(2020-10-22). Israeli NGOs demand government allow UN rights monitors. middleeasteye.net 
Israeli NGOs demand government allow UN rights monitors | Prominent rights groups write to Israel's foreign minister following MEE revelation that OHCHR workers had stopped receiving visas | Thu, 10/22/2020 – 08: 55 | Visitors on a tour held by NGO "Breaking the Silence" walk down Shuhada Street in the West Bank city of Hebron (Reuters) | Major Israeli rights organisations have written to the country's foreign mi…
(2020-10-22). Yemen: Prisoner Swap and What May be Behind It. dissidentvoice.org Transcript of an Interview with Press TV Background The fourth batch of Yemeni detainees has arrived in Sana'a as part of the largest prisoner swap between the country's warring sides. The residents in the capital received 112 prisoners after their plane landed in the Sana'a international airport. 1,081 men will be released in two days. …
(2020-10-22). Voter Suppression and Right-wing Threats Fail to Keep Millions Away from the Polls. globalresearch.ca Efforts aimed at thwarting the fundamental bourgeois democratic rights of the majority of people in the United States are well underway. | President Donald J. Trump has said repeatedly that mail-in voting and early opportunities to cast ballots are inherently fraudulent …
(2020-10-22). Wednesday 10/21: Voting Plan, CA Ballot Info, & Voting Rights During COVID-19 Webinar w/ ACLU. indybay.org Online voter webinar and online volunteering opportunities…
(2020-10-22). Justice for Eric Briceno, killed by ELA Sheriffs. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – Family, neighbors, supporters and Centro Community Service Organization (CSO) attended an October 16 press conference, rally and celebration of the life of Eric Briceno, who was killed by East LA Sheriffs in Maywood, California. Other families who have lost loved ones to police killings also joined the Briceno family. Well-known civil rights attorney Samuel Paz had asked Centro CSO to help the Briceno family. | Briceno was killed on March 16 after his parents called 911 for help with a mental health crisis. Briceno was beaten and tased to death in his bedroom, after he woke up to sheriffs shouti…
(2020-10-21). Ex-Mexican Military Head Arrested in U.S. on Drug Charges. Should He Be Tried for Massacres, Too? democracynow.org 
We speak with legendary Mexican investigative journalist Anabel Hernández about a case that has sent shockwaves throughout Mexico: the U.S. arrest of Mexico's former defense secretary for allegedly working with a major drug cartel while heading Mexico's military. General Salvador Cienfuegos served as secretary of defense from 2012 to 2018 in the former government of President Enrique Peña Nieto and has long been accused of human rights abuses, including refusing to allow investigators to interview soldiers who may have been involved in the 2014 disappearance and likely massacre of 43 students from a teachers' col…
(2020-10-21). "A Barrett Confirmation Is a Catastrophe": What Democrats Can Do to Block Trump's Supreme Court Pick. democracynow.org 
Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout says Senate Democrats can still block the confirmation of President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, if they use every possible procedural method available to them to slow and frustrate the process. "A Barrett confirmation is a catastrophe," Teachout says. "A 6-3 majority on the court is basically a bomb coming at what is left of our protections against corruption in politics, against corporate money, against what is left of the Voting Rights Act."
(2020-10-21). Trump State Department Plan to Declare Human Rights Groups 'Anti-Semitic' Slammed as 'Desperate,' 'Obscene'. commondreams.org The designation would target humanitarian organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam, sources said. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-21). Turkish police officers go on trial over killing of Kurdish human rights lawyer. middleeasteye.net 
Turkish police officers go on trial over killing of Kurdish human rights lawyer | Campaigners welcome prosecution years after what they say was a botched investigation into Tahir Elci's death | Wed, 10/21/2020 – 10: 22 | People hold a portrait of Tahir Elci at a cemetery in Diyarbakir on 28 November 2016, during a ceremony in tribute to the late Kurdish lawyer (AFP) | The trial of three police o…
(2020-10-21). Brennan's Nuremberg Defense: One More Whitewash of the CIA's Torture Program. counterpunch.org 
With his disingenuous memoir, Brennan has now joined forces with former CIA directors and deputy directors such as Tenet, McLaughlin, Goss, and Michael Morell who refuse to recognize the CIA created a sadistic program that went far beyond DoJ guidelines, and then lied about the extent of the torture and the fact that nothing was learned that stopped terrorist activity.
