2019-02-02: Social Media Postees

The U.S. Helped Push Venezuela Into Chaos — and Trump's Regime Change Policy Will Make Sure It Stays That Way
Mark Weisbrot | theintercept.com | 2019-02-02
Venezuela's National Assembly president Juan Guaidó speaks before a crowd of opposition supporters during an open meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 16, 2019. | Venezuela's government for at least 17 years, but the Trump administration has taken a more openly aggressive tack than its predecessors. Last week, administration officials kicked their efforts into high gear by anointing their chosen successor to Venezuelan Pres…
theintercept.com/2019/02/02/venezuela-us-trump-sanctions/

Will Iran Sanctions Herald the Fall of the Imperial Dollar?
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J S Davies | commondreams.org | 2019-02-01
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Drian (L), UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (C) and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas give a press conference on Iran at the Informal Meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers at the National Bank of Romania headquarters in Bucharest January 31, 2019. (Photo: AFP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/02/01/will-iran-sanctions-herald-fall-imperial-dollar?cd-origin=rss

Will Iran Sanctions Herald the Fall of the Imperial Dollar?
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-01
When the Trump administration unilaterally pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement in May 2018 and announced it would reimpose sanctions against Iran, the European Union (EU) declared its commitment to preserving the agreement and finding ways for its companies to circumvent U.S. sanctions. Now, eight months later, the Europeans finally announced the creation of…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/01/will-iran-sanctions-herald-the-fall-of-the-imperial-dollar/

Jailed Journalists Appeal to Myanmar's Top Court For Release
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-01
Lawyers for two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar for breaking a colonial-era official secrets law appealed to the Supreme Court Friday against their conviction, as a rights group said the government wielded repressive laws against peaceful critics. | RELATED: | Myanmar Court Denies Reporter's Appeal, Defense Outraged | The appeal, citing evidence of a polic…
telesurenglish.net/news/Jailed-Journalists-Appeal-to-Myanmars-Top-Court-For-Release-20190201-0014.html

Former US Spies Are Helping the UAE Hack Human Rights Activists
ZeroHedge | mintpressnews.com | 2019-02-01
Mainstream networks will likely shrug and yawn at this bombshell Reuters story, given that it doesn't involve Putin or Russia, but merely one of Washington's chief Arab Gulf oil and gas allies. | The post Former US Spies Are Helping the UAE Hack Human Rights Activists appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/former-us-spies-are-helping-the-uae-hack-human-rights-activists/254548/

IACHR Requests Information on Assange's Conditions
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-01
Ecuador received an Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) request for precautionary measures in favor of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been detained at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012. | RELATED: | Assange Starts Legal Bid to Unseal US Charges Against Him | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informe…
telesurenglish.net/news/IACHR-Requests-Information-on-Assanges-Conditions-20190201-0004.html

Elliott Abrams: A Human Rights Horror Show in Three Acts
Brett Wilkins | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-01
Last Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Elliott Abrams would once again be returning to government, this time as President Donald Trump's special envoy to help "fully restore democracy and prosperity" to Venezuela. Abrams, 71, is best known for abetting dictators and genocide in Latin America and for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal during…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/01/elliott-abrams-a-human-rights-horror-show-in-three-acts/

Immigrants in US Subjected to Nasal Force-feeding at ICE Detention Center
Patrick Martin | globalresearch.ca | 2019-02-01
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is force-feeding immigrants held in a detention center in Texas, using brutal torture against at least ten men engaged in a hunger strike against their prolonged confinement and mistreatment. The men, mainly Sikhs from … | The post Immigrants in US Subjected to Nasal Force-feeding at ICE Detention Center appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/immigrants-in-us-subjected-to-nasal-force-feeding-at-ice-detention-center/5667228

Congress, Don't Give DHS Unrestricted Authority to Build a 'Smart Wall'
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-02-01
What Congress must do to ensure that border technology doesn't trample on the rights of border communities. | On Thursday, House Democrats unveiled their proposal for a $55 billion Department of Homeland Security budget. The proposal includes some strong provisions — including no funding for a border wall, no new Border Patrol agents, and a requirement for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cut its detention of immigrants and phase out the jailing of immigrant families. But there are also a number of troubling elements, ch…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/congress-dont-give-dhs-unrestricted-authority

Corporations Have Paid Out at Least $2.7 Billion in Civil-Rights and Labor Lawsuits Since 2000
Michelle Chen | thenation.com | 2019-02-01
Corporations Have Paid Out at Least $2.7 Billion in Civil-Rights and Labor Lawsuits Since 2000…
thenation.com/article/corporations-lawsuits-civil-rights/

