(2021-01-22). The Eric Brandt story: How a controversial cop watcher became one of the most successful police reformers in the US. therealnews.com 
Known for his role in the Occupy Denver movement and his controversial, even profane, manner of exercising his First Amendment rights, Eric Brandt has been arrested roughly 200 times while protesting police brutality and advocating for reform. But he's also quietly racked up key victories in court.
(2021-01-22). Wednesday 1/27: The Equal Rights Amendment & the Disability Community Town Hall. indybay.org Online panel discussion…
(2021-01-22). Thursday 1/21: SF BayView Editor Malik Washington Journalist Rights & Google Firing Of Dr. Timnit Gebru. indybay.org KPOO.COM San Francisco | KPOO 98.5 FM…
(2021-01-22). Advocacy to Preserve Cultural Heritage in Africa. grants.gov SFOP0007534 | Funding Opportunity ID: | 330786 | Opportunity Number: | SFOP0007534 | Opportunity Title: | Advocacy to Preserve Cultural Heritage in Africa | Opportunity Category: | Discretionary | Opportunity Category Explanation: | Funding Instrument Type: | Grant | Category of Funding Activity: | Other (see text field entitled "Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity" for clarification) | Category Explanation: | Democracy Fund/Human Rights Democracy Fund | CFDA Number(s): | 19.345 | Eligible Applicants: | Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Elig…
(2021-01-21). Headlines for January 21, 2021. democracynow.org Joe Biden Sworn In as 46th President of the United States, Ending Trump Era, Kamala Harris Sworn In as Vice President, Setting Several Historic Firsts, Biden Signs Executive Orders on Environment, Immigration, Civil Rights, Economy & Pandemic, Biden Unveils Pandemic Strategy as U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Near Record High, VP Harris Swears In Three Senators, Giving Democrats Narrow Control of Senate, Senate Confirms Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence, House to Vote on Waiver Paving Path for Retired General Lloyd Austin to Lead Pentagon, President Biden Fires Union-Busting Lawyer Who Refused to Resign from…
(2021-01-21). 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,…
(2021-01-21). WW Commentary: The criminal injustice system is a bipartisan effort. workers.org 
Family members and prisoners' rights advocates gather outside the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez to demand release of a prisoner suffering from medical neglect during the COVID pandemic. On Jan. 15 at the death row prison in Terre Haute, Ind., with less than a week to go of Donald . . . |
(2021-01-21). The criminal injustice system is a bipartisan effort. workers.org Family members and prisoners' rights advocates gather outside the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez to demand the release of a prisoner suffering from medical neglect during the COVID pandemic. On Jan. 15 at the death row prison in Terre Haute, Ind., with less than a week to go of . . . |
(2021-01-21). Dozens of experts call on Longleat to give the 'UK's loneliest elephant' her last chance for companionship. thecanary.co Dozens of experts have thrown their weight behind calls for giving the ' Anne, who currently resides at Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, hasn't seen another elephant for 19 years. A French sanctuary has
(2021-01-21). Assange cannot be extradited, but free speech arguments dismissed — an extended look. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
In The Government of the United States v Julian Assange (2021), the District Judge sitting at Westminster Magistrates' Court discharged the American extradition request against the founder of WikiLeaks because there is a substantial risk that he would commit suicide. Given Julian Assange's political notoriety as an avowed whistle-blower, however, the judgment is significant for …
(2021-01-21). In non-binding resolution, EU parliament calls for new anti-Russia sanctions that would stop Nord Stream 2 over Navalny's arrest. rt.com 
An EU parliament resolution, backed by 581 MEPs out of 675 present, directs members to ramp up sanctions against Russia to stop the Nord Stream 2 project "once and for all," linking it to opposition figure Alexey Navalny's arrest. | The EU member states should take "an active stance" on Navalny's 30-day arrest in Russia. This is according to a non-binding
(2021-01-21). In non-binding resolution, EU parliament calls for new anti-Russia sanctions in attempt to stop Nord Stream 2 over Navalny arrest. rt.com An EU parliament resolution, backed by 581 MEPs out of 675 present, has directed its member states to ramp up sanctions against Russia to stop the Nord Stream 2 project "once and for all," linking it to Alexey Navalny's arrest. | The EU member states should take "an active stance" on the opposition figure's 30-day arrest in Russia. This is according to a non-binding
(2021-01-21). HRW demands probe into French air strike in central Mali. middleeasteye.net 
HRW demands probe into French air strike in central Mali | Residents say about 20 civilians were killed when air strike targeted village during segregated wedding party | Thu, 01/21/2021 – 22: 51 | French military said fighter jet had struck jihadist group at location north of village, killing several dozen combatants (AFP) | Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged France and Mali to "promptly and impartially" investig…
