Daily Archives: July 11, 2020

2020-07-11: News Headlines

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-11). Colombian social leaders walked 15 days and 600 km to demand the right to life. peoplesdispatch.org A group of social s and human rights defenders have been marching from the southwestern Colombia for the past 15 days to demand respect for the life, territory and human rights of minority groups in the country…

Peter Koenig (2020-07-11). Bill Gates and the Depopulation Agenda. Robert F. Kennedy Junior Calls for an Investigation. globalresearch.ca Robert F Kennedy Jr, an avid Defender of Children's Rights and anti-vaccination , has launched a petition sent to the White House, calling for "Investigations into the 'Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation' for Medical Malpractice & Crimes Against Humanity"

_____ (2020-07-11). Nicaragua: How Phony Human Rights Groups Slandered A US-Targeted Nation. popularresistance.org During the Nicaraguan coup attempt and ever since it failed, the North American and European human rights industry has falsely accused the Nicaraguan authorities of having brutally repressed ful opposition s with disproportionate lethal violence. In doing so, reports by human rights organizations have systematically ignored numerous very serious crimes and even massacres by Nicaragua's US-supported right-wing opposition and their allies. Between April 18th and July 17th, 2018, 23 police officers were killed by opposition s and 400 officers suffered gunshot wounds inflicted by opposition gunmen…

Feminist Majority Foundation & others (2020-07-11). Thursday 7/16: "Capturing The Flag" Voter Suppression Film & Town Hall w/ Starring Voting Rights . indybay.org Online…

Susan Jaffe (2020-07-11). [World Report] US Supreme Court upholds abortion rights, for now. thelancet.com The court's decision means that Louisiana's three abortion clinics will remain open. Susan Jaffe reports.

_____ (2020-07-11). As Long as Mass Media Propaganda Exists, Democracy Is a Sham. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | "A majority of Americans believe that Russia paid the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan last year amid negotiations to end the war, and more than half want to respond with new economic sanctions against Moscow, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday," "Overall, 60% of Americans said they found reports of Russian bounties on American soldiers to be 'very' or 'somewhat' believable, while 21% said they were not credible and the rest were unsure,"

The Canary (2020-07-11). Institutional racism 'led to data breach over migrant workers' in Ireland. thecanary.co Levels of "institutional racism and discrimination" in the health service reportedly led to a serious data breach in Ireland. It occurred when employers were told of coronavirus (Covid-19) test results before meat factory workers who were tested.Edel McGinley, director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), described the practice as a "gross and serious breach of confidentiality". She told the Special Oireachtas Covid-19 committee that comments made by a senior health official about the scandal were "deeply worrying".(PA Graphics)"Institutional racism and discrimination that led to this very serious dat…

CGTN (2020-07-11). Debunking Myths on China "Forcing Uyghur Birth Control" dissidentvoice.org So-called overseas reps of China's Uyghur ethnic group filed evidence at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to spark an investigation on alleged human rights violations. But are the reports founded on strong evidence? (story starts at 2: 00)…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-11). European court rules in favor of Belgian Workers' Party legislator on electoral dispute. peoplesdispatch.org Germain Mugemangango of the Workers' Party of Belgium, a legislator in the Walloon parliament, filed a case in the European Court of Human Rights on a 2014 election when his own competitors decided his appeal for a recount…

Ali Salam (2020-07-11). Israeli Forces Detain Three Palestinians from West Bank. imemc.org Israeli forces, at dawn Friday, abducted three Palestinian civilians from their homes in Jerusalem and Ramallah, the Palestinian Information Center reported. Asra Media Office said that Israeli soldiers detained both Abdullah Dweik, and Ahmad Ali Ahmad, after invading their homes in Al-Jalazoun refugee camp in Ramallah, central West Bank. Confrontations …

