(2020-02-20). Impunity Guaranteed for Torturers (and Presidents). counterpunch.org 
On February 5th, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald J. Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. In other words, Trump's pre-election boast that he "could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and not "lose any voters" proved something more than high-flown hyperbole. (To be fair, he did
(2020-02-20). Trump Is Unleashing Militarized Goon Squads Against Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities. zcomm.org By the time you read this column, elite US Border Patrol Tactical (BORTAC) units might be battering down the doors of immigrant families in sanctuary cities in California, New York, Illinois, and elsewhere around the country…
(2020-02-20). Eminent Monsters: A Manual for Modern Torture, directed by Stephen Bennett. wsws.org "We have a system that punished the whistle blowers like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange, not the perpetrators of torture"—Professor Nils Melzer…
(2020-02-20). Immigrant rights activists rally at MN capitol for driver's licenses for all. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – More than 40 immigrant rights activists from all over the state of Minnesota rallied at the capitol here, February 11, the opening day of the legislative session. People traveled from as far as Zimmerman and Rochester to participate in the action. The rally and lobbying action were organized by Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM) and Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). Activists asked the Minnesota legislature to support driver's licenses for all and to make Minnesota a sanctuary state. | Dressed in red, MIM and MIRAC members rallied in the rotunda of the capitol, calling on represe…
(2020-02-20). Disability Organizations Join Forces to Increase Census Participation Throughout CA. indybay.org The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) are acting as Statewide Community-Based Organization Outreach Partners in coordination with the California Census Office to increase participation among disabled Californians and older adults in the upcoming 2020 census which takes place April 1.
(2020-02-20). The CIA's Role in Operation Condor. counterpunch.org The Washington Post reported that top secret documents confirm the role that the CIA played in Operation Condor, the international state-sponsored assassination, kidnapping, torture, and murder ring run by U.S.-supported military dictatorships in South America in the late 1970s. The documents confirm that the CIA's role in the operation was to provide communications equipment to the
(2020-02-20). US slaps sanctions on Russian oil company trading with Venezuela. wsws.org The unilateral sanctions are aimed at tightening the US blockade of Venezuela's crisis-ridden economy.
(2020-02-20). Pompeo, Saudi king discuss regional affairs in Riyadh. yenisafak.com The meeting tackled "the relations between the two countries, the overall regional and international events, the position of the two countries, and the efforts made towards them.""Pleased to be back in Riyadh to discuss the U.S. government's strong commitment to Saudi Arabia's security and the continued need to stand together to counter Iran's malign behavior in the region," Pompeo wrote on Twitter.Pompeo's visit focuses on discussing regional security, economy, and most likely human rights issues such as that of Saudi-American physician Walid Fitaihi.Arrested in November 2017, Fitaihi was released pending trial…
(2020-02-20). Venezuela files ICC lawsuit over US sanctions. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-02-19). CNN reporter triggered by Fox interviewing InfoWars' 'Gun Girl' quickly reminded of own network's history with racists & criminals. rt.com 
In a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Oliver Darcy fumed at Fox News describing Kaitlin Bennet as a "gun rights activist" after her tumultuous visit to a college campus. Twitter was quick to remind him of CNN's own sins.
(2020-02-19). Australian MPs visit Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison. wsws.org Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen said they agreed with UN official Nils Melzer's assessment that Assange is the victim of psychological torture.
(2020-02-19). China: 'Venezuelan Oil Sales Are Legal and Should Be Respected'. telesurenglish.net China's RELATED: | The Asian country also hopes that Washington will withdraw its sanctions and help find a peaceful solution to the political…
(2020-02-19). How Much Cruelty Can Trump Get Away With? Ask Obama. thenation.com How Much Cruelty Can Trump Get Away With? Ask Obama.
