(2021-12-18). WW Commentary: Drug users need unions, compassion clubs. workers.org 
Drug users and abusers, as a group of people, are among the most oppressed of our class. Because of this, we are in need of an organization or organizations that protect us and our human rights. We also need an organization that helps to combat the overdose epidemic, often caused . . . |
(2021-12-18). Pakistan: Brutal lynching of Priyantha Kumara. workers.org 
Sialkot, Pakistan — Last week a mob tortured and then lit Priyantha Kumara on fire. Kumara, a Sri Lankan, was a factory manager in Pakistan and was murdered outside of the factory in which he worked. In the aftermath of this horrific lynching, mob participants informed media outlets that they . . . |
(2021-12-18). Palestinian female prisoners prepare campaign to address abuse in Israeli prisons. peoplesdispatch.org Detainees in Israeli prisons have launched a protest to reject the decision by Israeli prison authorities to isolate two prisoners Shorouk Dwayat and Marah Bakir in the Damon Prison and the attack by the Nashon* forces on Nafoud Hammad according to the Palestinian Prisoner's Society. | The Prisoners Information Office confirmed that there has been a climate of high tension in the prisons in response to the systematic attacks launched by the Israeli prison authorities against Palestinian female prisoners, pointing out that "prisoners have refrained from leaving the rooms for security checks, and a state of alert i…
(2021-12-17). Ethiopia: U.S. sanctions create misery and division. workers.org 
Washington plans to impose sanctions on the central government in Ethiopia starting Jan. 1. The sanctions remove Ethiopia's Special Trade Status, which enables Ethiopian goods to be sold in the U.S. free of import duty. Ethiopia's government is involved in a civil war with forces based in Tigray that had . . . |
(2021-12-17). Hypocritical expressions of concern over Assange from Australian politicians. wsws.org Statements by the deputy prime minister and other government members are anxious efforts to contain the popular outrage over the psychological and physical torture of the WikiLeaks founder.
(2021-12-17). Why We Must Defend Julian Assange. popularresistance.org December 10 is International Human Rights Day. It is always a sham holiday for the United States, which locks up its own people at rates exceeding those of every other country, and routinely makes war against the rest of the world. In 2021 the date was treated as even more of a mockery than in the past. Joe Biden convened a bizarre democracy summit, wherein he declared other nations good or bad based on whether they go along with the dictates of the U.S. empire. Although it was in London where the U.S. behaved in a particularly shameful manner, working with the United Kingdom to secure the right to extradite Juli…
(2021-12-17). They Won't Ever Find Us Because Our Love Is Bound To The Rocks. popularresistance.org At the US State Department's Summit for Democracy (9—10 December), US President Joe Biden announced a range of initiatives to 'bolster democracy and defend human rights globally'. These measures are to be funded by $424.4 million from the United States. This money will go towards the same institutions that have — for the past sixty years — intervened to undermine the sovereignty of democratic processes from Iran (1953) and Guatemala (1954) to Honduras (2009) and Bolivia (2019). The US focuses on falsely portraying governments that are unwilling to accept US leadership as corrupt — as was w…
(2021-12-17). They won't ever find us because our love is bound to the rocks: The Fiftieth Newsletter (2021). mronline.org 
At the U.S. State Department's Summit for Democracy (9—10 December), U.S. President Joe Biden announced a range of initiatives to 'bolster democracy and defend human rights globally'.
(2021-12-17). Home Care Workers Protest 24-Hour Work Day In New York City. popularresistance.org Workers employed with the United Jewish Council (UJC) home care agency rallied to end the 24-hour work day and demand their stolen wages on the morning of December 16. While home care workers in New York are being forced to work 24-hour shifts for poverty wages, 11 hours worth of that pay is stolen by their employers. A coalition of worker's rights organizations including the Ain't I A Woman Campaign and the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (NMASS) have been organizing alongside home care workers for years against these unjust labor practices. | "I am traumatized from working 24-hour shifts," said Epifani…
(2021-12-17). Qatar jails migrant worker for speaking out on labor violations. peoplesdispatch.org Jordanian Abdullah Ibhais was sentenced to five years in prison in April this year. Human rights groups assert that the sentence is based on false and baseless charges completely lacking evidence…
(2021-12-17). Democratic Production and Self-Organized Labor: How the Che Guevara Commune Confronts the Crisis. libya360.wordpress.com Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert Part I: Highland Resistance: How the Che Guevara Commune Confronts the Crisis First-hand accounts of the impact of the US sanctions on a coffee and cocoa growing commune in the Venezuelan Andes. The Che Guevara Commune lies on the fertile hillsides that rise up from the shores of Lake…
(2021-12-17). Piñera Worried About Boric's Possible Victory, Lashes Out Against Bachelet. orinocotribune.com The Chilean president is concerned about the support expressed by Michelle Bachelet for the leftist presidential candidate, Gabriel Boric. | On Tuesday, December 14, former president of Chile and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, announced her support for Gabriel Boric in the second round of the Chilean presidential elections scheduled for this Sunday, December 19, where center-left Boric and far-right José Antonio Kast are contesting the presidency. | "It does matter which candidate you vote for, and that is why I am going to vote for Gabriel Boric, and I want to make a ca…
(2021-12-17). Activists speak out in Louisiana as support for ICE detainee hunger strike grows. liberationnews.org 
On Dec. 13, activists gathered in Monroe and Jena, Louisiana to hold press conferences at both the Richwood and LaSalle detention facilities to protest abusive conditions.