_____ (2020-07-11). Let's Defund The Pentagon, Too. popularresistance.org Toward the end of his life, Martin Luther King, Jr., after agonizing about the Vietnam War in private, began denouncing it in public. Liberal politicians and media, including The New York Times, castigated him, telling him to stick to civil rights. In a 1967 speech at New York City's Riverside Church, King rejected this criticism and explained how he arrived at his antiwar stance. | He had realized, he said, that the U.S. "would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suct…

yenisafak (2020-07-11). US warns citizens of heightened detention risks in China. yenisafak.com "U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in a security alert issued to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to state security."Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added, without citing specific examples. The state department also did not say what prompted the security alert.The security alert comes as bilateral tensions inten…

_____ (2020-07-11). The First NATO: British and French Joint Aggressions in the Mid-19th Century. strategic-culture.org The two most militarily powerful nations in the West, both free to project naval power and maritime domination anywhere in the world, get together to punish and overthrow regimes they find guilty of human rights abuses and political repression in the name of human rights and promoting democracy: What could possibly go wrong? | It is of course NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's new call for NATO, which has already over the past decade exercised its nation-building and promotion of enlightened regime policies with such brilliant success in Ukraine, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan to spread its mantle of protect…

_____ (2020-07-11). The U.S. Doesn't Need Another Cold War to Improve Itself. strategic-culture.org This is likely to lead to many violations of civil liberties committed in the name of national security. | Daniel LARISON | Hal Brands It is true that there was significant progress on civil rights during…

RT (2020-07-10). 'Slap in the face': ers rally against Macron-backed new French interior minister accused of rape. rt.com Women's-rights s took to the streets in Paris and other cities in France to decry the appointment of Gerald Darmanin as interior minister. Darmanin is subject to an ongoing rape investigation. | Dozens of s bearing signs condemning Darmanin and rape culture in general greeted the new interior minister as he arrived in Dijon early on Friday. He was visiting the capital of Burgundy with Prime Minister Jean Castex to show support to the local police after the city was rocked by massive riots last month. | A still larger crowd ed the controversial cabinet appointment in Paris later on in the…

Fred_F (2020-07-10). Seven years too long: Nationwide s on July 19 to end detention and free the refugees. greenleft.org.au

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-07-10). Ilhan Omar Demands Pentagon Acknowledge, Compensate US Drone Strike Victims 'Illegally Killed' in Somalia. commondreams.org Congresswoman's call, says one rights advocate, "is an important acknowledgment that civilians unlawfully harmed have a right to redress." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

_____ (2020-07-10). The Tremendous But 'Secret' Success Of Socialist Vietnam. popularresistance.org Some twenty years ago, when I moved to Hanoi, the city was bleak, grey, covered by smog. The war had ended, but terrible scars remained. | I brought my 4WD from Chile, and insisted on driving it myself. It was one of the first SUVs in the city. Each time I drove it, it was hit by scooters, which flew like projectiles all over the wide avenues of the capital. | Hanoi was beautiful, melancholic, but clearly marked by war. There were stories, terrible stories of the past. In "my days", Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in Asia. | Many great heritage sites, including the My Son Sanctuary in Central Vietnam, we…

Staff (2020-07-10). "Most Important Indian Law Case in Half a Century": Supreme Court Upholds Tribal Sovereignty in OK. democracynow.org In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that much of eastern Oklahoma, constituting nearly half the state, is Native American land, recognizing a 19th century U.S. treaty with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump nominee, joined the court's liberal wing in a narrow 5-4 ruling that found state authorities cannot criminally prosecute Indigenous peoples under state or local laws. The court's bombshell decision — which also impacts the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole Nations — is a major victory for Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights. "It's a landmark case…

Rachel Rebouché (2020-07-10). The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights. thenation.com The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights…

