Unpleasant surprise for Washington? US oil sanctions on Iran force India to look to Russia
rt.com | 2020-02-09
Escalating US pressure on Iran, including sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports, may have had an unexpected consequence

Know Your Rights! Training
Berkeley Copwatch | indybay.org | 2020-02-09
The Grassroots House | 2022 Blake Street | Berkeley, CA 94705 | *The Grassroots House is wheelchair accessible.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/06/18830482.php

Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions
Tyler Durden | theantimedia.com | 2020-02-08
Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.

Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions

Venezuela to Defend Conviasa Airlines From US Ilegal Sanctions
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-08
Venezuela's Economy Minister Tareck El Aissami Saturday announced that his country will respond to the U.S. sanctions against Conviasa airlines, a public company that has 40 aircraft and 2,012 workers. | RELATED: | Russia and Venezuela Build up Cooperation Against US Sanctions | Besides offering commercial services, this airline carries out non-profi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-to-Defend-Conviasa-Airlines-From-US-Ilegal-Sanctions-20200208-0005.html

Former deputy jailer sentenced to prison after assaulting inmate
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2020-02-08
"The FBI will not tolerate correctional officers who violate a person's civil rights."
nationofchange.org/2020/02/08/former-deputy-jailer-sentenced-to-prison-after-assaulting-inmate/

House Passes Bill to Dramatically Strengthen the Power of Unions
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-08
House Democrats just passed an important blueprint for strengthening unions and building worker power. If signed into law, the labor law reforms within the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would amount to the biggest change to the rules governing employers and workers in generations. Among other major features, it would bolster workers' ability to unionize, expand organizing rights to more workers and strengthen the right to strike. | Although flawed, the legislation would go a long way toward…
truthout.org/articles/house-passes-bill-to-dramatically-strengthen-the-power-of-unions/

Palestinian Rights and Western Duplicity
Ron Forthofer | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-08
President Trump's fraudulent Middle East deal runs roughshod over Palestinian rights, harms long-term Israeli interests, and is only the latest example of the US arrogance and disdain for international law. Essentially Trump's offer, negotiated without any Palestinian input, requires the Palestinians to sell out their hopes for justice and a decent life free of occupation …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/palestinian-rights-and-western-duplicity/

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shoots unarmed man in the face in New York City
wsws.org | 2020-02-07
Eric Diaz-Cruz was shot as he sought to stop his mother's boyfriend from being detained by ICE early Thursday morning.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/07/immi…

Indigenous activists opposing pipeline project attacked, arrested by Canadian police
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-07
Milwaukee, WI – In the early morning hours of February 6, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) invaded territory belonging to the peoples of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, attacking indigenous activists and supporters who are actively opposing a pipeline project that will cut across Wet'suwet'en land. At least six land protectors were arrested and several others, including members of the media on the scene, were detained and removed from Wet'suwet'en territory by the RCMP. | This escalation is only the most recent incident in a conflict which began back in 2018 but whose true origins extend back to wh…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/7/indigenou…

Bolivia's Coup-Born Regime Arrests Socialist Lawmaker Torrico
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-07
Bolivia's Special Force for the Fight Against Crime (FELCC) Thursday arrested Movement for Socialism (MAS) lawmaker Gustavo Torrico in La Paz as he was leaving home to work. | RELATED: | Evo Morales Warns of US Threats Against Him | The coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez accuses Torrico of sedition and terrorism. This has caused outrage among human rights defenders who have been denouncing that the Bolivian government persecutes social activists who dissent. | "This is totally illegal. I appeared…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bolivias-Coup-Born-Regime-Arrests-Socialist-Lawmaker-Torrico-20200207-0003.html

Media Urge Palestinians to Take Crumbs–Because Democracy Is Not on Offer
Gregory Shupak | fair.org | 2020-02-07
by Gregory Shupak The Trump administration's "Vision for Peace" | The Trump administration's " Deal of the Century" is supposedly a plan to solve the question of Palestine. But as Michael Lynk, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, points out, the deal doesn't offer Palestinians…
fair.org/home/media-urge-palestinians-to-take-crumbs-because-democracy-is-not-on-offer/

