(2020-05-19). Socialist lessons learned: The political shifts brought by the coronavirus. peoplesworld.org 
Rev. Dr. William Barber of the New Poor People's Campaign has been preaching: "This virus is teaching us that from now on, living wages, guaranteed health care for all, unemployment and labor rights are not far-left issues but issues of right vs. wrong and life vs. death." Expanding on those truths, here are some more …
(2020-05-19). Remembering the Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education. commondreams.org Near the Capitol in Washington, people attend a rally in 2019 to mark the 65th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that ended public school segregation and fueled the civil rights movement. (Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-05-19). Staging a Defense of Reproductive Rights. progressive.org As anti-choice activists try using the pandemic to stop abortions, this nonprofit theater group pushes back.
(2020-05-19). In Argentina, the Next Generation Finds Its Voice. zcomm.org Ofelia Fernández is the youngest lawmaker in Latin America. Despite online hate, she's leading the youth movement for the political rights of women.
(2020-05-18). Coordination Beyond the Corporation with Sanjukta Paul. mronline.org 
In this episode, Maxx and Scott speak with legal scholar Sanjukta Paul about imagining alternative and more just forms of economic association in ways that denaturalize the 20th-century monopolistic firm. The key, Paul argues, is to reveal and contest the public "coordination rights" that legally structure all economic activity. Sanjukta Paul is Assistant Professor of …
(2020-05-18). Sanctions in the Era of Pandemic. zcomm.org From Venezuela to Iran, Washington's illegal and inhumane economic sanctions are putting millions of lives at risk…
(2020-05-18). Ottawa's Ties with Far Right Colombian President Undermines Human Rights Rhetoric Regarding Venezuela. globalresearch.ca A week ago a former Canadian soldier instigated a harebrained bid to kidnap or kill Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Launched from Colombia, the plot failed spectacularly with most of the men captured or killed. | Still, the leader of the …
(2020-05-18). Iran Sends Fuel Tankers to Venezuela, Vows 'Decisive Response' to US Threats. venezuelanalysis.com Crippling US sanctions have caused severe fuel shortages in the Caribbean nation.
(2020-05-18). Disgraceful yet illuminating reactions to the 2002 coup that briefly ousted Hugo Chavez: IACHR, CPJ and RSF. zcomm.org The Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) The IACHR claimed in 2009 report on Venezuela that its reaction to the "the attempted coup d'état [of 2002] was immediate and decisive" and that it "warned that these acts constituted an interruption of the constitutional order as defined in the Democratic Charter." The evidence it offered
(2020-05-18). Israeli Military Court Extends Detention of a Palestinian Teen Boy. imemc.org The Israeli military court of Salem, near Jenin city in the West Bank, ordered on Monday, the extension of the detention of Palestinian teenager, Qasem Abu Baker, 17, from the Palestinian village of Y'abad, south of Jenin city. The mother of Qasem, told media outlets that Monday's extension is the …
(2020-05-18). Coronavirus impact on world's indigenous, goes well beyond health threat. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on the world's indigenous peoples that stretches well beyond the immediate threat to their health, the new UN independent expert on the rights of indigenous peoples said on Monday.