Pakistan and the Cultural Appropriation of Pashtun Rights Movement
Nauman Sadiq | globalresearch.ca | 2019-02-01
Historically, from the massacres in Bangladesh in 1971 to the training and arming of Afghan jihadists during the Soviet-Afghan war throughout the 1980s and '90s, and then mounting ill-conceived military operations in Pakistan's tribal areas under American pressure, leading to … | The post Pakistan and the Cultural Appropriation of Pashtun Rights Movement appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/cultural-appropriation-pashtun-rights-movement/5667034

Maduro: 'I Stand Firm Defending Venezuela's Sovereignty'
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-01
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reaffirmed his commitment to defending the people's sovereignty of the country when visiting members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) carrying out military drills on Friday. | RELATED: | Donald Trump's War of Recolonization Against Venezuela | "As commander in chief of the FANB, I stand firm in defense of the people's sovereignty, of the constitution and the rights of Venezuela," said Maduro while supervising the drills. | Así fue el…
telesurenglish.net/news/Maduro-I-Stand-Firm-Defending-Venezuelas-Sovereignty-20190201-0018.html

ICE Partners Again With a Sheriff It Once Severed Ties With Because of Racial Profiling
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-02-01
Sheriff Terry Johnson is known for racial profiling. He just secured $2.8 million in taxpayer funding to do ICE's bidding. | Whether it's Jeff Sessions, Stephen Miller, or Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Trump administration has a real knack for empowering and absolving people who push discriminatory law enforcement and immigration policy. Now there's another name to add to that list: Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County in North Carolina. Six years after the federal government severed ties with Sheriff Johnson for his office's discriminatory policing of Latinx residents, Uncle Sam and the Alamance County Sheriff's O…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/ice-partners-again-sheriff-it-once-severed-ties

Ghandi and the American Civil Rights Movement
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-02-01
Howard Thurman travelled to India and returned to the U.S. intent on bringing nonviolence to the struggles of African Americans, writes Walter E. Fluker. Howard Thurman's image on Howard University chapel's stained glass window. (Fourandsixty from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA)… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/02/01/ghandi-and-the-american-civil-rights-movement/

For Trump, Venezuela Intervention Serves 2020 Re-election Bid
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-01
United States Vice President, Mike Pence and top Florida Republicans are scheduled to hold a rally in Miami, Florida, Friday afternoon to highlight the Trump administration's aggressive approach to the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela, seemingly in a bid to win over more Hispanic voters in the 2020 presidential election. | RELATED: | UN Rights Expert Against Sanctions on Venezuela | P…
telesurenglish.net/news/For-Trump-Venezuela-Intervention-Serves-2020-Re-election-Bid-20190201-0012.html

New Oil Sanctions on Venezuela: "Would Destroy What's Left of its Economy"
Mark Weisbrot | zcomm.org | 2019-02-01
National Security Advisor John Bolton announced that the US will freeze Venezuelan assets and block oil payments for Venezuelan oil imports to the US. This would not only be illegal, but would also be yet another crippling blow to the country…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/new-oil-sanctions-on-venezuela-would-destroy-whats-left-of-its-economy/

Trump's Brilliant Strategy to Dismember U.S. Dollar Hegemony
Michael Hudson | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-01
The end of America's unchallenged global economic dominance has arrived sooner than expected, thanks to the very same Neocons who gave the world the Iraq, Syria and the dirty wars in Latin America. Just as the Vietnam War drove the United States off gold by 1971, its violent regime change warfare against Venezuela and Syria — and threatening other countries with sanctions if they do not join this crusade — is driving European and other nations to create their alternative financial institutions. | This break has been building for quite some time, and was bound to occur. But who would have thought that…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/01/trumps-brilliant-strategy-to-dismember-u-s-dollar-hegemony/

The Real Target of the Huawei Sanctions and the Trade War
Kei Pritsker | mintpressnews.com | 2019-02-01
The U.S.-China trade war isn't actually about soybeans and steel. Washington fears its iron grip over the post-Soviet world is waning thanks to China's new global initiatives. | The post The Real Target of the Huawei Sanctions and the Trade War appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/the-real-target-of-the-huawei-sanctions-and-the-trade-war-with-china/254570/

"Do We as a Society Have a Right to Kill?": Chinonye Chukwu's Film "Clemency" Examines Death Penalty
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-02-01
As the state of Texas this week carried out the nation's first execution of the year, we look at "Clemency," a new film starring Alfre Woodard that examines the death penalty from the perspective of those who have to carry out executions as well as the condemned. Woodard portrays prison warden Bernadine Williams as she prepares to oversee what would be her 12th execution as warden in the aftermath of one that was horribly botched. As her life seems to unravel, Williams, for the first time, grapples with what it means to be part of a system of state-sanctioned murder, as the execution date for Anthony Woods, playe…
www.democracynow.org/2019/2/1/do_we_as_a…

