(2019-08-27). DNC Kills Climate Debate Compromise. therealnews.com 
Days after rejecting the proposal to sanction debate focused on the climate crisis, the DNC voted 222-137 against allowing candidates to participate in even a non-sanctioned one…
(2019-08-27). Protesters tell Greyhound, ICE off our buses! workers.org 
About 200 demonstrators gathered Aug. 23 outside Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal, demanding an end to collaboration between Greyhound Lines, Inc. and Customs and Border Patrol agents, who have been illegally boarding buses to racially profile and detain migrants. The protest was the result of a month of planning by . . . | Continue reading Protesters tell Greyhound, ICE off our buses! at Workers.org
(2019-08-27). Clampdown on Housing Rights Activists in Bolsonaro's Brazil. thenation.com Clampdown on Housing Rights Activists in Bolsonaro's Brazil…
(2019-08-27). Stripped of Their Rights. aclu.org In 2011, guards at an Illinois prison violated the constitution when they carried out a mass strip-search of incarcerated women. | In March 2011, a tactical team of guards at a state prison in Lincoln, Illinois gathered 200 women and ushered them into a gymnasium, where they were brought in small groups into a separate room nearby. Inside that room, they were told to strip naked in plain view of other guards, cadets, and civilians, without any explanation. Women on their periods were ordered to remove their tampons and sanitary pads. One-by-one, each woman was ordered to lift her breasts, cough and squat, and dis…
(2019-08-27). Globalization and Women's Rights: Economic Restructuring, Women's Experiences and Responses to "Neoliberal Shocks" globalresearch.ca There is a critical nexus between colonial development and economic re-structuring processes in the Third world whereby globalization is an ideological weapon that extends imperial control over ex-colonies through persistent poverty and underdevelopment. | Globalization is also an external war that …
(2019-08-27). Violent White Supremacists Threaten Basic Civil Rights—and Our Lives. commondreams.org Karina Cardoso and Linda Nevarez hold their cellphone flashlights up during an Aug. 4 vigil in El Paso for the victims of the Walmart shooting. (Photo: Lola Gomez/American-Statesman) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2019-08-27). Counting Deaths for Dollars: The Rise and Fall of Nicaragua's 'Human Rights' Organizations. globalresearch.ca In their hunger for US funding, Nicaraguan "human rights" NGO's inflated the death toll during last year's coup. Today, these groups are in a state of complete disarray. | *** | When political conflict results in people being killed — especially at …
(2019-08-27). France upstages Trump at G7 by inviting Iran to salvage nuclear deal. nationofchange.org Trump breached the Iran deal in 2017, slapped severe sanctions on Iran and then went around the world strong-arming countries not to buy Iran's petroleum.
(2019-08-27). Selected Articles: Amazonia in Flames — Brazil's Bolsonaro Is a World Criminal. globalresearch.ca Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …
(2019-08-27). Ranked-Choice Voting Advocates Call On Maine Governor to 'Honor the Will of Voters' and Approve System for 2020 Primary. commondreams.org Voting rights advocates on Tuesday applauded Maine legislators for moving to expand the use of ranked-choice voting to presidential primaries, and called on Gov. Janet Mills to sign the bill into law, considering the broad appeal the system has for voters. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2019-08-27). Rejecting Idea of 'Photo Op' Diplomacy With Trump, Iran's Rouhani Says No Talks Unless US Sanctions Lifted. commondreams.org "It's possible with PhotoShop—but not in reality. Unless the U.S. removes all the sanctions—then there will be a new situation for us to consider." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2019-08-27). "Kochland": How David Koch Helped Build an Empire to Shape U.S. Politics & Thwart Climate Action. democracynow.org 
Billionaire conservative donor David Koch died Friday at the age of 79 from prostate cancer. David Koch — who was worth some $42 billion — and his brother Charles poured massive amounts of money into funding climate change denial through conservative think tanks and politicians. The Koch brothers founded the political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity in 2004, which is credited with turning the "tea party" into a full-fledged political movement. They also backed "right-to-work" efforts, which aim to weaken labor rights and quash union membership. The brothers made their fortune running Koch Indu…
(2019-08-27). 19 States and DC Sue Trump Over 'Cruel, Immoral, and Illegal' Plan to Detain Migrant Children Indefinitely. commondreams.org "We're taking the Trump administration to court to defend children from the irreparable harm caused by unlawful detention." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2019-08-26). We Are Not Fooled By The Hong Kong Protests. dissidentvoice.org 
Agnes Chow and Nathan Law accept the 2018 Lantos Human Rights Prize on behalf of Joshua Wong in Washington, DC. (Facebook) Update: Protests continued in Hong Kong this weekend. The protesters returned to the use of violence and the police responded. The South China Morning Post reported: In a now familiar pattern, the protesters threw …
(2019-08-26). Immigrants hold four days of protest outside Mexican detention center. wsws.org Two hundred protesters staged sit-ins and blocked vans with migrants bound for deportation.
