to Start
Negin Owliaei | commondreams.org | 2020-01-23
Sanctions starve our people of food, medicine, and safety while public figures threaten us with more violence. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/01/23/americans-need-hear-more-iranians-heres-where-start?cd-origin=rss
Australian Open: Daniil Medvedev suffers bleed, Rafael Nadal hails ballgirl bravery, Serena Williams talks boxing
rt.com | 2020-01-23
Nick Kyrgios and Gilles Simon both mocked Rafael Nadal and earned sanctions from umpire Fergus Murphy on an eventful day at the Australian Open when top seed Nadal dealt with an incident of his own and questions about his legacy. | After both players were given time violations, Kyrgios made umpire Murphy smile by appearing to impersonate Rafael Nadal's trait of tucking his hair behind his ears and checking his shorts before serving. | Simon then left Kyrgios twirling his racket with laughter after performing his own impression of the world number one, although Kyrgios could afford a joke at that stage, serving…
rt.com/sport/479005-australian-open-third-round/
DP World escalates attacks on workers
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-01-23
workers' rights & unions Sam WainwrightIssue 1250 Australia Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) FremantleJanuary 23, 2020Negotiations over a new enterprise agreement at ste…
greenleft.org.au/content/dp-world-escalates-attacks-workers
US Airstrike Kills 15 Civilians in Afghanistan, Including 3 Women and 3 Children
Jason Ditz | theantimedia.com | 2020-01-23
(ANTIWAR.COM)
Trump to Issue New Rule Restricting Visas for Pregnant Women in Latest Attack on Most Vulnerable
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-01-23
In the Trump administration's latest effort to strip migrants and travelers to the U.S. of their rights, the U.S. State Department is planning to issue new guidance to consular officers empowering them to refuse visas to pregnant travelers. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/01/23/trump-issue-new-rule-restricting-visas-pregnant-women-latest-attack-most-vulnerable?cd-origin=rss
Brazil's Bolsonaro government charges journalist Glenn Greenwald with "cybercrimes"
wsws.org | 2020-01-22
The trumped-up charges against Greenwald by Bolsonaro's fascistic government are of a piece with the global assault on free speech and democratic rights and the jailing of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/22/gree…
Baltimore marchers brave sleet and snow to resist war and racism
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-01-22
Baltimore, MD – Several dozen Baltimore community activists and youth endured sleet, hail, snow and rain to stage a march January 18 from East to West Baltimore and to downtown to draw the connections to ongoing war and racism with food stamp cuts and workers' rights. | The group rallied at Penn North, the neighborhood of Freddie Gray, and ended at Lexington Market. Organizers reported that the response was deeply encouraging. The group then held a car caravan to a general assembly of the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) of the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia region. | The march was initiate…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/1/22/baltimor…
A Torturer Meets His Victims: CIA Psychologist Defends Brutal Methods at Guantánamo Military Hearing
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-22
On Tuesday, the psychologist identified as the "architect" of the CIA's torture program testified for the first time to the war court at Guantánamo Bay. James Mitchell was in the courtroom for a pretrial hearing for five 9/11 suspects who had been subject to torture, euphemistically called "enhanced interrogation techniques." Mitchell and his partner, Dr. Bruce Jessen, were paid $81 million to help design the CIA's torture methods, including some of the agency's most abusive tactics. The pair had no prior experience in interrogation. At the hearing, Mitchell reportedly told defense lawyers he only came to Guantán…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/22/cia_tortu…
Hard Evidence on Torture and Ill-Treatment Against Palestinian Detainees at Israeli Interrogation Centers
Addameer | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-22
Since its creation, the occupying state developed and enforced laws and practices that led to both the systematic use of torture and to absolute impunity for the perpetrator of this crime. There has never been any individual or agency held …
globalresearch.ca/addameer-collects-hard-evidence-torture-ill-treatment-committed-against-palestinian-detainees-israeli-interrogation-centers/5701367
Canada: One-Third of Prison Population is Indigenous
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-22
Though Indigenous people account for only five percent of the general Canadian population, they represent more than 30 percent of the detainees in the country's prisons, a report released Tuesday by a federal watchdog revealed. | RELATED: | Deportations of Migrant Families in US Rose by 110% in 2019 | The correctional investigator of Canada Ivan Zinger described what he called "the Indigenization of Cana…
telesurenglish.net/news/Indigenous-in-Canada-Make-up-One-Third-of-Prison-Population-20200122-0012.html
Soldiers Assault A Palestinian Child Hours After His Release From Prison
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-01-22
Israeli soldiers assaulted, on Wednesday morning, a Palestinian child just a few hours after his release from a detention facility. The Head of the Palestinian Association for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners, Mohammad Hamida, said the soldiers, stationed at the Container military roadblock, northeast of Bethlehem, repeatedly assaulted the child, identified as …
imemc.org/article/soldiers-assault-a-palestinian-child-hours-after-his-release-from-prison/
"The Senate Voted for a Cover-Up": GOP Senators Tilt Impeachment Trial in Trump's Favor
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-22
After the first marathon day leading up to President Trump's impeachment trial, we speak with Vince Warren and Baher Azmy, executive director and legal director, respectively, of the Center for Constitutional Rights. In a 13-hour session, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate approved rules for the impeachment trial that Vince Warren says are tantamount to a "cover-up." Under the rules, each side will be given 24 hours over a three-day period for opening arguments. Senators also agreed to automatically admit evidence from the House inquiry into the trial record. Republicans rejected 11 amendments from Democrats t…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/22/impeachme…
Independent UN rights experts call for 'immediate investigation' into alleged Bezos phone hack by Saudi Arabia
news.un.org | 2020-01-22
Independent UN rights experts said on Wednesday they were "gravely concerned" over allegations that in 2018, a messaging app account belonging to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was used to hack into The Washington Post owner's mobile phone, calling for an "immediate investigation" by authorities in the United States.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1055771
Denver students say: No war on Iran!
