(2020-07-18). Oregon attorney general files lawsuit against federal agencies amid reports that officers 'kidnapped' Portland protesters. rt.com 
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is taking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other agencies to court, after accusing federal officers of detaining Portland demonstrators without probable cause. | Rosenblum announced on Friday night that the Oregon Department of Justice had filed a lawsuit in federal court against the DHS, US Marshals Service, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Federal Protection Service. The suit claims federal law enforcement agencies have been wrongfully seizing protesters and seeks a temporary restraining order which would prohibit them from using such tactic…
(2020-07-18). Rep. John Lewis, iconic civil rights leader, dead at 80. rt.com 
Longtime congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis has passed away at the age of 80 after a months-long battle with cancer, his family announced. | The Georgia Democrat, who served in Congress for more than three decades, was diagnosed in December with stage-four pancreatic cancer. "He dedicated his entire life to non-violent activism and was an outspoken advocate in the struggle for equal justice in America. He will be deeply missed," Lewis' family said in a statement announcing his death. | Lewis, a colleague of Martin Luther King Jr, was one of several keynote speakers at the 1963 March on Washington f…
(2020-07-18). Mayor demands that Trump remove federal police from Portland. thecanary.co 
The mayor of Portland has demanded that US president Donald Trump remove federal law enforcement from the city. Black Lives Matter protests have taken place in the city for nearly two months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May.Federal agents in green camouflage uniforms have reportedly arrested and detained protesters in the city. This happened after they were sent solely to protect federal property. Portland mayor Ted Wheeler told reporters: Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city.Federal officers deployed tear gas and fired less-lethal rounds into a crowd…
(2020-07-18). Civil rights icon John Lewis dies aged 80. thecanary.co 
Civil rights hero John Lewis has died aged 80. It was Lewis's bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 that helped galvanise opposition to racial segregation,House speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed Lewis's passing late on Friday 17 July. She called the veteran politician "one of the greatest heroes of American history". Both Democrats and Republicans sent Lewis tributes when he announced in December 2019 that he had advanced pancreatic cancer.Civil rights activist: Lewis was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists. This was a group led by Martin Luther King Jr that had the…
(2020-07-18). 8 Palestinians Detained by Israeli Forces, All Former Detainees. imemc.org Israeli forces, Thursday evening, detained a Palestinian astro-physicist at the entrance of Anata town, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, said Palestinian WAFA News Agency correspondent. He reported that Israeli soldiers ordered Imad Barghouthi, 56, an astrophysics professor at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem, out of his vehicle at the entrance …
(2020-07-18). US: Trump Sends Undercover Police to Quell Portland's Protests. telesurenglish.net U.S. Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) Thursday denounced that President Donald Trump has deployed federal agents in Portland, Oregon, dressed in camouflage but without any visible insignia, to round up and detain U.S. citizens. | RELATED: | "Multiple videos released on digital platforms show federal officials approaching people, arresting them and leaving without any explanation to justify the arrest," OPB said in a statement. | Since at least July 14, officials have dr…
(2020-07-18). Artists Install Anti-Trump Living Statues Around DC. popularresistance.org Living statues were installed around Washington, D.C. on Friday depicting President Trump as a "destroyer of civil rights and liberties." | A group of artists known as the Trump Statue Initiative is behind the installations, including one that depicts Trump holding up a Bible while Black Lives Matters protesters are beaten and another showing him telling a masked child to "go back to school" while holding a golf club. | "The concept is that the history he's painting of himself right now, where his narcissistic or racist or self-serving moments abound, this is what he's leaving us with," filmmaker Bryan Buckley to…
(2020-07-17). "My Appetite is Justice": mother launches hunger strike after son's death in presence of police officers. liberationnews.org 
On July 4, Dannielle Brown brought a rocking chair and a stool to Freedom Corner, the location of a monument in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh marking the spot where major civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s took place. She sat down in her rocking chair and would not leave or eat, beginning a …
(2020-07-17). Portland Mayor Condemns Masked Federal Agents Abducting Protesters. thealtworld.com 
Human rights groups, activists, and local politicians are decrying what appears to be the Trump administration's latest tactic to crush nationwide protests that erupted in late May over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police. | MPN— Anonymous masked federal agents in military uniforms jump out of unmarked minivans, abducting seemingly random people on the street in Portland, frightening new viral videos show. Officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and Customs and Border Protection's BORTAC have been sent to the city to tamp down of 49 days of continuous demonstrations against raci…
(2020-07-17). Padma Lakshmi on Immigration, Food, and Authorship. aclu.org 
Recently, we've seen a reckoning in the culinary world around the whitewashing and co-opting of ethnic food. The industry has long been controlled by a limited number of people — many of them white — who have authored and then profited from the foods we eat and the stories we share. But the tide is turning. And our guest for this episode, Padma Lakshmi, is part of that movement., , You've likely seen her tasting and critiquing some of the best chefs in the U.S. on Top Chef, sharing her favorite recipes across social media and advocating for immigrants rights and women's rights. Pa…
(2020-07-17). From trans rights to treaty rights, the U.S. Supreme Court breaks progressive? nationofchange.org While American progressives will need a laser focus on the courts in the years ahead, these four decisions will likely reverberate around the world and create new possibilities for justice in many places beyond the country's borders.