(2021-01-21). Tunisian groups say police arrested 1,000 people over six days of protests. middleeasteye.net 
Tunisian groups say police arrested 1,000 people over six days of protests | Rights groups said civilians who voiced support for protests on Facebook during the crackdown were also detained | Thu, 01/21/2021 – 14: 17 | Police used rubber bullets and water cannons against anti-government protests who hurled rocks and petrol bombs (AFP) | Tunisian security forces have arrested at least 1,000…
(2021-01-21). Politicians among 48 arrested in huge Italian bust on 'Ndrangheta mafia, hundreds of millions in cash seized. rt.com 
Anti-mafia police carried out sweeping early-morning raids against Italy's most powerful mafia, the 'Ndrangheta, on Thursday, arresting 48 people and placing the leader of a political party under investigation. | Officers from the Direzione Investigativa AntiMafia (DIA) immediately jailed 13 people, while 35 were placed under house arrest, with multiple politicians, low-level mob bosses and businessmen among those detained, according to local media. | The crackdown on the organized crime syndicate, based in Calabria, southern Italy, primarily targeted the economic arm of its operations, which prosecutors said…
(2021-01-21). Diet discrimination in prisons, jails, and detention centers. workers.org 
The interlocking systems of prisons, jails and detention centers were built up by descendants of those made rich from colonial conquest of this continent. The prison-industrial complex continues to benefit this very class of people every day by its existence. As the Prisoners Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party stated . . . |
(2021-01-21). Major Victory for BDS Movement in Spanish Court Ruling. imemc.org 
The Electronic Intifada Activists in Spain are celebrating a big legal win against Israel lobby efforts to punish support for Palestinian rights. Their victory also exposes a lie that European Union officials are spreading to discredit BDS — the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. On 11 January a court in Valencia dismissed a criminal complaint …
(2021-01-21). WW commentary: Diet discrimination in prisons, jails, and detention centers. workers.org 
Imam Siddiqui Abdullah Hasan, on death row in Ohio, was falsely convicted of the murder of a guard during the 1993 Lucasville prison rebellion. The rebellion started after Muslim prisoners objected to being forced to take a tuberculosis test containing alcohol, in violation of their religious practice. The interlocking systems . . . |
(2021-01-21). PCHR: Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. imemc.org 
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Summary for January 14 — 20, 2021 Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued to commit crimes and multi-layered violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of …
(2021-01-21). "Wrongful Life" Revisited. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
In Evie Toombes v. Dr. Philip Mitchell [2020] EWHC 3506 the High Court has given renewed consideration to claims for, so called, "wrongful life". Can a disabled person ever claim damages on the basis that they would not have been born but for the defendant's negligence? The Court answered that question with a resounding "yes". …
(2021-01-21). Martin Luther King's Radical Anticapitalism. popularresistance.org In a posthumously published essay, Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed out that the "black revolution" had gone beyond the "rights of Negroes." The struggle, he said, is "forcing America to face all of its interrelated flaws—racism, poverty, militarism and materialism. It is exposing the evils that are rooted deeply in the whole structure of our society. It reveals systemic rather than superficial flaws and suggests that radical reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced." | But it had not started out that way. Over the course of a decade, the black struggle opened up a deeper interrogation…
(2021-01-21). 135 Civil Rights Groups Oppose New Domestic Terrorism Statutes, Say Tackle Far-Right Violence With Existing Laws. commondreams.org "Members of Congress should not reinforce counterterrorism policies, programs, and frameworks that are rooted in bias, discrimination, and denial or diminution of fundamental rights like due process." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-01-21). 135 Civil Rights Organizations Oppose a New Domestic Terrorism Charge. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-01-21). Barrage of New Countries and Airlines to Adopt Vaccine Passports. globalresearch.ca New York Times admits schemes could lead to "a dystopic system that would limit the rights of people who have been careful to avoid infection and are unable or unwilling to be vaccinated" | *** | Several more countries have indicated that …
(2021-01-21). Medevac refugees released from torture centres, activists vow to continue the campaign. greenleft.org.au The release of refugees from detention has given activists hope that there will be a change in policy. But, as Chloe DS writes, they won't stop organising until all refugees are released from onshore and offshore prisons and given permanent protection.
