(2021-05-12). What Kind of People Associate with an Alleged Pedophile? dissidentvoice.org Why are Cindy Blackstock, Charles Taylor, Pearl Eliadis, Murray Sinclair and Thomas Mulcair publicly associating themselves with alleged pedophile Alan Dershowitz? Why are the indigenous advocate, philosopher, human rights lawyer, former senator and former NDP leader supporting the anti-Palestinian lobby's bid to crush a small left-wing Toronto restaurant? Why have they offered their names to …
(2021-05-11). ALBA-TCP Urges Colombia to Respect Human Rights. orinocotribune.com This Monday, May 10, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America — Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) asked the Colombian state to respect the human rights of its citizens. | "ALBA expresses its concern about the violence that is being experienced in Colombia, and condemns it. It calls on the State to respect human rights and guarantee dialogue," stated the executive secretary of the regional bloc, Sasha Llorenti, at the conclusion of a conference with representatives of the Global South, Africa, America, and Europe, reported the news agency AVN. | Llorenti stressed the importance of other countries…
(2021-05-11). Center-periphery relationships of pharmaceutical value chains. mronline.org 
The internationalization of the pharmaceutical industry only rose after the internationalization of patent protection in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs Agreement) (Haakonsson, 2009). | May 11, 2021…
(2021-05-11). How prisoners expanded the civil rights movement. therealnews.com 
In the 1970s, a multiracial coalition of prisoners staged a collective uprising against the dehumanizing horrors of the American prison system. And the backlash paved the way for the prison-industrial complex we have today.
(2021-05-11). ACURA Viewpoint: Sanctions and Forever Wars by Krishen Mehta. mronline.org 
The U.S. has sanctions against over 30 countries, close to one-third of the world's population. When the pandemic startedin early 2020, our Government tried to prevent Iran from buying respirator masks from overseas, and also thermal imaging equipment that could detect the virus in the lungs. | May 11, 2021…
(2021-05-11). Joint Statement by Palestinians in North America: Nakba 73 — Ongoing Nakba, Ongoing Resistance. samidoun.net 
As we mark the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, we, the undersigned, join together to reaffirm our commitment to the Palestinian people's struggle for justice, return, and liberation. We commemorate the loss experienced by Palestinians in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of our people were forced into exile and saw their homes and villages stolen or destroyed by Zionist militias. To this day, colonization and dispossession remain ongoing processes, where Palestinians continue to endure land theft and encroachments on their basic rights. Despite the multiple decades of Zionist brutality, our resilient people remain c…
(2021-05-11). Video: Samidoun's Hadeel Shatara interviewed on Sheikh Jarrah, Al-Aqsa and the Palestinian Struggle. samidoun.net Rania Khalek is joined by Ramallah-based activist Hadeel Shatara, coordinator in Palestine of the Palestinian prisoner rights group Samidoun, to discuss Israeli violence in Sheikh Jarrah and Al Aqsa mosque | The article
(2021-05-11). Headlines for May 11, 2021. democracynow.org Israeli Airstrikes Kill 26 Palestinians in Gaza, Including 9 Children, Bodies of Indian COVID-19 Victims Found on Banks of Ganges River, World Health Organization Chief Blasts "Shocking Global Disparity" in Vaccine Access, U.S. Drug Regulator Clears Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine for Use in Children 12 and Older, Democrats Urge President Biden to Lift Iran Sanctions and Return to 2015 Nuclear Deal, Colombian President Warns Indigenous Protesters Amid Mounting Attacks by Vigilantes, Mother's Day Marchers Demand Mexican Government Take Action to Find Missing Children, Moroccan Authorities Raid Home of Western Sahara Ind…
(2021-05-11). Indigenous Rights Groups Join Michigan Gov. Whitmer in Demanding Shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5. commondreams.org "Will Enbridge shut Line 5 down or will the public do it for them?" asked Indigenous-led organization Honor the Earth as Michigan's deadline for the pipeline approached. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-05-11). Human Rights Experts Denounce Israeli Violence, Confiscation of Homes in East Jerusalem as Violation of International Law. commondreams.org "These forced evictions are part of a continuing pattern in Sheikh Jarrah, they flagrantly violate international law, and would amount to war crimes," said Saleh Higazi of Amnesty International. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-05-11). Harvey Milk Students Protest at Castro Safeway After Racial Profiling Incident. indybay.org After a Black 11-year-old boy was falsely accused of stealing a sandwich at a Castro neighborhood Safeway, security guards detained him even though he showed his receipt. Fellow students at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academic Elementary, with help from parents and staff, marched on the Safeway and demonstrated in front of the store.
