Spain: An emergency social and political plan against COVID 19
Anticapitalistas | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
The goal of these measures is to win the war against the coronavirus, empower the people and the working classes, strengthen their rights, weight the financial effort on those who have the most, lead and provide a political solution to popular anger and protest and cut off right-wing populist demagoguery.
zcomm.org/znetarticle/spain-an-emergency-social-and-political-plan-against-covid-19/
No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2020-03-13
I respect UK journalist Andrew Buncombe. As I noted for FAIR last year, he was one of the few corporate journalists who reported on a study linking Trump's financial sanctions on Venezuela to thousands of deaths by the end of 2018. Since 2018, Trump has repeatedly intensified the sanctions and threatened Venezuela military action, including Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/no-venezuela-does-not-have-a-six-child-per-family-policy/
Advocates Warn US Prison Conditions Risks Intense Coronavirus Outbreak
Julia Conley | indybay.org | 2020-03-13
Prisoners' rights advocates are warning that the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. may soon have dire implications for the 2.2 million people living in the American penal system, as prison officials across the country shared little about their plans to keep inmates safe and many of the precautions Americans are being advised to take are unavailable in detention facilities.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/12/18831468.php
Sri Lankan president militarises administration to stop strikes and civil unrest
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
Ex-military officers appointed by Rajapakse to civil sector posts have begun openly expressing their hostility to fundamental democratic rights.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/milt…
Sri Lankan president militarises administration to stop strikes and civil unrest
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
Ex-military officers appointed by Rajapakse to civil sector posts have begun openly expressing their hostility to fundamental democratic rights.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/milt…
French female lawyers publish open letter defending filmmaker Roman Polanski and the presumption of innocence
wsws.org | 2020-03-13
In its defense of democratic rights, the letter is an indictment not only of the anti-Polanski witch-hunt, but the entire #MeToo campaign that began in the US two years ago.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/13/lawy…
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah to Be Released After 7 Months of Detention
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-13
New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status by abrogating Article 370 in August 2019. In order to curb protests following the decision, around 500 Kashmiri political leaders were placed under detention, including former state chiefs Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti.
sputniknews.com/india/202003131078554332-former-jammu-and-kashmir-chief-minister-farooq-abdullah-to-be-released-after-7-months-of-detention/
Snowden: Manning Preferred Principles to Freedom at Expense of Collaboration With US Authorities
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-13
Former military intel analyst Chelsea Manning was ordered to be released from federal detention a day after a suicide attempt in her cell, with a US district judge asserting that her confinement no longer serves its "coercive purpose".
sputniknews.com/us/202003131078556890-snowden-manning-preferred-principles-to-freedom-at-expense-of-collaboration-with-us-authorities/
Kashmir's former leader released after 7 months in jail
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-13
Former chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir and serving member of Indian parliament was released from preventive detention on Friday.In a Twitter post, government spokesman Rohit Kansal posted a government order that said Farooq Abdullah's preventive detention under the Public Safety Act has been revoked.Under the act, a person can be detained without a trial for up to three months and this detention could be perpetually extended unless a court quashes the detention.Abdullah's National Conference party welcomed the move as a "step in the right direction.""We hope it is followed up with release of other p…
yenisafak.com/en/news/kashmirs-former-leader-released-after-7-months-in-jail-3513907
To Help Stem Spread of Coronavirus, Trump Must Lift Sanctions on Iran
Ariel Gold | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-13
US Sanctions, according to Human Rights Watch, have not only been devastating to Iranian civilians, but they have also crippled the country's ability to effectively deal with the coronavirus.
