(2020-12-05). La Resistencia protest. progressive.org Immigrant detainees are being punished for refusing to eat.
(2020-12-05). Will the Supreme Court Overrule Farmworker Union Rights? zcomm.org "The federal government has excluded farmworkers from all labor law protections under the National Labor Relations Act for 85 years"
(2020-12-05). Turkey arrests Russian journalists on illegal filming charges. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 05 (MNA) — Turkey says it has detained two Russian journalists on charges of illegal filming near the country's drone production facilities.
(2020-12-05). [World Report] South Africa and India push for COVID-19 patents ban. thelancet.com They want the WTO to temporarily suspend intellectual property rights so that COVID-19 vaccines and other new technologies are accessible for poor countries. Ann Danaiya Usher reports.
(2020-12-05). Google Illegally Surveilled, Interrogated, And Fired Workers Who Tried To Organize. popularresistance.org Google repeatedly violated U.S. labor law when it spied on, probed, and terminated employees engaged in worker organizing in 2019, according to a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday. | In its complaint (pdf), the NLRB alleges that Google was "interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed in Section 7" of the National Labor Relations Act. | As The Guardian reported Wednesday: | The complaint was filed on Wednesday following a year-long investigation launched by terminated employees who filed a petition with the board in 2019, after h…
(2020-12-05). Thursday 12/17: Bill of Rights Day 2020 Celebration Webinar w/ ACLU NorCal. indybay.org Online via Zoom…
(2020-12-04). Migrant workers tell bosses: We're fed up with racism, COVID and exploitation! workers.org 
New York As so-called essential workers fight for their rights on the job, they continue to be the most reliable fighters for COVID safety, PPE and a rational response to the pandemic. New York laundry workers and supporters rally on Nov. 25. (WW Photo: Toni Arenstein) From healthcare workers in . . . |
(2020-12-04). 'Short-Sighted and Inhumane': Human Rights Groups Sound Warnings as Bangladesh Sends Rohingya Refugees to Low-Lying Silt Island. commondreams.org "The relocation of so many Rohingya refugees to a remote island, which is still off limits to everyone including rights groups and journalists without prior permission, poses grave concerns about independent human rights monitoring." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-04). Venezuela Loses 99 Percent of Its Income Due To US Sanctions. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro held a meeting with journalists on Thursday at the Miraflores Palace, where he denounced that the U.S. arbitrary sanctions have caused a loss of 99 percent in the country's income. | RELATED: | He noted that despite losses in several economic sectors, investments in health, education, and housing have been maintained. | The sanctions have also impacted the wages received…
(2020-12-04). Arabic press review: Haftar splashing millions on US real estate. middleeasteye.net 
Arabic press review: Haftar splashing millions on US real estate | Meanwhile, Nasrallah is rumoured to relocate to Tehran, and Egyptian human rights activists pressure Macron to hold Sisi to account | Fri, 12/04/2020 – 15: 58 | Khalifa Haftar at his desk in Benghazi (AFP) | Libya's Haftar owns real estate worth millions in US: | Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar owns real estate assets…
(2020-12-04). Protesters call for release of incarcerated workers. workers.org 
Philadelphia Around 50 demonstrators gathered outside the Federal Detention Center at Seventh and Arch streets on Nov. 28 to demand the release of those on the inside — where at least 200 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in less than a month. In the past week, the detention center . . . |
(2020-12-04). US rights group demands government disclose user data purchased from Muslim Pro app. middleeasteye.net 
US rights group demands government disclose user data purchased from Muslim Pro app | American Civil Liberties Union files FOIA request regarding records of acquisition of mobile phone location data | Fri, 12/04/2020 – 19: 58 | Muslim Pro denies it sold data to US military but says it is cutting ties with company found to be selling the data (Muslim Pro/Facebook) | The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fil…
(2020-12-04). Turkey: US sanctions over S-400s to be mandatory in new defence bill. middleeasteye.net 
Turkey: US sanctions over S-400s to be mandatory in new defence bill | The $740bn annual US defence spending legislation will oblige the White House to select from a list of sanctions | Fri, 12/04/2020 – 09: 37 | Russia delivered the S-400 ground-to-air systems last year and Turkey has tested them as recently as October (Reuters) | Turkey's lira slipped on Friday after US lawmakers include…