(2021-05-11). 'Stones Against Guns': Baltasar Garzón's Letter to Colombia's Iván Duque. orinocotribune.com The Spanish legal expert Baltasar Garzón sent a letter to the president of Colombia, Iván Duque, in light of the serious situation facing the South American country. In the letter, which he titled "Stones Against Guns," Garzón demands that the Colombian president put a stop to the violence and enter a dialogue, while accusing him of allowing the systematic violation of human rights that has occurred during the national strike and demonstrations. | In the letter, Garzón classified the police repression against protesters in Colombia as "savage." | "Mr. Duque, do not make the same mistake as Piñera, declaring war o…
(2021-05-11). Killing Schoolgirls in Afghanistan: Fundamentalist Attackers Target Girls Leaving Kabul High School. juancole.com By Heather Barr | Interim Co-Director, Women's Rights Division | — ( Human Rights Watch) — Scenes from Sayed ul-Shuhada High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, where as many as 85 people including many schoolgirls were killed in an attack this weekend, should break anyone's heart. They certainly broke mine. In 2017 a filmmaker and I …
(2021-05-11). Colombian Police are Killing Civilians. British Police are Training Them. orinocotribune.com By John McEvoy — May 1, 2021 | Over recent days, the Colombian national police have killed a number of civilians protesting a proposed tax hike on basic goods. Many more civilians have been injured, and Colombia's riot police reportedly sexually assaulted a woman. | Though numbers remain unclear, human rights group Isais Cifuentes de Cali has estimated up to 14 people have died. | Documents obtained by The Canary can reveal that the UK's College of Policing has been training Colombian police over the past three years. This is despite Colombia being one of only 30 countries the Foreign, Commonwealth & Develop…
(2021-05-11). United States: Republicans step up racist, anti-democratic attacks. greenleft.org.au The Republican Party is waging a war on the movement for Black rights, while Donald Trump cheers on, writes Malik Miah.
(2021-05-11). Myanmar coup: 'No sign' of end to brutal crackdown on all fronts. news.un.org One hundred days since the Myanmar military seized power, the "brutal" repression of protesters has continued, despite all international efforts to end the violence, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
(2021-05-11). UN chief 'gravely concerned' as violence escalates in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. news.un.org The UN Secretary-General said he was "gravely concerned" at escalating violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Tuesday, while the UN rights office, OHCHR, appealed for "a redoubling of efforts to restore calm", after airstrikes and days of clashes between protesters and Israeli police.
(2021-05-11). US blacklists seven Lebanese nationals tied to Hezbollah. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 12 (MNA)— US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday imposed sanctions on seven Lebanese nationals under the pretext of having ties with Lebanese Hezbollah and its financial firm, Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH).
(2021-05-11). Democratic Party Leaders Call on Biden to Lift Sanctions and Return to Iran Deal. news.antiwar.com Democratic Party leaders "Lifting Trump's bad-faith sanctions — which he explicitly imposed on Iran in order to make a return to the JCPOA next-to-impossible — should not be treated as a…
(2021-05-10). In Wake of HRW Apartheid Report, Israeli Propagandists Launch Global PR Offensive. strategic-culture.org 
Much of the online anger at the Human Rights Watch report was actually manufactured by an Israeli government-sponsored app, Act.IL, which organized supporters of the Jewish state to act in sync to create an artificial groundswell of opposition to it. | By Alan MACLEOD | A recently released bombshell Human Rights Watch (HRW)
(2021-05-10). 'American taxpayer money is being used to commit human rights violations' in Israel, says Rep. Rashida Tlaib. therealnews.com 
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman ever elected to Congress, demanded that President Biden take immediate and concrete action in response to Israeli forces' latest assault on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
(2021-05-10). Family demands arrest of 8 police for torture, killing of Marvin Scott III. liberationnews.org 
The struggle to charge cops in Marvin Scott III's death — or even find out the basic details of his last hours — has been an uphill battle.
