2021-06-26: News Headlines

Dave DeCamp (2021-06-26). Biden Administration Warns Allies Against Restoring Ties With Syria's Assad. news.antiwar.com After supporting efforts to oust him, some of Washington's Gulf allies have accepted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is here to stay and are working on restoring ties with Damascus. On Friday, a US official warned US allies against getting friendly with Assad and threatened sanctions. Joey Hood, the acting assistant secretary of state for …

Staff (2021-06-26). Final Declaration of ALBA-TCP's 19th Summit for Heads of State & Government: Unity, Fair Vaccine Distribution & Opposition to Illegal Sanctions. orinocotribune.com The Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Sacha Llorenti, read the Final Declaration of the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government, repudiating the aggressive and coercive measures exercised by the United States and Europe, advocating for a fair distribution of vaccines and medical supplies to combat COVID-19, and supporting and promoting respect for the sovereignty and the unity processes of the countries that make up ALBA-TCP, among other issues. | The document was put to a vote and was approved by the delegations present. Llorenti…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-06-26). Final Declaration of ALBA-TCP's 19th Summit for Heads of State & Government: Unity, Fair Vaccine Distribution & Opposition to Illegal Sanctions. libya360.wordpress.com The Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Sacha Llorenti, read the Final Declaration of the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government, repudiating the aggressive and coercive measures exercised by the United States and Europe, advocating for a fair distribution of vaccines and medical supplies…

Editor2 (2021-06-26). ECOWAS Court Dismissed Cape Verde's Motion to Set Aside Judgment for Release of Alex Saab. orinocotribune.com In its judgment delivered on 15 March 2021, the ECOWAS Court of Justice declared illegal the arrest and detention of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Nain Saab Moran, ordered his release from further custody, quashed the extradition proceedings against him to the United States and awarded him $200,000 reparation for the violations of his human rights by Cape Verde. | On 15 April, the Government of Cape Verde filed two motions praying the ECOWAS Court to set aside the Judgment. Both motions were vigorously opposed by the defence team of Alex Saab and in today's decision, which followed a hearing on 31 May, the ECOWAS Cour…

Anonymous669 (2021-06-26). Daring Ambush Leaves Five SDF Fighters Dead In Syria's Deir Ezzor. southfront.org Illustrative image. | On June 25, five fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed and many others were injured when they were ambushed by unidentified gunmen in the northern countryside Deir Ezzor. | The fighters came under attack as they were passing in the town of Jazrat al-Milaj. Their vehicle was targeted by the gunmen with light fire arms. | The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the ambush was carried out by ISIS cells. Nevertheless, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agen…

Ed Holt (2021-06-26). [World Report] Mental health fears over Hungarian anti-LGBTQI laws. thelancet.com New legislation bans the portrayal of homosexuality to under-18s, sparking backlash from human rights and mental health experts. Ed Holt reports.

Staff (2021-06-26). 26 June, Online Event: #Save_Israa event with sister and son of Palestinian prisoner Israa Jaabis (Arabic, Spanish). samidoun.net Saturday, 26 June Online Event (Live translation: Arabic and Spanish) 12 pm Pacific -3 pm Eastern — 9 pm central Europe — 10 pm Palestine Join on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/81577264737 Many people may not know why so many Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails. We must understand that, when living under occupation, any reason or no reason (for example, in the case of administrative detention) may be used to imprison those who fight for their natural, human and political rights. In the Zionist occupation prisons and interrogation rooms, systematic torture is considered routine and legal, espec…

Brenda Norrell (2021-06-26). Hidden Cemeteries at Residential Schools: Churches and Canada Responsible for Genocide. indybay.org Chief Cadmusn Delmore of the Cowessess First Nation said 751 unmarked graves were found at Marieval Residential School. In 2008 — thirteen years ago — Hidden from History published a list of 28 mass graves at residential schools and hospitals in Canada. The information comes from historical accounts and eyewitness testimony of survivors who witnessed fellow students being tortured and murdered.

Deadline for Democracy Coalition (2021-06-26). Tuesday 6/29: Sacramento: Deadline for Democracy Rally for Voting Rights Now! indybay.org Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse on front steps, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 | Follow any and all COVID guidelines. This is a peaceful event.

