2020-02-17: News Headlines

Juan Cole (2020-02-17). Netanyahu Boasts That He Destroyed Free Speech in America. truthdig.com This piece originally appeared on Israeli caretaker prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted for corruption and is facing an election soon, just boasted that his ministry of strategic affairs has managed to undermine First Amendment protections for free speech in the United States by lobbying state legislatures to pass laws forbidding the boycott of Israel. | Anti-boycott laws of the Old South were used against Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists in the civil rights movement to keep Africa…

Juan Cole (2020-02-17). Netanyahu Boasts He Destroyed Free Speech in America. truthdig.com This piece originally appeared on Israeli caretaker prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted for corruption and is facing an election soon, just boasted that his ministry of strategic affairs has managed to undermine first amendment protections for free speech in the United States by lobbying state legislatures to pass laws forbidding the boycott of Israel. | Anti-boycott laws of the Old South were used against Martin Luther King, Jr. and other activists in the Civil Rights movement to keep Afric…

RT (2020-02-17). Head of India's IT industry accuses US of labor rights discrimination. rt.com The president of India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), Debjani Ghosh, has accused Donald Trump's government of discriminating against Indian workers seeking H-1B visas to work in the US. | "We're at a loss trying to figure out why we're seeing the kind of discrimination when this is actually benefiting the US," Ghosh said, as quoted by the Financial Times. He argued that Indian workers help to fill a vital skills gap. | Ghosh's accusations come ahead of the US president's visit to India this month. He has asked for a meeting with the Trump delegation. | Also on rt.com…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-02-17). Trump's Trade War with China: Imagine What Would Happen if China Decided to Impose Economic Sanctions on the USA? globalresearch.ca In formulating these veiled threats, the Trump administration should think twice. These measures would inevitably backlash on the U.S. economy. China is not dependent on US imports. Quite the opposite. America is an import led economy with a weak manufacturing base, heavily dependent on imports from the PRC.

Miko Peled (2020-02-17). How Trump's "Peace" Plan Will Redraw Israel's Borders to Exclude to Non-Jews. globalresearch.ca Trump's new Middle East "Peace" Plan will redraw Israeli borders to exclude towns with large populations of Arab citizens, an attempt, writes Miko Peled, to force them down the totem pole to a place where their rights will be even …

Iokiñe Rodríguez and Mirna Inturias (2020-02-17). Contribution of indigenous people to fighting climate change is hanging by a thread. zcomm.org The recent history of Bolivia shows the danger of allowing the fight for indigenous rights and climate action to be co-opted…

Kathy Gilsinan (2020-02-17). A Boom Time for U.S. Sanctions. globalresearch.ca The United States, as of this writing, has 7,967 sanctions in place. | Treasury Department data

UUSF Sunday Morning Forum (2020-02-17). Sanctuary Rising – a new film in progress – with director Theo Rigsby. indybay.org Unitarian Universalist Society of S.F. | 1187 Franklin St. | San Francisco…

RT (2020-02-16). Can Moscow finish Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite US sanctions? 'Never say never' says Gazprom. rt.com Russia's $10 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which will pump gas more than 1,200 km to Germany – has been sanctioned by Washington, with US officials claiming Moscow can't finish the project. "Never say never," Gazprom replied. | The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a joint project between Russian energy giant Gazprom and five European firms, was sanctioned by the US Congress in December. The State Department followed this with an ultimatum to the European firms working on the project: "immediately cease construction-related activity." | The warning was enough to scare away Swiss pipelaying firm Allseas Group SA, and…

IMEMC News (2020-02-16). Israeli Soldiers Chase Palestinian Shepherds In Northern Plains. imemc.org Israeli soldiers chased, Sunday, many Palestinian shepherds in the al-Borj area, in the Northern Plains of the occupied West Bank. Human rights activist Aref Daraghma stated that the soldiers attacked and chased many Palestinian shepherds, and forced them out of grazing lands. He added that the attack comes just two …

Philip Giraldi (2020-02-16). American Citizens Killed and Tortured by Israel? globalresearch.ca One of the principal functions of a United States Embassy overseas is to provide citizen services, which includes coming to the assistance of Americans who are treated badly by the local government. It is a responsibility that most embassies take …

teleSUR (2020-02-16). US Sanctions Policy On Iran Has Failed: President Rouhani. telesurenglish.net Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed Sunday that the policy of "maximum pressure" exercised by the United States on Iran has failed and that all the economic indicators of the Islamic republic show that the Iranians have overcome the worst phase of that policy. | RELATED: | "The U.S. has concluded that the path they have chosen to deal with Iran has been based on the wrong strategy," Rouhani said, referring to several…

Staff (2020-02-15). Trump to Deploy Heavily Armed Border Patrol Tactical Units in Sanctuary Cities. truthout.org In a move that appears destined to escalate tension between the White House and opponents, President Donald Trump is reportedly deploying Customs and Border Protection tactical units across sanctuary cities in the U.S. to assist with arrests of undocumented people—despite warnings from critics and rights advocates. | The New York Times

WSWS (2020-02-15). Trump administration's national counterintelligence strategy focuses on "hacktivists, leaktivists and public disclosure organizations" wsws.org A major assault on First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of the press is being prepared.

teleSUR (2020-02-15). 'The Bolivarian Shield' Prepares Millions to Defend Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Saturday inaugurated the 2020 Bolivarian Shield, a defensive military exercise that is carried out amid U.S. threats and sanctions. | RELATED: | "We start the 2020 Bolivarian Shield Exercise with the deployment of our glorious Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), which maintains a military-civic union with more than 2,300,000 mobilized combatants," Maduro said. | Defense Mi…

WSWS (2020-02-15). White House orders militarized border patrol unit to carry out raids in "sanctuary cities" wsws.org The new policy was announced as Trump gave a fascistic speech to border patrol agents, pledging to fight the "left."

