Eminent Monsters: A Manual for Modern Torture, directed by Stephen Bennett
wsws.org | 2020-02-20
"We have a system that punished the whistle blowers like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange, not the perpetrators of torture"–Professor Nils Melzer…
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/20/mons…
Trump Is Unleashing Militarized Goon Squads Against Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities
Sasha Abramsky | zcomm.org | 2020-02-20
By the time you read this column, elite US Border Patrol Tactical (BORTAC) units might be battering down the doors of immigrant families in sanctuary cities in California, New York, Illinois, and elsewhere around the country…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/trump-is-unleashing-militarized-goon-squads-against-immigrants-in-sanctuary-cities/
Immigrant rights activists rally at MN capitol for driver's licenses for all
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-20
St. Paul, MN – More than 40 immigrant rights activists from all over the state of Minnesota rallied at the capitol here, February 11, the opening day of the legislative session. People traveled from as far as Zimmerman and Rochester to participate in the action. The rally and lobbying action were organized by Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM) and Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). Activists asked the Minnesota legislature to support driver's licenses for all and to make Minnesota a sanctuary state. | Dressed in red, MIM and MIRAC members rallied in the rotunda of the capitol, calling on represe…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/19/immigran…
Disability Organizations Join Forces to Increase Census Participation Throughout CA
Diverse Disability Media | indybay.org | 2020-02-20
The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) are acting as Statewide Community-Based Organization Outreach Partners in coordination with the California Census Office to increase participation among disabled Californians and older adults in the upcoming 2020 census which takes place April 1.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/18/18830793.php
The CIA's Role in Operation Condor
Jacob Hornberger | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-20
The Washington Post reported that top secret documents confirm the role that the CIA played in Operation Condor, the international state-sponsored assassination, kidnapping, torture, and murder ring run by U.S.-supported military dictatorships in South America in the late 1970s. The documents confirm that the CIA's role in the operation was to provide communications equipment to the…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/20/the-cias-role-in-operation-condor/
Impunity Guaranteed for Torturers (and Presidents)
Rebecca Gordon | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-20
On February 5th, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald J. Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. In other words, Trump's pre-election boast that he "could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and not "lose any voters" proved something more than high-flown hyperbole. (To be fair, he did…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/20/impunity-guaranteed-for-torturers-and-presidents/
US slaps sanctions on Russian oil company trading with Venezuela
wsws.org | 2020-02-20
The unilateral sanctions are aimed at tightening the US blockade of Venezuela's crisis-ridden economy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/20/vene…
Pompeo, Saudi king discuss regional affairs in Riyadh
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-20
The meeting tackled "the relations between the two countries, the overall regional and international events, the position of the two countries, and the efforts made towards them.""Pleased to be back in Riyadh to discuss the U.S. government's strong commitment to Saudi Arabia's security and the continued need to stand together to counter Iran's malign behavior in the region," Pompeo wrote on Twitter.Pompeo's visit focuses on discussing regional security, economy, and most likely human rights issues such as that of Saudi-American physician Walid Fitaihi.Arrested in November 2017, Fitaihi was released pending trial…
yenisafak.com/en/news/pompeo-saudi-king-discuss-regional-affairs-in-riyadh-3512444
Reza Berati's struggle remembered
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
refugee rights Alex SalmonIssue 1254 Australia Nauru and Christmas Island detention centresFebruary 20, 2020The Refugee Rights Action Network WA (RRAN) organised a commemoration on February 17, the 6th anniversary of the death of Kurdish-…
greenleft.org.au/content/reza-beratis-struggle-remembered
May 1 Movement launched in Sydney
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
workers' rights and unions Jim McIlroyIssue 1254 Australia CFMEU MUA SydneyFebruary 20, 2020Up to 100 people attended the launch of the…
greenleft.org.au/content/may-1-movement-launched-sydney
Venezuela files ICC lawsuit over US sanctions
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
international solidarity Paul DobsonIssue 1254 Venezuela ICC International Court of Justice US blockadeFebruary 20, 202…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-files-icc-lawsuit-over-us-sanctions
Australian MPs visit Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison
wsws.org | 2020-02-19
Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen said they agreed with UN official Nils Melzer's assessment that Assange is the victim of psychological torture.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/19/belm…
CNN reporter triggered by Fox interviewing InfoWars' 'Gun Girl' quickly reminded of own network's history with racists & criminals
rt.com | 2020-02-19
