Attacks Mount Against Philippine Human Rights Advocates
Seiji Yamada — John Witeck | counterpunch.org | 2019-06-05
Approximately 300,000 or one-fourth of Hawaii's population is Filipino. Hawaii's substantial economic, personal, and family ties with the Philippines means that all of us here have a great stake in what is happening there. The government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been threatening and attacking a growing number of human rights advocates, labor, church…
counterpunch.org/2019/06/05/attacks-mount-against-philippine-human-rights-advocates/

Calling Solitary Confinement 'Government Torture,' Ocasio-Cortez Says 'Release Everyone'
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-06-05
In tweet commenting on upcoming "protective custody" of Paul Manafort, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says prison sentences don't provide license to commit "human rights violations" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/06/05/calling-solitary-confinement-government-torture-ocasio-cortez-says-release-everyone?cd-origin=rss

Washington Office on Latin America gets behind U.S. regime change agenda in Venezuela
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-06-05
WOLA's hawkish stance on Venezuela may seem surprising for a "human rights" organization, but it is less of a surprise for those familiar with WOLA's history. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/06/05/washington-office-on-latin-america-gets-behind-u-s-regime-change-agenda-in-venezuela/

"We're Left to Defend Ourselves on the Margins": 8 Black Trans Women Have Been Murdered This Year
MAIL | democracynow.org | 2019-06-05
The body of 26-year-old Chynal Lindsey was recovered Saturday from a lake in Northeast Dallas. Police said they are investigating her death as a homicide. Chynal is the third transgender black woman killed in Dallas since October, including the high-profile death of Muhlaysia Booker just two weeks ago. Another Dallas trans woman was stabbed multiple times in April but survived. Trans rights activists say the violence in Dallas is indicative of the larger threat to black transgender women. At least eight black trans women have been murdered in the U.S. this year. According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 26…
www.democracynow.org/2019/6/5/were_left_…

Attacks Mount Against Philippine Human Rights Advocates
Seiji Yamada — John Witeck | counterpunch.org | 2019-06-05
by John Witeck & Seiji Yamada Approximately 300,000 or one-fourth of Hawaii's population is Filipino. Hawaii's substantial economic, personal, and family ties with the Philippines means that all of us here have a great stake in what is happening there. The government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been threatening and attacking a growing number…
counterpunch.org/2019/06/05/attacks-mount-against-philippine-human-rights-advocates/

'Straight-Up Cruel': Trump Admin Condemned for Canceling Education, Recreation, and Legal Services for Detained Migrant Children
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-06-05
Human rights advocates responded with outrage Wednesday to the Trump administration's decision to start canceling education, recreation, and legal services for unaccompanied migrant children in federal shelters across the country, purportedly because of high detention rates and low funds. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/06/05/straight-cruel-trump-admin-condemned-canceling-education-recreation-and-legal?cd-origin=rss

Australian government forces refugees back to face repression in Sri Lanka
wsws.org | 2019-06-05
At least 20 more asylum seekers have been detained by the Australian navy and deported to Sri Lanka to face possible torture and imprisonment.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/06/05/refu…

EU Could Fine Italy US$3.9 Billion Over Heavy National Debt
telesurenglish.net | 2019-06-05
The European Commission (EC) has proposed to open an Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) against Italy for not having sufficiently reduced its public debt, which reached 132.2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018. This EDP could lead to sanctions of up to US$3.9 billion. | RELATED: | US Tells Italy to Stay Away From China and Russia | "The 2018 Italian data is…
telesurenglish.net/news/EU-Could-Fine-Italy-US3.9-Billion-Over-Heavy-National-Debt-20190605-0005.html

Citing Threats to Abortion Rights, Sanders Endorses Marie Newman's Democratic Primary Challenge Against Anti-Choice Incumbent Dan Lipinski
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-06-05
In a clear rebuke of Democratic Party leadership and the mounting threats to abortion rights across the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday endorsed Marie Newman, who is challenging anti-choice Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski in the 2020 primary after she narrowly lost to the Blue Dog Democrat in the last cycle. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/06/05/citing-threats-abortion-rights-sanders-endorses-marie-newmans-democratic-primary?cd-origin=rss

Hundreds of Animal Rights Activists Descend on Slaughterhouse, Locking Necks to Slaughter Line
DXE | indybay.org | 2019-06-05
Over 600 activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) are marching to a massive duck slaughterhouse (facebook live video), with dozens planning to lock their necks to the slaughterhouse shackles and other machinery.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/06/03/18823714.php

