Daily Archives: February 8, 2020

2020-02-08: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-08). 'We turned their pressure into opportunity': Supreme Leader hails Iranian Air Force built up despite US sanctions. rt.com The US's "criminal" sanctions didn't stop Iran from strengthening its own air power and even "building planes," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said, as the nation marks the anniversary of 1979's Islamic Revolution. | The Iranian military industry, Khamenei proclaimed in front of Air Force commanders and other military officials, has become so viable because it didn't rely on foreign support, instead developing domestic capabilities. This approach could be extended into other industries as well, he said, according to local media. … Despite sanctions being a criminal act, such an approach can create a lot of opp…

Tyler Durden (2020-02-08). Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions. theantimedia.com Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.

teleSUR (2020-02-08). Venezuela to Defend Conviasa Airlines From US Ilegal Sanctions. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's RELATED: | Besides offering commercial services, this airline carries out non-profi…

Berkeley Copwatch (2020-02-08). Know Your Rights! Training. indybay.org The Grassroots House | 2022 Blake Street | Berkeley, CA 94705 | *The Grassroots House is wheelchair accessible.

Andrew Emett (2020-02-08). Former deputy jailer sentenced to prison after assaulting inmate. nationofchange.org "The FBI will not tolerate correctional officers who violate a person's civil rights."

Staff (2020-02-08). House Passes Bill to Dramatically Strengthen the Power of Unions. truthout.org House Democrats just passed an important blueprint for strengthening unions and building worker power. If signed into law, the labor law reforms within the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would amount to the biggest change to the rules governing employers and workers in generations. Among other major features, it would bolster workers' ability to unionize, expand organizing rights to more workers and strengthen the right to strike. | Although flawed, the legislation would go a long way toward…

Ron Forthofer (2020-02-08). Palestinian Rights and Western Duplicity. dissidentvoice.org President Trump's fraudulent Middle East deal runs roughshod over Palestinian rights, harms long-term Israeli interests, and is only the latest example of the US arrogance and disdain for international law. Essentially Trump's offer, negotiated without any Palestinian input, requires the Palestinians to sell out their hopes for justice and a decent life free of occupation …

yenisafak (2020-02-08). Spain's poverty rate 'appallingly high': UN expert. yenisafak.com Although Spain has made a steady recovery from the 2007 economic recession, poverty rates in the country are appallingly high, a UN expert said on Friday."26.1 percent of people in Spain, and 29.5 percent of children, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2018, among the highest rates in Europe," Philip Alston, UN's special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in a statement after concluding a 12-day fact-finding visit to the country."The self-image of a close family-based society rooted in deeply shared values and social solidarity has been badly fractured by an economic crisis and the i…

Juan Lopez (2020-02-07). Civil Rights Movement memories: Marching from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. peoplesworld.org The flight to Atlanta was bumpy. I was already apprehensive. I had imagined being on the receiving end of a two-by-four swung wildly by a Southern gentleman of the White Citizens Council. And then, when the plane suddenly plunged downward in what felt like a nosedive, I feared I would soon meet my fate, denying …

The Canary (2020-02-07). Long-Bailey pledges right to switch off work phones out of hours. thecanary.co Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey will pledge to help end the 24/7 work culture by giving employees the right not to be contacted outside working hours.The shadow business secretary will commit on Friday to giving workers the freedom to switch off phones so they do not have to be anxious about receiving emails and calls during leisure time.While her campaign team gave few details, a "right to disconnect" in France obliges organisations with more than 50 workers to define employees' rights to ignore their mobiles.Long-Bailey is among the favourites to replace Corbyn (Stefan Rousseau/PA)Long-Bailey wa…

WSWS (2020-02-07). Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shoots unarmed man in the face in New York City. wsws.org Eric Diaz-Cruz was shot as he sought to stop his mother's boyfriend from being detained by ICE early Thursday morning.