Eds. (2020-02-14). Over 4000 Professors and Scholars from across Canada and around the world sign "Statement of Solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en people of British Columbia" mronline.org We ask that the illegal work on Unist'ot'en territory by Coastal Gas Link be immediately stopped. We request that the federal and provincial governments respect Indigenous rights as outlined in our constitution, in countless court rulings, as well as the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous people (UNDRIP) and 'Anuc niwh'it'en (Wet'suwet'en law) |

RT (2020-02-14). Anti-BDS laws are meant to censor & control speech, journalist Abby Martin tells RT after suing Georgia govt over cancelled talk. rt.com Barred from speaking at a public university over her refusal to sign a pledge of allegiance to Israel, journalist Abby Martin is now suing the state of Georgia, arguing its anti-BDS legislation sets fire to the First Amendment. | Slated to give a keynote talk at a media literacy conference at Georgia Southern University later this month, Martin was asked to sign what amounts to a loyalty oath to the State of Israel, mandated under a 2016 Georgia law barring the government from hiring contractors who boycott Israeli products or associate with the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Martin t…

Media Lens (2020-02-14). UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Demolishes Fake Claims Targeting Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org On the face of it, the task seems almost hopeless. As Tolstoy wrote: 'The power of the government is maintained by public opinion, and with this power the government, by means of its organs — its officials, law courts, schools, churches, even the press — can always maintain the public opinion which they need.' (Leo …

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-02-14). 'These are the Bad Times': Trump to Deploy Heavily Armed Border Patrol Tactical Units to Help With Immigration Arrests in Sanctuary Cities. commondreams.org "It is unbelievable how much this action will undermine public safety. Unbelievable." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

John Washington (2020-02-13). The Epidemic of Hunger Strikes in Immigrant Detention Centers. thenation.com The Epidemic of Hunger Strikes in Immigrant Detention Centers…

Brian Tashman (2020-02-13). Bill Barr Wants Sheriffs to Join His Attacks on State and Local Governments. aclu.org Attorney General Bill Barr, For | Barr's Department of Justice, that escalation includes new lawsuits against | states and municipalities with immigrant-protective policies.

news.un (2020-02-13). Transitional justice processes critical to lasting peace, Security Council hears. news.un.org For countries to move forward after conflict or mass atrocities, suffering must be acknowledged and justice served, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights told the Security Council on Thursday.

Whitney Webb (2020-02-12). Gruesome Details Emerge of Israel's Torture of Palestinian Prisoners. mintpressnews.com One prisoner was hospitalized for kidney failure and 11 broken ribs. Another had his genitals bitten by a security dog while a third man was left wheelchair-bound and unrecognizable.

Staff (2020-02-11). Headlines for February 11, 2020. democracynow.org New Hampshire Voters Head to Polls for First Primary of 2020, Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 1,000, with Over 42,000 Confirmed Cases, Chuck Schumer Calls for Investigation into Trump's Retaliation-Motivated Firings, DOJ Reviewing Ukraine Info from Giuliani, DOJ Charges 4 Chinese Military Hackers in 2017 Equifax Breach, El Salvador President Bukele and Armed Officers Confront Lawmakers over Military Funding, Fears Mount for 5 Activists Detained in Philippines, Sinn Féin Scores Major Victory in Ireland, Syrian and Turkish Forces Step Up Attacks as 100,000s Face Humanitarian Disaster, Massive Locust Swarms Threaten Cro…

Ronald Newman (2020-02-10). How Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Broke Through in Iowa. aclu.org Our next president | must be committed to protecting and advancing the civil liberties and civil | rights guaranteed to all of us in the Constitution, and the current goal for | our key issues. We now have most of the results from the Iowa caucuses last week, | and one thing stood out to us: Voters overwhelmingly supported candidates who | made specific commitments to Rights for All policies. | When we launched | the Rights for All effort last year, we were determined to elevate ke…

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

Fred_F (2020-02-07). Animal rights groups' attempt to hijack climate movement rejected. greenleft.org.au

Staff (2020-02-07). Human Rights Watch: 200 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed, Raped or Tortured After U.S. Deportation. democracynow.org 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 "

splcenter (2020-02-02). SPLC and the SPLC Action Fund Hire Internationally Renowned Human and Civil Rights Leader as New President and CEO. splcenter.org Margaret Huang brings 25 years of experience advocating against discrimination and oppression around the world.

splcenter (2020-01-28). SPLC sues Alabama school district for violating students' due process rights after cell phone is mistaken for gun. splcenter.org Andre and his friend were taking turns on a cell phone, playing a video game called Last Day on Earth: Survival — about staying alive on a zombie-infested planet — when a real-life gunshot rang out.

Peace Action (2019-06-25). Peace Action Endorses Ilhan Omar for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 25, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Ilhan Omar for Congress in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …

Peace Action (2019-06-24). Peace Action Endorses Kara Eastman for Congress. peaceaction.org Washington, DC — June 24, 2019 — Peace Action has announced its endorsement of Kara Eastman for Congress in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Peace Action is a national grassroots organization working to advance nuclear disarmament, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights, and support nonmilitary …