UPDATED Venezuela: US Rejects Calls for Dialogue Ahead of Dueling Marches
Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-02-01
Draconian US sanctions and calls for dialogue set the stage for pro- and anti-government marches this weekend.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14282

Jeremy Corbyn Rejects US, UK Gov'ts Intervention in Venezuela
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-01
U.K.'s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Friday that intervention in Venezuela and calling for all sanctions against the government of Nicolas Maduro were "wrong" and that only Venezuelans have the right to decide their own destiny. | RELATED: | 5 Facts Exposing Hypocrisy of Right-wing Gov'ts on Venezuela | "The future of Venezuela is a matter for Venezuelans. U.K.'s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's call for more sanctions on Venezuela is wrong," Corbyn said in a tweet he pos…
telesurenglish.net/news/Jeremy-Corbyn-Rejects-US-UK-Govts-Intervention-in-Venezuela-20190201-0010.html

"5,000 troops to Colombia": U.S. threats against Venezuela increase
Paul Dobson | peoplesworld.org | 2019-02-01
MÉRIDA, Venezuela–Self-proclaimed "interim president" Juan Guaidó named a number of "diplomatic representatives" to those countries which have recognized him during the past week. The government of Nicolás Maduro, the actual president of Venezuela, along with its international allies are responding to new U.S. oil sanctions and preparing for possible military intervention. Guaidó designated fellow high-profile opposition members …
peoplesworld.org/article/5000-troops-to-colombia-u-s-threats-against-venezuela-increase/

Sanctions of Mass Destruction: America's War on Venezuela
Garikai Chengu | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-01
American economic sanctions have been the worst crime against humanity since World War Two. America's economic sanctions have killed more innocent people than all of the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons ever used in the history of mankind. The fact that for America the issue in Venezuela is oil, not democracy, will surprise only those…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/01/sanctions-of-mass-destruction-americas-war-on-venezuela/

Europe Implements Iran Payment Mechanism to Bypass US Sanctions
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-01
Tuesday Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the 'Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges' (INSTEX), a payment mechanism designed by Germany, France and the United Kingdom to maintain trade with Iran and avoid U.S. sanctions on the Persian nation, but urged that it be implemented "in its whole." | RELATED: | 3 Injured in Iran Police Station Attack | "We hop…
telesurenglish.net/news/Europe-Implements-Iran-Payment-Mechanism-to-Bypass-US-Sanctions-20190201-0002.html

The 'Venezuelan People' Are Whoever Agrees With Donald Trump
Alan MacLeod | commondreams.org | 2019-02-01
A recent local poll shows that 86 percent of Venezuelans oppose military intervention, while 81 percent already disagree with the current US sanctions. (Photo: Screenshot) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/02/01/venezuelan-people-are-whoever-agrees-donald-trump?cd-origin=rss

Immigrants in US subjected to nasal force-feeding at ICE detention center
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-02-01
The Trump administration has imported the savage tortures carried out at Guantanamo Bay and other CIA prisons, for use against immigrants and refugees.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/01/immi…

The price Peter Norman paid for his anti-racism
stuart_m | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-01
The Peter Norman Story | Written by Andrew Webster & Matt Norman | Macmillan, 2018 | $34.99 | Australian sprinter Peter Norman had just run a blistering 20.6 seconds in the men's 200-metre final at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games to claim the silver medal. After he heard about the plans of the gold and bronze medallists, African-American runners Tommy Smith and John Carlos, to protest against racism in the US, Norman agreed to support their actions by wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badge, stating: "I'll stand with you". | In The Peter Norman Story, his nephew Matt Norman, w…
greenleft.org.au/content/price-peter-norman-paid-his-anti-racism

Sudan's Game of Catch and Release
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-01
Sudanese protesters chant slogans during an anti-government demonstration in the capital Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman on January 31, 2019. | © 2019 Stringer/AFP/Getty Images | Salah Abdalla "Gosh," director of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), announced the release this week of 186 so-called "protest" detainees, but said nothing about the fate of the hundreds still locked up in the wake of the bloody, and ongoing, crackdown. | Since mid-December, when protests started across the c…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/01/sudans-game-catch-and-release

Mohammed bin Salman Is Running Saudi Arabia Like a Man Who Got Away With Murder
Sarah Aziza | theintercept.com | 2019-02-01
The Saudi monarch is pursuing Hollywood stars for the country's "Year of Entertainment," while women activists are being tortured behind bars. | The post Mohammed bin Salman Is Running Saudi Arabia Like a Man Who Got Away With Murder appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2019/02/01/mohammed-bin-salman-saudi-arabia-entertainment/

