The legacy of Tonga's late "pro-democracy" PM 'Akilisi Pohiva
wsws.org | 2020-02-12
Three decades of Pohiva's movement confirms that the working class and rural poor across the Pacific can achieve democratic rights and decent living standards only armed with a socialist program.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/12/tong…
Folk singers charged for violating Bangladesh's draconian Digital Security Act
wsws.org | 2020-02-12
In an outrageous attack on democratic rights, Baul singers Rita Dewan and Shariat Sarker face prosecution on bogus claims of "hurting religious sentiments."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/12/bang…
Ray of Hope
Badri Raina | zcomm.org | 2020-02-12
There has never been a time when rays of hope Were readily out the lattice; Hope that yields some lasting fruit Never offers its juices gratis. Hope is first a throb in the heart That makes persistent song; Played to a score with honest key It rights many a wrong. Then, when other Read…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/1029100/
The blockade, a weapon that causes more death than war
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-02-12
It deliberately affects defenseless civilians, such as children, the elderly and the sick. The US blockade against Cuba is the most severe and prolonged applied against any country, but it is estimated that one third of the world's population suffers its effects: there are more than eight thousand sanctions in 39 countries. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/12/the-blockade-a-weapon-that-causes-more-death-than-war/
Kuwait 'Pays Lip Service' to Human Rights as UN Delegates Urge Action Amid Lazareva Ruling – Lawyer
sputniknews.com | 2020-02-12
Delegates from the international community have urged a key Gulf nation to review and improve its human rights record following a ruling in November which condemned a prominent Russian businesswoman to 22 years hard labour, sparking criticisms over the country's history of arbitrary detention and persecution of foreign nationals.
sputniknews.com/interviews/202002121078278009-kuwait-pays-lip-service-to-human-rights-as-un-delegates-urge-action-amid-lazareva-ruling—lawyer/
Man Detained at Delhi Airport With Foreign Currency Worth Over $60K Inside Mutton, Peanuts – Video
sputniknews.com | 2020-02-12
New Delhi (Sputnik): Following the confiscation of the currency attempted to be illegally taken out of India, a security official revealed that this is a unique and peculiar modus-operandi for the concealment of foreign currency. The concealed amount was in Saudi Riyals, Qatari Riyals, Kuwaiti Dinars, Omani Riyals, and Euros.
sputniknews.com/india/202002121078293502-foreign-currency-worth-63137-hidden-in-peanuts-pickles-seized-at-delhi-airport——video/
Billboards Calling for Ending Support to Israel Launched in New Hampshire
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-11
Palestine Advocacy Project has launched two billboard ads calling upon American voters and the next President of the United States to end U.S. funding for Israeli human rights violations, and restore humanitarian aid to Palestine, the Palestine News Network reported.
imemc.org/article/billboards-calling-for-ending-support-to-israel-launched-in-new-hampshire/
How Trump's "Peace" Plan Will Redraw Israel's Borders to Exclude to Non-Jews
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-11
Trump's new Middle East "Peace" Plan will redraw Israeli borders to exclude towns with large populations of Arab citizens, an attempt, writes Miko Peled, to force them down the totem pole to a place where their rights will be even more limited.