(2020-10-21). Malcolm and Martin come to the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. peoplesworld.org 
[To enhance the reading of this review, I suggest you play this classic in the background.] A couple of new films on the lives of two of the most prominent figures in the civil rights movement, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, were released at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. …
(2020-10-21). Syria still not sharing information on missing US journalist Austin Tice, Pompeo says. middleeasteye.net 
Syria still not sharing information on missing US journalist Austin Tice, Pompeo says | Secretary of State says Washington will not change policy towards Syria to obtain release of detained Americans | Wed, 10/21/2020 – 19: 24 | Austin Tice was detained checkpoint near Damascus in August 2012 while covering Syrian conflict (AFP/File photo) | The Syrian government has not shared any information on the whereabou…
(2020-10-21). European MPs tell Egypt's Sisi to release prisoners of conscience. middleeasteye.net 
European MPs tell Egypt's Sisi to release prisoners of conscience | Egyptian president facing mounting calls by lawmakers from the US and Europe to end his government's rights violations | Wed, 10/21/2020 – 11: 17 | Egypt's President Sisi has been accused by international rights groups of presiding over the country's worst crackdown on human rights in its modern history (AFP/file photo)…
(2020-10-21). Israeli policeman who killed autistic Palestinian charged with reckless homicide. middleeasteye.net 
Israeli policeman who killed autistic Palestinian charged with reckless homicide | Rights group says higher charges should have been levied; defence lawyers say killing was 'tragedy, but not a criminal offense' | Wed, 10/21/2020 – 18: 07 | Demonstrators raise portrait of Iyad al-Halak in protest against Israeli government near prime minister's residence in Jerusalem in July (AFP/File photo) | An Israeli police…
(2020-10-21). How Trump's tweet signalled $335m Sudan payment to end decades of sanctions. middleeasteye.net 
How Trump's tweet signalled $335m Sudan payment to end decades of sanctions | Agreement between Washington and Khartoum saw Sudan pay millions in compensation to US victims of bombings | Wed, 10/21/2020 – 15: 43 | Sudanese protesters take to the streets on 21 October 2020 in Khartoum and neighbouring cities against a worsening economic crisis (AFP) | A tweet by Donald Trump has sparked wide discuss…
(2020-10-21). "French oil giant Total's projects in East Africa violate human rights, environmental safeguards" peoplesdispatch.org 
A report by Amis de la Terre France (Friends of the Earth) and Survie (Survival) says that the company's projects have threatened more than 100,000 people's livelihoods and created conditions for their displacement without proper compensation…
(2020-10-21). From Assassinations to Sanctions: Emergency Powers and the Rise of the Imperial Presidency. mintpressnews.com A decades-long push to concentrate power in the Oval Office through emergency response legislation has made the Office of the President more powerful than ever.
(2020-10-21). Demonstrations in Thailand continue as government rejects protesters' demands. wsws.org Underpinning the demands for democratic rights is a growing economic and social crisis for Thailand's youth and working class.
(2020-10-21). UK government steps up attacks on asylum seekers and refugees. wsws.org The Conservative government has no intention of upholding the fundamental "right to asylum" section of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in the aftermath of the Second World War.
(2020-10-21). Candidate Accountability: Demand a Commitment to a Peace and Human Rights Agenda. globalresearch.ca The novel coronavirus pandemic both revealed and accelerated the irreversible crisis of the global capitalist system and, consequently, the domestic conditions shaping the 2020 U.S. presidential election and every level of U.S. governance. | The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) asserts …
(2020-10-21). Millions of garment workers face job losses in Bangladesh. peoplesdispatch.org According to a recent study conducted by the Center for Global Workers Rights, "millions of workers are at greater risk of losing their jobs" due to global brands "demanding price cuts and delaying payments to suppliers"
(2020-10-21). Freedom of Expression Was Restricted in Ecuador, Report Shows. telesurenglish.net The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) published a report that highlights that freedom of expression was violated during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador, a country where 23 journalists have died from the coronavirus so far. | RELATED: | The Standing Committee for the Defense of Human Rights warned that, under the pretext of public security and health emergency, freedom of expression was viola…
(2020-10-21). Bolivia Is A beacon Of Light For Latin America. popularresistance.org After suffering a coup d'état that cost more than 33 lives, left thousands of people injured, and forced important political figures like President Evo Morales to go into exile to survive, official exit polls say that the Movement for Socialism (MAS) will return to power, in a way previously unheard of in Latin America, through democratic elections! | Unlike what OAS, the EU Commission and other international observers have said about the election being peaceful, in reality journalists were beaten, militant supporters of MAS were detained without justification, and many international observers were openly threate…
(2020-10-21). Eurasian Union able to improve Iran's economy amid sanctions. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (MNA) — Top military Aide to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that Eurasian Union is able to resolve the economic problems of Iran amid sanctions.