Dr. King and Mr. Garrow
WSWS Repost | indybay.org | 2019-06-05
Patrick Martin at the World Socialist Web Site responds to an incendiary smear campaign against the political legacy of the American civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/06/04/18823736.php

Australian Federal Police raid journalists over exposures of government spying, war crimes
wsws.org | 2019-06-05
The raids, targeting a News Corp journalist and the Sydney offices of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, are part of an expanding assault on democratic rights and press freedom.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/06/05/raid…

Fifty years after Stonewall, the real fight for LBGTQ rights is local
Alex Myers | nationofchange.org | 2019-06-05
The U.S. House of Representatives last month passed the Equality | Act–more than four decades after it was first introduced–extending civil | rights protections to LGBTQ+ people. | This vote should give us some hope. Its passage–236-173–was | bipartisan, a rare feat these days; its provisions are expansive, | granting protection in the areas of employment, housing and public | accommodations; and its language includes both sexual orientation as | well as gender identity, allowing for explicit inclusion of transgender | individuals. | Yet to each hopeful sign, there's a caveat. Only eigh…
nationofchange.org/2019/06/05/fifty-years-after-stonewall-the-real-fight-for-lbgtq-rights-is-local/

How to Arm Nature Against Corporate Profiteers
Jim Hightower | commondreams.org | 2019-06-05
The Rights of Nature movement is asserting the obvious: Earth's biosphere is not a free candy store for our taking. (Photo: Flickr/ChrisA1995/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/views/2019/06/05/how-arm-nature-against-corporate-profiteers?cd-origin=rss

More Than 100 Commercial, Cultural and Sporting Activities in Italy Declare Themselves Free of Israeli Apartheid
PACBI | bdsmovement.net | 2019-06-05
More Than 100 Commercial, Cultural and Sporting Activities in Italy Declare Themselves Free of Israeli Apartheid: In the NewsTrade unions, movements, artisans, businesses and cultural, recreational and sports centers join campaign for Palestinian rights in what is also a clear stand against the mounting racism and nationalist closure that is fomenting hatred and intolerance across Europ…
bdsmovement.net/news/more-100-commercial-cultural-and-sporting-activities-italy-declare-themselves-free-israeli

Record 144,000 people detained at US-Mexico border in May
rt.com | 2019-06-05
The number of people entering the US from Mexico illegally has skyrocketed, with more than 144,000 detained or turned away just last month. Overwhelmed US authorities are cutting back on non-essential services at migrant shelters. | …
rt.com/usa/461165-record-arrests-us-mexico-border/

How ICE and Other DHS Agencies Mine Social Media in the Name of National Security
Rachel Levinson-Waldman | commondreams.org | 2019-06-05
ICE operates under a decade-old policy allowing its agents to "search, detain, seize, retain, and share" electronic devices and any information on them—including social media—without individualized suspicion. (Photo: ICE/Reuters) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/views/2019/06/05/how-ice-and-other-dhs-agencies-mine-social-media-name-national-security?cd-origin=rss

This is What Donald Trump's Failed and Cruel Border Policy Looks Like
Special To The Black Star News | blackstarnews.com | 2019-06-05
The Trump Administration's polices have everything to do with racism not border security… | On Friday, the Inspector General (IG) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a management alert requiring "immediate attention and action…to alleviate dangerous overcrowding at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center (PDT)." | In unannounced visits to the PDT, the IG observed that DHS was housing 6 to 7 times the maximum capacity of detainees, including: some detainees "in standing-room-only conditions for days or weeks…;" with other "detainees standing on toilets in the cells to make room and ga…
www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/policy…

Activists close down Atlanta Detention Center
Dianne Mathiowetz | workers.org | 2019-06-05
The multistory Atlanta City Detention Center was built prior to the 1996 Olympics to house the hundreds of poor and homeless people that the image-conscious corporate elite were determined to banish from the sight of a global audience. At that time the City Council passed a series of "quality of . . . | Continue reading Activists close down Atlanta Detention Center at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/06/04/activists-close-down-atlanta-detention-center/

Washington Office on Latin America Gets Behind US Regime Change Agenda in Venezuela
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-06-04
WOLA's hawkish stance on Venezuela may seem surprising for a "human rights" organization, but it is less of a surprise for those familiar with WOLA's history.
mintpressnews.com/washington-office-on-latin-america-gets-behind-us-regime-change-agenda-in-venezuela/258987/

US Bans Educational and Recreational Travel to Cuba
telesurenglish.net | 2019-06-04
As of June 5, U.S. citizens will be prohibited from making group educational and cultural trips known as "people to people" travel to Cuba, Secretary of Commerce Steve Mnuchin of the U.S. Treasury Department confirmed in a statement Tuesday. | RELATED: | US Sanctions Violate Human Rights, International Law: UN Expert | According to the commercial director at Cuba's tourism ministry, Michel Bernal, the island nation received about 250,000 U.S. visitors in the first four months of…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Bans-Educational-and-Recreational-Travel-to-Cuba-20190604-0024.html

Washington Office on Latin America Gets Behind US Regime Change Agenda in Venezuela
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-06-04
WOLA's hawkish stance on Venezuela may seem surprising for a "human rights" organization, but it is less of a surprise for those familiar with WOLA's history.
mintpressnews.com/washington-office-on-latin-america-gets-behind-us-regime-change-agenda-in-venezuela/258987/

Controversial new US abortion laws akin to 'torture' — UN Commissioner
rt.com | 2019-06-04
Recently passed abortion legislation in several US states equates to violence against women, according to UN human rights commissioner Kate Gilmore, who also called out what she termed the "extremist hate" behind the measures. | …
rt.com/usa/461043-us-abortion-laws-torture/

Top UN Human Rights Expert Decries 'Extremist Hate' Campaign Behind Escalated Attack on Reproductive Rights
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-06-04
A top United Nations official on human rights said Tuesday that recent escalated attacks on reproductive rights in the U.S. must be categorized in the same way as other many attacks on basic rights—as part of an "extremist hate" campaign. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/06/04/top-un-human-rights-expert-decries-extremist-hate-campaign-behind-escalated-attack?cd-origin=rss

Newly-elected Nigerian UN General Assembly President pledges focus on 'peace and prosperity' for most vulnerable
United Nations | un.org | 2019-06-04
The global reach of the United Nations makes it "the world's best hope for peace and security, sustainable development and the promotion and protection of human rights and social progress", said the top Nigerian diplomat who will be the next President of the General Assembly.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/06/1039801

Controversial new US abortion laws akin to 'torture' — UN Commissioner
rt.com | 2019-06-04
Recently passed abortion legislation in several US states equates to violence against women, according to UN human rights commissioner Kate Gilmore, who also called out what she termed the "extremist hate" behind the measures. | …
rt.com/usa/461043-us-abortion-laws-torture/

Colombia: Rights experts condemn killing of reintegrated former rebel fighter, call for respect of peace process
United Nations | un.org | 2019-06-04
Against a backdrop of challenges in implementing the peace process in Colombia, six independent UN human rights experts condemned on Tuesday the killing of a former member of the FARC-EP guerilla movement, which they said constitutes a "violation" of the guarantees made by the Government in the 2016 peace agreement.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/06/1039781

Nearly 100 Animal Rights Activists Arrested for Protesting 'Torturous Practices' at Duck Slaughterhouse
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-06-04
"The real criminality is the systemic torture and slaughter of billions of animals in the cruelest, filthiest, most sadistic conditions. But the police protect the corporate criminals." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/06/04/nearly-100-animal-rights-activists-arrested-protesting-torturous-practices-duck?cd-origin=rss

Force-Feeding Is Cruel, Painful, and Degrading–and American Prisons Won't Stop
Aviva Stahl | thenation.com | 2019-06-04
Force-Feeding Is Cruel, Painful, and Degrading–and American Prisons Won't Stop…
thenation.com/article/force-feeding-prison-supermax-torture/

Force-Feeding Is Cruel, Painful, and Degrading–and American Prisons Won't Stop
Aviva Stahl | thenation.com | 2019-06-04
Force-Feeding Is Cruel, Painful, and Degrading–and American Prisons Won't Stop…
thenation.com/article/force-feeding-prison-supermax-torture/

Findings of Torture: The UN Rapporteur and Julian Assange
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-06-04
Another crude and sad chapter, yet more evidence of a system's vengeance against its challengers. Julian Assange, like they dying Roman emperor Vespasian, may be transforming into a god of sorts, but the suffering of his mortal physical is finding its mark. While some in the cynical, narcissistic press corps still find little to commend…
counterpunch.org/2019/06/04/findings-of-torture-the-un-rapporteur-and-julian-assange/

Iran Sues UK for $1.6B over Wrongful Sanctions
telesurenglish.net | 2019-06-04
Iranian Mellat bank's trial against the United Kingdom is expected to start on June 17 where judges will hear that Britain's actions "substantially damaged the bank's reputation" and led to the loss of profits, customers and access to international banking services for which the lender is demanding US$1.6 billion in compensation, Iranian Press TV reported Tuesday. | RELATED: | If US Refrains from Bullying, Iran May Initiate Talks: Rouhani | The bank says the U.K. government also…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Sues-UK-for-1.6B-over-Wrongful-Sanctions-20190604-0010.html

U.S. Prepares Sanctions to Block Food Program for Millions of Venezuelans
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-06-04
The United States is preparing sanctions against a major Venezuelan government subsidized food program that distributes important food staples to over half of Venezuelans each month. The impact would be devastating. Mike Fox reports from Venezuela…
therealnews.com/stories/u-s-prepares-sanctions-to-block-food-subsidy-for-millions-of-venezuelans

U.S. Prepares Sanctions to Block Food Program for Millions of Venezuelans
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-06-04
The United States is preparing sanctions against a major Venezuelan government subsidized food program that distributes important food staples to over half of Venezuelans each month. The impact would be devastating. Mike Fox reports from Venezuela…
therealnews.com/stories/u-s-prepares-sanctions-to-block-food-subsidy-for-millions-of-venezuelans

US Gears Up for War With Iran
Serge Halimi | counterpunch.org | 2019-06-04
Can a state that condemns, without real justification, an international disarmament treaty it spent years negotiating then threaten a co-signatory with military aggression? Can it order other countries to fall into line with its capricious, bellicose stance or face punitive sanctions? The US can. It's pointless trying to argue with the Trump administration's claimed reasons…
counterpunch.org/2019/06/04/us-gears-up-for-war-with-iran/

U.S. Prepares Sanctions to Block Food Subsidy for Millions of Venezuelans
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-06-04
Over half of Venezuelans currently receive a direct food subsidy delivered to their neighborhoods. Trump officials say that they are looking for ways to sanctions these. Mike Fox reports from Venezuela about the program…
therealnews.com/stories/u-s-prepares-sanctions-to-block-food-subsidy-for-millions-of-venezuelans

Hundreds of Animal Rights Activists Descend on Slaughterhouse, Locking Necks to Slaughter Line
DXE | indybay.org | 2019-06-04
Over 600 activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) are marching to a massive duck slaughterhouse (facebook live video), with dozens planning to lock their necks to the slaughterhouse shackles and other machinery.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/06/03/18823714.php

SPLC to Congress: Myth of 'white genocide' driving white nationalist terror attacks
splcenter.org | 2019-06-04
The SPLC's Lecia Brooks testified today before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (Committee on Oversight and Reform) about the need for federal action to confront the deadly white nationalist movement. Brooks delivered the following oral remarks to the subcommittee chaired by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, in addition to written testimony.
splcenter.org/news/2019/06/04/splc-congress-myth-white-genocide-driving-white-nationalist-terror-attacks

Irish civil rights NGO calls Trump's policies 'unethical and unlawful' as he prepares to visit the country
Bryan Wall | thecanary.co | 2019-06-04
An Irish civil rights organisation, along with its US counterpart, has criticised Donald Trump ahead of his trip to Ireland on 5 June. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ICCL) and the American Civil Lib…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2019/06/04/irish-civil-rights-ngo-calls-trumps-policies-unethical-and-unlawful-as-he-prepares-to-visit-the-country/

Constitution — Title I: Fundamental Principles (Art. 1-9)
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-06-04
Article 1: The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is irrevocably free and independent, basing its moral property and values of freedom, equality, justice and international peace on the doctrine of Simón Bolívar, the Liberator. Independence, liberty, sovereignty, immunity, territorial integrity and national self-determination are unrenounceable rights of the Nation. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/06/04/constitution-title-i-fundamental-principles-art-1-9/

Fifty Years After Stonewall, the Real Fight for LBGTQ Rights Is Local
Alex Myers | commondreams.org | 2019-06-04
The annual Pride Parade makes its way past the Stonewall Inn on June 24, 2018, in New York City. The Greenwich Village tavern was the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, widely considered to be the beginning of the fight for gay and lesbian rights in the U.S. (Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/views/2019/06/04/fifty-years-after-stonewall-real-fight-lbgtq-rights-local?cd-origin=rss

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Celebrates Anniversary of Historic 19th Amendment Securing the Right for Women to Vote
commondreams.org | 2019-06-04
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2019/06/04/lawyers-committee-civil-rights-under-law-celebrates-anniversary-historic-19th?cd-origin=rss

Do We Have a Right to a Livable Climate?
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-06-04
The climate is changing, the changes are human-caused, and most of them will be detrimental to people and ecosystems. But while public sentiment and plausible policy measures on these threats have been maturing in recent years, the law has not kept up. | Today climate change as a legal matter remains blurry and disconnected from the principles our system of government aspires to follow. The question remains unanswered: Do we — including future generations — have a legal right to a climate in which we can pursue our rights to life, liberty, property and happiness? | This is the question that a case…
truthout.org/articles/do-we-have-a-right-to-a-livable-climate/

'GOP retaliates against the people who educate our children:' West Virginia passes education bill that bans teacher strikes
Ashley Curtin | nationofchange.org | 2019-06-04
Lawmakers in West Virginia recently passed an education bill with an amendment that would ban teachers strikes. The legislation, which passed the Senate, heads to the state's House of Delegates later this month. | While the right-to-work state already doesn't give employees collective bargaining rights, many call the amendment "pure retribution, retaliation." | "This is just I think another stab at trying to punish us, making the law perhaps a little more severe with such language," Fred Albert, president of the West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). | The amendment would "specify…
nationofchange.org/2019/06/04/gop-retaliates-against-the-people-who-educate-our-children-west-virginia-passes-education-bill-that-bans-teacher-strikes/

Black women display leadership during presidential forum attack
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2019-06-04
A white male protester grabbed the microphone from Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., after he jumped onto the stage last Saturday during a presidential candidates' forum sponsored by MoveOn. Harris was in the middle of remarks about student loans for black students when the animal rights activist lunged toward her and grabbed her mic. In an …
peoplesworld.org/article/black-women-display-leadership-during-presidential-forum-attack/

Dr. King and Mr. Garrow
wsws.org | 2019-06-04
The historian and King biographer David Garrow has unleashed a #MeToo-style slander campaign against the martyred civil rights leader.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/06/04/king…

President Kenyatta holds talks with Canadian PM in Vancouver
Jerry Omondi | cgtn.com | 2019-06-04
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday held talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the 2019 Global Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver. | The Global Women Deliver Conference is the world's largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women. It has brought together over 8,000 world leaders and players in the academic fields as well as various change-makers. | This year's Conference focuses on the key role of power for progress and change, how power operates at three levels: individual power, structural power and the power of movem…
africa.cgtn.com/2019/06/04/president-kenyatta-holds-talks-with-canadian-pm-in-vancouver/

The Countdown: Trump Regime's Census Ploys Will Promote Gerrymandering And Resource Diversion from Blacks and Latinos
Marc Morial | blackstarnews.com | 2019-06-04
Marc Morial. Photo: Facebook | | A leadership gap, inadequate funding and staffing and a deliberate campaign to intimidate immigrants and communities of color all make the 2020 Census among the most challenging in American history. | | This was my testimony last week before a special field hearing of the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties regarding the upcoming Census. | | The hearing, entitled "Getting Counted: The Importance of the Census to State and Local Communities," was held at Queens Community College at the request of Congress Members Caroly…
www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/justic…

UN Calls for Probe Into Sudan Army's Killing of 35 Protesters
telesurenglish.net | 2019-06-04
The United Nations' rights agency (OHCHR) Tuesday called on Sudanese security forces to halt attacks on Khartoum protest camps and to allow for negotiations for a transition to civilian-led power in the nation to continue. | RELATED: | Sudan Transitional Gov't Bans Al Jazeera, Revokes Staff Permits | OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said between 30 and 35 people have been killed and several others injured in the violence. She called for a "de-escalation" in the country, warni…
telesurenglish.net/news/UN-Calls-for-Probe-Into-Sudan-Armys-Killing-of-35-Protesters-20190604-0006.html

Breaking ground for gay rights in the Communist press
Eric A. Gordon | peoplesworld.org | 2019-06-04
I am told by People's World Managing Editor C.J. Atkins, who enjoys rummaging around in the history of Communist Party publications, that the opinion piece republished below, almost 30 years since its first appearance in People's Daily World, was the first head-on article–apart from the occasional letter to the editor or incidental mention in other writing–in …
peoplesworld.org/article/breaking-ground-for-gay-rights-in-the-communist-press/