(2021-01-21). Wednesday 2/3: Talk on the Mothers of the Civil Rights Movement w/ Author Anna Malaika Tubbs. indybay.org Online event…
(2021-01-21). China sanctions Trump administration officials including Pompeo, Bolton and Bannon. peoplesdispatch.org 28 officials of the Donald Trump administration were sanctioned for having "seriously violated China's sovereignty" and being "mainly responsible for such US moves on China-related issues."
(2021-01-21). New York City educators call for unified struggle with striking Hunts Point market workers! wsws.org Our brothers and sisters at Hunts Point have taken a courageous stand for the rights of workers everywhere, and we call on them to form their own rank-and-file committee independent of the Teamsters to carry forward their struggle.
(2021-01-21). How use of drones to secure borders threatens all our rights. truepublica.org.uk A new report published by Drone Wars UK investigates the increasing use of military-style drones by governments to patrol state borders. The study, which examines the use of drones at the borders of the UK, EU, US, Russia, China, Australia and elsewhere, concludes that drones are contributing to the militarisation of everyday borders as part …
(2021-01-20). Italian Doctors Sanctioned for Raising Questions About COVID Vaccine. anti-empire.com 
An Italian doctors association has warned or disciplined 10 medics for promoting anti-vaccination propaganda and is considering sanctions against three others who are accused of downplaying the gravity of covid-19. | This comes amid growing concern that public scepticism over covid-19 vaccines could undermine Europe's fight against the coronavirus pandemic. | Antonio Magi, president of the Ordine dei Medici di Roma (Rome Doctors Guild), said that inquiries into 10 medics accused of unwarranted criticism of vaccinations had been completed, with punishments ranging from warnings to two month suspensions. The other…
(2021-01-20). For exposing COVID-19 outbreak, Black newspaper editor faces retaliation. workers.org 
What happens when a federal prisoner who has just become the Editor-in-Chief of the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper is paroled to a halfway house run by GEO Group? That company is one of the largest managers of lockdown units and ICE detention centers in the U.S. Malik . . . |
(2021-01-20). 'Pure Sadism': Biden Blasted for Continuing Trump's Recognition of Guaid√≥ Coup Regime and Deadly Sanctions in Venezuela. commondreams.org "How about a new Good Neighbor Policy on non-interference?" asked CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-01-20). Overseas Operations Bill: Getting Away With Murder — Dr Ronan Cormacain. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
Pardons versus failure to prosecute One of the many outrages perpetrated by Donald Trump in the waning of his Presidency was granting a pardon to four private military contractors for their role in the Nisour Square massacre. Those military contractors had opened fire indiscriminately, killing 14 Iraqi civilians, including two children. As with many of Trump's …
(2021-01-20). Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders Lead Call for Solidarity With #HuntsPointStrike. commondreams.org "Essential workers should not have to go on strike for decent pay, and no worker should be threatened for exercising their constitutional rights." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-01-20). Press Release: Al Mezan welcomes the Palestinian President's decree to hold parliamentary and presidential elections. imemc.org 
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights welcomes the decree, issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, that announces parliamentary and presidential elections for later this year. The first such elections in almost 16 years, this step is long overdue and holds weighty expectations for the renewal of legitimacy to state institutions and unification of the Palestinian …
(2021-01-20). Fifteen More Detainees Contract Coronavirus In Ramon Israeli Prison. imemc.org 
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported, Wednesday, that fifteen more detainees have been officially diagnosed with the coronavirus in Ramon Israeli prison, bringing the number of infected detainees in the facility to fifty-three since January 11th, and increasing the total number of infected political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers to more than …
(2021-01-20). Can We Crack the Right's White Bloc? These Organizers Say Yes. zcomm.org Deep canvass conversations, storytelling, acknowledges people's experiences while suggesting a different way to understand and respond…