Johanna Ross (2020-02-07). Assange's Case Represents 'Failure of Western Law' — Says UN's Nils Melzer. globalresearch.ca An interview was recently given by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, to

teleSUR (2020-02-07). Bolivia's Coup-Born Regime Arrests Socialist Lawmaker Torrico. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Special Force for the Fight Against Crime (FELCC) Thursday arrested Movement for Socialism (MAS) lawmaker Gustavo Torrico in La Paz as he was leaving home to work. | RELATED: | The coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez accuses Torrico of sedition and terrorism. This has caused outrage among human rights defenders who have been denouncing that the Bolivian government persecutes social activists who dissent. | "This is totally illegal. I appeared…

Fight Back (2020-02-07). Indigenous activists opposing pipeline project attacked, arrested by Canadian police. fightbacknews.org Milwaukee, WI – In the early morning hours of February 6, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) invaded territory belonging to the peoples of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, attacking indigenous activists and supporters who are actively opposing a pipeline project that will cut across Wet'suwet'en land. At least six land protectors were arrested and several others, including members of the media on the scene, were detained and removed from Wet'suwet'en territory by the RCMP. | This escalation is only the most recent incident in a conflict which began back in 2018 but whose true origins extend back to wh…

Scarlet Kim (2020-02-07). CBP Lied About Iranian-American Detentions, Leaked Memo Suggests. globalresearch.ca Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

teleSUR (2020-02-07). Venezuela: Sergei Lavrov Met National Dialogue Representatives. telesurenglish.net Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Friday met with the "National Dialogue" representatives in Caracas where he stressed that the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are unacceptable and illegal. | RELATED: | "Unfortunately, the crisis Venezuela is going through comes from a campaign led by the United States to overthrow the legitimate government chaired by President Nicolas Maduro," L…

Michael Lynk (2020-02-07). Video: "The Deal of the Century", Palestine and International Law: UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk. globalresearch.ca Michael Welch's GRTV feature interview with UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in occupied Palestine, Prof. Michael Lynk. | The plan will take us backward. It violates international law. | It is an unilateral arrangement between Israel and the …

commondreams (2020-02-07). As Fossil Fuel Companies Keep Driving the Climate Crisis, the Scale of Human Rights Violations Is Increasing, Alerts 350.org Report. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Linda Kramer Jenning (2020-02-07). How Advocates Are Fighting Voter Suppression. commondreams.org Often the newer restrictions focus on bureaucratic details, but their intent and impact target the same populations that historically faced violence and harassment when seeking to exercise the right to vote. (Photo: AFGE/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

IMEMC News (2020-02-07). Detainee Tareq Qa'dan, Who Held Extended Hunger Strike In 2019, Released. imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners' Society has reported that Israeli soldiers released, Thursday, a Palestinian detainee, who held an extended hunger strike last year, before he was welcomed by hundreds of Palestinians in Jenin, in northern West Bank. The PPS stated that the detainee, Tareq Qa'dan, held an extended hunger strike, lasting …

IMEMC News & Agencies (2020-02-07). Israeli Forces Storm Prison Cells In Ashkelon. imemc.org Israeli prison guards, on Thursday evening, stormed Palestinian prisoners' cells in the Ashkelon facility, wreaking havoc therein, according to Days of Palestine. The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS)said that confrontations flared up between Palestinian detainees and Israeli prison guards, during the raid. No injuries were reported, but one Palestinian prisoner was …

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-02-07). New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses. commondreams.org In addition to having a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities around the globe which have contributed the least to climate-warming fossil fuel emissions, the climate crisis has exacerbated the human rights violations already perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Staff (2020-02-07). Human Rights Watch: 200 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed, Raped or Tortured After U.S. Deportation. democracynow.org A shocking new report says at least 200 Salvadoran asylum seekers were either killed, raped or tortured after being deported from the United States back to El Salvador. Human Rights Watch found that some 138 people deported to El Salvador were murdered by gang members, police, soldiers, death squads or ex-partners between 2013 and 2019. The report says most of the victims were killed within two years after being deported, by the same perpetrators the asylum seekers had fled from. From Denver, Colorado, we speak to Clara Long, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. And joining us from El Salvador, we speak to "

WSWS (2020-02-07). Human Rights Watch report finds 138 Salvadorans killed after being deported from the US. wsws.org The report, based on interviews with over 150 people over a one-and-a-half-year period, additionally identified 70 other deportees who were beaten, sexually assaulted, extorted or tortured.

news.un (2020-02-06). Central African Republic: One year after peace deal, a 'long, steep' road ahead to ensure child rights protections. news.un.org A year since the signing of a peace deal between the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed groups, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday that millions of children across the country remain threatened by violence and a lack of access to food, health care and other basic needs.

