The US Is Waging a Stealth War at the Mexico Border
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-14
In recent decades, U.S. immigration policies have aggressively targeted families fleeing violence and poverty in Mexico and Central and South America, spawning a network of detention centers that now exist indefinitely along our southern border. The U.S.'s approach to tackling undocumented immigration has come under fire for its use of brutal tactics such as deliberately separating families, placing them in confinement under harsh conditions, and denying them adequate medical and legal counsel. | On today's program, Joh…
truthout.org/audio/the-us-is-waging-a-stealth-war-at-the-mexico-border/

The Trump Administration Weakens Standards for ICE Detention Facilities
Eunice Cho | aclu.org | 2020-01-14
Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officially released a new version of its National Detention Standards (NDS), which govern the treatment of immigrant detainees held in almost 140 facilities in 44 states. These facilities include local and state jails and prisons

The World Must End The US' Illegal Economic War
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-01-14
The United States is relying more heavily on illegal unilateral coercive measures (also known as economic sanctions) in place of war or as part of its build-up to war. In fact, economic sanctions are an act of war that kills tens of thousands of people each year through financial strangulation. An economic blockade places a …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/01/the-world-must-end-the-us-illegal-economic-war/

The World Must End the US' Illegal Economic War. Sanctions Imposed on 39 Countries
Kevin Zeese | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-14
The United States is relying more heavily on illegal unilateral coercive measures (also known as economic sanctions) in place of war or as part of its build-up to war. In fact, economic sanctions are an act of war that kills …
globalresearch.ca/world-must-end-us-illegal-economic-war/5700594

"Morir Soñando": Martín Espada Reads Poem About Luis Garden Acosta, Young Lord & Community Activist
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-14
Last week marked the first anniversary of the passing of Luis Garden Acosta, the founder and longtime president of the nationally known El Puente youth and community leadership program in Brooklyn. Long regarded as one of New York City's foremost human rights and Latino community activists, Garden Acosta died last January at the age of 72. A former seminarian who had been active in the Catholic antiwar movement, Garden Acosta joined the Young Lords Party in 1970 and later founded that group's Massachusetts chapter while he was still a student at Harvard Medical School. He went on to pioneer successful nonviolent…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/14/luis_gard…

Iran Announces Arrests in Downing of Ukrainian Jet
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-01-14
TEHRAN, Iran–Iran said Tuesday that authorities have made arrests for the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which killed all 176 people on board and set off protests in the country demanding accountability after officials initially concealed the cause of the crash. | Iran's Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said "some individuals" were arrested after "extensive investigations." His statement on the judiciary's website did not say how many people had been detained or name those arrested. | Iran at first dismissed allegations that a missile had brought down the plane, but in the fac…
truthdig.com/articles/iran-announces-arrests-in-downing-of-ukrainian-jet/

Iran to Sue the US and Trump for Killing General Soleimani
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-14
According to Iran's Judiciary Spokesman Gholamhossein Esmayeeli, the country's ruling authorities will sue the US in international courts for Soleimani's assassination. | "This brutal act was a violation of human rights and all international rules," Esmayeeli stressed, adding: | "Martyr Soleimani | …
globalresearch.ca/iran-sue-us-trump-killing-general-soleimani/5700588

Johnson calls for 'Trump deal' to resolve Iran tensions
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-01-14
Donald Trump should produce a replacement for the Iran nuclear deal, Boris Johnson said as he called for tensions in the Gulf to be "dialled down".The UK, along with European allies, has remained part of the troubled nuclear deal despite the US president's opposition.The prime minister said one of the problems the American leader had with the agreement was that it was negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, so putting in a replacement "Trump deal" would be a way out of the current crisis. | The US has pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which eased sanctions in return for Iran agree…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/01/14/johnson-calls-for-trump-deal-to-resolve-iran-tensions/

US Clearing Anti-War Voices Off the Web in Vast Censorship Operation
Darius Shahtahmasebi | theantimedia.com | 2020-01-14
(TMU)