In a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Oliver Darcy fumed at Fox News describing Kaitlin Bennet as a "gun rights activist" after her tumultuous visit to a college campus. Twitter was quick to remind him of CNN's own sins. | …
rt.com/usa/481244-cnn-fox-kaitlin-bennett-ohio/
China: 'Venezuelan Oil Sales Are Legal and Should Be Respected'
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-19
China's Foreign Minister spokesperson Geng Shuang Wednesday informed that his country will continue to cooperate with Venezuela even though the U.S. tries to convince it not to. | RELATED: | China: Over 14 Thousand Patients Recover From Coronavirus | The Asian country also hopes that Washington will withdraw its sanctions and help find a peaceful solution to the political…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-Venezuelan-Oil-Sales-Are-Legal-and-Should-Be-Respected-20200219-0011.html
Scotland is putting the Tories to shame over women's rights
Steve Topple | thecanary.co | 2020-02-19
Scotland could well be about to lead the way in an area of women's rights. If the move happens, it will put the Westminster, Conservative-led government to shame. But the deal is not a done one just yet. | Period poverty: | Period poverty is when girls and women can't afford sanitary products. As the website Global Women Connected noted, it's a major issue across the UK. This is because: |
thecanary.co/trending/2020/02/19/scotland-is-putting-the-tories-to-shame-over-womens-rights/
How Much Cruelty Can Trump Get Away With? Ask Obama
Rebecca Gordon | thenation.com | 2020-02-19
How Much Cruelty Can Trump Get Away With? Ask Obama.
thenation.com/article/politics/trump-obama-torture/
Compliance 101: Gun-Toting Cops Endanger Students and Turn the Schools into Prisons
John W. Whitehead | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19
"Every day in communities across the United States, children and adolescents spend the majority of their waking hours in schools that have increasingly come to resemble places of detention more than places of learning."–Investigative journalist Annette Fuentes | Just when you …
globalresearch.ca/compliance-101-gun-toting-cops-endanger-students-turn-schools-prisons/5704030
Maduro Announces Measures to Defend Venezuela's Oil Industry
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-19
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Wednesday two measures adopted by his government to guarantee the security of the country's oil industry as the United States launched new attacks against state-owned oil and natural gas company (PDVSA). | RELATED: | Russia Rejects US Sanctions Against Rosneft Trading S.A. | During a meeting with workers in the oil, petrochemical and gas sectors, Maduro unveiled two decrees to be put in place in order to consolidate the restructuring of th…
telesurenglish.net/news/Maduro-Announces-Measures-to-Defend-Venezuelas-Oil-Industry–20200219-0030.html
US Sanctions On Rosneft Won't Affect Relations With Venezuela
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-19
Russia reiterated Wednesday that United States' sanctions against Rosneft Trading, S.A and its President Didier Casimiro are illegal from the point of international law and will not affect relations with Venezuela, the state news agency reported. | RELATED: | China: 'Venezuelan Oil Sales Are Legal and Should Be Respected' | Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that such restrictions in no way affect their bilateral relations with Venezuela. "On the contrary, they are…
telesurenglish.net/news/kremlin-us-sanctions-against-rosneft-trading-are-illegal-20200219-0019.html
'Cruel, Inexcusable': Bloomberg 2019 Comments on Trans Rights Come Under Fire
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-19
"Update your understanding. No one gets left out of human rights." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/19/cruel-inexcusable-bloomberg-2019-comments-trans-rights-come-under-fire?cd-origin=rss
Healthcare Providers at Iran's Top Cancer Hospital Say Crippling Trump Sanctions Are Affecting Patients
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-19
The economic sanctions that the Trump administration has imposed on Iran since ditching the 2015 nuclear deal are adversely affecting patients at the Middle Eastern country's top cancer hospital, healthcare providers told FRANCE 24 in a report published Wednesday. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/19/healthcare-providers-irans-top-cancer-hospital-say-crippling-trump-sanctions-are?cd-origin=rss
No to religious discrimination
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-19
LGBTI rights Chris JenkinsIssue 1254 Australia anti-discrimination law LGBTI communityFebruary 19, 2020As people were fleeing their burning homes and volunteer firefighters were crowdfundi…
greenleft.org.au/content/no-religious-discrimination
Uphold rainbow rights and kill the religious privilege bill
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-19
LGBTI rights Paul GregoireIssue 1254 Australia homophobia Anti-Discrimination lawsFebruary 19, 2020Mardi Gras season is upon us, a good time to reflect on the government that is about to table…
greenleft.org.au/content/uphold-rainbow-rights-and-kill-religious-privilege-bill
Brexit trade talks 'a different ball game' to Canada agreement, PM warned
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-19
Boris Johnson has been warned that the European Union (EU) views negotiations with the UK as a "different ball game" to the trade talks which secured an agreement with Canada. | The prime minister wants a Canada-style trade deal which would leave the UK free to diverge from EU rules. | But a key aide to Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU would not budge from its insistence on a "level playing field" on state subsidies, environmental protections and workers' rights as the price of any deal. | Stefaan De Rynck said: "It's clear that for us it's a different ball game that we are playing with the U…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/02/19/brexit-trade-talks-a-different-ball-game-to-canada-agreement-pm-warned/