Detainee Tareq Qa'dan, Who Held Extended Hunger Strike In 2019, Released
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-02-07
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society has reported that Israeli soldiers released, Thursday, a Palestinian detainee, who held an extended hunger strike last year, before he was welcomed by hundreds of Palestinians in Jenin, in northern West Bank. The PPS stated that the detainee, Tareq Qa'dan, held an extended hunger strike, lasting …
imemc.org/article/detainee-tareq-qadan-who-held-extended-hunger-strike-in-2019-released/

CBP Lied About Iranian-American Detentions, Leaked Memo Suggests
Scarlet Kim | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-07
Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection adamantly denied that it was detaining U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents of Iranian descent and interrogating them about their religion and political views. The agency also assured the public that it had …
globalresearch.ca/cbp-lied-about-iranian-american-detentions-leaked-memo-suggests/5703043

Israeli Forces Storm Prison Cells In Ashkelon
IMEMC News & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-02-07
Israeli prison guards, on Thursday evening, stormed Palestinian prisoners' cells in the Ashkelon facility, wreaking havoc therein, according to Days of Palestine. The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS)said that confrontations flared up between Palestinian detainees and Israeli prison guards, during the raid. No injuries were reported, but one Palestinian prisoner was …
imemc.org/article/israeli-forces-storm-prison-cells-in-ashkelon/

Venezuela: Sergei Lavrov Met National Dialogue Representatives
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-07
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Friday met with the "National Dialogue" representatives in Caracas where he stressed that the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are unacceptable and illegal. | RELATED: | Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister to Meet President Maduro | "Unfortunately, the crisis Venezuela is going through comes from a campaign led by the United States to overthrow the legitimate government chaired by President Nicolas Maduro," L…
telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Sergei-Lavrov-Met-National-Dialogue-Representatives-20200207-0006.html

The Census Is Not Safe From Donald Trump
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-07
When the Supreme Court ruled in June that the Trump administration could not place a citizenship question on the 2020 census, civil rights advocates breathed a sigh of relief. | Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, called the outcome "a victory for democracy." | "The administration deliberately sought to increase the political power of whites at the expense of already underrepresented communities," Johnson said in a statement. | Trump administration officials h…
truthdig.com/articles/the-census-is-not-safe-from-donald-trump/

Long-Bailey pledges right to switch off work phones out of hours
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-07
Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey will pledge to help end the 24/7 work culture by giving employees the right not to be contacted outside working hours.The shadow business secretary will commit on Friday to giving workers the freedom to switch off phones so they do not have to be anxious about receiving emails and calls during leisure time.While her campaign team gave few details, a "right to disconnect" in France obliges organisations with more than 50 workers to define employees' rights to ignore their mobiles.Long-Bailey is among the favourites to replace Corbyn (Stefan Rousseau/PA)Long-Bailey wa…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/02/07/long-bailey-pledges-right-to-switch-off-work-phones-out-of-hours/

Video: "The Deal of the Century", Palestine and International Law: UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk
Michael Lynk | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-07
Michael Welch's GRTV feature interview with UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in occupied Palestine, Prof. Michael Lynk. | The plan will take us backward. It violates international law. | It is an unilateral arrangement between Israel and the …
globalresearch.ca/deal-century-palestine-international-law-un-special-rapporteur-michael-lynk/5703057

Civil Rights Movement memories: Marching from Selma to Montgomery in 1965
Juan Lopez | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-07
The flight to Atlanta was bumpy. I was already apprehensive. I had imagined being on the receiving end of a two-by-four swung wildly by a Southern gentleman of the White Citizens Council. And then, when the plane suddenly plunged downward in what felt like a nosedive, I feared I would soon meet my fate, denying …
peoplesworld.org/article/civil-rights-movement-memories-marching-from-selma-to-montgomery-in-1965/