(2020-07-17). Supreme Court declines to overturn lower court decision that bars Floridians with felony convictions and unpaid fines from voting. nationofchange.org Voting rights advocacy groups called the Supreme Court's decision "deeply disappointing."
(2020-07-17). PCHR: Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (09— 15 July 2020). imemc.org 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, a civilian was killed by Israeli forces while he was walking with his …
(2020-07-17). Recent Developments in Ecuador: Rights of Nature. commondreams.org Students of the Pambilino Forest-School look at plants as they walk to school in San Jose de Mashpi, Ecuador on October 31, 2019. – Children learn the importance of nature at a forest-school located in a biosphere reserve in Ecuador. The area is a unique territory in which the social and economic development of communities tends to an harmonious relationship with the natural environment. (Photo by Cristina Vega Rhor / AFP) (Photo by CRISTINA VEGA RHOR/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-07-17). Students, Colleges, and Universities Win Against the Trump Administration's Latest Anti-Immigrant Attack. aclu.org After a week of chaos, international students were able to relax after the Trump administration agreed to rescind its latest attack on immigrants: an attempt to ban international students whose classes would be entirely online this fall. The administration has normalized chaos, fear, and trauma over the last few years, beginning with airports all over the country during the Muslim ban and tearing children apart from their parents to attempting to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status programs. In the last several months, the administration has repeatedly used the p…
(2020-07-17). Stop Harassing Chinese Enterprises, Diplomat Hua Asked the US. telesurenglish.net China's Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying Friday urged the United States to halt its unjustified and unilateral sanctions against his country's companies. | RELATED: | "Stop suppressing specific Chinese enterprises unreasonably, stop abusing the concept of national security, and stop smearing China maliciously," Hua said, as reported by Xinhua. | On Aug. 13, the U.S. will implement new regulations aimed at prohibi…
(2020-07-17). Rights group blasts French 'complicit silence' in Libya. yenisafak.com France's history of solely calling out Turkey's actions in Libya while turning a blind eye to steps taken by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates is "complicit silence" par excellence, Human Rights Watch said Friday."That Macron is only accusing Turkey— which supports the government recognized by the United Nations and, at least officially, by France itself— is perplexing, yet it reveals France's ambiguities regarding Libya," Bruno Stagno Ugarte, the group's deputy executive director for advocacy, said in a blog post.He was referring to French President Emmanuel Macron. "In singling out Ankara, Macron k…
(2020-07-17). G20 Must Act, Say Hundreds of Religious, Labor, Human Rights, Environmental and Developmen. indybay.org Washington DC – Ahead of Saturday's G20 Finance Minister meetings, a wide range of 213 organizations is pressing for more action to confront the global health and economic impacts of the coronavirus. The largest religious bodies in the United States and Africa were joined by the biggest labor unions, human rights, environmental and anti-poverty groups in letters sent to the G20, IMF and White House.
(2020-07-17). Colombians Question Deployment Of US Security Forces. popularresistance.org Colombian soldiers and military brass have been implicated in a string of human rights violations in recent weeks. On May 1, Semana magazine reported that the Colombian military illegally used U.S. military aid to spy on journalists and human rights defenders, including U.S. citizens. On June 4, Colombian armed forces carried out forced eradication of illicit crops and injured six farmers. On June 25, seven soldiers confessed to gang-raping a 13-year-old Emberá girl in Northern Colombia. | Yet the United States is only deepening its relationship with the Colombian military. On May 28, the U.S. Southern Command (S…
(2020-07-17). US Border Security Confirms Detaining Portland Protesters After Reports of 'Kidnappings'. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents detained protesters in Portland, Oregon, and took them away for questioning at a location deemed safe from violent mobs, the agency said in a press release.
(2020-07-17). 'Facade of Freedom': Florida's Ex-Felon Voting Rights Rule Gutted in 'War on Poor People'. sputniknews.com The gutting of a 2018 amendment in Florida that gave ex-felons the right to vote, is just the latest attack in the government's war on poor, Black and brown people in America, two activists told Sputnik.