Yves Engler (2020-02-06). Trudeau Government's Effort to Overthrow Venezuelan Government. dissidentvoice.org What's more likely to shape Canadian policy in the Hemisphere: human rights and democracy or bankers' bottom-line? Last week Venezuelan politician Juan Guaidó was fêted in Ottawa. The self-declared president met Canada's Prime Minister, international development minister and foreign minister. Trudeau said, "I commend Interim President Guaidó for the courage and leadership he has shown …

Staff (2020-02-06). Headlines for February 6, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Senate Acquits Trump of Two Impeachment Charges, Iowa Caucus: Sanders & Buttigieg Virtually Tied with 97% of Precincts Reporting | , Newborn Baby Becomes Youngest Person Diagnosed with Coronavirus as Death Toll in China Hits 560, Human Rights Watch: 138 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed After Being Deported from U.S., DHS: New York Residents Can No Longer Participate in Trusted Traveler Programs | , Jair Bolsonaro Introduces Bill to Clear Way for Mining, Oil Extraction in Brazilian Amazon | , Nicolás Maduro: Trump Taking U.S. Toward "High-Level Conflict with Venezuela" | , Thousands Protest in Algeria for 50t…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-02-05). Trump's 'Deal of the Century': Old Israeli Demands in a New Package. mintpressnews.com Consisting of 80 pages, 50 of which are entirely dedicated to the plan's economic component, Trump's Deal of the Century is little more than a rehash of previous Israeli proposals that have already been rejected by Palestinians, writes Ramzy Baroud.

news.un (2020-02-05). Refugee resettlement: 'Tremendous gap' persists between needs, and spaces on offer. news.un.org Although around 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, only 63,696 were resettled through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) last year – that's only 4.5 per cent – due to a continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world.

Fight Back (2020-02-02). Minneapolis protest rejects Trump's expansion of Muslim ban to six new countries. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people protested Saturday, February 1, outside the Federal Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis to condemn Donald Trump adding six more countries to his administration's travel ban. | The protest was called by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Minnesota (CAIR) just a day earlier and was endorsed by the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Black Immigrant Collective, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Anti-War Committee, among others. | The Minneapolis protest was emceed by Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN. State Attorney General Keith Ellison and former State Repre…

splcenter (2020-02-02). SPLC and the SPLC Action Fund Hire Internationally Renowned Human and Civil Rights Leader as New President and CEO. splcenter.org Margaret Huang brings 25 years of experience advocating against discrimination and oppression around the world.

Staff (2020-01-31). Headlines for January 31, 2020. democracynow.org Senate Poised to Acquit President Trump in Impeachment Trial, World Health Organization Declares International Public Health Emergency, U.S. Special Envoy Warns of International Crisis in Idlib, Syria, Britain Formally Withdrawing from European Union Tonight, Pentagon Deploys 1st Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead-Armed Submarine, Trump Admin Poised to Loosen Restrictions on Use of Landmines, Human Rights Groups Condemn Mexico for Crackdown on Central American Migrants, Mexican Butterfly Conservationist Found Dead, Bolivia's Movement for Socialism Candidate Luis Arce Returns to Bolivia, U.S. Pushes EU to End Ban on Chemic…

Alexander Rubinstein (2020-01-30). Anti-Trump-themed 'Immigrant Food' restaurant owned by lobbyists for right-wing Latin American coup leaders who fueled migration crisis. thegrayzone.com The shocking story of how wealthy Latin American regime-change hitmen exploited immigrant rights, international food, and a pliant DC media…

Amber Duke (2020-01-29). We're Back in Court this Week Defending Access to Safe Abortion in Kentucky. aclu.org The ACLU is back | in court today once again to stop Kentucky's attempt to block access to | abortion. We've been here before. Over the past three years, the Kentucky | General Assembly has passed bill after bill that limits — and even bans — a | person's ability to get an abortion. And time after time, we've gone to court to | protect people's rights to get the care they need. | At issue this | week is a law that makes it a crime for doctors at Kentucky's last remaining | abortion clinic to perform an abortion procedure that is the standard of care. | In reality, the law is nothing more than a…

