(2020-06-01). The Supreme Court Is About to Make Seismic Rulings on Reproductive Rights. zcomm.org The rights of women to terminate their pregnancies and to receive free contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are on the chopping block…
(2020-06-01). Who Are the Secret Puppet-Masters Behind Trump's War on Iran? counterpunch.org On May 6th, President Trump vetoed a war powers bill specifying that he must ask Congress for authorization to use military force against Iran. Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign of deadly sanctions and threats of war against Iran has seen no let-up, even as the U.S., Iran and the whole world desperately need to set aside
(2020-06-01). Amid lockdown, dissenting voices choked in Indian universities. peoplesdispatch.org Two student-activists of the Aligarh Muslim University were apprehended by the police in the State of Uttar Pradesh on May 28. With a growing number of such arrests, human rights defenders in India are raising concern about the ongoing COVID-19 crisis being used to target critics of the government and control dissent…
(2020-06-01). Activists demand end to illegal confinement of Sahrawi human rights defender. peoplesdispatch.org Moroccan authorities have kept prominent Sahrawi activist Mahfouda Lekfir illegally confined in her father's house after she was released on May 15 following six months of political detention…
(2020-06-01). Lawyers of George Floyd Family to Open UN Human Rights Case, Seek Sanctions Against US. mintpressnews.com If there ever was a clear cut case for human rights abuse, it is the ongoing and pervasive disregard for communities of color by the police and concomitant prison-judicial complex in America.
(2020-06-01). Beijing Sees Trump's Hand and Won't Fold. globalresearch.ca Stranger things have happened. | Everyone was expecting US President Donald Trump to go nuclear by de facto sanctioning China to death over Hong Kong. In an environment where Twitter and the President of the United States are now engaged in …
(2020-06-01). An Impending Crisis: COVID-19 in Haiti, Ongoing Instability, and the Dangers of Continued U.S. Deportations. counterpunch.org Prepared remarks by Jake Johnston to Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson's forum on COVID-19 and ICE's deportation of detainees to Haiti First, I want to thank Congresswoman Wilson for convening this forum and for her leadership on this issue. The introduction of legislation mandating a halt to these deportations is a concrete and necessary step. I'd
(2020-05-31). Palestinian Prisoner in Israeli Jail on 21st Day of Hunger Strike. imemc.org Palestinian prisoner, Sami Janazreh, 47, has embarked on the third hunger strike over the past four years of incarceration. According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, prisoner Janazreh from the al-Fawwar refugee camp, has been on hunger strike for 21 days consecutively, in protest of his Administrative Detention inside Israeli prison. …
(2020-05-31). PCHR: "In Under 15 Hours: IOF Kills Two Palestinians, Including a Person with Disability, in Ramallah and East Jerusalem" imemc.org The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (CPHR): Within less than 15 hours, Israeli occupying forces killed two Palestinian civilians, including a person with disability, and injured another person with disability in new crimes of excessive use of lethal force in two separate incidents in Ramallah and East Jerusalem. According to …
(2020-05-31). Democracy — removing our representative rights. truepublica.org.uk By TruePublica: The letter sent to MPs from the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle last Friday spelt out a request by Tory Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg to reconvene parliament. The request really means only 50 MPs will be in the Commons Chamber from next Tuesday. The new hybrid online system that was working …
(2020-05-30). U.S. Lectures World on Human Rights as Cops Kill Blacks With Impunity. thealtworld.com The shocking truth is that lynching of African-Americans in the U.S. is alive today as it was during the apartheid era of southern states and their Jim Crow segregationist laws which existed within living memory. | "Being black in America should not be a death sentence" — so said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey following the shocking, gruesome killing of George Floyd by a police officer on the streets of Saint Paul. | Floyd (46) was
(2020-05-29). Anthony Romero on Leading in a Time of Crisis. aclu.org 
Anthony Romero started his job as executive director of the ACLU just seven days before September 11, 2001, and he's been with us ever since. The subsequent "war on terror" presented new and widespread threats to civil rights and civil liberties. Now, he faces a new challenge: leading the ACLU during the COVID-19 pandemic. He joined the podcast this week to discuss how the ACLU is navigating the current moment., , "In moments of crisis, in moments of fear, civil liberties are often imperiled," Romero told our host, Emerson Sykes. The organization has had to "adjust to our understanding of what liberty and free…
(2020-05-29). More 'can and must be done' to eradicate caste-based discrimination in Nepal. news.un.org Shocked over the killing last weekend of five men in Nepal, who had planned to escort home one of their girlfriends from a higher caste, the UN human rights chief on Friday stressed that ending caste-based discrimination is "fundamental" to the overall sustainable development vision of leaving no one behind.
(2020-05-29). UN human rights office welcomes moves to curtail spread of hatred and violence online. news.un.org The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has welcomed steps taken by social media companies to prevent their platforms from being used to promote hatred, violence and misinformation, Spokesperson Rupert Colville said on Friday.