_____ (2020-07-10). VenezolanosConBiden And MAGAzuela: Two Sides Of The Same Coin. popularresistance.org The Biden campaign held an online event on Wednesday, July 8 pitched as the former Vice President's "vision for Venezuela and Venezuelans in the U.S." Spoiler alert: his vision for Venezuela barely differs from President Trump. This event, which didn't merit an appearance from Biden himself, was aimed at getting Venezuelan-Americans to volunteer for "Uncle Joe", as Representative Darren Soto (D-Fl) called him. It was an hour and a half of shilling for votes and influence, and it demonstrated that when it comes to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions and a refusal to engage in dialogue unite Venezolanos…

RT (2020-07-10). Dutch lawsuit with ECHR alleging Russia played part in MH17 downing will only further 'complicate' search for truth — Moscow. rt.com Russia had nothing to do with the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, but it'll work with the European Court of Human Rights if the Netherlands files a law suit, Moscow has said. | Earlier on Thursday, the government of the Netherlands announced that it was planning to take Russia to the Strasbourg Court, alleging that Moscow had played "a role" in the plane crash six year ago, in which 298 lives, mostly of Dutch citizens, were lost. | Russia's Ministry of Justice countered in a statement that the ECHR hadn't yet informed it of the Dutch complaint. But if it's filed eventuall…

RT (2020-07-10). Netherlands to take Russia to European Court of Human Rights over 'role' in MH17 crash. rt.com The Dutch government has said it will file a suit against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). It alleges that Moscow played a part in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. | "Today, the Dutch government decided to bring Russia before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for its role in the downing of Flight MH17,"

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Chile: Court Declares Admissible Lawsuit Against Piñera. telesurenglish.net Chile's judicial system Thursday admitted a lawsuit against President Sebastian Piñera for allegedly not having supervised the measures that his Health Ministry took to deal with the pandemic. | RELATED: | The complaint was filed by this South American nation's Human Rights Commission, the National Association of Fiscal Employees (ANEF), and the Democratic Federation of University Health Professionals (Fedeprus), and it was ruled…

PCHR (2020-07-10). PCHR: Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (02— 08 July 2020). imemc.org Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) Summary Israeli forces continued to commit crimes and multi-faceted violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, assault, abuse and attacks on civilians. This week, IOF's excessive use of force rendered 21 …

news.un (2020-07-10). Lebanon 'fast spiralling out of control' leaving many destitute and facing starvation, warns Bachelet. news.un.org Sounding the alarm over the crippling impact of "growing economic shocks, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic" in Lebanon, the UN human rights chief called on Friday for a unified response by politicians and the people to overcome the worsening socio-economic crisis there.

commondreams (2020-07-10). Survivors of U.S. Torture and Rendition to be Heard Before International Tribunal. commondreams.org ______________________________…

IMEMC Staff (2020-07-10). Israeli Security Summon Fatah Member for Interrogation in Jerusalem. imemc.org Israeli security services in the internationally-recognized occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem, summoned, on Thursday, a representative of the Fatah party, Shadi Matour, for interrogation. Official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) said that Matour was summoned to the Muskobiya interrogation and detention center, also known as the Russian compound, shortly after he and …

Thomas Linzey (2020-07-10). Rights of Nature: One Big Step for Nature, One Small Step for Humankind. commondreams.org A young girl plays with colorful rose petals during the Inti Raymi celebration in the village of Pesillo, Ecuador. The highland Indians, wearing beautiful costumes, dance, drink and sing with no rest. Colorful processions in honor of the God Inti (Sun) pass through the mountain villages giving thanks for the harvest and expressing their deep relation to the Mother Earth (Pachamama). (Photo by Jan Sochor/Latincontent/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Matt Sedlar (2020-07-10). Latin America Needs Access to Resources Without Generating Debt: Issuance of Special Drawing Rights. cepr.net Latindadd See article on original site En español Latin America is going through a multiple crisis, the perfect storm is brewing in the region, with severe sanitary limitations to face the Covid-19 and in the face of the deepest recession since the Great Depression (1872-1896), the projection of contraction for the region, according to ECLAC[1] …

