(2021-06-22). Liberal Media Propaganda Tells the World: America is First. counterpunch.org If you get your foreign policy news today from CNN or MSNBC or NPR or similar outlets, then you're bombarded hour after hour with the idea that the United States has the absolute right to impose sanctions on country after country overseas if they violate human rights or are not democratic. To give just one example: On Sunday, CNN anchor Dana Bash grilled Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on why the White House is not imposing yet more sanctions on Russia (and
(2021-06-22). International Criticism of Nicaragua Crackdown Grows. latinorebels.com MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — International criticism of Nicaragua's government grew on Tuesday after another night of arrests in Managua. Fifty-nine countries at the United Nations Human Rights Council signed onto a statement expressing concern over arbitrary arrests and the restriction of fundamental rights.
(2021-06-22). China, allies seek probe into indigenous children's remains in Canada. popularresistance.org "We call for a thorough and impartial investigation into all cases where crimes were committed against the indigenous people, especially children, so as to bring those responsible to justice, and offer full remedy to victims," Jiang Duan, a senior official at China's mission to the U.N. in Geneva, told the Human Rights Council.
(2021-06-22). Headlines for June 22, 2021. democracynow.org South African President Blasts Big Pharma for Refusing to Share COVID-19 Vaccine Technology, Cuba Says Abdala Vaccine Shows 92% Efficacy Against COVID-19, Coronavirus Surges in Indonesia; Colombia Death Toll Passes 100,000, White House Falls Behind Goal of Donating 80 Million Vaccine Doses by End of June, Deaths Soared by 32% in U.S. Nursing Homes, Where 4 in 10 Had COVID-19 in 2020, Senate GOP to Filibuster Restoration of Voting Rights Protections, Belarus Hit with New Sanctions as U.N. Rights Chief Decries Torture and Other Abuses, Zapatistas Arrive in Spain, Marking 500 Years Since Cortés's Conquest of Mexico,…
(2021-06-22). New Evidence Reveals That Senator John McCain and Other High-Ranking Vietnam War POWs May Have Lied to the American Public About Being Tortured. covertactionmagazine.com Collusion by the White House, the Pentagon, and the mainstream media resulted in disparagement, denial, and suppression of eyewitness testimony confirming that most POWs were actually well-treated by their North Vietnamese captors (in contrast to the brutal torture and death often meted out to North Vietnamese POWs by U.S. forces). When numerous U.S. POWs began …
(2021-06-22). Republicans Won't Even Debate "For the People Act" as They Flood States with Voter Suppression Bills. democracynow.org 
Senate Republicans are expected to use the filibuster to block debate on the For the People Act, a sweeping bill that would protect voting rights across the United States and improve ballot access. The Senate vote comes as Republican state lawmakers are passing sweeping measures to suppress the vote. According to the Voting Rights Lab, 18 states have enacted more than 30 laws to restrict voting since the November election. The For the People Act is "the most important voting rights bill since the Voting Rights Act of 1965," says Mother Jones reporter Ari Berman. "It just goes to show you how afraid the Republican…
(2021-06-22). US Sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela Hamper the Global Fight Against COVID-19. orinocotribune.com 
By Cole Stangler — Jun 18 2021 | Critics say the sanctions undermine U.S. ambitions to vaccinate the world, while new polling shows a clear majority favors a policy change. | IN CUBA, the smallest country in the world to produce its own Covid-19 vaccines, five immunizations are currently in clinical trials. Soberana 2 and Abdala have reached Phase 3, making the island nation the only country in Latin America to reach the final stage in vaccine development. In the meantime, three other kinds of Cuban Covid-19 shots are in early trial phases. | Last month, Cuban authorities opted to begin early distribution of…
(2021-06-22). Republican filibuster is only the beginning of epic voting rights battle. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—It is no surprise that despite a spate of endorsements and a rally of backers Tuesday on Capitol Hill, the Senate sponsor of the For The People Act expects it'll hit a Republican rock in a Senate vote to bring it up for debate. Democratic President Joe Biden calls the For The People Act (S1/HR1) …
(2021-06-22). Progressives unleash state-level legislation tsunami to combat Republican assault on democracy. peoplesworld.org 
In the face of a vicious Republican-orchestrated assault on democratic rights and working-class economic gains, states dominated by Democratic governors and legislatures representing broad multi-racial governing coalitions are pulling in the opposite direction—going all out to expand rights. And in some GOP-dominated states, voters are taking matters into their own hands to bypass the obstruction …
(2021-06-22). UN criticized for leaving out Israel and Saudi coalition from list of violators of children's rights. peoplesdispatch.org 
Despite having verified cases of child right violations, Israel, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and several parties in Afghanistan were not included in this years' UN report on Children and Armed Conflict…
(2021-06-22). Iran's Raisi: Supports renewed Nuclear Deal, Seeks Lifting of US Sanctions, and Restored Saudi Diplomatic Relations. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — In his first press conference on Monday, newly elected President Ebrahim Raisi expressed support for the negotiations in Vienna toward restoring the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the United Nations, as long as, he said, they achieve benefits for the Iranian nation and do not drag on forever. He …
(2021-06-22). Republican-led states enact fascistic laws that ban the teaching of "divisive concepts" wsws.org While large sections of the media have falsely presented these bills as centered solely on the banning of critical race theory, they, in fact, represent a sweeping attack on democratic rights, historical truth and public education.