Australian activists say: to help Venezuela, lift sanctions and end intervention
stuart_m | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-01
Australian solidarity activists are calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government to demand the United States lift its sanctions on Venezuela and rule out any military intervention in the South American country. | Federico Fuentes, co-author of Latin America's Turbulent Transitions and co-convenor of the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network, said: "It is well known that Venezuela is passing through the worst economic crisis in its history. | "While focus has been placed on falling international oil prices and economic mismanagement by the Nicolas Maduro government, little attention has been paid to…
greenleft.org.au/content/australian-activists-say-help-venezuela-lift-sanctions-and-end-intervention

Senegal: Make Talibé Children a Campaign Focus
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-01
Talibés begging in downtown Dakar, Senegal, May 11, 2017. | © 2017 Lauren Seibert/Human Rights Watch | (Dakar) — Political parties and candidates for Senegal's February 24, 2019 presidential election should commit to ending the abuse and exploitation of talibé children, Human Rights Watch and the Platform for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (PPDH), a coalition of Senegalese rights groups, said today. | Hundreds of thousands of talibé children in Se…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/01/senegal-make-talibe-children-campaign-focus

ICE Force-feeding Immigrant Detainees on Hunger Strike
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-01
Screenshot from a 2013 video of Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) volunteering to undergo the standard operating procedures for force-feeding of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. | © 2013 The Guardian/YouTube | ICE officials are force-feeding six immigrant detainees who are on hunger strike in Texas, according to an investigation published by the Associated Press. | The AP reported indications that nearly 30 men — mostly from India an…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/01/ice-force-feeding-immigrant-detainees-hunger-strike

New Site Exposes How Apple Censors Apps in China
Ryan Gallagher | theintercept.com | 2019-02-01
The site shows which apps — from human rights groups, the New York Times, and virtual private networks — have been removed from Apple's app store in China. | The post New Site Exposes How Apple Censors Apps in China appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2019/02/01/apple-apps-china-censorship/

Vietnam: Hanoi Misleads UN on Rights Record
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-01
Twenty-five political prisoners currently locked up for exercising basic rights. | | © 2018 Private | (Geneva) — Vietnam presented a grossly inaccurate picture of its human rights record at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on January 22, 2019, Human Rights Wat…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/01/vietnam-hanoi-misleads-un-rights-record

Brazil Vice President Supports 'Right to Decide' on Abortion
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-01
Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourà£o publicly supported a woman's right to decide to have an abortion | © José Cruz/Agência Brasil | Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourà£o publicly supported a woman's right to decide to have an abortion in an interview published today in O Globo. | Mourà£o raised the issue of abortion after being asked a question about gender, explaining that w…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/01/brazil-vice-president-supports-right-decide-abortion

"Always in Season" Looks at 2014 Hanging in North Carolina and Racial Terrorism
Shared by Cherise | truthout.org | 2019-02-01
As we mark the beginning of Black History Month, we look at Always in Season, a disturbing new documentary that examines lynching in the United States both past and present. It also looks closely at the case of Lennon Lacy, a 17-year-old African-American high school student who, on August 29, 2014, was found hanging from two belts attached to a wooden swing set in a largely white trailer park in Bladenboro, North Carolina. Local authorities quickly determined his death to be a suicide, but Lacy's family and local civil rights activists feared authorities may have been covering up a lynching. We speak with Lacy…
truthout.org/video/always-in-season-looks-at-2014-hanging-in-nc-legacy-of-racial-terrorism/

Minneapolis: Fundraising event nets more than $3000 for Fight Back!
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-01-31
Minneapolis, MN — More than 75 trade unionists, anti-police-terror, immigrant rights, anti-war and student activists came together January 26 for a successful house party that netted more than $3000 for Fight Back!. | One of the event organizers, Matt Boynton stated, "The revolutionary press is of major importance in the struggle against capitalism in this country and around the globe. This fundraiser for Fight Back! was an incredible success." | Leader of trade unions and other people's organizations offered short toasts where they explained the importance of Fight Back! to their work. | Fight Back! editor…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/1/31/minneapo…

Over 60 Human Rights Groups Back Call to Boycott Eurovision in Israel
Middle East Monitor | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-31
"The Israeli regime of military occupation, colonialism and apartheid is blatantly using Eurovision as part of its official strategy 'Brand Israel', which tries to show 'the most beautiful face of Israel' to whiten and divert attention from its war crimes against the Palestinians." | The post Over 60 Human Rights Groups Back Call to Boycott Eurovision in Israel appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/60-human-rights-groups-back-call-boycott-eurovision-israel/254519/