(2020-05-18). Coronavirus 'Immunity Passports' are not the Answer. aclu.org As governments the world over seek ways to jumpstart economic activity, one proposal is a so-called "immunity passport" that would allow certain people who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies to return to work before others. We at the ACLU have serious concerns about the adoption of any such proposal, because of its potential to harm public health, incentivize economically-vulnerable people to risk their health by contracting COVID-19, exacerbate racial and economic disparities, and lead to a new health surveillance infrastructure that endangers privacy rights. , , An immunity passport system is fundamentall…
(2020-05-18). Civil Rights, Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Police to Protect Public Health while Safeguarding Rights. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-05-18). Revealed: The Secret US-Iran Deal that Installed Kadhimi in Baghdad. globalresearch.ca Tehran ordered Shia factions to back prime minister in return for Washington 'looking the other way' over release of assets targeted by sanctions, Iraqi officials tell MEE | *** | The nomination of Mustafa al-Kadhimi as Iraqi prime minister was the result …
(2020-05-16). Israeli Courts Extend Detention of 47 Palestinian Prisoners. imemc.org Two Israeli military courts reportedly extended, on Saturday, the detention of 47 Palestinian prisoners. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said, early this morning, that the Israeli military courts of Ofer and Salem, extended the detention of 47 Palestinian prisoners, under some pretexts. The PPS noted that the courts' decisions …
(2020-05-15). How a teenager in the '60s South became a Communist. peoplesworld.org 
Once upon a time, and sadly, not so long ago in the grand scheme of history, a young high schooler in Virginia spent his summer, the summer of 1964, watching the Civil Rights Movement play out before his eyes. Little did this student, Scott Marshall, know how life-changing that first Freedom Summer would turn out …
(2020-05-18). Rights Groups Demand House Democrats Fix Bill That Gives FBI Power to Search Browser Histories Without Warrant. commondreams.org "Collecting this information is as close to reading minds as surveillance can get. It is digital mining of the personal lives of Americans." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-05-18). US unable to block Iran gasoline shipments to Venezuela: Source. iranian.com A senior source within the Iranian petroleum industry says the United States would be practically unable to block shipments of gasoline from Iran to Venezuela at a time the two countries need to cooperate to mitigate the impacts of American sanctions on their energy sectors. Hamid Hosseini, who serves as the spokesman of the Iranian …
(2020-05-17). Google Play Removes Iranian App Used against Coronavirus. iranian.com The anti-Iran sanctions imposed by the "Wild West" have forced Google to remove Iranian mobile application 'Mask', developed to tackle the novel coronavirus and warn people to avoid high-risk areas, from its Play Store, a health official said. Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoosh Jahanpoor said in a post on his Twitter account that the homegrown …
(2020-05-18). Detainees call for their release from Mantra prison. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-05-19). Harriet Harman says Covid-19 contact tracing app assurances do not cut the mustard. thecanary.co 
New laws to protect the privacy of personal information gathered by the coronavirus contact tracing app are a "no brainer" — and can be adopted quick enough without disrupting its rollout, Harriet Harman has said.The Joint Committee on Human Rights — which Harman chairs — has a bill drafted and ready for introduction, amid concerns about the data such an app can gather and who can access it.Using Bluetooth, the app keeps an anonymised log of other people also using the app who have been in close contact with the user.If someone shows symptoms, they can inform the app, which will instruct anyone who…
(2020-05-19). China's provinces offer farmers cash to end exotic animal trade. rt.com 
Farmers in China are being offered cash to stop breeding exotic animals as pressure grows to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade that has been blamed for the coronavirus outbreak. Authorities have, for the first time, pledged to buy out breeders in an attempt to curb the practice, AFP reported on Tuesday, citing animal rights activists. | In recent months, China has banned the sale of wild animals for food, citing the risk of diseases spreading to humans. The trade remains legal for other purposes, including research and traditional medicine. | Two central provinces have outlined details of a buyout progr…
(2020-05-19). Taiwan tells US 'it is complying' with international N. Korea sanctions. rt.com 
Taiwan is complying with international sanctions against North Korea, a senior Taiwanese security official told the US' deputy representative for North Korea on Tuesday, having previously been called out for breaking them. | Tsai Ming-yen, deputy secretary-general of Taiwan's National Security Council, told Alex Wong, the US State Department's deputy assistant secretary for North Korea, during a teleconference that Taipei "will continue to closely cooperate with the US, and carry out and implement actions to comply with international sanctions against North Korea." | Independent UN monitors said in 2018 that t…
(2020-05-19). Iranian company, executives charged with US sanctions violation. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 18 (MNA) — American prosecutors said that the US has charged an Iranian online financial services company and two of its senior executives with violating US sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
(2020-05-19). World Health Organization must intervene in sanctions against Iran: Namaki. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 18 (MNA) — Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki said that The Islamic Republic has requested the World Health Organization to intervene in the sanctions against Iran.
(2020-05-18). Russia terms US struggles to retain JCPOA rights 'groundless'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 18 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations says the US efforts to retain rights of partnership in the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, are groundless since Washington has already withdrawn from the pact.