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-01-22
Denver, CO – Students from Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) met on campus | January 21 to continue the rallying against U.S. aggression towards Iran and the U.S. | occupation of Iraq. This action comes after the illegal act of war of the Trump | regime in which Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in the Baghdad International Airport. | The U.S. has claimed that they are backing off from war at this time, but will continue to add | sanctions against Iran which will harm the people of Iran. One SDS member noted | in his speech, "Sanctions are an act of war; countless citizens died in…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/1/22/denver-s…
'An Absolute Red Alert': Snowden Joins Journalists and Rights Advocates Worldwide Rallying to the Side of Glenn Greenwald
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-01-22
"It should be clear to anyone—no matter their political persuasion—that the Bolsonaro administration is taking these actions in a purely retaliatory manner in an attempt to criminalize journalism." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/01/22/absolute-red-alert-snowden-joins-journalists-and-rights-advocates-worldwide-rallying?cd-origin=rss
CBP Deported an Iranian Student With Valid Visa, Defying Court Order
Carol Rose | aclu.org | 2020-01-21
Last night, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deported an Iranian student with a valid visa, despite a federal court order prohibiting his removal. | Shahab Dehghani arrived at Boston Logan Airport on Sunday, January 19 to study at Northeastern University, where he was enrolled. Customs officials detained him and questioned him for hours, abruptly revoking his student visa, which the State Department granted after a year of intense vetting. | As CBP tried to put Shahab on the next available flight, supporters and friends gathered at night in the arrivals hall at Logan to demand that CBP stop deporting…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/cbp-deported-an-iranian-student-with-valid-visa-defying-court-order
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-21
A 16-year-old is the latest person to die in one of Libya's detention centers where refugees and migrants are jailed indefinitely after they are sent back to the war-ravaged country by the European Union-funded coastguard, The Guardian reported. | RELATED: | Almost 1,000 Migrants Returned to Libya This Year Already: IOM | Adal Debretsion, an Eritre…
telesurenglish.net/news/A-Teenage-Boy-Is-the-Latest-Victim-of-Libyas-Migrants-Centers-20200121-0019.html
Lebanon: UN rights office calls for de-escalation of protest violence
news.un.org | 2020-01-21
What had been largely peaceful demonstrations against Lebanon's Government in the capital Beirut grew increasingly violent over the weekend, sparking the concern of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1055701
PCHR: Palestinians Injured at Great March of Return
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-01-21
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) works around the clock to document all Israeli violations and war crimes against Great March of Return (GMR) peaceful protestors, especially children, women and the elderly. Aside from legal documentation of Israeli war crimes, PCHR follows urgent cases that require immediate and advanced medical …
imemc.org/article/pchr-short-video-highlights-of-palestinians-injured-at-great-march-of-return/
At Least 10 Killed in Two Days of Violence Across Iraq
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-21
At least 10 people were killed and 138 wounded over the past two days across Iraq as a result of violent clashes between protesters and security forces, the country's High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) said. | RELATED: | Why Doesn't the US Move out Despite the Iraqi Parliament's Decision? | By: Peter Koenig | Demonstrators were…
telesurenglish.net/news/At-Least-10-Killed-in-Two-Days-of-Violence-Across-Iraq-20200121-0015.html
UN human rights ruling could boost climate change asylum claims
news.un.org | 2020-01-21
The UN Human Rights Committee has determined that countries cannot deport people who have sought asylum due to climate-related threats.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1055671
Virginia passes the Equal Rights Amendment, but the struggle continues
Emile Schepers | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-21
January 15, 2020, was a historic day in America: Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly approved the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Virginia was the 38th state to do so. This puts the ERA over the top in terms of the number of states which have signed on. The U.S. Constitution establishes that amendments require …
peoplesworld.org/article/virginia-passes-the-equal-rights-amendment-but-the-struggle-continues/
Voting Rights Advocate: The Impeachment of Trump Is Needed to Protect Our Elections & Democracy