(2021-06-22). D.C. Statehood is Constitutional. Robert Kennedy Never Said Otherwise. aclu.org The movement for D.C. statehood has gained remarkable momentum in recent years. A bill to admit the district as the 51st state passed the House with unanimous Democratic support in April, and a hearing before the Senate is slated for June 22. As the hearing approaches, opponents of statehood are reaching back into history to bolster their agenda — but their interpretation may be misguided. | The movement's adversaries have misleadingly cited a
(2021-06-22). When You Lift from the Bottom, Everyone Rises. tomdispatch.com West Virginia, a state first established in defiance of slavery, has recently become ground zero in the fight for voting rights. In an early June op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin vowed to maintain the Senate filibuster, while opposing the For the People Act, a bill to expand voting rights. Last week, after mounting pressure and a leaked Zoom recording with billionaire donors, he showed potential willingness to move on the filibuster and proposed a "compromise" on voting rights. Nonetheless, his claim that the filibuster had been critical to protecting the "rights of Democrats i…
(2021-06-22). On the Podcast: Defending Speech We Hate. aclu.org The ACLU's role in defending freedom of speech has been hotly contested by some critics recently — but these conversations are far from new. Throughout its history, the organization has had to balance its dedication to advancing civil rights for marginalized people and
(2021-06-22). How I Made It: Fluxus Foto (A Latino USA Podcast). latinorebels.com The collective was formed in 2016 by Johis Alarcón, an award-winning photographer known for documenting movements for social equality and reproductive rights throughout the Americas.
(2021-06-22). Tareck El Aissami to Bloomberg: #Venezuela to Quadruple #Oil Production by End of Year—#Gas Lines Will End by July. orinocotribune.com Speaking to the "Production can go up to 600,000 barrels per day if everything goes well and sanctions are not increased," he said. "Even getting to that would be implausible in the medium term; production capacity has been…
(2021-06-21). Alex Saab Reveals New Details about his Abduction in Cape Verde (CNN). orinocotribune.com 
When repeating the grievances regarding his arbitrary, illegal and illegitimate detention, the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab mentioned new details about his experience in Cape Verde, where he remains incarcerated and faces the threat of extradition to the United States, a country where he is not expected to benefit from the rule of law. | In a letter sent through his team of lawyers, Saab answered some questions from US news network CNN. He asserted his rights once again amid what he considers incoherent actions from Cape Verde, a country that prides itself on its independence and sovereignty. | "If I am extradi…
(2021-06-21). Russian Ambassador Returned To Washington, While U.S. Preparing New Sanctions On Russia. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Russia's ambassador to the US has flown back to Washington, DC, saying he hoped to build "equal and pragmatic" ties after a US-Russia summit in Geneva aimed at reducing tensions. | The plane transporting Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who was recalled in March for consultations, left Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on Sunday for New York, where he will travel on to Washington, Russian news agencies reported. | "Given the result…
(2021-06-21). Moscow Still Expects US to Try to 'Contain' Russia Despite Biden-Putin Summit. news.antiwar.com Responding to new threats of US sanctions, the Kremlin "The [Russian] president's words about the constructive mood during the summit do not indicate that we have moved away from a sober assessment of our bilateral relations with the United States," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. | "Pragmatism and sobriety are most imp…
(2021-06-21). Far Right Israeli PM Bennett slams Iran Nuclear Talks for Tehran's Poor Rights Record (Israel has 200 Nukes and has Killed Thousands of Occupied Palestinians). juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — New extreme-right Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett came out on Sunday to argue that the election of an extreme-right Iranian cleric (Ebrahim Raisi) as president of that country should cause the Biden administration to back off reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Bennett called Raisi the "hangman of Tehran" and …
(2021-06-21). Human Rights Council urged to support UN chief's call for a 'new social contract' after COVID-19. news.un.org UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Monday urged UN Member States to promote a more inclusive post-pandemic recovery to help the world's most vulnerable recover from the impact of COVID.