(2020-05-18). West to pay high price for sanctions during pandemic: Russian FM. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 19 (MNA) — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov lashed out at western officials for the sanctions they impose during the coronavirus pandemic noting that they will also pay high price for the sanctions.
(2020-05-19). Kiev's Sanctions Against Crimean Cultural Sites Pointless – Russian Envoy to UNESCO. sputniknews.com PARIS (Sputnik) – Ukraine's recent sanctions against museums, cultural sites and scientific organisations in Crimea have no practical effect, Russian Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Alexander Kuznetsov said in a statement.
(2020-05-19). German spy agency's global surveillance unconstitutional. yenisafak.com German spy agency's mass surveillance of global communications and internet traffic is unconstitutional, the country's top court ruled on Tuesday.The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling said the Federal Intelligence Service's (BND) current surveillance powers, which allow it to conduct mass surveillance on foreigners in other countries, violate fundamental rights enshrined in the country's constitution."German state authority is bound by the fundamental rights of the Basic Law not only within the German territory," the court stressed in its ruling, and added: "Protection against telecommunications surveillance…
(2020-05-19). Iran's fuel shipments to Venezuela face US threat. yenisafak.com In a symbolic defiance to US sanctions, Iran has sent fuel shipments to Venezuela in a move that seems to be fraught with danger. | Five Iranian super-tankers carrying gasoline and other similar products, estimated to be worth $45.5 million, have sailed towards Venezuela, an ally of Tehran and adversary of Washington. | The tankers embarked on the long journey to Venezuela from Iran's coastal city of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf region and traveled around the Arabian Peninsula through the Suez Canal before entering the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, according to data gathered from the ship's Automatic Iden…
(2020-05-15). "Can Democracy Survive the Pandemic?": Election Hangs in the Balance as Trump Attacks Mail-In Voting. democracynow.org 
The coronavirus pandemic poses unprecedented challenges to the November presidential election, as President Trump and the GOP capitalize on the moment to attack voting rights. We speak with Emily Bazelon, staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, whose new cover story examines the bureaucratic and political challenges of mobilizing widespread vote-by-mail by November. We also speak with Jena Griswold, secretary of state of Colorado, which already has universal vote-by-mail and the second-highest voter turnout in the country.
(2020-05-15). DeRay McKesson on the Threat to Protesters' Rights. aclu.org Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, protests have erupted across the country. Some are related to the virus: Protestors in Ohio and Michigan took to the streets and state capitols to call for an end to their governors' stay-at-home orders. Others are calling out an ongoing injustice: the killing, often at the hands of the state, of Black Americans. Now, the rights of participants in protests across the spectrum could be at stake unless the Supreme Court weighs in on an important decision., , In this episode of At Liberty, we speak with DeRay McKesson, an activist at the center of an important ACLU…
(2020-05-15). As US Reels From COVID-19, Trump Turns to Sanctions, War Making and Threats. mintpressnews.com The Trump admin has decisively chosen war over peace and conflict over cooperation. Yet it appears less able than ever to coerce the world into following its lead.
(2020-05-15). Oppose the Israeli Annexation of West Bank Settlements. dissidentvoice.org It is time for the United States to end its bipartisan blanket support for Israeli policies that violate the human rights of Palestinians. At this critical moment, where Israel has announced its intention to annex Israeli settlements on the West Bank with the support of the Trump administration, we must speak out and resist this …
(2020-05-15). South Africa's NUMSA calls out leading company for violating workers' rights. peoplesdispatch.org Excellerate Services, owner of South Africa's largest private security company, has failed to pay its workers' outstanding wages while forcing them to work without PPEs, sanitizers and other protective measures, as per the union…
(2020-05-15). Israeli Troops Detain 5 Palestinians, Including a Minor and Former Prisoner. imemc.org Israeli forces, on Thursday evening, detained five Palestinians from the northern districts of Nablus and Qalqilia, in the occupied West Bank. Local Fatah official, Munir Gaghoub, stated that Israeli troops abducted three Palestinians, including a former prisoner, seized a vehicle at the entrance of Beita town, south of the city …