(2020-07-20). Headlines for July 20, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus on the Rise Around the World, with the U.S. Leading the Charge, Trump Seeks to Block Billions in Federal Funds for Testing as He Continues to Downplay Virus, Civil Rights Icon and Long-Standing Congressmember John Lewis Dies, C. T. Vivian, Civil Rights Legend, Dubbed "Greatest Preacher to Ever Live" by MLK, Dies at 95, Protesters Rail Against Federal Officers' Violent and Covert Attacks in Portland, Charges Dropped Against BLM Protesters as New Info Emerges About Police Killing of Breonna Taylor, Police in Chicago Punch Black Teenage Activist in Face, Knocking Out Her Teeth, Two Men Charged over Racis…
(2020-07-20). Outrage against Trump administration for violent crackdown on Portland protesters. peoplesdispatch.org The deployment of armed security forces to quell protests in the city of Portland, Oregon, has attracted widespread outrage across the United States. On Sunday, July 19, the attorney general of Oregon state, Ellen Rosenblum, filed a lawsuit against the federal administration led by president Donald Trump over "unlawful detention" of protesters. | The lawsuit is the among the many responses by state politicians against the violent crackdown by federal forces from the state. On the same day, the mayor of Portland had renewed calls for the removal of all federal forces from the city, calling their actions "abhorrent…
(2020-07-20). US 'sanction' addiction irritates EU allies: Vaezi. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 20 (MNA) —Mahmood Vaezi wrote that "Josep Borrell's protest against the US use of economic sanctions shows that even US allies have been irritated by the US addiction to sanctions."
(2020-07-20). Remembering C. T. Vivian, Civil Rights Icon MLK Called "Greatest Preacher to Ever Live" democracynow.org 
Reverend C. T. Vivian, whom Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once described as "the greatest preacher to ever live," died July 17 at age 95. Vivian was a giant of the civil rights movement and a leading proponent of nonviolent struggle against injustice. He spoke to Democracy Now! in 2015 outside the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama, on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in 1965. Vivian describes how he was assaulted on the steps of the courthouse as he tried to escort a group of African Americans inside to register to vote. "There is nothing we haven't done for this nation," Vivian said of the civ…
(2020-07-20). "I Felt Like I Was Going to Die": Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Recalls 1965 "Bloody Sunday" in Selma. democracynow.org 
As the United States mourns the loss of civil rights icon and 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis, we feature his 2012 in-studio interview, when he tears up remembering the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery march he helped lead in 1965 as a 25-year-old man, when he was almost beaten to death by police in what came to be called "Bloody Sunday" and helped push the country toward adopting the Voting Rights Act. "They came toward us, beating us with nightsticks and bullwhips, trampling us with horses," he told Democracy Now! "All these many years later, I don't recall how I made it back across that bridge to…
(2020-07-20). Rep. John Lewis on the Freedom Rides, Surviving KKK Attacks, 1963 March on Washington & Malcolm X. democracynow.org 
Civil rights movement icon and 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis, who died July 17 at the age of 80, helped found SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and was the youngest of the so-called Big Six who addressed the March on Washington in 1963. Before that, he was among the 13 original Freedom Riders who rode buses across the South to challenge segregation laws. He spoke to Democracy Now! in 2012 about his activism and that historic campaign, during which they were beaten and attacked by white mobs and the Klu Klux Klan, including by Klansman Elwin Wilson, who apologized to Lewis decades…
(2020-07-20). Tributes pour in for civil rights icon John Lewis. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—From Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson to Richard Trumka and Black Lives Matter, tributes poured in over the weekend of July 18-19 for Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the longtime civil rights leader and "conscience of the Congress" who died late at night on July 17 of pancreatic cancer. He was 80, and had represented Atlanta …
(2020-07-20). A personal remembrance of two civil rights giants. peoplesworld.org 
Two giants of the struggle for equality and human rights died this weekend, Rep. John Lewis who represented Atlanta for 17 terms in Congress and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, both lifelong fighters for voting rights. I met and interviewed both of these mass leaders on March 11, 2005, when my wife Joyce and I were …
(2020-07-20). 92 Groups Urge Senate to Protect Health, Rights, and Democracy in COVID-19 Response. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-07-20). John Lewis, civil rights militant turned big-business politician, dies at 80. wsws.org The outpouring of tributes from reactionaries and war criminals demonstrates the class role that Lewis came to play, despite his youthful part in asserting the democratic rights of African Americans.
(2020-07-20). Just as coronavirus threatens employee rights it's also an opportunity for better conditions. thecanary.co From the beginning of industrialisation there has been a power imbalance in the workplace. And despite employment legislation attempting to address this, power still tips in favour of employers. | Since at least the days of the
(2020-07-20). Trump's police-state attack in Portland, Oregon. wsws.org The crackdown on demonstrators by Trump's fascistic border agents is the latest move in his administration's years-long assault on democratic rights in the United States.