Labour's Richard Burgon Slams UK Government Cuts to Legal Aid as 'Depriving Human Rights'
sputniknews.com | 2020-01-14
Legal-aid has been one of money government programmes to see significant budget cuts since the election of the Conservative government in 2010. Then Prime Minister David Cameron justified the slashing of state expenditure on the basis that it was necessary to reduce the national deficit.
sputniknews.com/uk/202001141078037104-labours-richard-burgon-slams-uk-government-cuts-to-legal-aid-as-depriving-human-rights/

Guatemalan organizations denounce political persecution of Indigenous leader Daniel Pascual
Zoe PC | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-14
Daniel Pascual, who is appearing as a defendant in a defamation case on Tuesday, has faced constant attacks because of his work to defend human rights and Indigenous and peasant communities in Guatemala…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/14/guatemalan-organizations-denounce-political-persecution-of-indigenous-leader-daniel-pascual/

Colombia: 'Staggering number' of human rights defenders killed in 2019
news.un.org | 2020-01-14
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, is "deeply troubled by the staggering number of human rights defenders killed in Colombia" last year, its spokesperson said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1055272

Guatemalan Indigenous leader Daniel Pascual denounces political persecution
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-14
On January 14, the legal process against Guatemalan Indigenous leader Daniel Pascual is set to begin. Pascual is accused of defamation, slander and injury by the son of a high-ranking military official and interior minister during the dictatorship of Ríos Montt. | According to Pascual's organization the Committee for Peasant Unity -CUC- the charges are unfounded and in violation of the Constitution as well as several international conventions that Guatemala has ratified. Due to his visible role in the defense of human rights and vulnerable communities in Guatemala, Pascual has long been subjected to a systematic…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/14/guatemalan-indigenous-leader-daniel-pascual-denounces-political-persecution/

Can Workers Still Use the National Labor Relations Board?
Gabrielle Semel | zcomm.org | 2020-01-14
Trump's appointees to the NLRB are eroding the very rights the agency is charged with protecting. Their template for action is not the goals set forth in the Act, but the wish list of the Chamber of Commerce…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/can-workers-still-use-the-national-labor-relations-board/

Stop NSO Group Exporting Spyware to Human Rights Abusers in Israel
commondreams.org | 2020-01-14
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/01/14/stop-nso-group-exporting-spyware-human-rights-abusers-israel?cd-origin=rss

Detainee Zahran Suspends Hunger Strike
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-01-14
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees' and Ex-Detainees Affairs has reported that detainee Ahmad Zahran, 42, has suspended the hunger strike, which lasted for 113 days, after reaching an agreement with the Israeli Prison Authority regarding his continued Administrative Detention without charges or trial. Lawyer Jawad Bulus, the head of the …
imemc.org/article/detainee-zahran-suspends-hunger-strike/

India's Kashmiri Detainee Self-Censorship Demand Is Undemocratic
Andrew Korybko | asia-pacificresearch.com | 2020-01-14
asia-pacificresearch.com/india-kashmiri-detainee-self-censorship-demand-undemocratic/5629018

Minutes After His Release, Soldiers Abduct A Palestinian Who Spent 18 Years In Prison
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-01-14
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, Tuesday, a Palestinian man just minutes after his release from prison, after he was held captive for 18 years. The PPS said the Palestinian political prisoner, Ismael Affana, from occupied East Jerusalem, was released from the Negev Detention Camp, …
imemc.org/article/minutes-after-his-release-soldiers-abduct-a-palestinian-who-spent-18-years-in-prison/

Israel Extends Detention of Two Palestinian Prisoners, Days Before Release
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-01-14
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said the Israeli government renewed the administrative detention of Shorouq al-Badan, 25, for six more months, on Monday, only two days before her scheduled release, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported. Badan, from Bethlehem, was arrested July 2019, and was supposed to be …
imemc.org/article/israel-extends-detention-of-two-palestinian-prisoners-days-before-release/

Even When You Change Its Name, Solitary Confinement Is Torture
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-14
This piece was co-published with Solitary Watch. | If he took 13 steps in his size 11 shoes, Brandon Serna had walked the length of his cell. If he took more than six steps, he'd walked its width. For more than one year, the 40-year-old spent over 16 hours each day locked in this cell with his 30-year-old cellmate. | This is life in the "restricted movement" unit (RMU) at Indiana's Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. I…
truthout.org/articles/even-when-you-change-its-name-solitary-confinement-is-torture/