(2020-12-04). New head of UK equality watchdog opposed efforts to define Islamophobia. middleeasteye.net 
New head of UK equality watchdog opposed efforts to define Islamophobia | Baroness Falkner, named this week as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has hosted parliamentary events for the neoconservative Henry Jackson Society | Fri, 12/04/2020 – 14: 40 | Kishwer Falkner has said that Islamophobia should not be treated as a separate form of racism (Creative Commons) | The new chair of the…
(2020-12-04). US State Dept sanctions Chinese govt officials over 'coercive influence activities'. rt.com 
The US State Department has announced yet another round of sanctions on Chinese officials said to be involved in "coercive influence activities," demanding Beijing cease suppressing 'freedom of expression.' | The department has sanctioned several Chinese officials, accusing them of using coercion and intimidation to "suppress freedom of expression," according to a statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday. | The sanctions include visa restrictions on Chinese officials at the United Front Work Department, which Pompeo has alleged engaged in "malign activities" against those who oppose Beijing. | T…
(2020-12-04). The Biden Administration's Women's Rights To-Do List. aclu.org Over the past four years, the Trump administration has gone out of its way to launch attacks on women — including in housing, the workplace, and schools. When President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris take office, their administration and Congress must make it a top priority to not just undo the damage, but to push forward an agenda that will ensure everyone has the freedom to live, work, learn, and serve free from discrimination based on sex., , Here are just a few of the many items that should top the Biden administration's to-do list: , , Assure safe and stable housing for women and famili…
(2020-12-04). Belarus: End ongoing human rights violations, UN rights chief urges. news.un.org The human rights situation in Belarus continues to deteriorate, particularly with respect to peaceful assembly, the UN rights chief said on Friday, urging the government to put an end to ongoing violations and "take steps towards a genuine, respectful and inclusive national dialogue".
(2020-12-04). Ola Bini's pre-trial hearings suspended for two weeks. peoplesdispatch.org The hearings are set to resume on December 16, but without any observers. Ola Bini, a digital privacy rights activist and software developer, was arrested in April 2019…
(2020-12-04). New report condemns Greek government's "inhuman" treatment of refugees. wsws.org A report published by the Council of Europe's anti-torture Committee calls on the Greek government to "change their approach towards immigration detention and to ensure that refugees deprived of their liberty are treated both with dignity and humanity."
(2020-12-04). US Slaps More Sanctions on Iran, Claiming Tehran Has Secret Chemical Weapons. theantimedia.com Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran in 1980s war while receiving support from the US.
(2020-12-03). Venezuela, China Condemn US Sanctions Against Tech Company. venezuelanalysis.com Beijing reiterated its support for Venezuelan sovereignty.
(2020-12-03). 200K wrongfully purged GA voters fight to be heard in Senate runoffs. therealnews.com 
Civil rights groups are seeking an injunction against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to allow those voters to participate in the Jan. 5 runoff senate election, which will determine the balance of power in Congress.
(2020-12-03). New York tenants battle privatization of public housing. peoplesworld.org 
Housing rights groups, including supporters from the Movement School, the Young Communist League and the Communist Party of New York, stood with the tenants of the New York City Housing Authority's Fulton Houses in Chelsea as they recently recommenced protesting the de facto privatization of their homes and the nearby Chelsea-Elliott Houses. Under cover of …
(2020-12-03). US Lawmakers Include Expanded Nord Stream-2 Sanctions in 2021 Defense Bill. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Negotiating teams from both chambers of the US Congress said in a joint statement that they had included expanded sanctions against Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the final version of the 2021 US defense spending bill.
(2020-12-03). Major Gains for Rights of Nature Movement Met With Corporate and State Backlash. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-12-03). Time to mobilise to defend workers' rights. greenleft.org.au The union-bosses-government working groups to discuss industrial relations reform have not delivered and the PM has signalled new IR laws before Christmas. Sarah Hathway argues union leaderships need to get prepared.