(2020-02-19). US Sanctions On Rosneft Won't Affect Relations With Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Russia reiterated Wednesday that United States' sanctions against Rosneft Trading, S.A and its President Didier Casimiro are illegal from the point of international law and will not affect relations with Venezuela, the state news agency reported. | RELATED: | Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that such restrictions in no way affect their bilateral relations with Venezuela. "On the contrary, they are…
(2020-02-19). 'Cruel, Inexcusable': Bloomberg 2019 Comments on Trans Rights Come Under Fire. commondreams.org "Update your understanding. No one gets left out of human rights." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-02-19). Healthcare Providers at Iran's Top Cancer Hospital Say Crippling Trump Sanctions Are Affecting Patients. commondreams.org The economic sanctions that the Trump administration has imposed on Iran since ditching the 2015 nuclear deal are adversely affecting patients at the Middle Eastern country's top cancer hospital, healthcare providers told FRANCE 24 in a report published Wednesday. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-02-19). Uphold rainbow rights and kill the religious privilege bill. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-02-19). Brexit trade talks 'a different ball game' to Canada agreement, PM warned. thecanary.co Boris Johnson has been warned that the European Union (EU) views negotiations with the UK as a "different ball game" to the trade talks which secured an agreement with Canada. | The prime minister wants a Canada-style trade deal which would leave the UK free to diverge from EU rules. | But a key aide to Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU would not budge from its insistence on a "level playing field" on state subsidies, environmental protections and workers' rights as the price of any deal. | Stefaan De Rynck said: "It's clear that for us it's a different ball game that we are playing with the U…
(2020-02-19). Scotland is putting the Tories to shame over women's rights. thecanary.co (2020-02-18). ICE's Destruction of Records Must Be Stopped. aclu.org Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is | notorious for committing rampant unconstitutional and inhumane abuses in its | detention system — something advocates, communities, and years. Public oversight of ICE detention is about to become even harder, | further eroding accountability and endangering the health and safety of more than | 50,000 people in ICE custody every day. That's because the National Archives | and R… (2020-02-18). Profiting from Loss: How Business in Illegal Israeli Settlements Continues Unchecked. dissidentvoice.org After lengthy delays, the United Nations finally published a database last week of businesses that have been profiting from Israel's illegal annexation and settlement activity in the West Bank. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, announced that 112 major companies had been identified as operating in Israeli settlements in ways that violate … (2020-02-18). PCHR Welcomes the Publication of UN Database on Business Enterprises Operating in Israeli Settlements. imemc.org On 12 February 2020, after three years of delay and consistent pressure by Palestinian, regional and international organizations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a report on business enterprises involved in certain activities related to unlawful Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This … (2020-02-18). UN rights experts 'gravely' concerned at spike in civilian casualties in north-west Myanmar following internet shutdown. news.un.org Independent UN human rights experts on Tuesday voiced grave concern over the killing and displacement of civilians in north-west Myanmar during the intensifying conflict between the military and an armed group, the Arakan Army, amid an information blackout in some parts of Rakhine and Chin states. (2020-02-18). Human Rights Expert: Settlement Database, an "Important Initial Step" imemc.org Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations published a report, on Friday, by Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, welcomed the newly released settlement database. Lynk stated that "While the release of the database will not, by itself, bring an end to … (2020-02-18). Courtroom erupts in response to racist decision in Gerald Reed case. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – The courtroom was packed February 14. This was my fourth Gerald Reed court hearing. Usually, there is a crowd of folks who show up to support Gerald and his mother, Armanda Shackleford, who has been fighting for her son since he was arrested, tortured and framed in 1990. Shackleford sits in the front row, wearing her Free Gerald Reed t-shirt. Together we sit for an hour, two hours, three, and hear powerful men debate the innocence of a man whose sentence was vacated a year ago. | But today was different. Two alderpersons were there, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and Jeanette Taylor, to show their suppor… (2020-02-18). There is a Coordinated Attack Against Trans Youth in State Legislatures. aclu.org Less than a | month and a half into 2020, this state legislative session has seen on bills that would harm trans youth. | Also | alarming: These bills, and the terminology used in them, use playbook. | Right now, | bills are pending in 10 states that | would criminalize l… (2020-02-13). Bill Barr Wants Sheriffs to Join His Attacks on State and Local Governments. aclu.org Attorney General Bill Barr, For | Barr's Department of Justice, that escalation includes new lawsuits against | states and municipalities with immigrant-protective policies. (2020-02-10). How Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Broke Through in Iowa. aclu.org (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. (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. (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. (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 … (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 …
Scotland could well be about to lead the way in an area of women's rights. If the move happens, it will put the Westminster, Conservative-led government to shame. But the deal is not a done one just yet. | Period poverty: | Period poverty is when girls and women can't afford sanitary products. As the website Global Women Connected 
Our next president | must be committed to protecting and advancing the civil liberties and civil | rights guaranteed to all of us in the Constitution, and the current goal for | our key issues. We now have most of the results from the Iowa caucuses last week, | and one thing stood out to us: Voters overwhelmingly supported candidates who | made specific commitments to Rights for All policies. | When we launched | the Rights for All effort last year, we were determined to elevate ke…