(2021-01-20). Iran Adds Trump, Pompeo, Mnuchin, Several Ex-Officials To Sanctions Lists. popularresistance.org Iran has imposed sanctions on incumbent US President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting Secretary of Defence Christopher Miller, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, ex-Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, as well as a number of other former officials, including Gina Haspel, John Bolton, Brian Hook, and others, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said. The blacklisting of 10 senior US officials, including POTUS Trump, is because of their "role and involvement in terrorist and anti-human rights actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iranian citizens", the ministry's spokesman Saeed Khatibz…
(2021-01-20). Progressive International Calls on Biden to End Illegal US Sanctions Responsible for 'Untold Death and Devastation'. commondreams.org "Biden must take urgent action to restore the right of all countries to have sovereign relations with the world, untrammeled by U.S. interference through their sanctions policy." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-01-20). Human Rights Challenges Remain in Biden Executive Actions on Restoring the Right to Seek Safety in the U.S. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-01-20). Indian Farmers on the Frontline Against Global Capitalism. counterpunch.org In a short video on the empirediaries.com YouTube channel, a protesting farmer camped near Delhi says that during lockdown and times of crisis farmers are treated like "gods", but when they ask for their rights, they are smeared and labelled as "terrorists". He, along with thousands of other farmers, are mobilising against three important pieces of farm legislation that
(2021-01-20). A Brief But Portentous Insurrection. counterpunch.org There is a difference between attempts to change policy through public pressure and seeking to change the very nature of government through an insurrection. The civil rights protests of the late 1950s and 1960s; the anti-war protests of the latter half of the 1960s and early 1970s; more civil rights protests (these have occurred repeatedly)
(2021-01-20). China Sanctions 28 Trump Officials, Pompeo Included. telesurenglish.net The Chinese government-sanctioned on Wednesday former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alongside 27 officials of Trump's administration who "seriously violated China's sovereignty and who have been mainly responsible for the such U.S. moves on China-related issues." | RELATED: | The Foreign Ministry remarked in a statement that "over the past few years, some anti-China politicians in the United States, out of their…
(2021-01-19). Respected Israeli Rights Group B'Tselem declares Israel an Apartheid State. zcomm.org Apartheid is one of the listed "crimes against humanity" along with enslavement, torture, war rape, and forcible deportation. A crime against humanity is the systematic and continuous commission of war crimes…
(2021-01-19). New Documents Suggest J. Edgar Hoover Was Involved in Fred Hampton's Murder. truthout.org 
In March 1976, we sat in a cavernous Chicago courtroom while FBI agent Roy Martin Mitchell testified in the federal civil rights case that we and our partners at the People's Law Office had brought on behalf of the families of slain Illinois Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark and the seven survivors of the murderous pre-dawn Chicago police raid on their West Side apartment. | Thanks to the liberation of FBI documents from the Media, Pennsylvania FBI offices, the revelations of the…
(2021-01-19). Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Joins Lawsuit on Behalf of Black Man in Violent Attack by White West Va. Officers. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-01-19). US prompts new "human rights" resolution to push Sri Lanka to line up against China. wsws.org By all indications Washington is behind the move intended to press President Gotabhaya Rajapakse's government to break from Beijing's "influence."
(2021-01-19). Free Speech — 'What's illegal offline should be illegal online'. truepublica.org.uk Open Rights Group has worked with David Allen Green of Preiskel & Co., who litigated the "Twitter joke trial" case on section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, to respond to the Law Commission's review on the reform of the online communications offences. The Law Commission's proposal, which aims to modernise the law in order …
(2021-01-19). B'Tselem head defies ban, addresses students. peoplesdispatch.org Education minister had announced a ban on members of organizations that called "Israel false and derogatory names." The ban came shortly after human rights group B'Tselem termed Israel an apartheid state…
(2021-01-19). Protests over economic decline continue for third day in Tunisia; hundreds arrested. peoplesdispatch.org According to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, the country saw more than 6,500 protests last year alone over the many socio-economic and political issues afflicting the people…