_____ (2020-07-10). Home Demolitions Spike Ahead Of Annexation. popularresistance.org Israel's formal annexation of occupied land may be put on hold, but the forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank marches on. | Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in the territory spiked last month, according to the human rights group B'Tselem. | Nearly 45 homes were destroyed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem — which Israel has already annexed in contravention of international law. | Eight of the Jerusalem homes destroyed "were torn down by their owners, after they received a demolition order from the municipality and wished to avoid paying the cost of the demolition and fines to…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Dutch government to file suit against Russia over downing of MH17. yenisafak.com The Dutch government on Friday said it would file a suit against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights over the downing of Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine six years ago.The Netherlands, home to roughly two-thirds of the victims, holds Russia responsible for the crash on July 17, 2014. The Kremlin has consistently denied involvement.A letter to parliament said the Netherlands was filing the case at the European court to achieve "truth, justice and accountability" for all 298 victims.

Santa Cruz News (2020-07-10). Santa Cruz Grand Jury Suggests Transitioning Juvenile Hall into a Homeless Services Center. indybay.org In it's report, "Homelessness: Big Problem, Little Progress: It's Time To Think Outside The Box," the 2019-2020 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury suggests transitioning Juvenile Hall in Felton into a, "treatment and multi-faceted supportive services center for homeless individuals". The Civil Grand Jury report cited low incarceration numbers at Juvenile Hall in Felton compared to the number of staff members required to operate the facility, and noted that decreasing youth incarceration rates across the State of California has led to other counties closing their juvenile detention centers. "The Grand Jury believe…

news.un (2020-07-09). All drone strikes 'in self-defence' should go before Security Council, argues independent rights expert. news.un.org The growing use of weaponised drones risks destabilising global and security and creating a "drone power club" among nations, that face no effective accountability for deploying them as part of their "war on terror", a senior UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Thursday.

Nino Pagliccia (2020-07-09). Venezuela is on a Path to Make Colonialism Obsolete. counterpunch.org On June 29 the European Union (EU) slapped new sanctions against 11 Venezuelan individuals. Immediately President Nicolas Maduro responded by ordering the expulsion of the EU ambassador to the country. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that Brussels would retaliate against Caracas over its decision and announces that it will summon Maduro's ambassador to

Staff (2020-07-09). Viagra? Yes. Birth Control? No. SCOTUS Sides with Trump & Limits Free Contraception Under Obamacare. democracynow.org The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to reproductive rights when it sided with the Trump administration in letting employers deny people access to free birth control based on religious or moral grounds, hollowing out a mandate under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to provide cost-free birth control. "It's a really deeply disappointing ruling," says Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. "These individuals are effectively on their own to find and pay for their contraception."

WSWS (2020-07-09). US Supreme Court decisions attack separation of church and state and workers' rights. wsws.org The court's assault on workers takes the form of an assault on secularism.

Sue Davis (2020-07-09). SCOTUS decides 5-4 win for abortion rights. workers.org SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective Executive Director Monica Simpson speaking at reproductive justice rally in Georgia, June 28, 2019. On June 29, the Supreme Court issued a much anticipated decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, the first reproductive justice case since anti-abortion Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and . . . |

Leonardo Flores (2020-07-09). Biden's vision for Venezuela is virtually indistinguishable from Trump's. thegrayzone.com A campaign event demonstrated that when it comes to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions, and refusal to engage in…

Daniel Falcone (2020-07-09). Cold War with China and the Thucydides Trap: a Conversation with Richard Falk. counterpunch.org Should there be a Second Cold War an alleged US concern for human rights would indeed become another ongoing tool of propaganda. In this interview, International Relations scholar Richard Falk breaks down the grave dangers and prospects for a New Cold with China. Falk worries that tensions and rivalries both regionally and economically could result

