(2020-12-16). Abuse on the Mainland: Australia's Medevac Hotel Detentions. dissidentvoice.org Governments that issue press releases about the abuse of human rights tend to avoid close gazes at the mirror. Doing so would be telling. In the case of Australia, its record on dealing with refugees is both abysmal and cruel. It tends to be easier to point the finger at national security laws in Hong …
(2020-12-16). Defend incarcerated workers! workers.org 
These comments were given at a Dec. 10 webinar of the Prisoners Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party. The theme of tonight's webinar is "Build class solidarity with incarcerated workers: No walls in the workers' struggle." The PSC wanted to sponsor this webinar on International Human Rights Day — the . . . |
(2020-12-16). VIDEO: SA holding migrants in inhuman conditions. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (MNA) — Human Rights Watch has released footage of a detention center for foreigners in Riyadh, proving that Saudi officials have detained and tortured hundreds of foreign workers. As reported, three have lost lives by the present.
(2020-12-16). Dissident former Saudi jockey alleges poison threat and attempt to 'lure' her home. middleeasteye.net 
Dissident former Saudi jockey alleges poison threat and attempt to 'lure' her home | Alya Al-Howeiti, once a celebrated sports star in the kingdom, reveals backlash and death threats since speaking out against Riyadh's policies | Wed, 12/16/2020 – 14: 22 | Alya al-Howeiti was a celebrated Saudi jockey, before becoming a London-based human rights activist (Screengrab/Twitter) | A Saudi dissident and fo…
(2020-12-16). 'What kind of an alliance is this?': Turkey's Erdogan slams US over sanctions. middleeasteye.net 
'What kind of an alliance is this?': Turkey's Erdogan slams US over sanctions | Turkey's president responds to sanctions levied on Monday, calling them unjust and 'open attack' on its sovereignty | Wed, 12/16/2020 – 18: 53 | Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks after chairing cabinet meeting in Ankara on 14 December (AFP/File photo) | Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan respo…
(2020-12-16). Saudi prosecutor seeks 20 years in prison for women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul. middleeasteye.net 
Saudi prosecutor seeks 20 years in prison for women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul | Terrorism court judge says verdict and possible sentencing in Hathloul's case may be expected as early as Monday | Wed, 12/16/2020 – 20: 45 | Loujain al-Hathloul was arrested in May 2018 alongside at least a dozen other women activists (AFP/File photo) | Saudi Arabia's state prosecutor is seeking the maximum possible ja…
(2020-12-16). Family of Australian professor detained in Qatar say they fear for his life. middleeasteye.net 
Family of Australian professor detained in Qatar say they fear for his life | Professor Lukman Thalib told relatives that his blood pressure and heart rate had become dangerously low | Wed, 12/16/2020 – 14: 36 | Professor Lukman Thalib (right) received a teaching award at Qatar University in 2018. He is a public health expert and helped Qatar with its covid-19 response (Supplied) | The family of an Austr…
(2020-12-16). The Black Alliance For Peace Calls For People(s)-Centered Human Rights. popularresistance.org The global economic crisis of neoliberal capitalism—exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—has exposed the ethical, moral and political contradictions of the liberal interpretation of human rights that contends these rights can be viewed separately from the political economy, global structures and power relationships. Operating from the false premise that human rights are objective and politically neutral, neoliberals began weaponizing the framework in the 1990s as an instrument that rationalized naked imperialist interventions. Humanitarian interventionism and the "responsibility to protect" became the…
(2020-12-16). Bob Dylan sells his songwriting catalog to Universal for a reported $300 Million. wsws.org The arrangement will allow UMPG, owned by the largest music company in the world, Universal Music Group (valued at $33.6 billion), to have exclusive intellectual property rights to Dylan's music.
(2020-12-16). 'The fossil fuel industry is terrified': Gas company sues to destroy small town's rights of nature law. nationofchange.org "The fossil fuel industry is terrified the tactics taken in Grant Township are spreading."