ICE's Destruction of Records Must Be Stopped
Kate Oh | aclu.org | 2020-02-18
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is | notorious for committing rampant unconstitutional and inhumane abuses in its | detention system
Profiting from Loss: How Business in Illegal Israeli Settlements Continues Unchecked
Jonathan Cook | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-18
After lengthy delays, the United Nations finally published a database last week of businesses that have been profiting from Israel's illegal annexation and settlement activity in the West Bank. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, announced that 112 major companies had been identified as operating in Israeli settlements in ways that violate …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/profiting-from-loss-how-business-in-illegal-israeli-settlements-continues-unchecked/
PCHR Welcomes the Publication of UN Database on Business Enterprises Operating in Israeli Settlements
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-02-18
On 12 February 2020, after three years of delay and consistent pressure by Palestinian, regional and international organizations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a report on business enterprises involved in certain activities related to unlawful Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This …
imemc.org/article/pchr-welcomes-the-publication-of-un-database-on-business-enterprises-operating-in-israeli-settlements/
UN rights experts 'gravely' concerned at spike in civilian casualties in north-west Myanmar following internet shutdown
news.un.org | 2020-02-18
Independent UN human rights experts on Tuesday voiced grave concern over the killing and displacement of civilians in north-west Myanmar during the intensifying conflict between the military and an armed group, the Arakan Army, amid an information blackout in some parts of Rakhine and Chin states.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1057651
Human Rights Expert: Settlement Database, an "Important Initial Step"
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-18
Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations published a report, on Friday, by Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, welcomed the newly released settlement database. Lynk stated that "While the release of the database will not, by itself, bring an end to …
imemc.org/article/human-rights-expert-settlement-database-important-initial-step/
Courtroom erupts in response to racist decision in Gerald Reed case
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-18
Chicago, IL – The courtroom was packed February 14. This was my fourth Gerald Reed court hearing. Usually, there is a crowd of folks who show up to support Gerald and his mother, Armanda Shackleford, who has been fighting for her son since he was arrested, tortured and framed in 1990. Shackleford sits in the front row, wearing her Free Gerald Reed t-shirt. Together we sit for an hour, two hours, three, and hear powerful men debate the innocence of a man whose sentence was vacated a year ago. | But today was different. Two alderpersons were there, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and Jeanette Taylor, to show their suppor…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/18/courtroo…
Free Gerald Reed Now!
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-18
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Chicago Torture Justice Center, and Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity. | Judge Thomas J. Hennelly has attempted to illegally reverse the order of another judge, Thomas V. Gainer, who vacated the conviction of Gerald Reed and ordered a new trial. Gainer vacated Reed's conviction after overwhelming evidence that his "confession" to a double murder in 1990 was the fruit of horrible torture by police working under Commander Jon Burge, torture so extreme that it b…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/17/free-ger…
There is a Coordinated Attack Against Trans Youth in State Legislatures
Rose Saxe | aclu.org | 2020-02-18
Less than a | month and a half into 2020, this state legislative session has seen unprecedented attacks on LGBTQ people, and an alarming focus | on bills that would harm trans youth. | Also | alarming: These bills, and the terminology used in them, use similar language and clearly come from a common | playbook. | Right now, | bills are pending in 10 states that | would criminalize l…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/there-is-a-coordinated-attack-against-trans-youth-in-state-legislatures
Bill Barr Wants Sheriffs to Join His Attacks on State and Local Governments
Brian Tashman | aclu.org | 2020-02-13
Attorney General Bill Barr, speaking at the National Sheriffs' Association conference in Washington, D.C., encouraged sheriffs to join the Trump administration as it launches a "significant escalation" in the federal government's efforts to retaliate against cities and states with policies designed to protect immigrant communities. | For | Barr's Department of Justice, that escalation includes new lawsuits against | states and municipalities with immigrant-protective policies.
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/the-attorney-general-wants-sheriffs-to-join-his-attacks-on-state-and-local-governments
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
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
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
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