Ashoka Mukpo (2020-01-28). Asylum-Seekers Are Being Abandoned in Guatemala in a New Policy Officials Call a "Total Disaster" aclu.org In late November, U.S. immigration authorities began | deporting some Central American asylum-seekers to Guatemala under a new | policy that makes it nearly impossible for them to seek asylum in the U.S. | But Guatemalan human rights workers say that their country's | asylum system isn't capable of handling even the relatively small numbers that | have been sent there so far, and that asylum seekers' precarious status in the | country has already pushed many to leave. | "They're preferring to move on…

splcenter (2020-01-28). SPLC sues Alabama school district for violating students' due process rights after cell phone is mistaken for gun. splcenter.org Andre and his friend were taking turns on a cell phone, playing a video game called Last Day on Earth: Survival — about staying alive on a zombie-infested planet — when a real-life gunshot rang out.

splcenter (2020-01-16). Conspiracy Theories, Threats of Violence Loom Over Coming Gun Rally in Richmond. splcenter.org Gun-rights activists and antigovernment extremists are planning a protest in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday fueled by antigovernment conspiracy theories and accompanied by online calls for violence.

Peace Action (2019-06-25). Peace Action Endorses Ilhan Omar for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 25, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Ilhan Omar for Congress in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …

Peace Action (2019-06-24). Peace Action Endorses Kara Eastman for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 24, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Kara Eastman for Congress in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …

2020-02-08: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Venezuela to Defend Conviasa Airlines From US Ilegal Sanctions
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-08
Venezuela's Economy Minister Tareck El Aissami Saturday announced that his country will respond to the U.S. sanctions against Conviasa airlines, a public company that has 40 aircraft and 2,012 workers. | RELATED: | Russia and Venezuela Build up Cooperation Against US Sanctions | Besides offering commercial services, this airline carries out non-profi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-to-Defend-Conviasa-Airlines-From-US-Ilegal-Sanctions-20200208-0005.html

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

'We turned their pressure into opportunity': Supreme Leader hails Iranian Air Force built up despite US sanctions
rt.com | 2020-02-08
The US's "criminal" sanctions didn't stop Iran from strengthening its own air power and even "building planes," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said, as the nation marks the anniversary of 1979's Islamic Revolution. | The Iranian military industry, Khamenei proclaimed in front of Air Force commanders and other military officials, has become so viable because it didn't rely on foreign support, instead developing domestic capabilities. This approach could be extended into other industries as well, he said, according to local media. | … Despite sanctions being a criminal act, such an approach can create a lot of opp…
rt.com/news/480389-khamenei-sanctions-pressure-opportunities/

Former deputy jailer sentenced to prison after assaulting inmate
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2020-02-08
"The FBI will not tolerate correctional officers who violate a person's civil rights."
nationofchange.org/2020/02/08/former-deputy-jailer-sentenced-to-prison-after-assaulting-inmate/

Know Your Rights! Training
Berkeley Copwatch | indybay.org | 2020-02-08
The Grassroots House | 2022 Blake Street | Berkeley, CA 94705 | *The Grassroots House is wheelchair accessible.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/06/18830482.php

House Passes Bill to Dramatically Strengthen the Power of Unions
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-08
House Democrats just passed an important blueprint for strengthening unions and building worker power. If signed into law, the labor law reforms within the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would amount to the biggest change to the rules governing employers and workers in generations. Among other major features, it would bolster workers' ability to unionize, expand organizing rights to more workers and strengthen the right to strike. | Although flawed, the legislation would go a long way toward…
truthout.org/articles/house-passes-bill-to-dramatically-strengthen-the-power-of-unions/

Palestinian Rights and Western Duplicity
Ron Forthofer | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-08
President Trump's fraudulent Middle East deal runs roughshod over Palestinian rights, harms long-term Israeli interests, and is only the latest example of the US arrogance and disdain for international law. Essentially Trump's offer, negotiated without any Palestinian input, requires the Palestinians to sell out their hopes for justice and a decent life free of occupation …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/palestinian-rights-and-western-duplicity/

Spain's poverty rate 'appallingly high': UN expert
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-08
Although Spain has made a steady recovery from the 2007 economic recession, poverty rates in the country are appallingly high, a UN expert said on Friday."26.1 percent of people in Spain, and 29.5 percent of children, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2018, among the highest rates in Europe," Philip Alston, UN's special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in a statement after concluding a 12-day fact-finding visit to the country."The self-image of a close family-based society rooted in deeply shared values and social solidarity has been badly fractured by an economic crisis and the i…
yenisafak.com/en/world/spains-poverty-rate-appallingly-high-un-expert-3511582