Selected Articles: Iran to Sue the US and Trump for Killing General Soleimani
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-14
SELECTED ARTICLES FROM GLOBAL RESEARCH | . | | India's Kashmiri Detainee Self-Censorship Demand Is Undemocratic | By Andrew Korybko, January 14, 2020 | India's demand that thousands of Kashmiri detainees sign a bond that commits them to not to make any comments …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-iran-sue-us-trump-killing-general-soleimani/5700602

Despite Community Protest, Militarized Police Remove Housing Rights Activists From Oakland Home in Pre-Dawn Raid
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-01-14
"This isn't over, and it won't be over until everyone in the Oakland community has a safe and dignified place to live." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/01/14/despite-community-protest-militarized-police-remove-housing-rights-activists-oakland?cd-origin=rss

Women's March SF 2020: Human Rights Watch Contingent
Human Rights Watch SF | indybay.org | 2020-01-14
Women's March SF, Civic Center/UN Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94102…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/01/13/18829727.php

Trump Embraces Anti-LGBTQ Pastor Who Pushed "Conversion Therapy"
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-14
Evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress came under fire from civil rights groups last month after delivering a speech at the White House Hanukkah celebration because he had previously said that all Jews are destined for an afterlife in hell. Jeffress's opinions about LGBTQ people are similarly distressing

Israel transfers 60 minor Palestinian prisoners to solitary confinement
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-13
Palestinian prisoners in the Ofer military camp and prison, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, are protesting the Israeli Prison Service's (IPS) decision to transfer 60 minor Palestinian prisoners to the Damon prison inside Israel, without their adult overseers who are from among the prisoners themselves. The adult prisoners are reportedly worried that minors who have been transferred are at risk of being mistreated and abused, and of having their rights taken away by the prison guards at the new prison in the absence of their adult overseers. The adult prisoners usually take care of the minors and help the…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/13/israel-transfers-60-minor-palestinian-prisoners-to-solitary-confinement/

Big Tech Firms Are Joining Trump's All Out War Against Iran
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-13
Deleting messages of support for Iran may seem a petty, childish retaliation for opposing the Trump administration, but it has profound ramifications for freedom of access to information.
mintpressnews.com/social-media-joining-trump-war-against-iran-sanctions/264066/

Venezuela Blames Sanctions After UN Voting Right Suspended
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-01-13
Venezuela, which has one of the highest UN contribution rates in the region, has not paid its dues since 2018.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14762

For the dismissed workers of the 2009 Ssangyong motors strike, the struggle continues
V. Arun Kumar | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-13
The 2009 Ssangyong strike took place in a post economic recession scenario, where the recession had been used by international capital as a justification for the crackdown on unionization and workers' rights…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/13/for-the-dismissed-workers-of-the-2009-ssangyong-motors-strike-the-struggle-continues/

Review: "To The Promised Land," King's fight for economic justice
Tony Pecinovsky | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-13
As we near the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday we would do well to reassess the role that economic justice played in the 1960s civil rights movements, especially for African Americans. Dr. King said in 1967, "It is the black man who to a large extent produced the wealth of this nation…the black man …
peoplesworld.org/article/review-to-the-promised-land-kings-fight-for-economic-justice/

Ex-US intel officer: Pompeo 'lying through his teeth' on Iran
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-12
The Trump administration is imposing new sanctions on Iran and defying Iraq's call for a US troop withdrawal. This comes…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/12/ex-us-intel-officer-pompeo-lying-through-his-teeth-on-iran/

'Totally up to them': Trump says he 'couldn't care less' if Iran negotiates with US or not
rt.com | 2020-01-12
US President Donald Trump said his maximum pressure campaign against Iran is not about bringing it to the negotiating table, but ensuring that Tehran doesn't obtain nuclear weapons or kill protesters. | "Actually, I couldn't care less if they negotiate. Will be totally up to them but, no nuclear weapons and 'don't kill your protesters'," Trump said in a tweet Sunday night, contradicting the narrative of National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. | National Security Adviser suggested today that sanctions & protests have Iran "choked off", will force them to negotiate. Actually, I couldn't care less if they negot…
rt.com/usa/478088-trump-iran-negotiate-sanctions/