US Sanctions on Venezuela Harm Human Rights of Innocent People, UN Expert Warns
OUHCFHR | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-01-31
UN Special Rapporteur for sanctions Idriss Jazairy says that the United States' attempt to topple the Venezuelan government with an oil embargo is illegal and will have grave humanitarian consequences.
venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14283

As Malaysia and Ireland Find Out, You Stand Up for Palestinian Rights at Your Peril
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-31
It takes an enormous effort for any country to oppose Israel, but particularly a small country that has to rely on bigger powers. It is even harder to impose effective pragmatic measures against Israel, as in the case of Ireland and Malaysia. | The post As Malaysia and Ireland Find Out, You Stand Up for Palestinian Rights at Your Peril appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/as-malaysia-and-ireland-find-out-you-stand-up-for-palestinian-rights-at-your-peril/254529/

Sherrod Brown Is More Than Just a Midwestern Populist
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2019-01-31
Sherrod Brown Is More Than Just a Midwestern Populist…
thenation.com/article/sherrod-brown-voting-rights-populist-ohio/

Stacey Abrams: "We Have to Work Harder" Than Those Who Would Suppress the Vote
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-31
Democrats have selected former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to deliver the response to President Trump's State of the Union address. The address will take place on Tuesday, after being delayed due to the government shutdown. Abrams will become the first person not in public office to respond to the president, as well as the first African-American woman to deliver the response. She recently launched Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy group, after she narrowly lost Georgia's governor's race to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who was widely accused of suppressing the vote. In mid-November, A…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/31/stacey_ab…

What Breastfeeding Has to Do With Economic Security
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-01-31
A recent study from the Center for WorkLife Law reveals the heavy toll of breastfeeding discrimination and the pressing need for more protections. | The discrimination began almost immediately after Barbara, an emergency room nurse, returned from maternity leave. Like most breastfeeding parents, Barbara needed to pump regularly to keep up her milk supply and prevent infection. But while her co-workers got smoke breaks, Barbara wasn't allowed to take time to pump, leaving her in pain: "I'd feel like my breasts [were] bursting," she said. | When she did get breaks, Barbara found herself expressing breast milk for h…
aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/pregnancy-and-parenting-discrimination/what-breastfeeding-has-do-economic

EU Launches INSTEX To Facilitate Trade, Bypass US Sanctions on Iran
ZeroHedge | mintpressnews.com | 2019-01-31
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo previously warned of "swift punishment" for countries doing business with Iran, thus INSTEX is seen as a first small step toward greater European economic independence. | The post EU Launches INSTEX To Facilitate Trade, Bypass US Sanctions on Iran appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/europe-launches-instex-to-facilitate-trade-bypass-us-sanctions-on-iran/254524/

Everyday Life in Besieged Venezuela: A Conversation with Jessica Dos Santos
Cira Pascual Marquina — Venezuelanalysis | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-01-31
A young author presents intimate snapshots of ordinary life as it is lived by millions of Venezuelans during a grueling crisis fueled by deadly US sanctions and coup efforts.
venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14286

Russia denounces U.S. cynicism sanctioning Venezuelan PDVSA
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-01-31
Russia denounced Tuesday the U.S. cynicism by announcing sanctions against the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and excluding from that sanction U.S. companies operating in the South American nation. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/01/31/russia-denounces-u-s-cynicism-sanctioning-venezuelan-pdvsa/

Myanmar: Peaceful Critics Prosecuted
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-01-31
Demonstrators shout slogans at a protest against an amendment to Myanmar's public assembly law in Yangon, March 5, 2018. | © 2018 Thein Zaw/AP Photo | (Yangon) — Myanmar's first democratically elected civilian government in decades has prosecuted large numbers of peaceful critics in violation of basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Concerned governments should press Myanmar to protect the rights to expression and assembly, and re…
hrw.org/news/2019/01/31/myanmar-peaceful-critics-prosecuted

Human Rights Watch Film Festival, London
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-01-31
Students in front of Wits great hall protesting against the militarized securities in Wits, from the film Everything Must Fall | | © Daylin Paul | The Human Rights Watch Film Festival will be presented in London from March 13-22, 2019, featuring 15 award-winning documentary and feature films. The international line-up of films from Venezuela, South Africa, Palestine, Thailand, and more offer critical insight into local and global human rights concerns impacting people aroun…
hrw.org/news/2019/01/31/human-rights-watch-film-festival-london

Scrap Australia Day, acknowledge the past and fight for the future
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-01-31
Celebrating January 26 is a state-sanctioned exercise that rubs salt into the wounds of Indigenous Australia. It proclaims, "You lost, we won. Know your place." | But the desire for an honest conversation about modern Australia's origins in the violent and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous people is not going away. | Across the country Invasion Day marches were both bigger than ever, and took place in many more places. More local governments have dropped their January 26 activities and finally the ABC allowed Triple J to shift its Hottest 100. | The mood for change is gathering momentum — and it'..
greenleft.org.au/content/scrap-australia-day-acknowledge-past-and-fight-future

KonTerra (Wellbeing) Report – Management Response
amnesty | amnesty.org | 2019-01-31
amnesty.org/en/documents/org60/9764/2019/en/

2019-02-01: News Headlines

aljazeera (2019-02-01). Myanmar using 'oppressive laws' against peaceful critics: HRW. aljazeera.com Rights group says freedom of expression deteriorating since Aung San Suu Kyi's government took office in 2016.

teleSUR (2019-02-01). IACHR Requests Information on Assange's Conditions. telesurenglish.net Ecuador received an Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) request for precautionary measures in favor of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been detained at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012. | RELATED: | Assange Starts Legal Bid to Unseal US Charges Against Him | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informe…

Garikai Chengu (2019-02-01). Sanctions of Mass Destruction: America's War on Venezuela. counterpunch.org American economic sanctions have been the worst crime against humanity since World War Two. America's economic sanctions have killed more innocent people than all of the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons ever used in the history of mankind. The fact that for America the issue in Venezuela is oil, not democracy, will surprise only those More

Mark Weisbrot (2019-02-01). New Oil Sanctions on Venezuela: "Would Destroy What's Left of its Economy" zcomm.org National Security Advisor John Bolton announced that the US will freeze Venezuelan assets and block oil payments for Venezuelan oil imports to the US. This would not only be illegal, but would also be yet another crippling blow to the country…

Jessica Dos Santos (2019-02-01). Life in Besieged Venezuela. zcomm.org A young author presents intimate snapshots of ordinary life as it is lived by millions of Venezuelans during a grueling crisis fueled by deadly US sanctions and coup efforts…

teleSUR (2019-02-01). Europe Implements Iran Payment Mechanism to Bypass US Sanctions. telesurenglish.net Tuesday Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the 'Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges' (INSTEX), a payment mechanism designed by Germany, France and the United Kingdom to maintain trade with Iran and avoid U.S. sanctions on the Persian nation, but urged that it be implemented "in its whole." | RELATED: | 3 Injured in Iran Police Station Attack | "We hop…

Brett Wilkins (2019-02-01). Elliott Abrams: A Human Rights Horror Show in Three Acts. counterpunch.org Last Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Elliott Abrams would once again be returning to government, this time as President Donald Trump's special envoy to help "fully restore democracy and prosperity" to Venezuela. Abrams, 71, is best known for abetting dictators and genocide in Latin America and for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal during More

Nauman Sadiq (2019-02-01). Pakistan and the Cultural Appropriation of Pashtun Rights Movement. globalresearch.ca Historically, from the massacres in Bangladesh in 1971 to the training and arming of Afghan jihadists during the Soviet-Afghan war throughout the 1980s and '90s, and then mounting ill-conceived military operations in Pakistan's tribal areas under American pressure, leading to …

Human Rights Watch (2019-02-01). Senegal: Make Talibé Children a Campaign Focus. hrw.org | | Talibés begging in downtown Dakar, Senegal, May 11, 2017. | © 2017 Lauren Seibert/Human Rights Watch | (Dakar) — Political parties and candidates for Senegal's February 24, 2019 presidential election should commit to ending the abuse and exploitation of talibé children, Human Rights Watch and the Platform for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (PPDH), a coalition of Senegalese rights groups, said today. | Hundreds of thousands of talibé children in Se…

stuart_m (2019-02-01). Australian activists say: to help Venezuela, lift sanctions and end intervention. greenleft.org.au Australian solidarity activists are calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government to demand the United States lift its sanctions on Venezuela and rule out any military intervention in the South American country. | Federico Fuentes, co-author of Latin America's Turbulent Transitions and co-convenor of the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network, said: "It is well known that Venezuela is passing through the worst economic crisis in its history. | "While focus has been placed on falling international oil prices and economic mismanagement by the Nicolas Maduro government, little attention has been paid to…

stuart_m (2019-02-01). The price Peter Norman paid for his anti-racism. greenleft.org.au The Peter Norman Story
| Written by Andrew Webster & Matt Norman
| Macmillan, 2018
| $34.99 | Australian sprinter Peter Norman had just run a blistering 20.6 seconds in the men's 200-metre final at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games to claim the silver medal. After he heard about the plans of the gold and bronze medallists, African-American runners Tommy Smith and John Carlos, to protest against racism in the US, Norman agreed to support their actions by wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badge, stating: "I'll stand with you". | In The Peter Norman Story, his nephew Matt Norman, w…

WSWS (2019-02-01). Immigrants in US subjected to nasal force-feeding at ICE detention center. wsws.org The Trump administration has imported the savage tortures carried out at Guantanamo Bay and other CIA prisons, for use against immigrants and refugees.