(2020-05-28). We're Working to Safeguard Our Democracy and Our Health. aclu.org 
No one should have to choose between their health and their vote, but during the Wisconsin primary, an estimated
(2020-05-28). US must take 'serious action' to halt police killings of unarmed African Americans. news.un.org The UN human rights chief on Thursday condemned the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd while in police custody in the city of Minneapolis, calling it the latest in "a long line of killings of unarmed African Americans by US police officers and members of the public".
(2020-05-27). ICE Records Confirm that Immigration Enforcement Agencies are Using Invasive Cell Phone Surveillance Devices. aclu.org For years, immigration enforcement agencies have been using invasive cell phone surveillance technology known as Stingrays in near-total secrecy. To find out more, the ACLU and New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, and now we've forced the agencies to turn over documents revealing new details about the agencies' practices. Today, we are publishing
(2020-05-26). Defying U.S. sanctions, first Iranian tanker reaches Venezuela. liberationnews.org 
The enhanced U.S. military presence in Caribbean waters did not deter Iran as the first of its five giant tankers full of gasoline and refinery supplies reached Venezuela's waters late Saturday, May 23.
(2020-06-01). Federal Judge Upholds Expanded Absentee Ballot Law in Virginia, Blocking Right-Wing Group's Attempt at Voter Suppression. commondreams.org Civil rights advocates applauded a victory for voting rights Monday after a federal judge denied a right-wing, pro-voter suppression group's request to restrict the use of absentee ballots in Virginia. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-05-27). Far right Hungarian government launches new assault on trans rights. liberationnews.org 
Hungary's racist, homophobic, transphobic right-wing government has continued its efforts to divide the Hungarian working class by depriving trans and intersex people of their right to legally change their gender.
(2020-06-01). "America's Moment of Reckoning": Cornel West Says Nationwide Uprising Is Sign of "Empire Imploding" democracynow.org 
As thousands from coast to coast took to the streets this weekend to protest the state-sanctioned killing of Black people, and the nation faces its largest public health crisis in generations and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, professor Cornel West calls the U.S. a "predatory capitalist civilization obsessed with money, money, money." He also makes the connections between U.S. violence abroad and at home. "There is a connection between the seeds that you sow of violence externally and internally."
(2020-05-27). "Horrifying Neglect": COVID-19 Deaths in ICE Custody Spark New Calls for Mass Release of Prisoners. democracynow.org 
Calls are growing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release people from detention during the pandemic, as two people have died from COVID-19 while in custody. We speak with The Intercept's Ryan Devereaux, who reported on how Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia, held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, suffered horrifying neglect before he passed away. We are also joined by Erika Andiola with RAICES Action. "None of those folks — especially people who migrated seeking asylum — they did not do anything to deserve a life sentence in a detention center," Andiola notes.
(2020-05-31). Silicon Valley Has Effectively Banned the Freedom of Speech. It's Time We Take It Back. strategic-culture.org Somewhere along the road of America's development, corporations were blessed with not only 'personhood,' but with the power to sanction what sort of messages were permissible to enter the public realm. Let's be clear: This sort of corporate control, which borders on pure fascism, has no place in a democracy. | There is no need to ask. There is no need to be polite. There is no need to debate. It is only necessary to point to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for this fundamental human right, inscribed into law over 200 years ago, to be returned to the American people. | "Congress shall make no law resp…
(2020-06-01). Sacred Tohono O'odham mountain desecration underway for U.S. Israeli border spy towers. indybay.org The destruction of sacred land is underway in Ali Jegk community on the Tohono Oodham Nation, as the land and plants are being destroyed for the integrated fixed towers, spy towers, that were authorized to be built by the Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems. The destruction and Elbit's human rights abuses in Palestine are opposed by traditional O'odham.
(2020-06-01). Veterans Call on the Minnesota National Guard to Stand Down. indybay.org Veterans For Peace calls for the immediate withdrawal of the Minnesota National Guard. We are appalled to see military weapons, vehicles and equipment once again deployed in U.S. cities to control community members who are reacting to a long history of state-sanctioned violence. When an already embattled community is subjected to militarized intimidation, by design, their environment becomes a war zone. We call on all those who are serving with the National Guard to refuse to serve violent and racist interests.