Indivisible groups South Bay (2021-06-26). Tuesday 6/29: We Demand Voter Rights Now! Deadline for Democracy Rally in San Jose. indybay.org Intersection of Winchester Blvd. and Stevens Creek Blvd at the San Jose / Santa Clara border (sidewalk intersection of Santana Row shopping center). | Follow all and any COVID guidlines…

Coastside United for Action (2021-06-26). Wednesday 7/7: Voting Rights Now! Sidewalk Rally for Democracy in Pacifica. indybay.org Intersection of CA-1 and Reina Del Mar @ 1 Reina Del Mar, Pacifica, CA 94044…

teleSUR (2021-06-26). European Leaders Strongly Reject Hungarian PM's Anti-LGTBIQ Law. telesurenglish.net On Friday, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen considered starting a violation claim against the widely criticized LGTBIQ+ harming law passed by Hungary's Parliament. | RELATED: | Von der Leyen added she had sent several letters to Budapest expressing her concern since the measure violates LGBTIQ+ community rights and European values. | EC President's statements came after 17 Heads of State and Government signed…

Angel Guerra Cabrera (2021-06-25). Another Vile Lie from the United States. orinocotribune.com By Angel Guerra Cabrera — Jun 18, 2021 | The fondness of the rulers of the United States for the use of lies to justify their actions in the world, constituting, as a general rule, flagrant violations of international law and elementary humanist principles, is well known. | But rarely have the hypocrisy and cynicism of the empire of the North gone as far as when its spokesmen claim that the unduly named economic "sanctions" against countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Syria, Iran and North Korea seek to punish their leaders and not their populations. | I corroborate this when I read the very well do…

Asa Winstanley (2021-06-25). Labour bans Israel sanctions debate. electronicintifada.net Official alleges that demand for weapons embargo could cause "anti-Semitic behavior."

WSWS (2021-06-25). Washington rebuffs Maduro's bid for US-Venezuela rapprochement. wsws.org The Biden administration has kept in place punishing sanctions that are starving Venezuelans and denying them access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Morgan Artyukhina (2021-06-25). US Doubles Down on Venezuela Sanctions as Guaidó Tours Europe Touting Penalties as Leverage Tool. orinocotribune.com By Morgan Artyukhina — Jun 26, 2021 | The Biden administration has rebuffed pressure from within and without to lower its destructive sanctions against Venezuela's economy, saying that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro must first negotiate with Juan Guaidó, a no-name Venezuelan former politician who has been championed by the US and its allies as the legitimate ruler of the country. | On Sunday, a US State Department spokesperson told Bloomberg that US sanctions would only be dropped against Venezuela after extensive reforms to end the "repression and corrupt practices" it claims Maduro's government is eng…

Stephen Sefton (2021-06-25). Bachelet, High Commissioner for the Defense of Organized Crime. telesurenglish.net Recent remarks by United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet make clear she now openly supports organized crime in Nicaragua financed by the United States and European Union countries. That she does so comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed her earlier record of bad faith reporting on Venezuela and Nicaragua. | RELATED: | Her latest remarks derive directly from false reports on Nicaragua produced by the…

teleSUR (2021-06-25). Colombians Critique Duque for Abstaining on UN Cuba Resolution. telesurenglish.net Through his Twitter account, Triana pointed out that the government of Iván Duque opted again at the UN to support the infamous economic, financial and commercial blockade of Cuba that dates back 60 years. | "Economic blockades cause serious harm to the population, with their votes (Joe) Biden, Duque and others, they violate the human rights of the Cuban people, a double moral!," expressed the politician. | RELATED: | In Col…

Anonymous669 (2021-06-25). Greater Idlib: Syrian Army Shells More Turkish Posts Following Ceasefire Violations. southfront.org Illustrative image. | On June 25, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) shelled three posts of the Turkish military in the northwestern region of Greater Idlib. | In the morning, the army shelled two Turkish posts in the northern outskirts of the government-held town of Saraqib in southern Idlib. No human losses were reported. However, a gathering of Turkish military vehicles was hit, according to the London-based for Human Rights. | A few hours later, the SAA artillery pounded a third Turkish post near the town of Qmenas, also in sout…

Anonymous669 (2021-06-25). Turkish Forces To Attack Manbij In Northern Syria: Monitoring Group. southfront.org Illustrative image. | The Turkish military and its proxies are preparing a large offensive on the Syrian town of Manbij and its surroundings in the northern Aleppo countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on June 25. | Manbij is currently held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The US-backed group liberated the town from ISIS after a fierce battle in 2016. | According to the SOHR, the Turkish military and its proxies are making preparations and collecting information for the operation.