WSWS (2019-02-01). Footage shows police pointing assault rifles at child detainees in Australia. wsws.org The footage resembled an aggressive military operation in the neo-colonial wars conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Human Rights Watch (2019-02-01). Vietnam: Hanoi Misleads UN on Rights Record. hrw.org | | Twenty-five political prisoners currently locked up for exercising basic rights. | | © 2018 Private | (Geneva) — Vietnam presented a grossly inaccurate picture of its human rights record at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on January 22, 2019, Human Rights Wat…

Fight Back (2019-01-31). Minneapolis: Fundraising event nets more than $3000 for Fight Back! fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN — More than 75 trade unionists, anti-police-terror, immigrant rights, anti-war and student activists came together January 26 for a successful house party that netted more than $3000 for Fight Back!. | One of the event organizers, Matt Boynton stated, "The revolutionary press is of major importance in the struggle against capitalism in this country and around the globe. This fundraiser for Fight Back! was an incredible success." | Leader of trade unions and other people's organizations offered short toasts where they explained the importance of Fight Back! to their work. | Fight Back! editor…

teleSUR (2019-01-31). Three Hundred Social Leaders Band Together to Create Caucus. telesurenglish.net Three hundred social leaders will form the League for Democracy, a congressional caucus created in defense of the rights of rural communities, officials said Thursday. | RELATED: | Colombia Witnesses Murder of 17th Social Leader in 2019 | "It is an initiative that has roots in 80 municipalities of the country, which will represent communities that fight for water, the environment, the implementation of the Peace Agreement and human rights," said Ivan Cepeda, senator from Colombia.

Vanessa Beeley (2019-01-31). Civilians in Police Crosshairs as France Adopts Totalitarian Tactics to Squash Yellow Vests. mintpressnews.com The insanity of Macron supporting the "uprising" in Venezuela while sanctioning vicious reprisals against his own people at home is glaringly obvious to all but Macron and his backers.

Ricardo Vaz (2019-01-31). Venezuela: US Rejects Calls for Dialogue Ahead of Dueling Marches. venezuelanalysis.com Draconian US sanctions and calls for dialogue set the stage for pro- and anti-government marches this weekend.

OUHCFHR (2019-01-31). US Sanctions on Venezuela Harm Human Rights of Innocent People, UN Expert Warns. venezuelanalysis.com UN Special Rapporteur for sanctions Idriss Jazairy says that the United States' attempt to topple the Venezuelan government with an oil embargo is illegal and will have grave humanitarian consequences.

ZeroHedge (2019-01-31). EU Launches INSTEX To Facilitate Trade, Bypass US Sanctions on Iran. mintpressnews.com Secretary of State Mike Pompeo previously warned of "swift punishment" for countries doing business with Iran, thus INSTEX is seen as a first small step toward greater European economic independence.

Cira Pascual Marquina — Venezuelanalysis (2019-01-31). Everyday Life in Besieged Venezuela: A Conversation with Jessica Dos Santos. venezuelanalysis.com A young author presents intimate snapshots of ordinary life as it is lived by millions of Venezuelans during a grueling crisis fueled by deadly US sanctions and coup efforts.

Eds. (2019-01-31). Russia denounces U.S. cynicism sanctioning Venezuelan PDVSA. mronline.org Russia denounced Tuesday the U.S. cynicism by announcing sanctions against the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and excluding from that sanction U.S. companies operating in the South American nation. | Source

STAFF (2019-01-31). ICE Is Force-Feeding Detainees on Hunger Strike. truthdig.com Federal immigration officials are force-feeding six immigrants through plastic nasal tubes during a hunger strike that's gone on for a month inside a Texas detention facility, The Associated Press has learned. | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 11 detainees at the El Paso Processing Center have been refusing food, some for more than 30 days. Detainees who reached the AP, along with a relative and an attorney representing hunger strikers, said nearly 30 detainees from India and Cuba have been refusing to eat, and some are now so weak they cannot stand up or talk. | Another four detainees are on hunger…

Middle East Monitor (2019-01-31). Over 60 Human Rights Groups Back Call to Boycott Eurovision in Israel. mintpressnews.com "The Israeli regime of military occupation, colonialism and apartheid is blatantly using Eurovision as part of its official strategy 'Brand Israel', which tries to show 'the most beautiful face of Israel' to whiten and divert attention from its war crimes against the Palestinians."