(2020-07-17). Washington Tries to Turn Up Heat on Nord Stream's European Partners. sputniknews.com On this episode of The Critical Hour, co-hosts Dr. Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon talk with journalist and political analyst Caleb Maupin about the US threatening to impose sanctions on European companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
(2020-07-17). 120 Rights Groups Demand ICE Immediately 'Release All Detained Families Together'. commondreams.org "Parents must be released with their children to preserve family unity, as family separation is not in the best interests of the child." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-07-17). Pompeo Panel Pushes 'Radical, Isolationist, Anti-Rights, Anti-Scientific, Religious Agenda' With Human Rights Report. commondreams.org "The U.S. State Department's effort to cherry-pick rights in order to deny some their human rights is a dangerous political stunt that could spark a race to the bottom by human rights-abusing governments around the world." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-07-17). Gaza closure is 'collective punishment': UN expert. yenisafak.com A UN human rights expert said Friday Israel should immediately halt what amounts to "collective punishment" against Palestinian people, which is "most strikingly seen" in its continuing closure of Gaza."The extent of the devastating impact of Israel's collective punishment policy can be most strikingly seen in its ongoing 13-year-old closure of Gaza, which now suffers from a completely collapsed economy, devastated infrastructure, and a barely functioning social service system," Michael Lynk said.Lynk is the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967."Th…
(2020-07-17). Mandela Prize awarded to Greek and Guinean rights activists. news.un.org The 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize, which is awarded every five years and recognizes those who dedicate their lives to the service of humanity, will go this year to Marianna Vardinoyannis, of Greece, and Doctor Morissana Kouyaté, of Guinea, it was announced on Friday.
(2020-07-16). 'Not Him… Us': On the Ultimate Meaning of the Bernie Sanders Campaign. commondreams.org Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addresses supporters during a campaign rally on March 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sanders covered his policy agendas for immigration, women's rights, healthcare and economic inequality. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-07-16). In Attempt to "Intimidate Protesters," 87 Face Felony Charges for Kentucky Sit-In for Breonna Taylor. democracynow.org 
In Louisville, Kentucky, civil rights groups are calling on prosecutors to drop felony charges against 87 people who held a peaceful sit-in protest Tuesday outside the home of Attorney General Daniel Cameron. The demonstrators were demanding the arrest and prosecution of the officers who killed Breonna Taylor, a Black Louisville resident who was shot inside her own home in March. Among those arrested: the president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills and Women's March co-founder Linda Sarsour. If convicted on felony charges, they could face up to five years in prison. "What they're…
(2020-07-16). A New Generation of Protest Holds Great Promise for America. counterpunch.org The inspiring rise of a new generation protesting against racial injustice is driving a new era of change in America, like the generation that emerged 60 years ago to build the civil rights movement of that time. July 16, 1960 is marked in my memory: that is the day I joined seven other friends to
(2020-07-16). Meatpackers hit for discrimination against workers of color in virus protection. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON — The nation's big meatpackers, notably Tyson Foods and JBS, are racially discriminating against their predominantly brown, Black, and Asian front-line labor force by not protecting rank-and-file workers against the coronavirus, a coalition of civil rights and pro-worker groups says. And the groups want to punish them by cutting off their federal cash. Fed …
(2020-07-16). Rally in Chicago denounces sanctions on 5-year anniversary of Iran deal. liberationnews.org 
"Sanctions are unjust. Too frequently they are talked about as if they are harmless. We know that sanctions kill."
(2020-07-16). Britain Caves to US, Bans Huawei from 5G Network Build-Out, More US Anti-China Sanctions Coming. globalresearch.ca Trump regime hardliners are pushing a diabolical full-court press to weaken and isolate China on the world stage — wanting its economic, industrial and technological development undermined. | I stressed these points in earlier articles, stressing as well the risk that …
(2020-07-16). Canada refuses to repatriate illegally jailed citizens accused of ISIS ties. wsws.org Trudeau's politically motivated refusal to repatriate children and others illegally detained in Kurdish military prisons in Syria is an attack on the citizenship rights of all Canadians.
(2020-07-16). Israeli Forces Detain Several Palestinians, Including a Recently Released Prisoner. imemc.org Israeli forces, on Thursday at dawn, detained several Palestinian civilians after invading homes in several occupied West Bank areas, the Palestinian Information Center reported. Local sources stated that soldiers detained five Palestinian young men from various areas of the Bethlehem governorate, in the southern West Bank. In the central West …
(2020-07-16). Rise in women prisoners and COVID measures, 'making sentences worse'. news.un.org More than 700,000 women are in prison around the world, and that number is growing much faster than men, the Human Rights Council has heard.
(2020-07-16). Immigrant Rights Groups FOIA for Info on ICE's Chicago Vigilante Training. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-16). State Department's Effort to Cherry-Pick Rights Is a Dangerous Stunt. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-16). Nuclear testing legacy is 'cruellest' environmental injustice, warns rights expert. news.un.org The dangerous legacy of nuclear weapons testing continues to affect many communities, a leading rights expert said on Thursday, on the 75th anniversary of testing in the United States, that heralded the nuclear age.