(2019-08-26). Marginalized groups hit hardest by inequality and stigma in cities. un.org Millicent Auma Otieno, a Kenya-based human rights and community activist, campaigns on behalf of women and persons with disabilities who face stigmatization, as a result of cultural and religious beliefs. In an interview with UN News, Ms. Otieno reinforced the message that inequality is prevalent in Africa where, she said, political power often remains in the hands of wealthy elites, adding that many people in cities are forced to live in informal settlements, which have proven to be hotbeds of unemployment, violence, drug abuse and early pregnancies.
(2019-08-26). Sri Lankan authorities must work 'vigorously' to ease simmering ethno-religious tensions, urges UN rights expert. un.org A United Nations human rights expert warned on Monday that Sri Lankan authorities must take urgent action to strengthen respect for freedom of religion or belief and address simmering ethno-religious tensions.
(2019-08-26). Union criticises PM's hypocrisy on public service. greenleft.org.au 
Workers rights Australian Public Service Jim McIlroyIssue 1235 Australia Community Public Sector UnionAugust 26, 2019The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has cr…
(2019-08-26). "The Situation Was Very Bad": Feminist Activist Kavita Krishnan on What She Saw in Kashmir. democracynow.org 
In Kashmir, residents have entered their fourth week of a severe lockdown after India revoked the special status of the Indian-controlled part of the Muslim-majority territory. On August 5, India imposed a curfew and cut off all communications to the region. More than 4,000 people, including many political leaders, have been detained, while local residents report facing increasing shortages of food and medicine. Over the weekend, India blocked a delegation of Indian opposition politicians from visiting Kashmir, including Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the Indian National Congress. India's actions have led…
(2019-08-26). Syria: A new low in nasty propaganda. mronline.org 
It may be a new low in propaganda. National Public Radio (NPR) used the news that Syrian First Lady Asma Assad had overcome breast cancer to mock her and continue the information war against Syria. They interviewed a Human Rights Watch staffer named Lama Fakih who is an American from Michigan now based in Beirut. | Source
(2019-08-25). Max Blumenthal: US sanctions on Venezuela are 'sociopathic'. thegrayzone.com The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal discusses his heated exchange with a former Obama official and a member of Venezuela's far-right opposition…
(2019-08-25). Counting deaths for dollars: The rise and fall of Nicaragua's 'human rights' organizations. thegrayzone.com In their hunger for US funding, Nicaraguan opposition "human rights" NGOs inflated the death toll during the 2018 coup attempt….
(2019-08-24). Corporate Interests Use Voter Purges To Disenfranchise Citizens. therealnews.com 
The SCOTUS decision in Shelby County v Holder ruled that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is unconstitutional. Greg Palast talks about how what followed has been the expansion of the very issue that the VRA was implemented to curb…
(2019-08-24). Trump's Concentration Camps for Children. therealnews.com 
This week, the Trump Administration declared that immigrant children can be detained indefinitely, and in conditions that can be described as concentration camps. We talk to Sasha Abramsky of The Nation…
(2019-08-23). Activists demand Minnesota divest from border militarization contractor. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – On August 22, immigrant rights and Palestine solidarity activists presented over 1000 signatures of Minnesota residents petitioning the State Board of Investments (SBI) to divest state pension funds from the Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems. Elbit sells cluster bombs and weaponized white phosphorus to the Israel Defense Forces, whose indiscriminate use on besieged Gaza has been widely condemned by international organizations. Elbit also manufactures surveillance equipment for the Israeli apartheid wall, and drones used in targeted assassinations of Palestinian political leaders. | Advertisi…
(2019-08-23). South Sudan: UN rights experts see little headway on peace deal amid spike in local-level violence. un.org A United Nations expert group looking at human rights in South Sudan said on Friday that it is "deeply concerned" that, although the overall armed conflict has waned, there has been little progress in adhering to the peace agreement that guided the country thus far.