(2020-12-16). Three peasant leaders arbitrarily detained in Colombia. peoplesdispatch.org Three well-known peasant and social leaders were arrested by officials of the National Police and the Attorney General's office in the last 24 hours in Colombia. At around 3am on December 16, peasant leader Robert Daza was arrested in the municipality of Pasto in the southwest department of Nariño. Less than 12 hours before his arrest, at around 5pm on December 15, Teófilo Acuña was arrested in the municipality Barranco de Loba of the Bolívar department, and Adelso Gallo was detained in the city of Villavicencio in the department of Meta. | Daza, Acuña and Gallo are all spokespersons of the Agrarian, Peasant, Eth…
(2020-12-16). Refugee supporters rally at prison hotel. greenleft.org.au Refugee rights supporters rallied outside the Mantra Hotel demanding the detainees be released, not moved, reports Chris Slee.
(2020-12-16). China undermining human rights by locking up rights lawyers, UN independent expert says. news.un.org China has mounted a "shocking" five-year assault on lawyers who stand up for human rights, putting them in prison and even torturing them, an expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council said in a statement on Wednesday.
(2020-12-15). The Most Lethal Virus is Not COVID. It is War. counterpunch.org 
In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Boris Johnson has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defence spending — a figure that would restore the under-resourced NHS many times over.
(2020-12-15). United Nations Sounds Alarms About Rising Violence in Colombia. telesurenglish.net The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday condemned the increase in violence in Colombia, urging President Ivan Duque's administration to take concrete actions to effectively protect the population. | RELATED: | Bachelet noted that the Indigenous Nasa community has been one of the most affected by the violence in 2020, with 66 of its members reported having been killed in the northern Cauca regi…
(2020-12-15). How US sanctions will affect Turkey's defence industry. middleeasteye.net 
How US sanctions will affect Turkey's defence industry | Penalties over Ankara's S-400 purchase could hinder crucial projects for up to a year until Turkey finds replacements | Tue, 12/15/2020 – 14: 19 | Turkey's Hurjet light combat aircraft, which is produced by the Presidency for Defence Industries, will be affected by US sanctions (Turkish Aerospace) | US sanctions imposed on Turkey on Monday over the…
(2020-12-15). Biden Can End the Mass Detention of Immigrants. aclu.org This piece was originally published in
(2020-12-15). US Sanctions Directed against Turkey For Its Acquisition of Russia's S-400 Air Defense System. globalresearch.ca The recently imposed targeted sanctions against Turkey and the impending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2021 ones mandating similar measures against it for its acquisition of Russia's S-400 air defense systems, while illegal in terms of international law and a …
(2020-12-15). Jacksonville rallies for justice for Devon Gregory and community control of the police. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL – On December 11, activists both locally and nationally joined the family of Devon Gregory, an 18-year-old Black man shot 35 times by four Jacksonville Sheriff's officers, in a day of action for Devon. | Earlier that day at around 11 a.m., Gregory's family was joined by their attorney, Kevin O'Conner, and organizers from various groups for a press conference on the steps of city hall. | The demands were for a federal investigation of the case, as well as an end to protections for killer cops that are currently in the Florida Officers' Bill of Rights, so that evidence such as the remaining body ca…
(2020-12-15). Western Sahara Is the "Reward" to Morocco for Recognizing Israel. globalresearch.ca President Donald Trump announced on December 10 that Morocco had joined UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan in recognizing Israel, with plans to reopen its liaison office in Tel Aviv, and joint overflight rights for airlines. The US, Israel, and Morocco triangle …
(2020-12-14). Ignore the Spin, The Hague's ICC Ruling on British War Crimes in Iraq Is Damning. globalresearch.ca The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court recently reported that there was "reasonable basis to believe" that British troops committed war crimes in Iraq. She declared that there was evidence of crimes including unlawful killing, rape, torture and inhumane treatment …
(2020-12-14). Vaccine Equity: Why Communities of Color & Incarcerated People Should Get Early Access to Shots. democracynow.org 
As the first shipments of a federally approved COVID-19 vaccine arrive across the United States, healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes will receive the first shipments, and epidemiologist Camara Phyllis Jones says communities of color with high rates of COVID-19 should also get consideration for early access. "I think that CDC got it right partially in terms of those overexposed because of their work or their living conditions, but they did not include our brothers and sisters in prisons, jails, detention centers, and they did not include those of us who are more exposed and less protected in our work…
(2020-12-14). A Middle Finger Cost Me My Livelihood as a Woman Athlete. aclu.org 
It took a split second for my whole world to come crashing down. , , My teammates on the University of Connecticut's women's soccer team were jumping and screaming and hugging each other. We had just won a championship game. It was one of the happiest moments of my life — my first championship win at the collegiate level. Without thinking, I flashed a middle finger in celebration as I embraced teammates on camera. I couldn't have known that split-second, mindless gesture of celebration would cause UConn to suspend me from the NCAA tournament, revoke my scholarship, and completely upend my life as I…
(2020-12-14). 'Support, not sanctions': Turkey's Erdogan dismayed at US punishing its NATO ally for purchasing S-400 system from Russia. rt.com 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hit out at new US sanctions imposed on Turkey over its purchase of an S-400 missile defense system from Russia, saying that he expected backing from his country's NATO ally, not punishment. | In a speech on Monday, Erdogan said that Turkey would not be deterred in defending itself by either US sanctions, or those agreed by the EU in response to the country's gas drilling in Mediterranean waters claimed by Cyprus. | "We expect support from our NATO ally, America, in our fight against terrorist organizations and forces … not sanctions," Erdogan said. | Also on rt.com | | <...
