(2021-08-18). Talibanned? Social media wrangles with accounts deemed 'terrorist' as Taliban returns to power in Afghanistan. rt.com 
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have come down on opposing sides of the free speech debate, for once unable to agree upon whether to ban the Taliban as a 'controversial' entity, after the Islamic group took over Afghanistan. | Facebook, which claims it has blacklisted Taliban-linked groups under its "dangerous organizations policy" for "years" due to US Treasury Department sanctions, does not plan to alter its approach now, a spokesperson declared on Tuesday. Instead, Facebook will defer to the "authority of the international community." | This policy holds for its subsidiary corporations Instagram and WhatsApp…
(2021-08-18). "People Are Thirsty for Peace": Afghans Wary of Taliban as Group Vows to Uphold Rights. democracynow.org 
We go to Kabul for an update as the Taliban moves to secure control of Afghanistan. The group said Tuesday former government officials will not face retribution and that the rights of women and journalists will be upheld. The Taliban's rhetoric and the relatively restrained behavior of its fighters in Kabul are starkly different from how the group governed Afghanistan after seizing power in 1996, when it imposed draconian restrictions on everyday life. Despite the Taliban's pledges, many women across Afghanistan have not left their homes since the Taliban seized control over the weekend and as thousands of people…
(2021-08-18). Headlines for August 18, 2021. democracynow.org Taliban Addresses Women's Rights, Press Freedom in First Press Conference Since Takeover, U.S. Continues Evacuations as Top Dems Pledge to Investigate Biden's Afghanistan Exit, Haiti Earthquake Death Toll Hits 2,000 as Survivors, Many Now Unhoused, Lashed by Tropical Storm, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Alabama Runs Out of ICU Beds; 3,000 NOLA Students and Staff in Quarantine, New Zealand Orders Lockdown After ID'ing One COVID Case, Tokyo Extends State of Emergency; Thai Protesters Demand PM Step Down for Mishandling COVID, India Bans Single-Use Plastics, But New Law Contains Major Loopho…
(2021-08-18). Taliban 2.0: Claims Of Rights For Women, Free Media, No Terrorism. southfront.org 
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(2021-08-18). The Palestinian Cause is Neither a Religious nor a Human Rights Cause. orinocotribune.com By Susana Khalil — Aug 15,2021 | The Palestinian cause is political, it is a cause of National Liberation. |
(2021-08-18). Central Syrian Insurgency: Syrian Officer, Iraqi Fighters Killed In New Attacks By ISIS Cells. southfront.org 
Illustrative image. | ISIS terrorists continue to launch attacks against Syrian government forces and their allies in Syria's vast central region. | Early on August 18, ISIS cells attacked several posts of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) near the town of al-Sholah, which is located on the Deir Ezzor-Homs highway. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an officer was killed and five soldiers were wounded as a result of the attack. | At around the same t…
(2021-08-18). Protest demands ICE free all detainees. workers.org 
Philadelphia — Despite temperatures in the mid-90s, more than 50 community activists rallied here on Aug. 12 to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cease transferring migrant workers and refugees from a detention center in York, Pa., to other prisons. Recorded voices from people impacted by transfers were heard by . . . |
(2021-08-18). Iran Considers Alex Saab a Prisoner of War of the United States. orinocotribune.com Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, has said that Venezuela's Special Envoy Alex Saab, under detention in Cape Verde and facing extradition to the United States, can be considered a prisoner of war, due to the violations that the United States Government has committed by getting him arrested in Cape Verde and by pressuring that country's government for his extradition. | Khatibzadeh made these comments on Saab's situation at a press conference on Monday, August 16. He denounced the arrest and the intention to extradite Saab to a third country as it violates diplomatic lega…
(2021-08-18). Human Rights Are Not 'A Threat to Development'. otherwords.org On the last night of a recent trip to Minneapolis, I walked along the Mississippi River waterfront. | A young man, a worker with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, asked if I had any questions. We spoke at length about the river and his job, which allowed him to talk about life as a Dakota Santee. | He shared that seeing the river was a daily painful reminder of the destruction of the area's natural features, including islands and waterfalls, to facilitate commerce. "How do you process that?" I asked. | He shrugged and replied, "We fight Line 3." | For seven years, Minnesota's tribal nations, alo…
(2021-08-18). Report Shines Light on Abuse by Bolivia's Interim Government. latinorebels.com LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's recent interim government persecuted opponents with "systematic torture" and "summary executions" by security forces in the tumultuous aftermath of Evo Morales' resignation in 2019, according to a new report by independent human rights experts.