Facebook 'thought police' censors pro-Iran posts 'to comply with US sanctions'… as Trump warns Tehran against censorship
rt.com | 2020-01-12
Facebook has admitted to selectively censoring pro-Iranian government Instagram posts about the murdered General Soleimani, as US President Donald Trump hypocritically championed free speech and warned Tehran against censorship. | Instagram has confirmed that they have been removing posts that voice support for Qassem Soleimani, with a Facebook spokesperson claiming that censorship is fully justified in order to comply with US sanctions. Instagram is one of the few social media platforms that is not blocked in Iran, and it is where many within the country went to fuel outrage over the US assassination strike i…
rt.com/news/478044-instagram-iran-trump-censorship/

Salt Lake denounces war on the homeless and war with Iran at four energetic rallies
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-01-11
Salt Lake City, UT – The Trump administration rang in the New Year by putting millions of lives at risk with the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and threatening a war with Iran. Similarly, Salt Lake City police began 2020 with a violent raid on the homeless community and the organizers fighting to protect them. | Salt Lake residents responded fiercely with no less than three anti-war rallies in the last week, as well as a rally in support of unsheltered folks and tenants' rights. | On January 4, 200 gathered at an event organized by supporters of Bernie Sanders, and on January 8, hundreds…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/1/10/salt-lak…

The Critical Role Auditing Plays in the Battle Against Police Surveillance
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-01-10
Auditors across the country are turning the tables on police surveillance. The Police Accountability Report spoke to an auditor who was arrested to understand how filming cops ultimately preserves our civil rights.
therealnews.com/stories/auditing-battle-against-police-surveillance

Pregnant Workers Are Still Fighting for the Right to Work
Vania Leveille | aclu.org | 2020-01-10
In 2015, | Michelle Durham, an ACLU client, was faced with an impossible choice: | continue working and risk the health of her pregnancy or give up her paycheck. | She was working | as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Rural/Metro Corporation, a company | in Alabama that provides emergency medical care to people living in areas that | lack basic medical services. Shortly after joining Rural/Metro Corporation in | Alabama, Michelle learned she was pregnant with her first child and was advised | by her health professional not to lift more than 50 pounds. She was confident | the company would grant her a…
aclu.org/news/womens-rights/pregnant-workers-are-still-fighting-for-the-right-to-work

'Iranian with MACHETE & knives' arrested near Trump resort of Mar-a-Lago, US media report
rt.com | 2020-01-10
Palm Beach police have arrested a man armed with a set of knives near President Donald Trump's Florida resort. US media emphasized he is an Iranian national while bringing up a non-existent $80mn Iranian 'bounty' on Trump's head. | The man had no known address and was detained on the Flagler Memorial Bridge on Friday morning. He had "several knives" and an undisclosed amount of cash on him, according to WPTV. | Other local outlets claimed the man's arsenal included a machete, two knives, a pick axe and $22,000 in cash, and that a bomb squad was searching his vehicle, found at the Palm Beach International Airpo…
rt.com/usa/477983-iranian-knives-arrested-mar-a-lago/

Venezuela: Guaido installs parallel parliament, US threatens more sanctions
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-01-10
Venezuela Ricardo VazIssue 1248 Venezuela Juan Guaido US Vice President Mike PenceJanuary 10, 2020Opposition leader Juan Guaido installed a "parallel" parliament in Caracas on January 7. | The…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-guaido-installs-parallel-parliament-us-threatens-more-sanctions

Andrew Bacevich: Trump Sparked "Unnecessary Crisis" by Killing Soleimani, Barely Avoiding War
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-09
President Trump vowed on Wednesday to hit Iran with new sanctions but appeared to pull back from taking any new military action. Tension between the two countries soared after the U.S. assassinated Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad International Airport last week. Early on Wednesday, Iran retaliated by firing 22 ballistic missiles at military bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces, but no one was injured in the attack. Iran had warned the Iraqi government about the strike in advance. Two small rockets also later hit the Green Zone near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. During a televised address on Wednesda…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/9/andrew_bac…