mintpressnews.com/stem-spread-coronavirus-trump-lift-sanctions-iran/265677/
Zarif calls for removal of all U.S. sanctions in fight against COVID-19
Tehran Times | iranian.com | 2020-03-13
Iranian FM Zarif, sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, urging the need to lift all U.S. sanctions on Iran, which are impeding the country's combat against coronavirus. Zarif in this letter, copies of which were sent to the heads of international organizations and FMs of all states, touched upon the need for the removal of all …
iranian.com/2020/03/12/zarif-calls-for-removal-of-all-u-s-anti-iranian-sanctions-in-fight-against-covid-19/
Federal Judge Orders Release of Chelsea Manning
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-12
A United States (U.S.) federal judge in Virginia ordered Thursday that Chelsea Manning be freed from jail, where she has been detained for a year after refusing to testify before a grand jury. | RELATED: | Roger Waters Slams US, Shows Support For Manning And Assange | "The court finds Ms. Manning's appearance before the Grand Jury is no longer needed, in light of which her detention no longer serves any coercive purpose," the judge who ordered the release said. | Manning, a forme…
telesurenglish.net/news/Federal-Judge-Orders-Release-of-Chelsea-Manning-20200312-0020.html
Federal Judge Orders Release of Chelsea Manning
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-12
A United States (U.S.) federal judge in Virginia ordered Thursday that Chelsea Manning be freed from jail, where she has been detained for a year after refusing to testify before a grand jury. | RELATED: | Roger Waters Slams US, Shows Support For Manning And Assange | "The court finds Ms. Manning's appearance before the Grand Jury is no longer needed, in light of which her detention no longer serves any coercive purpose," the judge who ordered the release said. | Manning, a forme…
telesurenglish.net/news/Federal-Judge-Orders-Release-of-Chelsea-Manning-20200312-0020.html
US House rams through Nicaragua regime-change bill with zero opposition
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-12
Not one member of the House of Representatives spoke up against a bipartisan bill sponsored by hardliners that ramps up…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/12/us-house-sanctions-nicaragua/
New IOF Crime in Nablus: Palestinian Child Killed and 14 Civilians Wounded including a Journalist
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-03-12
The Palestinian Centre For Human Rights (PCHR): Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed on Wednesday, 11 March 2020, a Palestinian child and wounded 14 other civilians, including a journalist during its suppression of civilian gathering on al-'Arma Mountain, southeast Bita village, Nablus, Northern West Bank. Two of the wounded were deemed …
imemc.org/article/new-iof-crime-in-nablus-palestinian-child-killed-and-14-civilians-wounded-including-a-journalist/
This Law Makes Voting Nearly Impossible for Native Americans in Montana
Alora Thomas-Lundborg | aclu.org | 2020-03-12
Voting has never been easy for Native Americans living on rural reservations in Montana, which are often geographically isolated, with limited access to postal service and transportation. The passage of the Montana Ballot Interference Prevention Act (BIPA) has made these obstacles even greater, severely inhibiting Native Americans' access to the ballot. That's why we're suing. | In a state where the majority of individuals vote | by mail, rural tribal communities often work with get-out-the-vote organizer…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/this-law-makes-voting-nearly-impossible-for-native-americans-in-montana
Workers' rights win in Virginia, lose in Florida
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-12
RICHMOND, Va.–What a difference an election makes. When it comes to workers' rights, Virginia (yes) and Florida (no) proved that in the first week of March. In the Old Dominion, lawmakers put finishing touches on HB582, to let local public workers–teachers, Fire Fighters, sanitation workers, nurses and others–collectively bargain with local governments over wages and …
peoplesworld.org/article/workers-rights-win-in-virginia-lose-in-florida/
War in Syria: 'Carnage', flouting of rights and international law, must stop: Guterres
news.un.org | 2020-03-12
UN agencies have underscored their commitment to continue supporting civilians affected by the war in Syria, which this month enters its tenth year. The Secretary-General issued a statement on Thursday, declaring that "we cannot allow the tenth year to result in the same carnage, the same flouting of human rights and international humanitarian law."
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059281
Our President's Virus Containment Strategy
Peter Kuper | thenation.com | 2020-03-12
Our President's Virus Containment Strategy…
thenation.com/article/society/womens-rights-no-strings-attached/
Commentary: Phony Civilian Oversight bill defeated in Chicago
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-12
Chicago, IL – In true Chicago fashion, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had expected to easily ramrod through a police reform bill this week that would have affirmed her grip on power. If passed, the "Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability" ordinance would have left the entire police accountability system in her control, rendering it at the discretion of the executive branch whether to hold itself accountable for abuses of power committed by its police department, rather than giving communities terrorized by police tyranny the power to defend their rights. | In a stunning turnabout, the mayor's efforts wer…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/12/commenta…
Saudi Arabia's Brave Women Pull Back the Curtain on Crown Prince MBS
Medea Benjamin | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-11
The case of Al-Hathloul and the other women's rights activists on trial in Saudi Arabia is a tremendous embarrassment for MBS, who has been putting an enormous effort into convincing his Western allies that he is a reformer and that the Kingdom is becoming more liberal.