(2021-08-18). 'The World Is Watching': Indigenous Critics of Line 3 Meet With UN Human Rights Expert. commondreams.org
(2021-08-18). Disability rights and justice ‚àí for the people, against incarceration. workers.org 
Black Panther Party-run free medical clinic in Boston, 1970. The following was excerpted from a July 29 webinar held by the Disability Justice and Rights Caucus of Workers World Party that emphasized the interconnections betwee the struggles of disabled people and incarcerated people. Caucus members participating below were Brian Shea . . . |
(2021-08-18). Minnesota: Campaign to get ICE out of Hennepin County advances. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – There have been some recent advances in the campaign to end cooperation between the largest county in Minnesota, Hennepin County, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The campaign has been organized by the Decriminalizing Communities Coalition, which brings together several local immigrant rights and social justice organizations. | On May 24, the Decriminalizing Communities Coalition sent a letter to Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson that was signed by over 300 Hennepin County residents requesting a meeting to discuss the need to stop his department's cooperation with ICE. The c…
(2021-08-18). House on verge of votes on infrastructure, budget, voting rights. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—With heavy lifting scheduled in the U.S. House next week on infrastructure, the budget, and voting rights, progressive groups and their allies are scrambling to put pressure on the majority Democrats to stand by party priorities on those issues. Those priorities include provisions to battle climate change, tax the rich, permanently enact paid family and …
(2021-08-18). A Chance to Protect Our Essential Workers. otherwords.org Immigration agents arrested over 600 undocumented workers at a poultry plant in Jackson, Mississippi two years ago in what remains the This August, on the two-year anniversary of that raid, immigrant rights advocates demanded that U.S. officials take action to repair the harms inflicted on the workers and their communities. | Some 230 of the workers have already been deported but another 400 are still waiting for their day in court. And while they wait, many are unable to provide for themselve…
(2021-08-18). As Covid-19 Cases Rise, Global Task Force Lays Out How to Avert Future Pandemics. commondreams.org GOP-appointed judges sided with Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and right-wing lawmakers in the state, who are seeking to secure a quorum to pass legislation attacking voting rights.
(2021-08-17). UK Home Department slammed for insensitive policies on refugees and asylum seekers. peoplesdispatch.org UK home secretary Priti Patel has received widespread criticism for insensitive policies towards asylum seekers from Afghanistan, the handling of the refugee crisis in the English Channel, and controversial plans to open a new detention center for immigrant women…
(2021-08-17). US Treasury Imposes New Sanctions on Iran and Cuba. orinocotribune.com The US Treasury Department announces new sanctions on Cuban officials as well as entities allegedly associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard. |
(2021-08-17). Kosovo redivivus: Ukraine calls for international intervention against Russia over Crimean Tatars. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Zelensky calls on global community to respond to searches and detentions in occupied Crimea President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the international community to properly respond to the searches and detentions of Crimean Tatars in the temporarily occupied Crimea. **** He noted that the global community must respond appropriately to such violations.
(2021-08-17). Experts Confirm Rights Violations During 2019 Coup in Bolivia. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) delivered to Bolivia's President Luis Arce a report on human rights violations during the November 2019 coup d'état, which led Jeanine Añez to power. | RELATED: | On August 21, the investigation into these events will also be presented to victims' associations in La Paz, Senkata, Cochabamba, Sacaba, Sucre, Potosi, and Montero, the GIEI Executive…
(2021-08-17). Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI-Bolivia) Release 300-Page Report on Human Rights Violations in Bolivia. libya360.wordpress.com Today, the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI-Bolivia) will be releasing a 300-page report on the human rights violations in Bolivia in late 2019. Victims of the brutal coup regime see these findings as important in the pursuit of justice. @PrensaCamila pic.twitter.com/werR5dZTia — Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) August 17, 2021 Arriving here now are some of…
(2021-08-17). The U.S. and the UK Support Human Rights for Some but Not for Others. strategic-culture.org When human rights are brought to the attention of the authorities in Washington and London it's money and military "partnership" that matter. Not people. | Last month President Biden
(2021-08-17). Ending Structural Racism in the US Health Care System to Eliminate Health Care Inequities. jamanetwork.com Racial and ethnic inequities in the US health care system have been unremitting since the beginning of the country. In the 19th and 20th centuries, segregated black hospitals were emblematic of separate but unequal health care. Racism resulted in hospitals refusing to desegregate despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 until they were forced to under threat of losing federal funds from the newly enacted Medicaid and Medicare programs in 1966. For American Indian and Alaska Native persons, health care has always been and remains to be segregated. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-sta…
(2021-08-17). Dems Unveil Key Voting Rights Bill Amid Calls to Pass For the People Act. commondreams.org "It is essentially science denial to permit a pipeline of this magnitude during a climate crisis."