(2020-12-14). Imperialism 2.0: Notes from the Edge of the Narrative Matrix. globalresearch.ca The new imperialism doesn't look like old-school ground invasions, it looks like multi-front cold wars, economic warfare, blockades and starvation sanctions, drone strikes, arming proxy militias, CIA-backed coups, sprawling tech surveillance networks, mass psyops of unprecedented sophistication and narrative management …
(2020-12-14). Israel's Isolation of Palestinian Child Prisoners Amounts to Torture. globalresearch.ca Israeli authorities routinely detain Palestinian children in isolation solely for interrogation purposes, a practice that amounts to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, Defense for Children International — Palestine said in a report released today. | The 73-page …
(2020-12-14). Foreigners and US Presidential Pardons: Julian Assange Could be the Latest in a Distinguished Line. sputniknews.com Australian MP George Christensen is seeking clemency for Julian Assange who has been charged for publishing classified material and faces a prison sentence of nearly 175 years. Assange is currently detained in the UK's Belmarsh Prison, awaiting a final decision on his extradition to the United States.
(2020-12-14). Europe's Anti-Russia Sanctions Result in Extensive Economic Losses and Growing Tensions with Russia. globalresearch.ca New data out this week indicates that the European Union has suffered aggregate economic losses amounting to over €120 billion due to its policy of imposing sanctions against Russia. That's according to figures
(2020-12-14). Communism Is a Convenient Fifth Column for Justifying the Expansion of the National Security State. globalresearch.ca The tendency of the American establishment to treat communists like international criminals is borne of a desire to fiercely police them. Through genocidal sanctions and covert agendas to exclude them from the diplomatic order, Washington wilfully, knowingly deprives communist countries …
(2020-12-14). South Asian women community health workers demand labor rights and occupational safety. peoplesdispatch.org On the International Day for Universal Health Coverage, Public Services International brought together Community Health Workers from India, Pakistan and Nepal for the launch of the campaign "Community Health Work is Work"
(2020-12-14). 13 Million More Girls Expected to Be Forced Into Marriage Due to Covid-19 Lockdowns and Economic Hardship. commondreams.org International children's rights advocates warned Monday that child marriage is on the rise in poor countries around the world. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-12-14). Building Global Unity through Tolerance and Universal Rights. zcomm.org For our continued existence on our home planet and for a potential interstellar existence, we must realize what it means to be world citizens who exercise tolerance in all aspects of our lives…
(2020-12-13). The COVID-19 RT-PCR Test: How to Mislead All Humanity. Using a "Test" To Lock Down Society. globalresearch.ca The misuse of the RT-PCR technique is used as an intentional strategy by some governments, supported by scientific safety councils and by the dominant media, to justify the violation of a large number of constitutional rights, the destruction of the economy with the bankruptcy of entire active sectors of society,…
(2020-12-04). US Slaps More Sanctions on Iran, Claiming Tehran Has Secret Chemical Weapons. theantimedia.com Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran in 1980s war while receiving support from the US.