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shoots unarmed man in the face in New York City
wsws.org | 2020-02-07
Eric Diaz-Cruz was shot as he sought to stop his mother's boyfriend from being detained by ICE early Thursday morning.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/07/immi…

Bolivia's Coup-Born Regime Arrests Socialist Lawmaker Torrico
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-07
Bolivia's Special Force for the Fight Against Crime (FELCC) Thursday arrested Movement for Socialism (MAS) lawmaker Gustavo Torrico in La Paz as he was leaving home to work. | RELATED: | Evo Morales Warns of US Threats Against Him | The coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez accuses Torrico of sedition and terrorism. This has caused outrage among human rights defenders who have been denouncing that the Bolivian government persecutes social activists who dissent. | "This is totally illegal. I appeared…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bolivias-Coup-Born-Regime-Arrests-Socialist-Lawmaker-Torrico-20200207-0003.html

Indigenous activists opposing pipeline project attacked, arrested by Canadian police
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-07
Milwaukee, WI – In the early morning hours of February 6, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) invaded territory belonging to the peoples of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, attacking indigenous activists and supporters who are actively opposing a pipeline project that will cut across Wet'suwet'en land. At least six land protectors were arrested and several others, including members of the media on the scene, were detained and removed from Wet'suwet'en territory by the RCMP. | This escalation is only the most recent incident in a conflict which began back in 2018 but whose true origins extend back to wh…
fightbacknews.org/2020/2/7/indigenous-activists-opposing-pipeline-project-attacked-arrested-canadian-police

Media Urge Palestinians to Take Crumbs–Because Democracy Is Not on Offer
Gregory Shupak | fair.org | 2020-02-07
by Gregory Shupak The Trump administration's "Vision for Peace" | The Trump administration's " Deal of the Century" is supposedly a plan to solve the question of Palestine. But as Michael Lynk, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, points out, the deal doesn't offer Palestinians…
fair.org/home/media-urge-palestinians-to-take-crumbs-because-democracy-is-not-on-offer/

CBP Lied About Iranian-American Detentions, Leaked Memo Suggests
Scarlet Kim | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-07
Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection adamantly denied that it was detaining U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents of Iranian descent and interrogating them about their religion and political views. The agency also assured the public that it had …
globalresearch.ca/cbp-lied-about-iranian-american-detentions-leaked-memo-suggests/5703043

Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister to Meet President Maduro
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-07
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Friday will meet with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at a time when the U.S. government threatens to tighten its sanctions against the Bolivian revolution. | RELATED: | Russian Foreign Minister Bolsters Diplomatic Ties With Mexico | After visiting Cuba and Mexico, Lavrov arrived in Caracas on Thursday ni…
telesurenglish.net/news/russian-foreign-minister-sergey-lavrov-arrives-in-venezuela-as-part-of-his-latin-american-tour-20200207-0002.html

Venezuela: Sergei Lavrov Met National Dialogue Representatives
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-07
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Friday met with the "National Dialogue" representatives in Caracas where he stressed that the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are unacceptable and illegal. | RELATED: | Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister to Meet President Maduro | "Unfortunately, the crisis Venezuela is going through comes from a campaign led by the United States to overthrow the legitimate government chaired by President Nicolas Maduro," L…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Sergei-Lavrov-Met-National-Dialogue-Representatives-20200207-0006.html

As Fossil Fuel Companies Keep Driving the Climate Crisis, the Scale of Human Rights Violations Is Increasing, Alerts 350.org Report
commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/02/07/fossil-fuel-companies-keep-driving-climate-crisis-scale-human-rights-violations?cd-origin=rss

Video: "The Deal of the Century", Palestine and International Law: UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk
Michael Lynk | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-07
Michael Welch's GRTV feature interview with UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in occupied Palestine, Prof. Michael Lynk. | The plan will take us backward. It violates international law. | It is an unilateral arrangement between Israel and the …
globalresearch.ca/deal-century-palestine-international-law-un-special-rapporteur-michael-lynk/5703057

House Approves Worker Rights Bill in Face of Growing Labor Backlash Against Trickle-Down Policies
Anastasia Christman, Brian Chen | commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) advocates for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act on February 5, 2020. (Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/07/house-approves-worker-rights-bill-face-growing-labor-backlash-against-trickle-down?cd-origin=rss