(2020-10-21). Citing Pattern of "Violently Suppressing Opposition, Sabotaging a Free and Fair Election, and Rejecting a Peaceful Transfer of Power," Voting Rights Group Sues President Trump and Top Administration Officials For Voter Intimidation. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-10-21). Corporate Constitutional Rights Should Be Focus of Last Presidential Debate. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-10-21). Report Details How Trump Downplays, Ignores Grave Human Rights Violations Around the World. commondreams.org One expert accused the administration of "using all the tools at its disposal to undermine our asylum system." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-21). Calling Trump a 'Clear Threat to Our Democracy,' Civil Rights Group Sues Admin. Over Voter Intimidation. commondreams.org "The court should protect the fundamental right to vote by blocking Trump's attempt to prevent a free and fair election." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-20). Chomsky: from nuclear weapons to Iran, Trump's worst threats are dangerously ignored. thegrayzone.com Noam Chomsky warns that the Trump administration poses a unique threat to humanity, and its most reckless policies are receiving far too little attention. Noam Chomsky discusses the White House's threats to the New START treaty, the last remaining accord limiting the US and Russia's nuclear weapons arsenals; its latest round of crippling sanctions and threats against Iran; the bipartisan US refusal to accept a Middle East Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, which would terminate Israel's nuclear weapons program; and the silencing of …
(2020-10-20). Amazonia: In the Flames, They See Money. counterpunch.org Sà¥nia Guajajara delivered this speech to accept the 2020 Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award on behalf of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB). The Association is standing up to powerful corporations, backed by an oppressive government, to protect indigenous rights and lands — all while fighting a deadly pandemic. On October 15, award-winning author
(2020-10-20). Nova Scotia Fishers' Rights; US Accuses Russians of Cyberwarfare. sputniknews.com Tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishermen come to a head in Nova Scotia, Canada, as angry mobs attack.
(2020-10-20). Amy Coney Barrett, Constitutional Precedent, and the Problem of Originalism. counterpunch.org 
Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett is a threat to many constitutional precedents, including Roe v. Wade (abortion rights), National Federation of Business v. Sebelius, (Obamacare), and Obergefell v. Hodges (marriage equality). It may not simply be her ideology or pre-judged opinions that pose the problem, it is her constitutional interpretive method of Originalism that is the issue.
(2020-10-20). The Communist Party of China: Putting the People First. dissidentvoice.org 
Wherever we lift one soul from a life of poverty, we are defending human rights. And whenever we fail in this mission, we are failing human rights. — Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General Among other items "proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people," the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights …
(2020-10-20). Saudi youths face death despite ban on capital punishment against minors. middleeasteye.net 
Saudi youths face death despite ban on capital punishment against minors | Riyadh accused of 'gulf between rhetoric and reality' as young detainees kept on death row despite King Salman's decree | Tue, 10/20/2020 – 13: 54 | Demonstrators stage a mock execution in Washington in protest against Saudi children sentenced to death in the kingdom (AFP/File photo) | Saudi detainees accused of committing crim…
(2020-10-20). Britannic Impunity: Torture and the UK Overseas Operations Bill. counterpunch.org 
It was praised by Michael Clarke, former Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute, as "clear and entire laudable" — at least up to a point. The UK Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill would "give [British] troops serving overseas much-needed extra protection against fraudulent or frivolous claims against them of criminal behaviour." It
(2020-10-20). Russian Cabinet strikes down proposed law to ban transgender people from amending sex assigned at birth on official documents. rt.com 
Russian authorities have rejected amendments to the country's family code, which would have enshrined in law a ban on marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, and restricted transgender people from officially changing gender. | The proposed laws, written by Senator Elena Mizulina, were focused on the rights to be the parent of a child, including changing the rules for deprivation of custody. If passed, the new family code would have taken custody decisions into the hands of the court, meaning that a parent would have to be found guilty before their offspring could be removed. | However, most prominently, the…
(2020-10-20). Women's Rights, No Strings Attached. thenation.com 
Roe v. Wade allows women to have
(2020-10-20). When Canada became a dictatorship: 50 years after Quebec's 'October Crisis'. peoplesworld.org 
(2020-10-20). Our rights and our duties. nationofchange.org Our rights should be restated, so the rights of any citizen shall be the rights of all citizens.