(2020-06-01). Pelosi's Support of Sanctions Protested. indybay.org Car caravan protest at Pelosi's home as part of "International Days of Action"
(2020-06-01). Tuesday 6/9: My Vanishing Country: Bakari Sellers talks about memior on being son of civil rights hero. indybay.org Online via Livestream…
(2020-06-01). Uganda: 2 MPs detained for leading COVID-19 protest. yenisafak.com Ugandan police on Monday arrested two lawmakers for allegedly mobilizing protesters in order to demand the closure of a border town with South Sudan amid a rise in coronavirus cases, local media reported.The two MPs from Kilak county, Gilbert Olanya and Samuel Odonga Otto, were arrested near Cerellenu, a suburb of Gulu town.The demonstrators said Ugandans were getting infected by truckers who arrive in the country through the Elegu border point with South Sudan, according to the Daily Monitor news website.A police spokesman said the politicians were arrested because they did not seek permission from the police.An…
(2020-06-01). Unaccompanied children in Greece in fear, misery. yenisafak.com Hundreds of people have tweeted to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for unaccompanied migrant and refugee children to be freed from detention in Greece, as a watchdog's campaign continued since last April.In April, the Human Rights Watch initiated a campaign with the #FreeTheKids hashtag on social media, calling for Greek authorities to release the hundreds of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Greece and are now being locked up in police cells.While 17-year-old Kamrul from Bangladesh was detained by the Greek police for more than six weeks, 14-year-old Ibrahim from Somalia for almost three months.L…
(2020-06-01). First US Citizen Convicted For Protests At Nuclear Weapons Base In Germany. popularresistance.org A US Air Force veteran of the US war in Vietnam and two other nuclear weapons protesters were found guilty of trespassing and damage to property in Cochem District Court May 11, 2020, as a result of July 2018 protest action at Germany's Bàºchel Air Force Base, where the United States positions 20 of its nuclear bombs and where German pilots train to use them in possible attacks against Russia. There have been repeated arrests and detentions of US citizens during protests at the Bàºchel base since 2017, but no charges have been brought to trial until now. The judge sentenced all three to fines equivalent…
(2020-05-26). Encampment to 'Free Them All' Outside GEO ICE Detention Center. unicornriot.ninja Aurora, CO — An encampment outside the GEO Group's ICE detention facility in Colorado sprung up on Saturday evening, May 23, with the demand: free them all. The camp-out is in direct response to an announcement by the Tri-County Health Department on May 21 stating…
(2020-05-25). For Betty Riddle, Amendment 4 Win Makes Her A Part of Society, Not Apart. aclu.org 
Betty Riddle made sure she was first in line to vote in the Florida primary this year. At age 62, it was her first time voting. "It was one of the greatest moments of my life," she told the ACLU. Her family made her a T-shirt just for the occasion, which read first in line, first time voting. | As a Floridian, Betty was subject to one of the nation's harshest felony disenfranchisement laws. Before
(2020-05-25). Venezuelan Government Seizes AT&T Assets, Looks to Re-establish DirecTV Cable Service. venezuelanalysis.com The Texas-based multinational abandoned the country last week citing legal pressure caused by US sanctions.
(2020-05-23). Can Sex Workers Survive COVID-19 When The Government Won't Give Aid? therealnews.com 
Sex Workers' rights advocates have been demanding decriminalization of their work, but now under the pandemic regulations even legal forms of sex work like strip clubs have been targeted by the federal government and alienated from government aid.
(2020-05-22). Third White Man Arrested for Murder in Ahmaud Arbery Shooting as DOJ Considers Hate Crime Charges. democracynow.org 
Authorities have arrested a third white man for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, this one charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump about how William Bryan filmed Arbery jogging down a narrow road in Brunswick, Georgia, in broad daylight, before he was confronted by two armed white men — retired police officer Gregory McMichael and his son Travis — who shot him three times. "This was never about any trespassing or burglary," Crump says. "This was always about profiling Ahmaud Arbery because of the color of his skin."
(2020-05-22). FBI Says It Will Investigate Breonna Taylor Shooting Death as Police Chief Announces Retirement. democracynow.org 
We speak with Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old aspiring nurse who was shot to death by police inside her own apartment. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department that details how police shot Taylor at least eight times after they burst into her apartment, unannounced, with a search warrant. The man police were looking for did not live in Taylor's apartment and was reportedly already detained by police when officers arrived at Taylor's residence on the night of March 13. At the time of her killing, Taylor had been working as an e…
(2020-05-20). AT&T Shuts down DirecTV in Venezuela over Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com The National Assembly will investigate the "rash decision" that affects 600 workers and two million households.
(2020-05-18). Disgraceful yet illuminating reactions to the 2002 coup that briefly ousted Hugo Chavez: IACHR, CPJ and RSF. zcomm.org The Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) The IACHR claimed in 2009 report on Venezuela that its reaction to the "the attempted coup d'état [of 2002] was immediate and decisive" and that it "warned that these acts constituted an interruption of the constitutional order as defined in the Democratic Charter." The evidence it offered
(2020-05-18). Iran Sends Fuel Tankers to Venezuela, Vows 'Decisive Response' to US Threats. venezuelanalysis.com Crippling US sanctions have caused severe fuel shortages in the Caribbean nation.
(2020-05-13). [UPDATED] Venezuelan Oil Sector Continues Slump Amid Pandemic, US Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com The Maduro government is working to repair refineries with Chinese and Iranian assistance to tackle fuel shortages.
(2020-04-16). Venezuelan Crude Production Falls amid Coronavirus Crisis. venezuelanalysis.com The Caribbean country has seen worsening gasoline shortages as the US ramps up secondary sanctions.
(2020-04-15). [Comment] COVID-19 and the coming epidemic in US immigration detention centres. thelancet.com Individuals in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention are at risk from serious consequences resulting from the rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and inadequate access to appropriate medical care. This situation represents a moral and public health imperative for rapid action by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to mitigate the human toll of the pandemic.
(2020-04-10). Mike Elk on Frontline Worker Rights, Joe Emersberger on Pandemic Sanctions. fair.org 
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