Long-Bailey pledges right to switch off work phones out of hours
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-07
Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey will pledge to help end the 24/7 work culture by giving employees the right not to be contacted outside working hours.The shadow business secretary will commit on Friday to giving workers the freedom to switch off phones so they do not have to be anxious about receiving emails and calls during leisure time.While her campaign team gave few details, a "right to disconnect" in France obliges organisations with more than 50 workers to define employees' rights to ignore their mobiles.Long-Bailey is among the favourites to replace Corbyn (Stefan Rousseau/PA)Long-Bailey wa…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/02/07/long-bailey-pledges-right-to-switch-off-work-phones-out-of-hours/

How Advocates Are Fighting Voter Suppression
Linda Kramer Jenning | commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
Often the newer restrictions focus on bureaucratic details, but their intent and impact target the same populations that historically faced violence and harassment when seeking to exercise the right to vote. (Photo: AFGE/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/07/how-advocates-are-fighting-voter-suppression?cd-origin=rss

Civil Rights Movement memories: Marching from Selma to Montgomery in 1965
Juan Lopez | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-07
The flight to Atlanta was bumpy. I was already apprehensive. I had imagined being on the receiving end of a two-by-four swung wildly by a Southern gentleman of the White Citizens Council. And then, when the plane suddenly plunged downward in what felt like a nosedive, I feared I would soon meet my fate, denying …
peoplesworld.org/article/civil-rights-movement-memories-marching-from-selma-to-montgomery-in-1965/

Israeli Forces Storm Prison Cells In Ashkelon
IMEMC News & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-07
Israeli prison guards, on Thursday evening, stormed Palestinian prisoners' cells in the Ashkelon facility, wreaking havoc therein, according to Days of Palestine. The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS)said that confrontations flared up between Palestinian detainees and Israeli prison guards, during the raid. No injuries were reported, but one Palestinian prisoner was …
imemc.org/article/israeli-forces-storm-prison-cells-in-ashkelon/

Detainee Tareq Qa'dan, Who Held Extended Hunger Strike In 2019, Released
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-02-07
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society has reported that Israeli soldiers released, Thursday, a Palestinian detainee, who held an extended hunger strike last year, before he was welcomed by hundreds of Palestinians in Jenin, in northern West Bank. The PPS stated that the detainee, Tareq Qa'dan, held an extended hunger strike, lasting …
imemc.org/article/detainee-tareq-qadan-who-held-extended-hunger-strike-in-2019-released/

New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
In addition to having a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities around the globe which have contributed the least to climate-warming fossil fuel emissions, the climate crisis has exacerbated the human rights violations already perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/07/new-report-details-how-fossil-fuel-industrys-climate-destruction-also-exacerbates?cd-origin=rss

Human Rights Watch: 200 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed, Raped or Tortured After U.S. Deportation
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-07
A shocking new report says at least 200 Salvadoran asylum seekers were either killed, raped or tortured after being deported from the United States back to El Salvador. Human Rights Watch found that some 138 people deported to El Salvador were murdered by gang members, police, soldiers, death squads or ex-partners between 2013 and 2019. The report says most of the victims were killed within two years after being deported, by the same perpetrators the asylum seekers had fled from. From Denver, Colorado, we speak to Clara Long, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. And joining us from El Salvador, we speak to "
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/7/hrw_report…

Human Rights Watch report finds 138 Salvadorans killed after being deported from the US
wsws.org | 2020-02-07
The report, based on interviews with over 150 people over a one-and-a-half-year period, additionally identified 70 other deportees who were beaten, sexually assaulted, extorted or tortured.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/07/salv…

Central African Republic: One year after peace deal, a 'long, steep' road ahead to ensure child rights protections
news.un.org | 2020-02-06
A year since the signing of a peace deal between the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed groups, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday that millions of children across the country remain threatened by violence and a lack of access to food, health care and other basic needs.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056842

Trudeau Government's Effort to Overthrow Venezuelan Government
Yves Engler | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-06
What's more likely to shape Canadian policy in the Hemisphere: human rights and democracy or bankers' bottom-line? Last week Venezuelan politician Juan Guaidó was fêted in Ottawa. The self-declared president met Canada's Prime Minister, international development minister and foreign minister. Trudeau said, "I commend Interim President Guaidó for the courage and leadership he has shown …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/trudeau-governments-effort-to-overthrow-venezuelan-government/