How Advocates Are Fighting Voter Suppression
Linda Kramer Jenning | commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
Often the newer restrictions focus on bureaucratic details, but their intent and impact target the same populations that historically faced violence and harassment when seeking to exercise the right to vote. (Photo: AFGE/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/07/how-advocates-are-fighting-voter-suppression?cd-origin=rss

As Fossil Fuel Companies Keep Driving the Climate Crisis, the Scale of Human Rights Violations Is Increasing, Alerts 350.org Report
commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/02/07/fossil-fuel-companies-keep-driving-climate-crisis-scale-human-rights-violations?cd-origin=rss

House Approves Worker Rights Bill in Face of Growing Labor Backlash Against Trickle-Down Policies
Anastasia Christman, Brian Chen | commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) advocates for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act on February 5, 2020. (Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/07/house-approves-worker-rights-bill-face-growing-labor-backlash-against-trickle-down?cd-origin=rss

New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
In addition to having a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities around the globe which have contributed the least to climate-warming fossil fuel emissions, the climate crisis has exacerbated the human rights violations already perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/07/new-report-details-how-fossil-fuel-industrys-climate-destruction-also-exacerbates?cd-origin=rss

Animal Justice Party's attempt to hijack climate movement rejected
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-07
Climate Jacob Andrewartha Sue BoltonIssue 1252 Australia MelbourneFebruary 7, 2020Animal rights activist in Melbourne have harmed the climate movement and their own cause by attempting to stack mee…
greenleft.org.au/content/animal-justice-party-attempt-hijack-climate-movement-rejected

Blaming overpopulation lets climate criminals off the hook
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-07
Climate refugee rights Chloe DSIssue 1252 AustraliaFebruary 7, 2020The burden of responsibility for the climate crisis is often placed on poorer nations. But the reality is that the main culprits continue to be the rich and powerful 1%. | Within the climate movement, some sec…
greenleft.org.au/content/blaming-overpopulation-lets-climate-criminals-hook

Extreme weather demands better working conditions
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-07
workers' rights and unions Climate Leo CrnogorcevicIssue 1252 AustraliaFebruary 7, 2020Faced with a still-unfolding summer from hell, in which catastrophic bushfires have caused 34 deaths, destroyed 11 million hectares of land and wiped out more than a…
greenleft.org.au/content/extreme-weather-demands-better-working-conditions

Human Rights Watch report finds 138 Salvadorans killed after being deported from the US
wsws.org | 2020-02-07
The report, based on interviews with over 150 people over a one-and-a-half-year period, additionally identified 70 other deportees who were beaten, sexually assaulted, extorted or tortured.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/07/salv…

Human Rights Watch: 200 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed, Raped or Tortured After U.S. Deportation
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-07
A shocking new report says at least 200 Salvadoran asylum seekers were either killed, raped or tortured after being deported from the United States back to El Salvador. Human Rights Watch found that some 138 people deported to El Salvador were murdered by gang members, police, soldiers, death squads or ex-partners between 2013 and 2019. The report says most of the victims were killed within two years after being deported, by the same perpetrators the asylum seekers had fled from. From Denver, Colorado, we speak to Clara Long, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. And joining us from El Salvador, we speak to "
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/7/hrw_report…

Central African Republic: One year after peace deal, a 'long, steep' road ahead to ensure child rights protections
news.un.org | 2020-02-06
A year since the signing of a peace deal between the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed groups, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday that millions of children across the country remain threatened by violence and a lack of access to food, health care and other basic needs.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056842

Trump's 'Deal of the Century': Old Israeli Demands in a New Package
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-05
Consisting of 80 pages, 50 of which are entirely dedicated to the plan's economic component, Trump's Deal of the Century is little more than a rehash of previous Israeli proposals that have already been rejected by Palestinians, writes Ramzy Baroud.
mintpressnews.com/trump-deal-of-the-century-palestinian-rights/264627/

Refugee resettlement: 'Tremendous gap' persists between needs, and spaces on offer
news.un.org | 2020-02-05
Although around 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, only 63,696 were resettled through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) last year – that's only 4.5 per cent – due to a continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056742