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-06-25). Venezuela: A Counterhegemonic Approach to Human Rights. libya360.wordpress.com Cira Pascual Marquina Venezuela's Bolivarian democracy includes both traditional, representative polling, and communal, assambleary democracy. Top right: 2020 parliamentary elections. Top left: Tajazal Communal Council elections, near Naguanagua, Carabobo state. Bottom left: El Panal Commune assembly, 23 de Enero, Caracas. Bottom right: A Communard Union meeting in Caño Maraca, Portuguesa state. (Archives) A Conversation with…

Ramona Wadi (2021-06-25). Pinochet-Style Detentions, Torture, Killings: Chile's President Sebastian Piñera Denounced at the ICC. globalresearch.ca The 2019 protests have ignited change in Chile, which the people are determined to bring to fruition, Ramona Wadi writes. | . | Chilean President Sebastian Piñera would not have imagined, upon his electoral victory in 2017, that he would have mangled …

_____ (2021-06-25). Nonviolent Protest Over Voting Rights Ends With Arrests In DC. popularresistance.org Activists with the national Poor People's Campaign were arrested Wednesday after blocking a street in front of the Hart Senate building in Washington, D.C. to demand passage of the For the People Act, a popular voting rights expansion bill that Republicans successfully filibustered just 24 hours earlier. | After rallying in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, hundreds of low-wage workers, faith leaders, and advocates—including residents of West Virginia, Kentucky, and several other states—marched to the nearby Senate building to demand meetings with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Republican Mino…

Indivisible East Bay & SF, partners (2021-06-25). Wednesday 7/7: Oakland: Deadline for Democracy Rally to Demand Voting Rights Now! indybay.org Oscar Grant / Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94705 | Follow all and any current COVID guidelines…

Deadline for Democracy Coalition (2021-06-25). Tuesday 6/29: Sacramento: Deadline for Democracy Rally for Voting Rights Now! indybay.org Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse on front steps, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 | Follow any and all COVID guidelines. This is a peaceful event.

Indivisible groups South Bay (2021-06-25). Tuesday 6/29: We Demand Voter Rights Now! Deadline for Democracy Rally in San Jose. indybay.org Intersection of Winchester Blvd. and Stevens Creek Blvd at the San Jose / Santa Clara border (sidewalk intersection of Santana Row shopping center). | Follow all and any COVID guidlines…

Staff (2021-06-25). Meet the Dad Who Tricked Ex-NRA Head Into "Graduation Speech" for Empty Chairs. truthout.org Image Credit: Change the Ref | The parents of a student killed in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School duped a former president of the National Rifle Association into giving a high school graduation speech defending gun rights in front of 3,044 empty white chairs — one chair for each student who could not graduate this year because they were killed by gun violence. David Keene, who still serves on the NRA board, thought he was giving a rehearsal speech for graduating s…

Staff (2021-06-25). Meet the Father Who Tricked Ex-NRA Head into Addressing 3,044 Empty Chairs for Gun Violence Victims. democracynow.org The parents of a student killed in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School duped a former president of the National Rifle Association into giving a high school graduation speech defending gun rights in front of 3,044 empty white chairs — one chair for each student who could not graduate this year because they were killed by gun violence. David Keene, who still serves on the NRA board, thought he was giving a rehearsal speech for graduating students at the James Madison Academy in Las Vegas, but no such school exists. Video of the speech was turned into a viral video promoting universal bac…

Staff (2021-06-25). "Better Than Trump" Isn't Good Enough. End Deportation Now. truthout.org On the campaign trail, Joe Biden went to great lengths to establish the dramatic differences between himself and Donald Trump on immigration. Biden was very clear: He would reunite separated families, resettle 125,000 refugees and put privately run immigration detention centers firmly in the past. | Six months into his administration, immigration organizers are feeling whiplash. | The White House followed through on its promise of a 100-day deportation moratorium, but quickly abandoned the goals of its own executi…