mintpressnews.com/loujan-al-hathloul-trail-saudi-arabia-pull-back-curtain-mbs/265634/
Finally, a Useful Role for Bloomberg in 2020–Supporting Voting Rights
Elie Mystal | thenation.com | 2020-03-11
Finally, a Useful Role for Bloomberg in 2020–Supporting Voting Rights…
thenation.com/article/politics/voting-rights-bloomberg/
Democracy is sliding away in Myanmar, warns top rights investigator
news.un.org | 2020-03-11
Daily fighting in Myanmar, widespread internet blackouts and reporting restrictions, indicate that the shift to more democratic rule is "sliding away", a senior UN-appointed independent rights investigator said on Wednesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059181
Keep Calm and Carry on Voting: How to Vote By Mail During the Coronavirus Outbreak
Nicole Hansen | aclu.org | 2020-03-11
Coronavirus should not be a political issue, but with presidential primaries and the general election coming up, it could soon directly impact our politics. We should protect not only our health, but our civil liberties at this time
Educate children in their mother tongue, urges UN rights expert
news.un.org | 2020-03-11
Children from linguistic minorities should be taught in their own mother tongue, said the UN independent expert on minority issues, presenting his latest report‚ÄØon Wednesday to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059241
Immigrants in WA Detention Center Demand Protection from Coronavirus, Not Posters in English
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-10
As the world responds to the COVID-19 outbreak, we look at how the Trump administration's immigration policies may put everyone at risk. We go to Seattle, Washington, not far from the Life Care Center in the suburb of Kirkland, which was the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak. In nearby Tacoma, Washington, our guest says she saw posters in English only when she went to visit immigrants held in the Northwest Detention Center, which is run by private prison company GEO Group. We speak with Maru Mora-Villalpando, an activist and undocumented immigrant with the groups La Resistencia and Mijente, who issued a…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/10/coronavir…
Prisons Worldwide Face Coronavirus Crisis: Overcrowding, Lack of Sanitation & Labor at Slave Wages
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-10
As Italy went on lockdown, nearly 30 prisons across the country broke into riots Sunday and Monday after visitation rights were suspended in response to the outbreak. In a prison in southern Italy, a riot left at least six incarcerated people dead and caused 50 people to escape. Prisoners have reportedly lit fires, charged guards and even escaped at multiple facilities. This comes as the United Nations confirmed that coronavirus had reached Iran's prisons, as the number of cases there continues to soar. Iran has temporarily freed some 70,000 prisoners in response to the coronavirus. And concerns are growing about…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/10/coronavir…
Are Humans Both Destroyers and Lemmings?
Kim Petersen | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-10
The venerable professor Noam Chomsky continues to speak and write about human rights, equality, and improving the lot of the working class. But his concern focuses on the exigent: the survival of the human race. This is one of many reasons I appreciate Chomsky. I may differ, foolishly or not, with some of his conclusions, …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/are-humans-both-destroyers-and-lemmings/
Abuse, Oppression and Murder: The PA Does Israel's Dirty Work in the West Bank
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-10
Arbitrary arrests, torture, and violence are regular occurrences in occupied Palestine. While Israel is responsible for the greater share of the violation of Palestinian human rights, the PA is part and parcel of that same Israeli strategy.
mintpressnews.com/abuse-oppression-and-murder-the-pa-does-israels-dirty-work-in-the-west-bank/265612/
United States imposed economic sanctions–the big heist
Lauren Smith | mronline.org | 2020-03-10
The money trail of U.S. Sanctions leads to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which–behind the shadow of secrecy laws that effectively prohibit any form of public accountability–facilitates the theft of public wealth from targeted countries on a scale only previously accomplished through military invasion and occupation. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/10/united-states-imposed-economic-sanctions-the-big-heist/
Burundi election countdown amid 'deteriorating' human rights situation
news.un.org | 2020-03-10
Two months ahead of Burundi's planned local and presidential elections, senior UN-appointed independent rights investigators have urged the Government to reopen the "democratic, civil and political space" there.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059131
Civil Rights Memorial Center closed through March
splcenter.org | 2020-03-10
The Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC) in Montgomery, Alabama, is closed and will remain closed through the end of March 2020.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/10/civil-rights-memorial-center-closed-through-march
Nicaragua: After two years of crisis, more than 100,000 have fled the country
news.un.org | 2020-03-10
Over the past two years, more than 100,000 people in Nicaragua have sought asylum abroad, reportedly fleeing persecution and human rights abuses, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059051
Amid COVID-19 constraints, UN women's commission meets to push gender equality forward
news.un.org | 2020-03-09
Despite constraints imposed by the new coronavirus disease, activists for gender equality gathered at UN Headquarters on Monday for the latest session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), to reinforce the message that women's rights are human rights.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1058971
Official: US Still Preventing Medications Imports by Iran
Fars News Agency | iranian.com | 2020-03-09
Iranian Parliament Speaker's Special Advisor for International Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian denounced American officials' hypocrisy in claiming readiness for help to counter the coronavirus, stressing that Tehran is still unable to import medical needs because of the US sanctions. "The US Treasury does not allow the imports of Iran's purchased medicine and medical equipment for treating …
iranian.com/2020/03/09/official-us-still-preventing-medications-imports-by-iran/
Are Our Prisons and Jails Ready for COVID-19?