(2019-08-23). Friday's Daily Brief: Education in Africa, Sudan flash-floods, WHO on Ebola, spike in South Sudan violence, Rwanda, Uganda move to normalize relations. un.org A recap of Friday's stories: Education under fire in Central and Western Africa; Sudan flash-floods wreak havoc; Ebola outbreak spreads, albeit with fewer transmissions; UN rights experts on South Sudan; and UN chief welcomes understanding between Rwanda and Uganda…
(2019-08-23). U of MN Teamsters demand year-round work. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN — While the University of Minnesota top officials gathered for the opening of newly renovated Pioneer Hall, August 21, about 50 members of Teamsters Local 320 and other campus unions held an informational picket line to demand the year-round, full-time employment for workers in M Dining. The U of M has curtailed summer work opportunities for Teamsters and is trampling on seniority rights. | Mick Kelly, a member of the negotiating committee for U of M Teamsters told the crowd, "The university is plunging us into poverty, and this is something that we will never put up with. It is unacceptabl…
(2019-08-23). Suddenly West is Failing to Overthrow "Regimes" dissidentvoice.org It used to be done regularly and it worked: The West identified a country as its enemy, unleashed its professional propaganda against it, then administered a series of sanctions, starving and murdering children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. If the country did not collapse within months or just couple of years, the bombing would …
(2019-08-23). Statewide protest says 'Black Lives Matter'. greenleft.org.au 
Indigenous rights Zebedee ParkesIssue 1234 Australia #Black Lives Matter justice SydneyAugust 23, 2019Aboriginal rights activis…
(2019-08-23). Interview: Lebanese solidarity with Palestinian refugees. liberationnews.org 
"For the first time in Lebanon, and possibly in any Arab country, banners supporting the rights of Palestinian refugees were carried along with queer and trans flags."
(2019-08-23). Sen. Merkley Condemns Trump's War Against Migrant Families as U.S. Moves to Indefinitely Jail Kids. democracynow.org 
The Trump administration is moving to indefinitely detain migrant children and their families, reversing decades of U.S. policy. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to issue a new rule today to withdraw from a 1997 federal court settlement known as the Flores agreement, which put a 20-day limit on migrant family detentions. We speak with Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who made headlines last year when he was barred from entering an old Walmart where the government was detaining about 1,500 immigrant children in Brownsville, Texas.
(2019-08-22). DNC Rejects Call for a Climate Debate. therealnews.com 
Democratic National Committee (DNC) officials reversed the previous ban on candidates participating in non-sanctioned climate forums, but Carmen Bouquin of the Sunrise Movement says that's not enough…
(2019-08-22). A Louisiana Parish Jailed a U.S. Citizen for Being Latinx. We're Suing. aclu.org Officers in a Louisiana jail held a U.S. citizen for four days on an immigration hold simply because of his skin color and name. | Ramon Torres had been a U.S. citizen for nearly ten years when he was detained for four days on an immigration hold — despite having a U.S. passport, a Louisiana driver's license, and a Social Security card, and despite that fact that a court ordered his release. | Torres' ordeal began in August 2018, when he was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Torres, a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2009, was carrying multiple forms of identification, inclu…
(2019-08-22). 'Anti-alien Hysteria:' Journalist Elizabeth Glendower Evans and the Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti. progressive.org In a case perhaps more relevant now than ever, the trial of the two immigrants became a rallying point for 1920s progressives, labor activists, and human rights advocates around the globe.
(2019-08-22). Kashmir communications shutdown a 'collective punishment' that must be reversed, say UN experts. un.org End the crackdown on freedom of expression, was the strong call to the Government by India from five United Nations independent rights expert on Thursday.
(2019-08-22). Warren Apologizes to Native Americans; Sanders Backs Rescinding Medals for Wounded Knee Massacre. democracynow.org 
This week 10 Democratic candidates and one independent in the 2020 presidential race, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, addressed indigenous communities at the first-ever Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum in Sioux City, Iowa. During the two-day event, candidates individually answered questions from a panel of tribal leaders and Native American youth and elders on issues including treaty rights, voter suppression, and murdered and missing indigenous women.