(2021-05-10). Russian Spies In The British Royal Family? Prince Michael Offers Connections To Kremlin. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Some might consider that the sanctions on Russia are a lose-lose situation, in which business is impeded, profits are lost and more. | This is fact for most, but not for everybody. | For example, Queen Elizabeth 2nd's cousin — Prince Michael of Kent appears to be turning a profit allegedly exploiting a relationship he has with the Russian government. | In a Zoom call with the UK's Channel 4, he offered to sell access to Russian President Vladimir Putin's governme…
(2021-05-10). Colombia's leaders want to stain their country with the blood of the working class. peoplesdispatch.org 
As police and military forces in Colombia use violence to try to repress the massive mobilizations that grew out of a national strike, demonstrators have seen flagrant violations of their human rights. | Mainstream media in Colombia and the South American continent have been selectively silent about the atrocities, and so those seeking to either learn or share information on the situation have had to turn to social media to break the media blockade. During the day, photos are shared of the colorful marches and joyful mobilizations. At night, videos of terror start appearing with a distressing frequency: the mobil…
(2021-05-10). Cancel Culture and the Bankruptcy of Liberalism. counterpunch.org 
Dan Kovalik, professor of human rights law at the University of Pittsburgh, is the accomplished author of books skewering US foreign policy on Venezuela, Russia, Iran, international human rights, and interference in elections abroad. His latest, Cancel This Book, takes aim at the domestic progressive scene and its "cancel culture" aberration. His is a from-the-ground
(2021-05-10). The Weekly Round-Up: government under pressure over child marriage loophole and fire and rehire schemes. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
In the news: Campaigners have warned that a loophole allowing children aged 16 or 17 to get married with their parents' consent is enabling forced child marriages to take place across England. Current laws against forced marriage to do not specifically protect children, and there are no laws in the UK to prevent religious or customary child …
(2021-05-10). Covid vaccine maker BioNTech reports eye-watering profit in first quarter. thecanary.co German pharmaceutical company BioNTech has reported a net profit of 1.13 billion euros ( £972 million) in the first quarter of this year on the back of strong revenues from its coronavirus vaccine. | The company's estimated revenues surged to more than two billion euros for the period from January to March, compared with just 28 million euros in the same period last year. | BioNTech developed the first widely used vaccine against Covid-19 together with US partner Pfizer, which holds the market and distribution rights in much of the world. | The Mainz-based company said its revenues included more than 1.75 b…
(2021-05-10). What Is Holding Back OIC From Asking Israel To Stop Its Atrocities? — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan has condemned Israeli attack on Palestinians outside the Al Aqsa mosque during the holy month of Ramazan and reiterated his call on the international community and the Muslim world to take steps to protect the Palestinians and their legitimate rights. | One of my critics asked this question; even if they convene a meeting and pass a resolution condemning Israeli acts, will it make any difference? I insisted that holding an emergency meeting may prove that Muslim countries are united and support the Palestinians cause. | Having said that I could not resist from saying, "They…
(2021-05-10). What Has The PA Done To Halt Israeli Apartheid? — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Ramona Wadi* | The Palestinian Authority couldn't have hoped for better timing for the release of the Human Rights Watch report detailing Israel's apartheid system and violations. It's just a pity for the PA that Palestinians are not fooled by a leadership that calls for the international community to act upon the report, while it once again cancels elections in a repetitive cycle that was obviously going to happen from the minute the dates were announced. | A very brief report by Wafa news agency gave details about PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh calling upon the UN and its affiliated institutions for…
(2021-05-10). NLG Urges Biden To Align US Israel-Palestine Policy With International Law. popularresistance.org Less than a week after Human Rights Watch published a scathing report accusing the Israeli government of the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution for its treatment of Palestinians, a leading U.S. legal advocacy group on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Biden administration outlining the legal basis for reversing Trump-era pro-Israel policies that violate human rights and international law. | The memo (pdf), authored by the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) International Committee's Palestine Subcommittee, notes that after four years of "bullish and detrimental" U.S. policy on Palestine and Israel u…
(2021-05-10). Turkish FM pledges to support rights of Palestinians. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 10 (MNA) — Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlàºt àáavu≈üoƒülu pledged to defend the rights of the Palestinian people against Israeli violence in holy Quds .