Martha Grevatt (2021-06-25). SCOTUS ruling: Bigotry behind the fig leaf of religion. workers.org The June 17 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States, in Fulton v. Philadelphia, represents a bigoted attack on the rights of LGBTQ2S+ people. Outside Supreme Court, Oct. 8, 2019, demanding legal protection from anti-LGBTQ2S+ discrimination. In Philadelphia, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is illegal; the . . . |

WSWS (2021-06-25). ACLU report highlights ICE brutality against hunger striking migrants under Obama and Trump. wsws.org Immigrants who went on hunger strikes to protest against the poor conditions in various detention centers were subjected to involuntary and invasive medical procedures including forced feeding and hydration.

Stephen Sefton (2021-06-25). Michelle Bachelet, Alto Comisionado de la ONU para la defensa del crimen organizado. globalizacion.ca Las recientes declaraciones de la Alta Comisionada de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos, Michelle Bachelet, dejan claro que ella apoya abiertamente el crimen organizado en Nicaragua financiado por los gobiernos de Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea. Que lo…

Peter Koenig (2021-06-25). The West's Audacity of Sanctioning. Among the Latest Cases Is Belarus. globalresearch.ca

_____ (2021-06-25). Supreme Court limits California Union Recruiting In Favor Of Property Rights. popularresistance.org In a blow to labor, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a decades-old California rule inspired by César Chávez that allowed union organizers to meet with farmworkers at their place of work. Commercial growers applauded the conservative court's ruling to uphold property rights while union representatives vowed not to be deterred. | Two agricultural producers filed suit after organizers with the United Farm Workers sought to access their property to speak with farmworkers. The plaintiffs in Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid, Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing Company, argued the California regulation requiring them t…

WSWS (2021-06-25). A Crime on the Bayou: Taking a principled stand during the civil rights era. wsws.org The movie concerns a young black fisherman from Louisiana, Gary Duncan, falsely charged with assault, whose case went to the US Supreme Court. He was defended by Richard Sobol, a white civil rights attorney from New York.

teleSUR (2021-06-25). 5th Aswan Women Film Festival Opens in Egypt. telesurenglish.net The fifth edition of Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) opened on Thursday night in this charming Upper Egyptian city with the participation of 12 feature films and 14 short ones focusing on women's rights and causes. | RELATED: | "It's an exceptional edition that is held in difficult conditions the whole world is going through," said Hassan Abo el-Ela, the festival's director. "We work on two parallel directions: the cinema in general and…

Zoe Brennan-Krohn (2021-06-25). Britney Spears' Reproductive Freedom is a Disability Rights Issue. aclu.org There were many shocking moments in Britney Spears'

_____ (2021-06-25). Scheer Intelligence: What Has Silicon Valley Done To Our Food? popularresistance.org Companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have started to become household names, producing meat substitutes that taste as close to meat as their scientists have been able to engineer. In the midst of a climate crisis that threatens our very existence, plenty of scientists have been recommending that we all look for ways to cut down on our meat intake because cows produce large amounts of methane that has a significant negative environmental impact. Eating animal products also brings up animal rights questions. One of the main selling points of these Silicon Valley companies is essentially that we can sa…

John Nichols (2021-06-25). Susan Collins Sums Up Her Scorching Cynicism With a States' Rights Defense of Voter Suppression. thenation.com Susan Collins Sums Up Her Scorching Cynicism With a States' Rights Defense of Voter Suppression…

Chris Peterson (2021-06-25). Medivac refugees on hunger strike have been hospitalised. greenleft.org.au Fourteen refugees have been on hunger strike for more than a week in protest at their imprisonment. Some have been detained for eight years. Chris Petersen and Chloe DS report.

Chloe DS (2021-06-25). How temporary protection visas punish refugees. greenleft.org.au If the Murugappan refugee family is released from Perth community detention, they are likely to join 18,000 others on insecure temporary visas. Chloe DS reports on the cruel visa system.

Coastside United for Action (2021-06-25). Wednesday 7/7: Voting Rights Now! Sidewalk Rally for Democracy in Pacifica. indybay.org Intersection of CA-1 and Reina Del Mar @ 1 Reina Del Mar, Pacifica, CA 94044…

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