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-21
The impeachment trial begins its proceedings in the Senate today amid accusations of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attempting to rush the impeachment process. Senators will have 16 hours for questions and four hours for debate, after 24 hours for opening arguments on each side. We speak with Rick Perlstein, historian and author, and Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Clarke says that thanks to the rules set by McConnell, Trump's impeachment trial could be over within a week, with much of the debate taking place in the evening. The proces…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/21/trump_imp…
The US Sanctions on Iran Are Causing a Major Humanitarian Crisis
Ahmad Jalalpour | thenation.com | 2020-01-21
The US Sanctions on Iran Are Causing a Major Humanitarian Crisis…
thenation.com/article/iran-sanctions-humanitarian-crisis/
Severe Torture in Israeli Prisons Targets Palestinian Steadfastness: Walid Hanatsheh, Samer Arbeed, Mays Abu Ghosh and More
IMEMC News & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-01-20
Photo: Walid Hanatsheh after his interrogation. | In the last months of 2019 and early 2020, a growing number of cases of severe physical torture against Palestinian detainees carried out by Israeli Shin Bet interrogators have been documented.
imemc.org/article/severe-torture-in-israeli-prisons-targets-palestinian-steadfastness-walid-hanatsheh-samer-arbeed-mays-abu-ghosh-and-more/
SPECIAL: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-20
Today is the federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born January 15, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 39 years old. While Dr. King is primarily remembered as a civil rights leader, he also championed the cause of the poor and organized the Poor People's Campaign to address issues of economic justice. Dr. King was also a fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy and the Vietnam War. We play his "Beyond Vietnam" speech, which he delivered at New York City's Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, as well as his last speech, "I've Been to…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/20/special_d…
'Come and take it': Thousands rally in Virginia against new gun-control laws (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-01-20
Thousands of gun-rights supporters and militia members have gathered at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, in an armed show of defiance against a slew of gun laws proposed by Governor Ralph Northam. | Northam
2019 Proved We Can Stop Face Recognition Surveillance
Abdullah Hasan | aclu.org | 2020-01-17
This piece originally appeared on Fast Company. | In 2019, we proved face recognition surveillance isn't | inevitable. Now, it's time for Congress to rein in the technology once and for | all. | Last year, communities banded together to prove that they | can
Conspiracy Theories, Threats of Violence Loom Over Coming Gun Rally in Richmond
splcenter.org | 2020-01-16
Gun-rights activists and antigovernment extremists are planning a protest in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday fueled by antigovernment conspiracy theories and accompanied by online calls for violence.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/01/16/conspiracy-theories-threats-violence-loom-over-coming-gun-rally-richmond
Arkansas Legislators' Attack on Abortion is Unconstitutional
Michele Goodwin | aclu.org | 2020-01-16
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled time and again that | reproductive privacy is "central to personal dignity and autonomy, [which] are | central to the liberty protected by" the Constitution. The Court has made | eminently clear that under the Constitution, the right of a pregnant person to | terminate a pregnancy prior to viability is a right so essential to our freedom | that our government cannot ban or impose an undue burden on its exercise. But | despite the long-standing clarity of this principle, reproductive health and rights | continue to come under blistering, unrelenting attack. | Nowhere is this cl…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/arkansas-legislators-attack-on-abortion-is-unconstitutional
Ex-US intel officer: Pompeo 'lying through his teeth' on Iran
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-12
The Trump administration is imposing new sanctions on Iran and defying Iraq's call for a US troop withdrawal. This comes…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/12/ex-us-intel-officer-pompeo-lying-through-his-teeth-on-iran/
SPLC Statement on the Detainment of Iranians and Iranian Americans
splcenter.org | 2020-01-06
The following statement is by Southern Poverty Law Center Interim President and CEO Karen Baynes-Dunning following reports that Iranians and Iranian Americans are being detained and questioned at U.S. ports of entry:…
splcenter.org/news/2020/01/06/splc-statement-detainment-iranians-and-iranian-americans