(2021-05-10). UN chief calls on Zionists to respect Palestinians rights. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 10 (MNA) — In response to the Zionist regime's aggression against the Palestinians in the occupied lands and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the UN Secretary-General called on the regime only to be restrained.
(2021-05-10). Divest in Israel's Elbit on Tohono O'odham Nation and in Palestine. indybay.org The 'Divest in Elbit' panel today reveals the surveillance and weapons of the Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems, targeting Tohono O'odham and Palestinians, by way of U.S. contracts and funding, violating human rights and international law.
(2021-05-10). Weaponizing Trump's Big Lie: Ari Berman on GOP's War on Democracy & Voting Rights. democracynow.org 
Extreme voting restrictions have advanced in several Republican-led states across the U.S., including in Florida, where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a sweeping voter suppression bill that will make it harder to vote by mail, limit ballot drop boxes, impose new voter ID requirements and criminalize giving food and water to voters waiting in line at polling places. Mother Jones reporter Ari Berman says these efforts are an extension of former President Trump's "big lie" about voter fraud. "They're trying to make it harder for Democratic constituencies to be able to vote in future elections, and they…
(2021-05-10). Venezuela: Accusations of Meddling in Colombia Protests 'Shameful'. venezuelanalysis.com Colombian state violence and human rights abuses have stoked the protests in which nearly 50 have died.
(2021-05-10). Harvey Milk Students Protest at Castro Safeway After Racial Profiling Incident. indybay.org After a Black 11-year-old boy was falsely accused of stealing a sandwich at a Castro neighborhood Safeway, security guards detained him even though he showed his receipt. Fellow students at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academic Elementary, with help from parents and staff, marched on the Safeway and demonstrated in front of the store.
(2021-05-10). Argentine organizations demand safe return of Lichita in Paraguay. peoplesdispatch.org 14-year-old Carmen Elizabeth Oviedo Villalba, also known as Lichita, was illegally detained by the Joint Task Force (FTC) of the Paraguayan army on November 30, 2020, in the forest region of the Yby Yaú city. Lichita has disappeared since then…
(2021-05-10). House of Cards? Colombia's Foreign Minister Claudia Blum Resigns—Paro Nacional Effect. orinocotribune.com This Sunday, May 9, the resignation of Colombia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Claudia Blum was announced, the second resignation from Iván Duque's cabinet in the last two weeks. | Blum's departure reinforces the view that things are not only going wrong in the country, but in the government as well, due to the human rights crisis created by a brutal response of President Iván Duque to the national strike, and due to his incapacity to negotiate a tax reform. | The proposed bill would have proved most damaging to the vulnerable sectors of Colombia's population. The original requests of the National Strike Committee…
(2021-05-10). SOS: will the world answer the calls for help? zcomm.org The people of Colombia are sending out an SOS because they need help. Each one of us with a conscience needs to insist on the protection of human rights…
(2021-05-10). Is Peace Breaking Out in the Middle East? Should We Thank MBS? strategic-culture.org The Biden effect is shaking up the Middle East and forcing foes to talk to one another. But where it's all heading is even more exciting for Saudi Arabia and Iran. | Unimaginable reconciliations are taking place across the entire region, since Joe Biden was sworn into office and indicated that he wasn't going to tolerate regional leaders 'behaving badly' and the previous carte blanche from the White House which came with abhorrent human rights scandals. | The Khashoggi murder will not be swept under the carpet and forgotten. But then neither will the Trump-initiated border closure of Qatar with the rest of its GC…