mintpressnews.com/trump-peace-plan-redraw-borders-exclude-arab-citizens-of-israel/264812/
Victim-centred laws 'paramount' to combat online sexual abuse against children
news.un.org | 2020-02-11
Comprehensive national strategies are urgently needed to prevent child sexual abuse online and other Internet issues for children, independent UN human rights experts said on Tuesday, Safer Internet Day.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057141
Woman who killed UK teenager Harry Dunn was a CIA spy
wsws.org | 2020-02-11
The Dunn family's legal spokesman, Radd Seiger, explained it is "high time that the nation can see with full transparency whether or not the government prioritised protecting the identity of the Sacoolas family over the welfare and rights of Harry's family."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/11/dunn…
China, Russia to Defy US Sanctions Over Support to Venezuela
Telesur | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-11
The Russian government rejected on Monday the U.S. threats to impose new sanctions against several Russian companies for their cooperation with Venezuela in the oil sector. | Last week, the United States special representative for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, warned Russia …
globalresearch.ca/china-russia-defy-us-sanctions-support-venezuela/5703352
Venezuela Announces International Lawsuit Against US
teleSUR, gqc | telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-11
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced on Monday the beginning of an international lawsuit against the U.S. government because of the perjuries caused to national companies. | RELATED: | Venezuela Condemns US Sanctions Against Assembly's New Leadership | During his intervention, in the context of the Great Anti-imperialist March in Caracas, as a support to the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautic Industries and Air Services and as a response to the arbitrary san…
telesurenglish.net/news/venezuela-announces-international-lawsuit-against-us-20200211-0012.html
MLB to Cancel Roger Waters' Tour Promotions Over BDS Support
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-11
Major League Baseball (MLB) has made the decision to stop promoting Roger Waters' tour due to his ongoing support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. | RELATED: | Palestinians Benefit From China-Funded Desalination Plants | The MLB, which was sponsoring ticket pre-sales for Waters' "This is Not a Drill" tour, made the decision to halt its promotion following criticisms from Jewish advocacy groups, the report said. | A…
telesurenglish.net/news/MLB-to-Cancel-Roger-Waters-Tour-Promotions-Over-BDS-Support-20200211-0008.html
The Torture Machine, Racism and Violence in Chicago
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-02-11
The Torture Machine, Racism and Police Violence in Chicago, by People's Law Office and longtime National Lawyers Guild attorney Flint Taylor, is a meticulously detailed and authentic, truly appalling story of shame and disgrace to the city of Chicago, its political and police administration establishments, and numerous judges of the Cook County criminal courts; an […] | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/11/the-torture-machine-racism-and-violence-in-chicago/
Palestinian Prisoner's Family Informed of Order to Demolish its Home
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-11
The Israeli army, on Tuesday, informed the family of Palestinian detainee, Qassam Barghouthi, of its intention to demolish the family's home in the central West Bank village of Kobar, the Head of Kobar village council, Izzat Badwan, told WAFA. The army told the family that they have until Thursday to …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-prisoners-family-informed-of-order-to-demolish-its-home/
Trial of Ecuador's Ex-President Rafael Correa is Under Way
teleSUR-gqc | telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-11
The ex-president of Ecuador Rafael Correa and other members of his administration are under corruption accusations in a judicial process that had the first official audience last February 10, at the National Justice Court in Ecuador and could last until the end of 2020. | RELATED: | Judge Dictates Preventive Detention Against Rafael Correa | The charges are based on alleged millionaire bribes to the former president, the ex-vice-president Jorge Glas, the Legal Secretary to the Pres…
telesurenglish.net/news/begins-trial-against-ex-president-rafael-correa–20200211-0006.html
Selected Articles: Trump's New Generation of Nuclear Weapons
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-11
Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-trump-budget-gives-top-priority-new-generation-nuclear-weapons/5703389
How Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Broke Through in Iowa
Ronald Newman | aclu.org | 2020-02-10
Our next president | must be committed to protecting and advancing the civil liberties and civil | rights guaranteed to all of us in the Constitution, and the current goal for | our Rights for All campaign is to educate voters on where the candidates stand on these | key issues. We now have most of the results from the Iowa caucuses last week, | and one thing stood out to us: Voters overwhelmingly supported candidates who | made specific commitments to Rights for All policies. | When we launched | the Rights for All effort last year, we were determined to elevate ke…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/how-iowa-elevated-civil-liberties-and-civil-rights
Man with knife & plan to 'assassinate' Trump detained outside White House
rt.com | 2020-02-09
A man carrying a knife has been detained outside the White House in Washington, DC. He told the US Secret Service that he'd brought the weapon to "assassinate" Donald Trump. | The suspect himself approached a security officer who was patrolling outside the presidential residence Saturday afternoon, and told him of his plan. "I have a knife to do it with," he said, according to a police report seen by AP. | Police identified the man as 25-year-old Roger Hedgpeth, who was arrested on charges of making threats to cause bodily harm. The man had a 3.5-inch (around 9-cm) knife on him as well as an empty pistol holst…
rt.com/usa/480455-man-knife-white-house-kill-trump/
Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions
Tyler Durden | theantimedia.com | 2020-02-08
Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.
Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions
Indigenous activists opposing pipeline project attacked, arrested by Canadian police
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-07
Milwaukee, WI – In the early morning hours of February 6, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) invaded territory belonging to the peoples of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, attacking indigenous activists and supporters who are actively opposing a pipeline project that will cut across Wet'suwet'en land. At least six land protectors were arrested and several others, including members of the media on the scene, were detained and removed from Wet'suwet'en territory by the RCMP. | This escalation is only the most recent incident in a conflict which began back in 2018 but whose true origins extend back to wh…
fightbacknews.org/2020/2/7/indigenous-activists-opposing-pipeline-project-attacked-arrested-canadian-police
Media Urge Palestinians to Take Crumbs–Because Democracy Is Not on Offer
Gregory Shupak | fair.org | 2020-02-07
by Gregory Shupak The Trump administration's "Vision for Peace" | The Trump administration's " Deal of the Century" is supposedly a plan to solve the question of Palestine. But as Michael Lynk, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, points out, the deal doesn't offer Palestinians…
fair.org/home/media-urge-palestinians-to-take-crumbs-because-democracy-is-not-on-offer/
Human Rights Watch: 200 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed, Raped or Tortured After U.S. Deportation
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-07
A shocking new report says at least 200 Salvadoran asylum seekers were either killed, raped or tortured after being deported from the United States back to El Salvador. Human Rights Watch found that some 138 people deported to El Salvador were murdered by gang members, police, soldiers, death squads or ex-partners between 2013 and 2019. The report says most of the victims were killed within two years after being deported, by the same perpetrators the asylum seekers had fled from. From Denver, Colorado, we speak to Clara Long, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. And joining us from El Salvador, we speak to "
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/7/hrw_report…
Animal rights groups' attempt to hijack climate movement rejected
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-07
Climate Jacob Andrewartha Sue BoltonIssue 1252 Australia MelbourneFebruary 7, 2020Animal rights activist in Melbourne have harmed the climate movement and their own cause by attempting to stack mee…
greenleft.org.au/content/animal-justice-party-attempt-hijack-climate-movement-rejected
Blaming overpopulation lets climate criminals off the hook
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-07
Climate refugee rights Chloe DSIssue 1252 AustraliaFebruary 7, 2020The burden of responsibility for the climate crisis is often placed on poorer nations. But the reality is that the main culprits continue to be the rich and powerful 1%. | Within the climate movement, some sec…
greenleft.org.au/content/blaming-overpopulation-lets-climate-criminals-hook
Extreme weather demands better working conditions
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-07
workers' rights and unions Climate Leo CrnogorcevicIssue 1252 AustraliaFebruary 7, 2020Faced with a still-unfolding summer from hell, in which catastrophic bushfires have caused 34 deaths, destroyed 11 million hectares of land and wiped out more than a…
greenleft.org.au/content/extreme-weather-demands-better-working-conditions
Witness to a Farce – Watching impeachment through the lens of the New York Times
Dorothee Benz | fair.org | 2020-02-04
Watching the actions of the Trump administration through the lens of the New York Times' coverage has been by turns dumbfounding, disheartening and infuriating. While the white nationalists running our government have rolled out one attack after another on civil rights, civil liberties, the independence of the judiciary, procedural democracy, human rights laws and planetary survival, the "paper of record" has offered a soothing translation of these threats into the familiar language of…
fair.org/home/witness-to-a-farce/
SPLC and the SPLC Action Fund Hire Internationally Renowned Human and Civil Rights Leader as New President and CEO
splcenter.org | 2020-02-02
Margaret Huang brings 25 years of experience advocating against discrimination and oppression around the world.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/03/splc-and-splc-action-fund-hire-internationally-renowned-human-and-civil-rights-leader-new
We're Back in Court this Week Defending Access to Safe Abortion in Kentucky
Amber Duke | aclu.org | 2020-01-29
The ACLU is back | in court today once again to stop Kentucky's attempt to block access to | abortion. We've been here before. Over the past three years, the Kentucky | General Assembly has passed bill after bill that limits
SPLC sues Alabama school district for violating students' due process rights after cell phone is mistaken for gun
splcenter.org | 2020-01-28
Andre and his friend were taking turns on a cell phone, playing a video game called Last Day on Earth: Survival