(2020-07-16). Former corrections officer sentenced to federal prison. nationofchange.org "The Department of Justice will ensure that those who willfully mislead officers to prevent justice for victims of civil rights violations are prosecuted."
(2020-07-16). Trump Move to Bring White Nationalist Sebastian Gorka Back to White House Blasted as 'Sanctioning Discrimination'. commondreams.org "Trump and Gorka are spreading fear and division that leads to violence and harassment targeting Jews, Muslims, immigrants, Asian American Pacific Islanders, and all people of color." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-07-16). 87 Face Felony Charges for Kentucky Sit-In for Breonna Taylor. truthout.org Image Credit: Matt Stone/Courier Journal/Reuters | In Louisville, Kentucky, civil rights groups are calling on prosecutors to drop felony charges against 87 people who held a peaceful sit-in protest Tuesday outside the home of Attorney General Daniel Cameron. The demonstrators were demanding the arrest and prosecution of the officers who killed Breonna Taylor, a Black Louisville resident who was shot inside her own home in March. Among those arrested: the president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Houston Texans wide…
(2020-07-15). 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Caused Brain Damage in Children. Dr. Anthony Fauci on "Vaccine Safety" Issues. globalresearch.ca A lawsuit against the Trudeau Government for its handling of the COVID-19 Crisis has been launched. What is at stake is the violation of fundamental rights of Canadians. | "The mass and indiscriminate containment of citizens, the restriction of access to …
(2020-07-15). Trump Fires Latest Salvo in US-China Sanctions War. mintpressnews.com 
Trump's new law, the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, places mandatory sanctions on officials or organizations (including businesses) that the White House views as helping Beijing clamp down on political freedoms.
(2020-07-15). US Sanctions Are Part of a Multi-front War on Syria, and Its Long-suffering Civilians Are the Main Target. globalresearch.ca The US is waging multiple fronts of war against Syria, including brutal sanctions, while claiming concern over the wellbeing of Syrian civilians — the vast majority of whom are suffering as a direct result of US policies. | On June 17, …
(2020-07-15). ERIC Crow, Jim Crow's liberal twin. nationofchange.org I don't for a minute believe that the Pew Trust is out to wipe away African-American voting rights; just the opposite, they are the quintessential do-gooders. They just don't do any good.
(2020-07-15). Corporate Greed Drives COVID-19 Pandemic Inside Peruvian Amazon. therealnews.com 
Peru's lawmakers are weighing a vote on crucial legislation, which, if passed, will declare large areas of pristine Amazon rainforest off limits to drilling and mining projects—a clear showdown between Big Oil and corporate mining interests and the rights of Indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. | Peru's Congress was expected to vote on the draft bill Thursday, July 2. But the proposal did not make it into the legislative agenda, prompting questions about whether corporate dollars are pulling the strings behind the scenes. | The proposed amendment has revived bitter decades-old social divisions in the…
(2020-07-15). China-Iran Deal Is a Major Blow to U.S. Aspirations in Central Asia. ahtribune.com 
"Two ancient Asian cultures, two partners in the sectors of trade, economy, politics, culture and security with a similar outlook and many mutual bilateral and multilateral interests will consider one another strategic partners" — these were the opening words of an 18-page document that confirmed a multi-billion dollar deal between China and Iran that blatantly defies U.S. imposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic. | According to
(2020-07-15). China to Sanction Lockheed Martin, Cut It Off From Its Rare Earths. anti-empire.com 
China will impose sanctions on US-based arms producer Lockheed Martin, the main contractor of the recertification of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air defense missiles of the island of Taiwan. | The sanctions will likely feature the cut-off of material supply including rare earths, which are crucial to advanced weapons production, and business restrictions on Lockheed Martin's suppliers that have business in the Chinese mainland, Chinese aviation industry experts said on Tuesday. | The US on Thursday announced the approval of an arms deal to Taiwan involving the recertification of PAC-3 air defense mi…
(2020-07-15). 'Unfair competition': Moscow blasts US move to enable sanctioning of Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines. rt.com 
The US' decision to remove sanctions exemption for the two pipelines under construction to deliver gas to Europe and Turkey is a textbook example of "unfair competition" through political means, Moscow has said. | The move, which allows the further sanctioning of Russian natural gas projects, has clearly shown the "weakness of the American system," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. | "This is the use of political pressure for sake of unfair competition," Zakharova stated. "Except for raw power, they don't have any effective tools." | Earlier in the day, US Secretary of St…
(2020-07-15). Israeli Soldiers Injure Many Detainees In Ofer Prison. imemc.org Israeli soldiers injured, late on Tuesday at night, many Palestinian political prisoners in Ofer prison, which is built on Palestinian lands west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, in addition to forcing one detainee in solitary confinement. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported that dozens of soldiers …