Witness to a Farce – Watching impeachment through the lens of the New York Times
Dorothee Benz | fair.org | 2020-02-04
Watching the actions of the Trump administration through the lens of the New York Times' coverage has been by turns dumbfounding, disheartening and infuriating. While the white nationalists running our government have rolled out one attack after another on civil rights, civil liberties, the independence of the judiciary, procedural democracy, human rights laws and planetary survival, the "paper of record" has offered a soothing translation of these threats into the familiar language of…
fair.org/home/witness-to-a-farce/

SPLC and the SPLC Action Fund Hire Internationally Renowned Human and Civil Rights Leader as New President and CEO
splcenter.org | 2020-02-02
Margaret Huang brings 25 years of experience advocating against discrimination and oppression around the world.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/03/splc-and-splc-action-fund-hire-internationally-renowned-human-and-civil-rights-leader-new

Headlines for January 31, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-31
Senate Poised to Acquit President Trump in Impeachment Trial, World Health Organization Declares International Public Health Emergency, U.S. Special Envoy Warns of International Crisis in Idlib, Syria, Britain Formally Withdrawing from European Union Tonight, Pentagon Deploys 1st Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead-Armed Submarine, Trump Admin Poised to Loosen Restrictions on Use of Landmines, Human Rights Groups Condemn Mexico for Crackdown on Central American Migrants, Mexican Butterfly Conservationist Found Dead, Bolivia's Movement for Socialism Candidate Luis Arce Returns to Bolivia, U.S. Pushes EU to End Ban on Chemic…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/31/headlines

Union motion: Support real action on the climate
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-01-31
Climate workers' rights & unionsIssue 1251 AustraliaJanuary 31, 2020Unionists active in the climate change movement have drafted the following model motion to help break the silence on the fact that the catastrophic bushfires are connected to climate change. | It also seeks to build support for the February 22 national day of action…
greenleft.org.au/content/union-motion-support-real-action-climate

Anti-Trump-themed 'Immigrant Food' restaurant owned by lobbyists for right-wing Latin American coup leaders who fueled migration crisis
Alexander Rubinstein | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-30
The shocking story of how wealthy Latin American regime-change hitmen exploited immigrant rights, international food, and a pliant DC media…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/30/anti-trump-immigrant-food-lobbyists-coup-fueled-migration-crisis/

We're Back in Court this Week Defending Access to Safe Abortion in Kentucky
Amber Duke | aclu.org | 2020-01-29
The ACLU is back | in court today once again to stop Kentucky's attempt to block access to | abortion. We've been here before. Over the past three years, the Kentucky | General Assembly has passed bill after bill that limits

Asylum-Seekers Are Being Abandoned in Guatemala in a New Policy Officials Call a "Total Disaster"
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2020-01-28
In late November, U.S. immigration authorities began | deporting some Central American asylum-seekers to Guatemala under a new | policy that makes it nearly impossible for them to seek asylum in the U.S. | But Guatemalan human rights workers say that their country's | asylum system isn't capable of handling even the relatively small numbers that | have been sent there so far, and that asylum seekers' precarious status in the | country has already pushed many to leave. | "They're preferring to move on…
aclu.org/news/human-rights/asylum-seekers-are-being-abandoned-in-guatemala-in-a-new-policy-officials-call-a-total-disaster

SPLC sues Alabama school district for violating students' due process rights after cell phone is mistaken for gun
splcenter.org | 2020-01-28
Andre and his friend were taking turns on a cell phone, playing a video game called Last Day on Earth: Survival

Conspiracy Theories, Threats of Violence Loom Over Coming Gun Rally in Richmond
splcenter.org | 2020-01-16
Gun-rights activists and antigovernment extremists are planning a protest in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday fueled by antigovernment conspiracy theories and accompanied by online calls for violence.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/01/16/conspiracy-theories-threats-violence-loom-over-coming-gun-rally-richmond