(2021-06-21). Open letter calls on Biden administration to exert pressure on Israel, protect Palestinians' human rights. peoplesdispatch.org The letter emphasizes that the Biden "administration must apply concerted diplomatic pressure to help end the ever-expanding discrimination and systemic oppression and ensure accountability for Israeli authorities that violate Palestinian rights"
(2021-06-21). Liberal Media Propaganda Tells the World: America Is First. scheerpost.com CNN screenshot) By Jeff Cohen If you get your foreign policy news today from CNN or MSNBC or NPR or similar outlets, then you're bombarded hour after hour with the idea that the United States has the absolute right to impose sanctions on country after country overseas if they violate human rights or are not democratic. To give just one example: On Sunday, CNN anchor Dana Bash grilled Biden… |
(2021-06-21). Biden Administration Rejects Maduro's Call to Lift Venezuela Sanctions. news.antiwar.com The Biden administration has In an interview last week, Maduro said President Biden should lift sanctions and normalize relations with Venezuela. Responding to Maduro's comments in an email to Bloomberg, a State Department spokesman said a change in Venezuela policy would only be done if Maduro engages with Juan Guaido, who the US recognizes as interim president…
(2021-06-21). German officials seek to escalate attack on Palestinian rights, targeting growing movement. samidoun.net 
One month ago, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Germany, demanding justice, freedom and liberation for Palestine, from the river to the sea. From Berlin to Frankfurt, from Hannover to Dàºsseldorf, Palestinians, Arabs and German and international comrades marched in massive, continuing demonstrations rejecting Israeli war crimes and colonialism throughout Palestine. These marches and actions continued to progress despite attempts to ban demonstrations, police brutality and attacks on protesters, and repeated defamation and racist attacks against the organizers and participants…
(2021-06-21). Dark Money, the Supreme Court, and the Fate of LGBTQ+ Rights. thenation.com Dark Money, the Supreme Court, and the Fate of LGBTQ+ Rights…
(2021-06-21). U.S. Sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela Hamper the Global Fight Against Covid-19. libya360.wordpress.com Cole StanglerIn Cuba, the smallest country in the world to produce its own Covid-19 vaccines, five immunizations are currently in clinical trials. Soberana 2 and Abdala have reached Phase 3, making the island nation the only country in Latin America to reach the final stage in vaccine development. In the meantime, three other kinds of…
(2021-06-21). Prison violence like Alabama's demands a national reckoning. therealnews.com 
This story originally appeared in During the early fall of 2017, just three days before the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division would descend on the Alabama prison system to investigate reports of brutality and sexual violence, an atrocious incident occurred at the Bibb Correctional F…
(2021-06-21). Not waiting for Congress, Justice Dept. to move on voting rights. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON (PAI)—Not waiting for the Republican-clogged U.S. Senate to act, the Democratic Biden administration's Justice Department will step up voting rights enforcement, big time. And it'll concentrate its resources—and its lawyers' talents—on states like Florida and Texas that are the biggest threats to voters, especially voters of color but also working-class voters in general. And …
(2021-06-21). Prison violence like Alabama's demands a national reckoning. therealnews.com This story originally appeared in During the early fall of 2017, just three days before the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division would descend on the Alabama prison system to investigate reports of brutality and sexual violence, an atrocious incident occurred at the Bibb Correctional Facility's Hot Bay, a dormitory "housing men in bunkbeds multiple rows deep," as the DOJ would write in its subsequent re…
(2021-06-21). The Weekly Round-Up: Rape Report and damning findings from the Morgan Inquiry. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
In the News: On Friday 18 June, the Ministry of Justice published the End-to-End Rape Review Report on Findings and Actions, which assesses how the system is currently failing rape complainants, and sets out a plan to return the volume of cases progressing to court to pre-2016 levels. In the two years it took to …
(2021-06-21). Switzerland Adopts Draconian Police Law. popularresistance.org The new anti-terror law adopted by Switzerland last weekend is one of the harshest police laws in all of Europe. Its adoption in a referendum highlights the urgency of building a genuine workers' party in Switzerland that defends as a matter of principle the democratic rights of working people. | The "Federal Law on Police Measures to Combat Terrorism" (PMT) blatantly disregards the principles of the so-called "democratic rule of law." For example, it flouts the civil-democratic separation of powers because it allows the federal police to intervene against so-called "dangerous persons" even without sufficient evi…
(2021-06-21). New Census Bureau Data Offers a Chance to Dismantle Prison Gerrymandering. aclu.org New Mexico made great strides this year toward building a more equitable electoral process when Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the Redistricting Act into law, empowering a bipartisan
(2021-06-21). 3 Palestinians on hunger strike against illegal administrative detention in Israel. peoplesdispatch.org amal al-Taweel, Khader Adnan and Ghadanfar Abu Atwan are on hunger strike in various prisons. Around 500 Palestinians are currently being held without charge or trial under the illegal Israeli administrative detention policy…
(2021-06-21). 3 Palestinians on hunger strike against illegal administrative detention in Israel. peoplesdispatch.org Jamal al-Taweel, Khader Adnan and Ghadanfar Abu Atwan are on hunger strike in various prisons. Around 500 Palestinians are currently being held without charge or trial under the illegal Israeli administrative detention policy…