(2020-10-20). Safeguard human rights defenders, rights of NGOs in India, Bachelet urges. news.un.org Highlighting that India has long had a strong civil society at the forefront of "groundbreaking human rights advocacy within the country and globally", the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, raised concerns on Tuesday that "vaguely defined laws are increasingly being used to stifle these voices".
(2020-10-20). New Global Campaign — Nestle's Troubled Waters. popularresistance.org Evart is taking center stage in North America's "water wars" as local advocates demand that Nestlé Waters North America revert its claimed rights to the White Pine Springs back to the public trust. These springs, a source for Ice Mountain's bottled water brand, have long been subject to community opposition due to the company's legacy of broken promises, ecological harm, and removal of our most precious public resource: our water. | Nestlé Waters' announcement last summer that it is considering the sale of its bulk bottled water business…
(2020-10-20). Iran's export going on stably despite tough sanctions. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (MNA) — Executive of Tehran Province Industrial Townships said that export of country's products remains stable despite all tough and illegal sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(2020-10-20). COVID-19 in Prisons Is Far Worse Than Previously Thought, Data Trackers Say. truthout.org James King was incarcerated in California's San Quentin State Prison for roughly six years. He spent much of that time analyzing the politics of incarceration by chronicling his experiences living in one of the country's most notorious prisons. When he was released from prison in December 2019, he joined the staff of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, where he has campaigned for decarceration. | While incarcerated, King endured life in a cramped and racially segregated prison — a sit…
(2020-10-20). Unequal Justice: Confirmation Hearings Exposed Barrett as a Hardcore Rightwing Activist. progressive.org Her goal on the court will be to drive America back to the days before the New Deal and the civil rights movement.
(2020-10-20). Global Reproductive Health on the Ballot this November. commondreams.org 2020 has the chance to be a historic year for international reproductive rights. (Photo: Tami Chappell/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-20). 'Exciting and Historical Moment': Their Rights Restored, 67,000+ Former Felons Set to Vote in Florida Amid Record Early Turnout. commondreams.org "There are thousands upon thousands of energized and inspired returning citizens throughout the state that will not be denied, that will be a voice, and will have an impact in determining who wins Florida." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-20). Rights Advocates and Dems Reiterate Calls to #BlockBarrett as McConnell Vows to Confirm Trump Nominee on Monday. commondreams.org "If we're to have courts that protect equal justice for everyone, we need a nominee who will defend our civil and human rights. Amy Coney Barrett is not that nominee." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-19). Massive Rally In Support Of Sipekne'katik Harvesters, Treaty Rights. popularresistance.org Halifax, Nova Scotia – About a thousand people gathered in Grand Parade on Sunday, singing, drumming and voicing their support for Indigenous harvesters on Nova Scotia's southwestern shore, who are exercising their right to fish — outside the commercial season. | It's an assertion of treaty, constitution and court-protected rights that has cost Sipekne'katik fishers dearly since their launch of a moderate livelihood fishery in mid-September. This week, they were the target of assault, arson, vandalism, threats and intimidation.
(2020-10-19). UAE: Sexual assault allegations cast shadow on 'Orwellian' Ministry of Tolerance. middleeasteye.net 
UAE: Sexual assault allegations cast shadow on 'Orwellian' Ministry of Tolerance | Wife of former Emirati detainee says rape allegations further evidence of country's double standards on tolerance | Mon, 10/19/2020 – 12: 02 | Emirati Minister of State for Tolerance Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan (C) speaks to a nun during a Papal mass for an estimated 170,000 Catholics at the Zayed Sports C…
(2020-10-19). Rule Draconia: Tories and Labor Collude in Enabling Act for State Crimes. counterpunch.org 
The Tory government (with the collusion of the Labour leadership) is ramming through one of the most draconian and tyrannical laws ever seen in an ostensible democracy, a bill that will give a wide and ever-expanding number of state agencies the power to torture, rape and kill citizens without any legal consequences. This is no rhetorical exaggeration; it is the plain fact — as that notoriously far-left commie rag, the Spectator, points out.