(2020-07-20). Results of Syrian parliamentary elections to be out on Monday. peoplesdispatch.org The elections for the 250-seat People's Assembly was held on Sunday. The rebuilding of infrastructure and the economy ravaged by the war and sanctions was among the key electoral issues…
(2020-07-20). Jerusalem Governor Detained by Israeli Police, for 18th Time in 2 Years. imemc.org Israeli forces, on Saturday detained Adnan Gheith, the Palestinian Authority's (PA) Governor of occupied Jerusalem, after storming his home in Silwan, the Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. The home of Governor Gheith, in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, was raided and searched by Israeli police, who proceeded to detain …
(2020-07-20). Iraq's KRG blocks return of Arab families: HRW. yenisafak.com Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused the authorities in northern Iraq's Kurdish region of blocking the return of 1,200 Arab families to their homes in the region.In a statement, the New York-based organization said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was preventing these families from returning home to five villages more than six years after the area was retaken from the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group."KRG authorities have allowed Kurdish residents in neighboring villages, in the Rabia subdistrict, west of Dohuk, to return," HRW said.Belkis Wille, HRW's senior crisis and conflict researcher, said that "KRG…
(2020-07-20). UK government admits Test and Trace programme 'breaks data protection law'. thecanary.co The government has admitted that England's coronavirus (Covid-19) Test and Trace programme has broken a data protection law, according to a letter sent to privacy campaigners. | The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) acknowledged it had failed to carry out a risk assessment on how the system would affect privacy. | It follows the threat of legal action from the Open Rights Group (ORG), which claims that the programme to trace contacts of those infected with Covid-19 has been operating unlawfully since its launch on 28 May. | t.co/TZOO4zGHwj | — Open Rights Group (@OpenRightsGroup)
(2020-07-19). 'Do we name Fort Bragg after Rev Al Sharpton?' Trump says he may veto renaming of military bases honoring Confederate generals. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the National Defense Authorization Act over the proposed purge of military base names that honor Confederate figures, telling Fox News, "Yeah, I might." | Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Trump told anchor Chris Wallace that renaming bases wouldn't go down well. "Go to the community, say, 'How do you like the idea of renaming Fort Bragg, and then what are we going to name it?' And 'We're going to name it after the Reverend Al Sharpton'?" he said, referring to the black civil rights activist and minister. | Renaming Confederate-honoring military installations is part…
(2020-07-19). Portland Mayor Urges Trump to Remove Federal Agents From City. telesurenglish.net Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler urged U.S. President Donald Trump to remove the federal agents used by Washington to suppress the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement in that city in Oregon. | RELATED: | Videos released on social networks show how masked officers corner protesters in unidentified vehicles and arrest them without identifying themselves or explaining the cause of the detention. | "These actions shock everyone. We will no…
(2020-07-19). Oregon Sen. Vows Amendment to Bar Trump's Paramilitary Squads From US Streets. truthout.org Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley on Saturday announced plans to introduce an amendment barring the Trump administration from deploying federal law enforcement to U.S. streets as backlash continues over the White House's use of unidentified agents to violently crack down on protests in Portland and detain demonstrators without cause. | "When I get back to D.C. next week, I will be introducing an amendment to the defense bill with Sen. Ron Wyden to stop the Trump administration from sending its paramili…
(2020-07-19). Government's hostile environment blamed for 'chilling' rise in self-harm incidents at immigration detention centres. thecanary.co 
A rise in the number of self-harm incidents in immigration detention centres is the chilling effect of the government's "hostile environment", it has been claimed.Home Office statistics indicate that the number of incidents in immigration removal centres has risen over the last five years from 313 in 2015 to 474 last year.The figures were published in response to a written parliamentary question from acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey. | Despite a slight drop in the number of incidents between 2015 (313) and 2016 (295), the figure grew to 403 in 2017.A total of 398 incidents of self-harm were recorded in 201…
(2020-07-19). Cuba: President Diaz-Canel Congratulates Children on Their Day. telesurenglish.net Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel Sunday congratulate every Cuban child marking on occasion of the Children's Day in the Caribbean Island. | RELATED: | "Congratulations to our kids in Cuba. We Are Cuba," president Diaz-Canel tweeted. | Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez congratulate the Cuban children and reaffirmed the government's commitment to guarantee children's rights, well-being and full development. | He added that the Cu…
(2020-07-19). Israeli Army Detains Palestinian Youths from Ramallah, Jerusalem. imemc.org The Israeli army, at dawn Saturday, stormed al-Jalazoun refugee camp in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and detained three Palestinian teens, the Palestinian Information Center reported. According to Asra Media Office, members of a special Israeli military unit detained three teenagers from their homes in al-Jalazoun camp. The …
(2020-07-19). Israeli Army Detains Five, Shoots Two Palestinians in the West Bank. imemc.org The Israeli forces detained seven Palestinian civilians, over night Saturday, and Sunday morning, from across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society reported. Two Palestinian civilians, identified as, Amir Abu Zina, and Issam Al-Natsheh, were detained by the Israeli army, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. It …
(2020-07-19). GEO Group's ICE Jail Lies To Immigration Lawyer. popularresistance.org Aurora, CO — On the morning of June 30, 2020, Pablo Mackleen Grijalva's lawyer tried to contact him at the GEO Group's ICE jail where he is detained, but to her shock, the officer on the phone told her he was not there. She immediately called Kesha Davalos Grijalva, Mackleen Grijalva's wife, and told her what the officer said. After calling the jail a second time, an officer confirmed that Mackleen Grijalva was going to be deported that day with others in the weekly deportation van. When Davalos Grijalva heard the deportation news, she called her friends and family and a group of them decided to drive to th…
(2020-07-19). UK's Raab says clear Uighurs in China suffered human rights abuses. yenisafak.com British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Sunday it was clear the Uighur minority in China had suffered abuses of their human rights."It is clear that there are gross, egregious human rights abuses going on, which is why in Geneva at the UN we raised this with 27 partners … to call out the government of China for its human rights abuses of the Uighurs, also of Hong Kong," Raab told the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show.Beijing's ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming told the same programme that most Uighurs were living happily and that ethnic minorities in China were treated as equals.