(2019-08-21). An Arizona Law Requires Surveillance of People Who Are Presumed Innocent. aclu.org The government cannot take shortcuts around constitutional rights. | A pillar of our democracy is the presumption of innocence: before a person has been convicted of a crime, they are considered completely innocent under the law. Yet across the country, people who have not been convicted are punished—both explicitly and implicitly—based on the mistaken assumption that they are dangerous, purely on the basis of an accusation. We do not live in a society where you can be incarcerated or monitored simply because you have been accused of a crime. Doing so violates constitutional rights, fuels mass incarce…
(2019-08-21). Headlines for August 21, 2019. democracynow.org Amazon Wildfires Spark Fears of Environmental Disaster as Sà£o Paulo Goes Dark from Smoke, Trump Expected to End Flores Agreement, Slashing Protections for Child Migrants, CBP Will Not Vaccinate Jailed Migrants as Doctors Say At Least 3 Detained Children Died from Flu, Lawsuits Allege "Torture" in Migrant Jails and Child Abuse in Foster Care, Italy in Turmoil as Prime Minister Resigns, Migrants Disembark from Rescue Ship in Italy After Being Stranded at Sea for 3 Weeks, Trump Cancels Denmark Visit over Refusal to Discuss Selling Greenland, Trump Attacks Tlaib & Omar, Says Jews Are "Disloyal" If They Vote De…
(2019-08-20). 'Monsanto Has Worked Very Hard to Discredit Me and My Work' – CounterSpin interview with Carey Gillam on Monsanto's attack on journalism. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed US Right to Know's Carey Gillam for the August 16, 2019, episode of CounterSpin, about being targeted by Monsanto. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2019-08-20). Hong Kong: Flashpoint of Class Struggle in China. uwidata.com What began as isolated protests against a standard criminal-extradition law has somehow erupted into a violent fury throughout Hong Kong. The Chinese city's American-and-British-flag-waving protesters are, on the one hand, calling for "freedom, human rights, and democracy" while, on the other, assaulting police and even random bystanders alike. Western media have already been on the …
(2019-08-19). On Gun Violence, 'We Need the Federal Government to Take Bold Steps' – CounterSpin interview with Ernest Coverson on guns & human rights. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Amnesty International USA's Ernest Coverson about guns and human rights for the August 16, 2019, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2019-08-19). SPLC, allies sue ICE for ignoring medical, mental health and disability needs of detained immigrants. splcenter.org Faour Abdallah Fraihat, who ran a successful construction business for years in California, is currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
(2019-08-19). Trump is Taking More Money for Raids and Detention. Congress Should Stop Him. aclu.org Without congressional checks, ICE and CBP will continue to overspend and overstep. | 08/27/19 Update: Congress made public today a document outlining the Department of Homeland Security's plan to take nearly $280 million in funds meant for FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the TSA, among other critical priorities. Over $115 million of these funds will go towards President Trump's growing detention and deportations of immigrants, with the rest being used for sham border courts to support Trump's n…
(2019-08-19). "They Are Irreplaceable, and They Mattered": Group Identifies Human Remains Along the Border. democracynow.org 
In a special broadcast from the Arizona-Sonora border, we look at how the bodies and bones of more than 3,000 people have been found in the Sonoran Desert since 2001, and speak with Robin Reineke, the co-founder of the Tucson-based organization Colibrí Center for Human Rights. Colibrí Center is dedicated to identifying the remains of people passing through the desert and, since its founding, has identified at least 100 migrants through meticulous forensic work and DNA data collection of people's remains and family members who are alive. In 2018, it launched the Bring Them Back Campaign to call for dignity and dem…
(2019-08-16). Ernest Coverson on Guns & Human Rights, Carey Gillam Under Attack From Monsanto. fair.org 
Media…
(2019-08-15). The Challenges of Breastfeeding as a Black Person. aclu.org How our workplaces and healthcare system create barriers to breastfeeding. | The fight to protect individual choices about reproductive care, including breastfeeding, is an ongoing battle. The central lesson of the reproductive justice movement is that choice means little without access. That lesson applies equally to breastfeeding. | Though laws, in the workplace and other contexts, are in place to protect the right to breastfeed, many low-income women and w…
(2019-08-13). SPLC joins brief opposing Kansas law targeting immigrants. splcenter.org The SPLC and 29 worker and immigrant rights organizations filed an amicus brief today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a court decision stating that a Kansas identity theft law cannot be used to turn local law enforcement into immigration agents.
(2019-08-13). Expanding Involuntary Confinement is Not the Answer to Solve Gun Violence. aclu.org Institutionalizing people against their will is usually a mistake. | In the wake of last weekend's tragic shootings, President Trump did what he does best: stoked fear and cast blame. He proclaimed that "we must reform our mental health laws to better identify mentally disturbed individuals who may commit acts of violence and make sure those people, not only get treatment, but when necessary, involuntary confinement." | There are two things wrong with the idea of involuntary commitment as a solution to gun violence. First, focusing on people with identifiable mental disabilities won't help. The data is clear: men…
(2019-08-13). Unequal Justice: John Roberts' Dark Legacy of Voter Suppression. progressive.org Plaintiffs are litigating voting rights cases in Alabama, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, and several other states. Some will succeed, some will fail, but all will be more uncertain and expensive thanks to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.