(2020-12-02). Separated Families, Death, and Despair — All at the Hands of CBP. We Need Action, Now. aclu.org Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is at the heart of some of the greatest moral horrors of the last four years, personified in stories that we cannot forget: the
(2020-12-02). Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras released after 103-day hunger strike. workers.org 
Palestinian political prisoner Maher al-Akhras was released from Israeli prison Nov. 26. He had staged a hunger strike for 103 days in protest of his arrest and incarceration. He was held by occupation forces under "administrative detention" and was never charged with a crime. Akhras, who was transferred to a . . . |
(2020-12-02). Labor's Continuing Corbyn "Antisemitism" Saga. counterpunch.org 
The fallout regarding the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report on antisemitism in the Labour party continues, as do its repercussions for the former leader Jeremy Corbyn. I discussed the report in a previous CounterPunch post, pointing out that while it didn't uphold the claim by the Jewish Labour Movement, which issued the first
(2020-12-02). PPA Dec. 3 Webinar to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities. workers.org 
Inside Macy's Dec. 3, 2019. New York, N.Y. — The worldwide struggle by people with disabilities for equal rights led the United Nations to establish the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3, 1992. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the . . . |
(2020-12-02). 'We Need Real Housing Relief for All Tenants'. progressive.org In New York City and throughout the nation, activists are standing up for renters' rights. Rising rents, stagnant wages, and low rental vacancy rates were a toxic mix long before COVID-19 hit U.S. shores.
(2020-12-02). Tuesday 12/8: 18th Annual Human Rights Awards. indybay.org Zoom ID: 864 8365 0623 | us02web.zoom.us/j/86483650623 | Call in: +1 669-900-9128…
(2020-12-02). We Need an Essential Workers Bill of Rights. commondreams.org Walmart's owners are seeing their wealth surge while my former coworkers there go without hazard pay. That has to change. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-01). Israel Releases Mays Abu Ghosh, Palestinian Student Jailed for Membership in Leftist Campus Group. commondreams.org Abu Ghosh—imprisoned for 15 months after joining a banned college organization that opposes Israel's illegal occupation—described torture by her jailers. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-01). #24. Silenced in Savannah: Journalist Abby Martin Challenges Georgia's BDS "Gag Law" projectcensored.org Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin, a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that aims to end support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians, was scheduled to give a…
(2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org 
A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …
(2020-12-01). Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot. middleeasteye.net 
Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot | Latest instance of detentions by Egyptian forces over images of women deemed too 'provocative' has garnered mixed reactions online | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 52 | Model Salma al-Shimi in one of the images taken at the Saqqara site (Screengrab/Twitter) | Photos of an Egyptian model have sparked intense debate online, after both the ph…
(2020-12-01). Detained Egypt rights lawyer seriously ill and 'at risk' in detention, says family. middleeasteye.net 
Detained Egypt rights lawyer seriously ill and 'at risk' in detention, says family | Hoda Abdelmoneim's husband and daughter are urging authorities to release her after her pretrial detention period has expired | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 15: 51 | "> | Human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim's pretrial detention expired on 21 November, but she remains in custody (Suppl…
(2020-12-01). Communities Look Beyond Washington for Solutions to Human Rights Threats. commondreams.org We have seen over the past four years that the U.S. political system is unable to hold leaders accountable even to its own Constitution, and we're watching as the system's legitimacy crumbles, along with protections for basic rights and the most vulnerable. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-01). Women: Part and Parcel of the Persecuted Shiite Community in Bahrain. thealtworld.com Exclusive— Bahraini Women's Day is annually celebrated on 1st December as part of an initiative by the so-called Supreme Council for Women, supposedly an umbrella organization tasked to oversee and honor the "achievements and valuable insights and contribution made by Bahraini women". | Conversely however, this has not necessarily translated into progress for the rights of women in Bahrain. Indeed, Manama has failed to adopt any viable policies that would affect the status of women, who continue to endure the authority's deliberate efforts to silence its political opponents. | In 2002, Bahrain became the fir…
(2020-12-01). Monday 11/30: Gen Z and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Webinar. indybay.org Online via Zoom…
(2020-12-01). These Visa Recipients Are Stuck in the US And Demanding Their Rights. thenation.com These Visa Recipients Are Stuck in the US And Demanding Their Rights…
(2020-11-30). The Questions You Probably THINK You Know the Answer to — But Likely Don't — About ICE Detention. aclu.org What is ICE detention? What is it not?: | Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE — pronounced "ice," like a cube) detention is civil detention. It is not intended to be
(2020-11-30). The Planet Cannot Heal Until We Rip the Mask Off the West's War Machine. counterpunch.org 
Making political sense of the world can be tricky unless one understands the role of the state in capitalist societies. The state is not primarily there to represent voters or uphold democratic rights and values; it is a vehicle for facilitating and legitimating the concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands.