Iran Is Suffering Under the Coronavirus, and the US Is Imposing Fresh Sanctions
James Carden | thenation.com | 2020-04-22
Iran Is Suffering Under the Coronavirus, and the US Is Imposing Fresh Sanctions…
thenation.com/article/politics/coronavirus-iran-sanctions-trump/
Death Trap Jail: Pepper-Sprayed, Otay Mesa Detainees Demand Release as COVID-19 Spreads Inside
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-21
We look at the mounting number of COVID-19 cases inside immigration jails across the country and one of the largest outbreaks at the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego, run by private prison company CoreCivic. Prisoners were told to sign contracts, written only in English, in exchange for receiving face masks. When some refused to sign, guards pepper-sprayed them. This comes as activists say hundreds imprisoned in detention centers in California are on hunger strike. We get an update from Ruth Mendez, community activist and volunteer with Otay Mesa Detention Resistance.
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/21/otay_mesa…
Trump Tweets Plan to Suspend All Immigration to US
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-21
President Donald Trump declared in a tweet late Monday night that he intends to sign an executive order "temporarily" banning all immigration to the U.S. amid the Covid-19 outbreak, an announcement rights groups condemned as a shameful attempt to scapegoat immigrants that will do nothing to safeguard either Americans' health or jobs. | "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT Ameri…
truthout.org/articles/trump-tweets-plan-to-suspend-all-immigration-to-us/
NYC Immigrant Communities Fight Hunger, Exploitation & Invisibility Through Mutual Aid
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-21
We look at how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting undocumented people here in New York City, where the coronavirus has hit immigrant communities the hardest, even as the numbers of daily deaths statewide has declined in recent days. As reports of widespread poverty and hunger continue in the immigrant communities, people are also organizing and helping each other through mutual aid despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances. We are joined by Juan Carlos Ruiz, Lutheran pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Brooklyn and co-founder of the national New Sanctuary Movement and the New Sanctuary Coalition here in Ne…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/21/migrants_…
Hundreds of Amazon Workers Strike Over Unsafe Working Conditions
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-21
More than 350 Amazon warehouse workers went on strike Tuesday across the United States (U.S.), refusing to work to protest unsafe conditions amid the coronavirus epidemic. | RELATED: | Billionaire Jeff Bezos Makes US$24 Billion More Amid Pandemic | The call-in sick was organized by the labor rights groups United for Respect, New York Communities for Change, and Make the Road New York. It is the largest nationwide protest at the company since the start of the coronavirus outbre…
telesurenglish.net/news/Hundreds-of-Amazon-Workers-Strike-Over-Unsafe-Working-Conditions-20200421-0020.html
Car caravan protesters demand release of immigrant detainees in Arizona
Sarah Roberts | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-21
TUCSON, Ariz.
Coronavirus and the crisis of African American human rights
Ajamu Baraka | mronline.org | 2020-04-21
With the overwhelming evidence that the capitalist system is fundamentally antithetical to the realization of human rights, including what should be an elementary right–access to healthcare–the presidency of Donald J. Trump has been a godsend for the capitalist rulers.
mronline.org/2020/04/21/coronavirus-and-the-crisis-of-african-american-human-rights/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=coronavirus-and-the-crisis-of-african-american-human-rights
U.S. Citizens Demand Trump to Halt Sanctions Against Venezuela
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-21
U.S. human rights defenders and citizens Monday organized a car rally in Northampton, Massachusetts to demand that President Donald Trump stop his attacks and sanctions against Venezuela, Cuba, and other peoples of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | Caribbean Organizations Unite Against US Attacks, Support Caricom | "End the U.S. sanct…
telesurenglish.net/news/U.S.-Citizens-Demand-Trump-to-Halt-Sanctions-Against-Venezuela-20200421-0008.html
Pepper-Sprayed, Otay Mesa Detainees Demand Release as COVID-19 Spreads Inside
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-21
Image Credit: AFSC
COVID-19: UN Calls for Equitable Access to Vaccines
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-21
A resolution adopted on Monday by the United Nations General Assembly seeks to ensure equal access to vaccines, medicines and medical equipment in the fight against COVID-19. | RELATED: | 8 Nations Address Letter to UN Chief Urging Sanctions Be Lifted | The Government of Mexico submitted resolution 74/247 with the aim of ensuring that the essential inputs in the battle against the new coronavirus are distributed in a fair and equitable manner. | The 193 member countries of t…
telesurenglish.net/news/covid19-un-calls-for-equitable-access-to-vaccines-20200421-0001.html
U.S. Could Stop Buying Oil From Saudi Arabia
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-21
The current oil prices will allow the country to fill its national oil reserves, U.S. President Donald Trump admitted Monday that he is considering halt on buying oil from Saudi Arabia. | RELATED: | U.S. Citizens Demand Trump to Halt Sanctions Against Venezuela | Within hours of the news that oil prices had fallen to negative values, Trump told a press conference that "we're going to think about that option." | The current oil prices will allow the country to fill its national…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-could-stop-buying-oil-from-saudi-arabia-20200421-0011.html
Israeli Forces Invade Homes, Detain Several Palestinians Across the West Bank
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-04-21
Israeli forces detained a total of 9 Palestinians in invasions across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian WAFA news Agency. Security sources said that Israeli forces, on Tuesday, detained 2 Palestinian youths from the Bethlehem-area village of Nahalin, after storming and searching their family homes. Sources added that the …
imemc.org/article/israeli-forces-invade-homes-detain-several-palestinians-across-the-west-bank/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=israeli-forces-invade-homes-detain-several-palestinians-across-the-west-bank
'Exercising my rights is terrorism?' The View's Joy Behar ripped online after she calls armed lockdown protesters 'terrorists'
rt.com | 2020-04-20
The View's Joy Behar was told to check her privilege after she labeled protesters who brought arms to anti-lockdown rallies "terrorists." Her comment has sparked outrage both online and from a co-host. | Behar has received a swift pushback from fellow host Meghan McCain, after she took a swipe at protesters who turned up at rallies across several US states to call for the lifting of the restrictive lockdown measures that have dealt a heavy blow to the American economy, driving the unemployment rates to record highs. | "These people are being egged on by right-wing media and people like Alex Jones and Rush Limb…
rt.com/usa/486387-protest-lockdown-behar-terrrorists/
'The US Reaction to Pressure to Ease Sanctions Was to Double Down' – CounterSpin interview with Joe Emersberger on sanctions under Covid-19
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-04-20
"If there were an opposition movement in countries like Canada and the United States and Europe, the demand wouldn't just be, 'You gotta stop this'; the demand would actually be, 'Hey, we've got to prosecute the people involved with this. This is killing people. This is a crime. People should be facing legal consequences for this.'"
fair.org/home/the-us-reaction-to-pressure-to-ease-sanctions-was-to-double-down/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-us-reaction-to-pressure-to-ease-sanctions-was-to-double-down
ICE is Deporting COVID-19 Positive Detainees from Private Immigration Prisons
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-17
By continuing deportations of quarantined detainees during a pandemic, ICE is greatly increasing the risk of spreading the deadly virus to other countries officials and activists warn.
mintpressnews.com/ice-deporting-covid-19-positive-detainees-private-immigration-prisons/266739/
What it's Like in ICE Detention During a Pandemic
aclu.org | 2020-04-17
As millions of people in the U.S. shelter in their homes, and millions more who aren't able to stay indoors practice social distancing or other measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a crisis is brewing in the facilities where immigrants are detained. Cramped conditions and inadequate access to hygiene or medical care have created what one medical expert called a "tinderbox" for the disease in a letter to Congress., , Many of those in detention are asylum seekers, who came to the U.S. to ask for protection after fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. Many others were long-time U.S. resi…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/what-its-like-in-ice-detention-during-a-pandemic
UN human rights office calls for compassion following Rohingya deaths at sea
news.un.org | 2020-04-17
The UN human rights office (OHCHR), is calling for compassion for people desperately seeking shelter, after 30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar died on a boat in the Bay of Bengal that had spent nearly two months at sea.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061972
Bolivian coup leader freaks out on The Grayzone for 'fascist' label in complaint to OAS 'human rights' arm
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-16
The director of far-right Bolivian coup leader Camacho's presidential campaign threw a slander-laced tantrum against The Grayzone in a letter…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/16/bolivia-coup-the-grayzone-cidh-camacho-maclean/
Corporate Media Cover for US Mob Threats Against Venezuela
Lucas Koerner | fair.org | 2020-04-15
The Trump administration unveiled on March 31 a "democratic transition" plan to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from office, in favor of a "council of state" composed of both opposition and ruling party loyalists. | The plan was, however, less an offer to negotiate than a diktat, with the US State Department ( 3/31/20) vowing that "sanctions will remain in effect, and increase, until the Maduro regime accepts a genuine political transition." | Despite the obvious mafioso over…
fair.org/home/corporate-media-cover-for-us-mob-threats-against-venezuela/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=corporate-media-cover-for-us-mob-threats-against-venezuela
"I Want an Apology": Black Doctor Who Tests Homeless for Coronavirus Handcuffed by Miami Police
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-15
We speak with Dr. Armen Henderson, an African-American doctor who was handcuffed and detained outside his home Friday as he was wearing a mask and preparing for a volunteer shift to test homeless people for COVID-19. "I want the officer held accountable. There's no way that you racially profile me and then you arrest me, detain me, during a pandemic, when you have no mask on, where hundreds of police officers throughout Miami-Dade County have tested positive," says Dr. Henderson, who is an internal medicine physician, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Miami and an organizer with Dream Defenders…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/15/dr_armen_…
Congressman John Lewis shares message of support for SPLC's work
splcenter.org | 2020-04-13
Congressman John Lewis has been a tireless champion for equal rights and justice for more than six decades.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/14/congressman-john-lewis-shares-message-support-splcs-work
Federal Wardens Must Immediately Flatten the Curve in our Nation's Prisons