Terry Everton (2020-07-09). Facebook: "serious setbacks for civil rights" dissidentvoice.org The Verge reports: A team of civil rights auditors has delivered a scathing and unexpected indictment of Facebook's recent moderation choices after a two-year examination of the platform's practices and internal policies. "While the audit process has been meaningful and has led to some significant improvements in the platform," the report reads, "we have also …

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2020-07-09). Peru ranks oil production over pandemic threat and Indigenous rights. peoplesworld.org As of July 7, 10,772 people had died of COVID 19 infection in Peru, which is the 8th most severely affected country in the world. The actual toll is assumed to be far greater, especially in Peru's Amazonian region. Indigenous inhabitants there, isolated from medical care, are vulnerable both to environmental abuses at the hands …

A Guest Author (2020-07-09). Deadly new sanctions on Syria. workers.org By Judy Bello This slightly edited guest article was originally published June 12 on the web site of the United National AntiWar Coalition (unac.notowar.net). On May 20, President Trump signed into law the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Embedded in this bill, a housekeeping bill of sorts where yearly . . . |

RT (2020-07-09). Internet witch hunts derive from 'profound' desire for self-purpose, signatory of open letter critical of cancel culture tells RT. rt.com Cancel culture attracts people who feel isolated by society and want to be part of a rigid orthodoxy that gives their lives meaning, according to a signatory of a controversial open letter that was also endorsed by J.K. Rowling. | Growing intolerance towards ideas and views deemed impermissible swells from a yearning to belong to something bigger than ourselves, said Roger Berkowitz, a professor of political studies and human rights at Bard College. In an interview with RT, he explained that "widespread mass existential loneliness of our culture" has eroded social traditions to the point where many people feel…

RT (2020-07-09). UK police arrest four terrorism suspects in London and Leicester. rt.com The Met police carried out an operation to arrest three terrorist suspects in the east of the British capital, another man was detained in Leicestershire. | The police said that four men were arrested for "preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism" as part of a proactive investigation. | Three suspects were detained at two separate addresses in East London, with one more apprehended in Leicestershire. | The Counter Terrorism unit making an arrest in Maygoods in London, England, Thursday 9th July 2020.

Jorge Capelan (2020-07-09). The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team and Nicaragua — Science or Injustice? globalresearch.ca The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, EAAF1, created in the mid-1980s, is a very prestigious human rights organization in Argentina and Latin America2 for, among other things, having found the mortal remains of the founder of the Mothers …

Nicaraguan civil society (2020-07-09). Open Letter to the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and to the IACHR Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts on Nicaragua, the Argentinian Team of Forensic Anthropology and SITU Research of New York. globalresearch.ca IACHR President: Sr. Joel Hernández García | IACHR First Vice-President: Sra. Antonia Urrejola Noguera | IACHR Second Vice-President: Sra. Flávia Piovesan | GIEI members: Sr. Amerigo Incalcaterra, Sra. Sofía Macher, Sr. Pablo Parenti and Sra. Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey | EAAF: Sra. Mercedes …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-09). UN investigator's report condemns US drone strike targeting Qassem Soleimani. peoplesdispatch.org The report by Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, is due to be presented at the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday…

teleSUR (2020-07-09). South Africa: Health Minister Warns on COVID-19 Cases Increase. telesurenglish.net South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warned about a hospital occupancy increase despite the optimistic outlook on COVID-19 development. | RELATED: | South Africa's government enforced a strict lockdown and virus outbreak tracing through extensive screening as precautionary measures. Nevertheless, tests and supplies scarcity limits cases detention. | With a 58 million population, then daily new cases average went from 1,0…

Cesar Chelala (2020-07-09). The Dangers of Persecuting Doctors. counterpunch.org The detention in Egypt of nine doctors and paramedical personnel is only the latest attack on doctors dealing with the corona virus pandemic. The doctors were denouncing the deaths of front-line health care workers, as the country is struggling to control the pandemic and energize the economy with limited resources. The doctors were also critical