Maria Morris | aclu.org | 2020-03-06
The | country and the world face a public health emergency in the new coronavirus | causing COVID-19. The media is filled with concerns about how we will respond. | Will we close schools? Cancel sporting events and other large gatherings? Work | from home? Avoid public transportation? | But | little has been said about one of the most vulnerable sectors of our | population: the people in our prisons and jails. Although people often think of | prisons and jails as closed environments, they are not. Medical staff, correctional | staff, and visitors come from the community into the facilities every day and | then…
aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/are-our-prisons-and-jails-ready-for-covid-19
Activists rally for detained Tamil family
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-03-06
Refugees & migrants Chris SleeIssue 1256 Australia Tamil asylum seekers Home to Bilo MelbourneMarch 6, 2020Refugee rights ca…
greenleft.org.au/content/activists-rally-detained-tamil-family
Trump is Sending Special Forces-style Agents into Pro-Immigrant Cities
Naureen Shah | aclu.org | 2020-03-05
As part of its campaign of intimidation against state and local | governments that choose not to collaborate with Immigration and Customs | Enforcement (ICE), Trump administration officials have confirmed plans for two new tactics in their anti-immigrant | agenda. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will deploy Border Patrol's | special forces-style unit, known as BORTAC, and other Customs and Border | Protection (CBP) agents
Inside the World Uyghur Congress: The US-backed right-wing regime change network seeking the 'fall of China'
Ajit Singh | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-05
While posing as a grassroots human rights organization, the World Uyghur Congress is a US-funded and directed separatist network that…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/05/world-uyghur-congress-us-far-right-regime-change-network-fall-china/
The New Poll Tax? Long Lines, Closed Polling Stations Hurt Black, Latinx & Student Voters in TX, CA
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-05
Long wait times plagued polling places in Texas throughout Super Tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of black and Latinx voters and college students. Many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot. At least 750 Texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013, when the Supreme Court slashed federal oversight of Texas and other Southern states under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were long lines, too, in Los Angeles, where many polling places reported problems with a brand-new $300 million voting system. The Sanders campaign sued to keep polling places open a…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/5/air_berman…
TRAP Laws are the Threat to Abortion Rights You Don't Know About
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2020-03-03
This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case | that will have wide-reaching consequences for reproductive freedom and abortion | rights in America. It's the first time the Court has weighed those rights since | gaining a new conservative majority with the appointments of Justices Neil | Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And the stakes are high. | The case that the court will | hear, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, | is being argued by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CCR), and it involves a | law in Louisiana known as a "TRAP"
Weekend Read: 55 years after 'Bloody Sunday,' voting rights are still under attack
splcenter.org | 2020-02-28
When they looked over the steel-arched crest of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, the voting rights activists knew there would be trouble.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/29/weekend-read-55-years-after-bloody-sunday-voting-rights-are-still-under-attack
How Kevin DeAnna Orchestrated the Alt-Right's Approach to Conservative Institutions
Hannah Gais | splcenter.org | 2020-02-28
Months after the loosely bound white nationalist movement known as the "alt-right" began to coalesce around then-candidate Donald Trump, Kevin DeAnna won the attention he felt he long deserved.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/03/how-kevin-deanna-orchestrated-alt-rights-approach-conservative-institutions
Weekend Read: SPLC files civil rights complaints as asylum seekers wage hunger strikes
splcenter.org | 2020-02-21
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/22/weekend-read-splc-files-civil-rights-complaints-asylum-seekers-wage-hunger-strikes
Weekend Read: SPLC files civil rights complaints as asylum seekers wage hunger strikes
splcenter.org | 2020-02-21
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/22/weekend-read-splc-files-civil-rights-complaints-asylum-seekers-wage-hunger-strikes
We won a major victory for voting rights
splcenter.org | 2020-02-20
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/20/we-won-major-victory-voting-rights