(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). Assange's Father Speaks Out. popularresistance.org Well we fight against the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States, and to a certain extent Australia. They have marshaled all of their forces and broken every law in human rights and due process in order to send Julian to the United States and destroy him. | Before our eyes, we have watched the gradual murder of Julian through psychological torture, through ceaseless breaking of procedures and due process. So that is what we fight against. | During the latest hearing, the judge Barrett asked Julian to prove that he was unwell, that he didn't come onto the video. So again, we see a process that we witness over a…
(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…
(2020-07-18). Oregon Sues Federal Agencies Over Protest Enforcement. popularresistance.org The Oregon Department of Justice is suing several federal agencies for civil rights abuses, and state prosecutors will potentially pursue criminal charges against a federal officer who seriously injured a protester. | The federal lawsuit names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protective Service, agencies that have had a role in stepped-up force used against protesters since early July. The state filed the lawsuit late Friday night. | It lists defendants specifically as John Does 1-10 because the "identity of the of…
(2020-07-18). ACLU Sues Trump Administration Over Use Of Secret Police In Portland. popularresistance.org The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon sued the Trump administration late Friday over its deployment of federal agents to Portland, where unidentified officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service have been detaining Black Lives Matter protesters without explanation and using indiscriminate force to crush demonstrations. | "This is a fight to save our democracy," Kelly Simon, interim legal director with the ACLU of Oregon, said in a statement. "Under the direction of the Trump administration, federal agents are terrorizing the community, risking lives, and bruta…
(2020-07-18). Thousands join fresh rally in Russia's Khabarovsk over arrested governor Furgal (PHOTOS, VIDEO). rt.com 
An unsanctioned large-scale rally has taken place in Khabarovsk, the largest city in Russia's Far East. Crowds again took to the streets of downtown to protest the detention of Governor Sergey Furgal on contract-murder charges. | Furgal, a highly popular local politician and member of Russia's Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of orchestrating the murder of business rivals back in the 2000s. Shortly after he was detained and transferred to Moscow to face official charges, several massive rallies rocked Khabarovsk, a city of more than 600,000 people. | This Saturday, p…
(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). 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). 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). France, Germany & Italy threaten 'sanctions' against countries that interfere in Libya. rt.com 
Paris, Berlin and Rome have urged foreign powers to respect the UN Security Council arms embargo on Libya or face repercussions, in a joint statement issued by the EU leaders. | "We are ready to consider the possible use of sanctions should breaches to the embargo at sea, on land or in the air continue," France's President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned. | Oil-rich Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a NATO bombing campaign ousted long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the country is now being run by two rivaling governments. | In rece…
(2020-07-18). Michigan teen sent to juvenile detention for failing to do her homework. wsws.org Amid the chaotic transition to online learning during the pandemic, a teenage girl has been taken into criminal custody for "failure to submit any schoolwork."
(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). Wave of Condemnation Hits Trump as He Tweets Condolences Over Death of Dem. Rep. John Lewis. sputniknews.com Democratic House Representative John Lewis was a civil rights leader awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and famous for playing a key role in ending legalized racial segregation in the United States. He was a part of the "Big Six" – a group of prominent civil rights leaders behind Washington's 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom.
(2020-07-18). Florida Senator Marco Rubio Lambasted for Honoring Memory of John Lewis With Wrong Photo. sputniknews.com US Democratic Representative John Lewis, a prominent civil rights advocate, died of cancer on Friday at the age of 80. Flags at the White House were lowered to half-mast in memory of the lawmaker, and President Donald Trump sent his condolences, receiving a wave of criticism for the comments.
(2020-07-18). Is America Up for a Naval War With China? strategic-culture.org Patrick BUCHANAN | Is the U.S., preoccupied with a pandemic and a depression that medical crisis created, prepared for a collision with China over Beijing's claims to the rocks, reefs and resources of the South China Sea? | For that is what Mike Pompeo appeared to threaten this week. | "The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire," thundered the secretary of state. | "America stands with our Southeast Asian allies and partners in protecting their sovereign rights to offshore resources … and (we) reject any push to impose 'might makes right' in the South China Sea." | Thu…
(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.
(2020-07-17). '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). Portland Mayor Condemns Masked Federal Agents Abducting Protesters. mintpressnews.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.
(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). "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). 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). 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). 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). 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 …