Kanya Bennett | aclu.org | 2020-04-13
With 10 deaths and more than 500 positive COVID-19 cases in the nation's federal prisons, wardens must " move with dispatch" to " move vulnerable inmates out of these institutions." These are the words that Attorney General William Barr used on April 3rd when he directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to reduce the federal prison population in the wake of COVID-19…
aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/federal-wardens-must-immediately-flatten-the-curve-in-our-nations-prisons
Mike Elk on Frontline Worker Rights, Joe Emersberger on Pandemic Sanctions
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2020-04-10
Media…
fair.org/home/mike-elk-on-frontline-worker-rights-joe-emersberger-on-pandemic-sanctions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mike-elk-on-frontline-worker-rights-joe-emersberger-on-pandemic-sanctions
Civil Liberties Never Sleep: The ACLU in the Pandemic
David Cole | aclu.org | 2020-04-10
The COVID-19 pandemic has closed down many businesses, but the work of preserving civil liberties and civil rights continues, as essential as ever. Reports of courts closing down can be misleading. While public trials that require jurors and in-person testimony have been suspended, most courts and lawyers can do their work remotely. The filing of legal briefs continues, and oral arguments and hearings are being held remotely. The work of securing justice continues., , At the ACLU, our most immediate focus has been on civil liberties and civil rights issues arising from the government's response (or lack thereo…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/civil-liberties-never-sleep-the-aclu-in-the-pandemic
Get-out-the-vote effort goes digital for COVID-19 pandemic
splcenter.org | 2020-04-10
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Alexis Carr was able to knock on doors in Montgomery, Alabama, register people to vote, instruct them on voting rights and encourage them to cast their ballots on Election Day.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/11/get-out-vote-effort-goes-digital-covid-19-pandemic
Human Rights Watch cabildea por sanciones letales contra Nicaragua y Venezuela, mientras arrecia la crisis de Covid-19
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-20
Human Rights Watch está orgullosamente asumiendo el crédito por sanciones devastadoras contra Nicaragua, mientras busca escalar la guerra económica en…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/20/human-rights-watch-sanciones-nicaragua-venezuela/
Iran Non-Oil Exports Hit $60bln in Two Years
Tasnim News | iranian.com | 2020-04-22
Iran has pocketed around $60 billion from exports of products, services and energy since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed its sanctions on the country's sale of crude two years ago. A senior official at the ministry of trade (MIMT) said on Tuesday that Iran had shipped a total of 135 …
iranian.com/2020/04/21/iran-non-oil-exports-hit-60bln-in-two-years/
'US sanctions prepared Iran to face historic oil crash'
Press TV | iranian.com | 2020-04-21
First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri says America's tough sanctions targeting Iran's economy and energy sector have helped the Islamic Republic adapt to the historic oil market crash, which has seen US crude futures plunge below zero for the first time in history. "Crises and sanctions [imposed by] the United States of America have enabled us …
iranian.com/2020/04/21/us-sanctions-prepared-iran-to-face-historic-oil-crash/
COVID-19: Rights experts highlight LGBTI discrimination, antisemitism
news.un.org | 2020-04-17
New guidance from the UN human rights office, issued on Friday, sets out key actions to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people against discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1062042
I'm Queer and I've Been in Solitary. Ellen Isn't Experiencing What I Did
Dominique Morgan | aclu.org | 2020-04-09
On Monday, I ended a 12-hour day returning emails to incarcerated queer folks, providing direct aid for housing to folks living with HIV & AIDS who have been incarcerated and challenging the state of Nebraska to provide humane conditions for incarcerated individuals and decided to mindlessly scroll on Twitter. , , I found the quote from the show Ellen DeGeneres filmed from her multimillion-dollar, multi-room mansion: "One thing that I've learned from being in quarantine is that people
Nativist Hate Groups Want to Keep People in ICE Detention Despite COVID-19 Threat
splcenter.org | 2020-04-08
Anti-immigrant think tanks are pushing for the U.S. to detain immigrants and asylum seekers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, even as prisoners stage hunger strikes and other protests in response to what they describe as deteriorating health conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/04/09/nativist-hate-groups-want-keep-people-ice-detention-despite-covid-19-threat
Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws: A Humanitarian Message
Kathy Kelly | zcomm.org | 2020-04-04
One way to help others survive is to insist that the United States lift sanctions against Iran and instead support acts of practical care…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/stop-tightening-the-thumb-screws-a-humanitarian-message/
Detained immigrants across Deep South feel like 'sitting ducks' as ICE ignores their safety amid global pandemic
splcenter.org | 2020-04-03
COVID-19 began to infect the nation at rapid speed in March, reaching every corner of the country and taking the lives of more than 6,000 people by April 3. The United Nations has dubbed the coronavirus the "most challenging" crisis the globe has witnessed since World War II.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/03/detained-immigrants-across-deep-south-feel-sitting-ducks-ice-ignores-their-safety-amid
Fighting for immigrant rights during a pandemic
Katrina Huber | splcenter.org | 2020-04-02
As people across the country are confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to a group of people whose health is in danger because they are locked away from the outside world