(2021-05-10). International Accountability is Critical to Dismantling Systemic Racism and Police Brutality Domestically. aclu.org This month marks a year since George Floyd's murder at the hands of police, which outraged the world and sparked unprecedented domestic and global protests calling for racial justice and transformative change. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict should have been an inevitable accountability measure, yet even though the horrible display of brutality was caught on camera in broad daylight, the outcome was far from guaranteed. The uncertainty leading up to the verdict illustrates the normalization of impunity for police in the criminal legal system. | Calls for accountability following Floyd…
(2021-05-10). Dispatches from India: The impact of State elections. peoplesdispatch.org We take a look at the results of the recent round of elections in India, a report on the impact of successive lockdowns on the LGBTQ and trans communities in Jammu and Kashmir, and look at the implications of Bill Gates' recent statement on intellectual property rights and vaccines…
(2021-05-10). Report Reveals Major Corporations Are Funding Lawmakers Behind Anti-Democracy Bills. commondreams.org A new Greenpeace USA report reveals corporations that have spoken in defense of voting rights and democracy are still supporting lawmakers behind anti-voter and anti-protest bills. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-05-10). New Report Exposing Corporate Donors of Attacks on Voting Rights and Peaceful Protest. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-05-10). US, UK, EU Barbaric Sanctions Are Killing Syrians. popularresistance.org In order to review the sanctions against Syria, we must see these sadistic, punitive measures in greater context. We must review US UK and EU neocolonialist foreign policy which invariably leads to conflict and is based on lies, in order to protect their world order which is the oppression and subjugation of sovereign states that do not comply with their need to control global resources. | On that basis the incremental and illegal sanctions now crippling the Syrian economy in its most fragile stage, post war, are an attempt by the US alliance to prevent Syria winning the hybrid war that has been waged against it…
(2021-05-10). Biden Is Reviewing US Policy In North Korea. popularresistance.org Since 2018, hundreds of new sanctions targeting the civilian economy have been imposed on the people of North Korea. In 2018 alone, new and existing sanctions caused almost 4,000 preventable civilian deaths. Around 11 million North Koreans are deprived of sufficient access to basic foodstuffs, clean drinking water or essential medical services. | Subjected to ever-increasing sanctions, North Korea is projected to suffer a food deficit of 1.3. million tons this year, worsening the already dire condition endured by a broad swath of the population. More than 40 percent of North Korea's 25 million people are consider…
(2021-05-10). Iranian banking industry wants guaranteed sanctions relief. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 10 (MNA) — During the ongoing JCPOA talks in Vienna, Iran is pushing for its banking industry to be given guaranteed and conclusive sanctions relief.
(2021-05-10). Iran's President Optimistic on Progress of Vienna Talks. news.antiwar.com Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Because President Biden refuses to lift all Trump-era sanctions on Iran, the two sides are negotiating what measures the US will lift. Rouhani said progress has been made on most major sanctions. | "We've reached a point where the Americans and the Europeans are saying openly they have no choice but to lift sanctions…
(2021-05-10). 50+ DNC Leaders Urge Biden to Lift Sanctions and Rejoin Iran Nuclear Deal. commondreams.org "The Democratic Party should fight to end rampant militarization and promote multilateralism that enabled the United States to resolve the nuclear issue with Iran without a single shot being fired," says Keith Ellison. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-05-10). Four Persian leopards spotted in Tabas. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 10 (MNA) — Four Persian leopards have been spotted at the ‚ÄåNaybandan Wildlife Sanctuary in Tabas, South Khorasan Province, chief of the provincial department of environment said.