Trump's 'Deal of the Century': Old Israeli Demands in a New Package
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-05
Consisting of 80 pages, 50 of which are entirely dedicated to the plan's economic component, Trump's Deal of the Century is little more than a rehash of previous Israeli proposals that have already been rejected by Palestinians, writes Ramzy Baroud.
mintpressnews.com/trump-deal-of-the-century-palestinian-rights/264627/

Refugee resettlement: 'Tremendous gap' persists between needs, and spaces on offer
news.un.org | 2020-02-05
Although around 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, only 63,696 were resettled through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) last year – that's only 4.5 per cent – due to a continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056742

Witness to a Farce – Watching impeachment through the lens of the New York Times
Dorothee Benz | fair.org | 2020-02-04
Watching the actions of the Trump administration through the lens of the New York Times' coverage has been by turns dumbfounding, disheartening and infuriating. While the white nationalists running our government have rolled out one attack after another on civil rights, civil liberties, the independence of the judiciary, procedural democracy, human rights laws and planetary survival, the "paper of record" has offered a soothing translation of these threats into the familiar language of…
fair.org/home/witness-to-a-farce/

Minneapolis protest rejects Trump's expansion of Muslim ban to six new countries
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-02
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people protested Saturday, February 1, outside the Federal Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis to condemn Donald Trump adding six more countries to his administration's travel ban. | The protest was called by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Minnesota (CAIR) just a day earlier and was endorsed by the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Black Immigrant Collective, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Anti-War Committee, among others. | The Minneapolis protest was emceed by Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN. State Attorney General Keith Ellison and former State Repre…
fightbacknews.org/2020/2/2/minneapolis-protest-rejects-trump-s-expansion-muslim-ban-six-new-countries

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

Headlines for January 31, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-31
Senate Poised to Acquit President Trump in Impeachment Trial, World Health Organization Declares International Public Health Emergency, U.S. Special Envoy Warns of International Crisis in Idlib, Syria, Britain Formally Withdrawing from European Union Tonight, Pentagon Deploys 1st Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead-Armed Submarine, Trump Admin Poised to Loosen Restrictions on Use of Landmines, Human Rights Groups Condemn Mexico for Crackdown on Central American Migrants, Mexican Butterfly Conservationist Found Dead, Bolivia's Movement for Socialism Candidate Luis Arce Returns to Bolivia, U.S. Pushes EU to End Ban on Chemic…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/31/headlines

Anti-Trump-themed 'Immigrant Food' restaurant owned by lobbyists for right-wing Latin American coup leaders who fueled migration crisis
Alexander Rubinstein | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-30
The shocking story of how wealthy Latin American regime-change hitmen exploited immigrant rights, international food, and a pliant DC media…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/30/anti-trump-immigrant-food-lobbyists-coup-fueled-migration-crisis/

We're Back in Court this Week Defending Access to Safe Abortion in Kentucky
Amber Duke | aclu.org | 2020-01-29
The ACLU is back | in court today once again to stop Kentucky's attempt to block access to | abortion. We've been here before. Over the past three years, the Kentucky | General Assembly has passed bill after bill that limits

Asylum-Seekers Are Being Abandoned in Guatemala in a New Policy Officials Call a "Total Disaster"
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2020-01-28
In late November, U.S. immigration authorities began | deporting some Central American asylum-seekers to Guatemala under a new | policy that makes it nearly impossible for them to seek asylum in the U.S. | But Guatemalan human rights workers say that their country's | asylum system isn't capable of handling even the relatively small numbers that | have been sent there so far, and that asylum seekers' precarious status in the | country has already pushed many to leave. | "They're preferring to move on…
aclu.org/news/human-rights/asylum-seekers-are-being-abandoned-in-guatemala-in-a-new-policy-officials-call-a-total-disaster

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

Conspiracy Theories, Threats of Violence Loom Over Coming Gun Rally in Richmond
splcenter.org | 2020-01-16
Gun-rights activists and antigovernment extremists are planning a protest in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday fueled by antigovernment conspiracy theories and accompanied by online calls for violence.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/01/16/conspiracy-theories-threats-violence-loom-over-coming-gun-rally-richmond