(2021-12-17). New Guidance Fails to Stop Mistreatment of Pregnant People and Their Children in Detention. aclu.org Recently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued new
(2021-12-17). Banksia Hill Detention Centre cruelty exposed. greenleft.org.au A protest outside the David Malcolm Justice Centre was part of the campaign in support of the National Suicide Prevention and Recovery Project. Alex Salmon reports.
(2021-12-17). Bipartisanship at Whose Expense? Sen. Raphael Warnock Calls to End Filibuster, Pass Voting Rights Acts. democracynow.org 
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia implored conservative members of his party to stop obstructing voting rights legislation in a powerful speech on the floor of the Senate Tuesday. While Warnock did not name Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, the two have come out against doing away with the filibuster in order to allow Democrats to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Warnock said there was no chance of Republicans joining the effort to safeguard democracy and that only a change to the filibuster could secure passage of the bills. "Who is being asked to…
(2021-12-17). Ben Crump: Derek Chauvin's Guilty Plea of Violating George Floyd's Civil Rights Sends Strong Message. democracynow.org 
Former police officer Derek Chauvin has pleaded guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights, marking the first time he publicly admitted to his role in Floyd's death. Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, killing him with the excessive use of force in 2019. Floyd's dying words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry for social justice protests and calls to defund the police across the country. Chauvin also pleaded guilty for violating the civil rights of a 14-year-old juvenile in 2017. "To be held accountable on both levels, on state level and federal level, we believe, sends a very clear m…
(2021-12-17). Sen. Raphael Warnock Urges End to Filibuster, Passage of Voting Rights Bills. truthout.org 
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia implored conservative members of his party to stop obstructing voting rights legislation in a powerful speech on the floor of the Senate Tuesday. While Warnock did not name Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, the two have come out against doing away with the filibuster in order to allow Democrats to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Warnock said there was no chance of Republicans joining the effort to s…
(2021-12-17). The Supreme Court, Abortion, and the New Dred Scott. scheerpost.com 
Photograph Source: John Ramspott — By David Schultz / Should the US Supreme Court next year overturn Roe v. Wade and limit abortion rights the decision will be the new Dred Scott, damaging both the remaining thread of legitimacy and respect the Court has, as well as propelling American politics into a divide it has not seen since the Civil War. | Dred Scott v. Sanford is the infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision which…
(2021-12-17). FDA Lifts Rules on Abortion Pill, Permanently Allowing Medication to Be Mailed. truthout.org 
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is lifting restrictions it has previously placed on abortion medication, permanently ending rules that required pills for the procedure to be obtained in person. | The change in policy will allow abortion medication to be mailed to those who want it instead, which reproductive rights activists have
(2021-12-17). Protests erupt against homophobic proposals by far-right Vox party. peoplesdispatch.org On Wednesday, December 15, LGBTIQ rights groups and other progressive, liberal sections protested in Madrid, Spain, to demand that the regional government of Madrid discard a proposal by the far-right Vox Party to repeal LGBTQI rights. The call for the protest was given by LGBTQI activist platform Trans Platform and was supported by various groups including Podemos, United Left (IU), Anti-capitalists Madrid, among others. Enrique Santiago, member of parliament and leader of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), also joined the demonstration on Wednesday. | On Thursday, the 136-seat Assembly of the Autonomous Commun…
(2021-12-17). Derek Chauvin admits to killing George Floyd in plea deal on federal civil rights charges. wsws.org The former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck and killed him on May 25, 2020, pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in order to avoid a likely life sentence.
(2021-12-17). US Threatening 6-Figure Fines for Contributing to 'Banned' Sites, Journalist tells RT. orinocotribune.com American journalists are being threatened with large fines by the US Treasury for writing for the 'wrong' websites, writer Daniel Lazare told RT, concerned his country's reputation as a defender of press freedom might be over. | Lazare and other US journalists who've written for the Strategic Culture Foundation, a website that describes itself as a "research platform on Eurasian global affairs," recently received threatening letters from the Treasury Department warning they could be on the hook for at least $300,000 in sanctions penalties, he told RT on Sunday. | "It's impossible to battle the US Treasury in t…
(2021-12-17). Faith Leaders Call on Biden to End Economic Sanctions. globalresearch.ca Leaders of 18 American faith and faith-based humanitarian organizations appealed to President Joe Biden this week to eliminate general U.S. economic sanctions against nations that are dealing with the ravages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as with the …
(2021-12-17). China Rescues Myanmar From Dangerous Dollar-Dominated Waters. journal-neo.org 
For nearly a year now the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar has been racked by US-sponsored terrorism attempting to reinstall Washington's client regime of choice headed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Compounding the daily violence carried out by the US-sponsored opposition, are growing sanctions leveled by the …