International Criminal Court Prepares to Try Israelis over War Crimes
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-01-09
Shawan Jabarin of the Al-Haq human rights organization discusses the International Criminal Court decision to prepare a lawsuit against the state of Israel regarding war crimes committed against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities are already panicking.
therealnews.com/stories/international-criminal-court-prepares-israel-war-crimes

Venezuela: Guaido Installs Parallel Parliament After Washington Threatens More Sanctions
Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-01-08
The Trump administration is reportedly mulling sanctions against opposition deputies who voted against Guaido.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14759

Trump Announces Additional 'Punishing' Sanctions on Iran
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-01-08
Updated 1: 15 PM ET | U.S. President Donald Trump made a statement Wednesday morning at 11: 30 AM EST and announced that Iran "appears to be standing down" following strikes on U.S. air bases in Iraq. He said there were no American or Iraqi casualties resulting from the attacks. | Trump said that while the U.S. was evaluating its options, it would "immediately impose additional punishing sanctions" against Iran until it "changes its behavior." He called Iran the "leading sponsor of terrorism" and repeatedly said that he would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Since 2017, the Trump administration has impose…
therealnews.com/columns/iran-attacks-us-bases-in-iraq-in-retaliation-for-soleimani-assassination

Iranian-American Lawmaker Warns of Rising Xenophobia as U.S.-Iran Tension Escalates
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-08
In the midst of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, Border Patrol has been detaining Iranian Americans at the U.S.-Canada border. At least 100 people were delayed at ports of entry along the border over the weekend, following the U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani on January 3. For response, we speak with Anna Eskamani, Florida Democratic state representative of Orlando. She is the first Iranian American to be elected to any public office in Florida. "The reality is that when we see the potential war rise in countries like Iran … we'll see xenophobia rise right here locally" in the U.S., Eskamani says.
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/8/iranian_am…

It Is Time for a New Way Forward
Madhuri Grewal | aclu.org | 2020-01-07
In 1996, at the height of the "tough on crime" era, President Bill Clinton signed two laws that dramatically changed the criminal legal system and radically altered the U.S. immigration system. Just as the 1994 crime bill instituted unjust mandatory minimum sentences and ballooned the prison population, the immigration bills of that same era led to similarly disastrous consequences for immigrants

Iranian Americans Harassed and Detained at US Border
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-01-07
Dozens of people, including American citizens, faced hours of questioning at the Washington entry point. Jamal Abdi of the National Iranian American Council says the reports could indicate a directive for heightened screening of people born in Iran.
therealnews.com/stories/iranian-americans-detained-at-us-border

More Rockets Fired At US Embassy, US Iranians Detained & Trump Says Twitter Is "Notifying Congress"
Ryan Cristián | thelastamericanvagabond.com | 2020-01-06
Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (1/5/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
thelastamericanvagabond.com/daily-wrap-up/more-rockets-fired-at-us-embassy-us-iranians-detained-trump-says-twitter-is-notifying-congress/

SPLC Statement on the Detainment of Iranians and Iranian Americans
splcenter.org | 2020-01-06
The following statement is by Southern Poverty Law Center Interim President and CEO Karen Baynes-Dunning following reports that Iranians and Iranian Americans are being detained and questioned at U.S. ports of entry:…
splcenter.org/news/2020/01/06/splc-statement-detainment-iranians-and-iranian-americans

Students learn in the streets: struggle wins release of Connecticut teen from ICE custody
Chris Garaffa | liberationnews.org | 2020-01-05
The struggle for Mario's freedom is not over, and neither is the fight for immigrant rights overall.
liberationnews.org/students-learn-in-the-streets-struggle-wins-release-of-connecticut-teen-from-ice-custody/

Trump's march to war on Iran aided by Democrats' weakness on sanctions, nuclear deal
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-04
The US assassination of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander, is the culmination of three years of Trump administration…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/04/trumps-march-to-war-on-iran-aided-by-democrats-weakness-on-sanctions-nuclear-deal/

Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year
Leila Rafei | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories–from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead–what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/four-lawyers-four-projects-one-non-stop-year