teleSUR (2019-01-31). US Democracy? Republican Leader Opposes Law to Encourage Voting. telesurenglish.net Republican leaders in the United States expressed open contention to policies that would make it easier for Americans to vote on the Senate floor Wednesday, sparking alarm from voting rights groups and Democrats. | RELATED: | Top Pentagon Spokeswoman Quits Amid Claims of Gross Misconduct | Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky ridiculed…

Democracy Now! (2019-01-31). Stacey Abrams: "We Have to Work Harder" Than Those Who Would Suppress the Vote. democracynow.org Democrats have selected former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to deliver the response to President Trump's State of the Union address. The address will take place on Tuesday, after being delayed due to the government shutdown. Abrams will become the first person not in public office to respond to the president, as well as the first African-American woman to deliver the response. She recently launched Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy group, after she narrowly lost Georgia's governor's race to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who was widely accused of suppressing the vote. In mid-November, A…

John Nichols (2019-01-31). Sherrod Brown Is More Than Just a Midwestern Populist. thenation.com Sherrod Brown Is More Than Just a Midwestern Populist…

Miko Peled (2019-01-31). As Malaysia and Ireland Find Out, You Stand Up for Palestinian Rights at Your Peril. mintpressnews.com It takes an enormous effort for any country to oppose Israel, but particularly a small country that has to rely on bigger powers. It is even harder to impose effective pragmatic measures against Israel, as in the case of Ireland and Malaysia.

ACLU (2019-01-31). What Breastfeeding Has To Do With Economic Security. aclu.org A recent study from the Center for WorkLife Law reveals the heavy toll of breastfeeding discrimination and the pressing need for more protections. | The discrimination began almost immediately after Barbara, an emergency room nurse, returned from maternity leave. Like most breastfeeding parents, Barbara needed to pump regularly to keep up her milk supply and prevent infection. But while her co-workers got smoke breaks, Barbara wasn't allowed to take time to pump, leaving her in pain: "I'd feel like my breasts [were] bursting," she said. | When she did get breaks, Barbara found herself expressing breast milk for h…

amnesty (2019-01-31). Rosalind McGregor Review. amnesty.org

Middle East Monitor (2019-01-31). US Interrogators Are Working in UAE Prisons in Yemen. theantimedia.com (MEMO) — US interrogators are present in UAE prisons in Yemen, the Daily Beast has revealed today, providing shocking evidence that the American military is a witness to the torture of Yemenis. In a series of interviews, two former detainees have testified to being interrogated by men with American accents, who looked on as they were beaten and electrocuted. …

Shared by Merula Furtado (2019-01-31). Republicans Are Using Shameless Tactics to Split Democrats Over BDS. truthout.org With the Senate's imminent passage of the grandiosely titled Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019, it's now official: Israel/Palestine will be a major political wedge issue in the 116th Congress and the 2020 election season. And it's not going to be pretty. | This new Senate bill is essentially a package of previous bills that appears on the surface to be boilerplate Middle East legislation. But with the addition of a provision by Sen. Marco Rubio that seeks to stifle support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, this legislation is nothing short of…

amnesty (2019-01-31). Enquête sur Rosalind McGregor. amnesty.org

amnesty (2019-01-31). Free the press in Nigeria. amnesty.org In Nigeria today, journalists are harassed, detained, tortured and killed for doing their job. | And they've had enough. | A free press makes for a free society. The work journalists do is crucial for everyone in Nigeria – and the law should never silence the truth. | Together, journalists and media workers from across Nigeria have written a manifesto calling on the government to ensure their freedom. Freedom to do their vital work and to serve the people of Nigeria. | They need your support to make the government listen. Rise up with them and sign up to make Nigeria a free and open society. | Ensure that media h…

Middle East Monitor (2019-01-31). UN Experts Investigating Khashoggi's Death Banned From Entering Crime Scene. theantimedia.com (MEMO) — A team of United Nations (UN) human rights experts carrying out an international investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have been banned from entering the crime scene at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Leader of the investigation Agnes Callamard and her team of rights experts recently announced that it had submitted …

amnesty (2019-01-31). Sri Lanka: Countering terrorism at the expense of human rights: Concerns with Sri Lanka's Counter Terrorism Bill. amnesty.org Far from being a break with the past, according to analysis by Amnesty International the new Counter Terrorism Bill proposed by Sri Lanka would require substantial amendment to be brought in line with international law. The draft law, which permits detention without charge for up to one year, contains ambiguity on critical definitions of what constitutes an offence of terrorism, and would permit detention for up to 14 days without access to a court of law. Although the Bill improves on some aspects of the draconian measures in the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), there are many provisions in the current Bill wh…

amnesty (2019-01-31). Estudio sobre el bienestar del personal. amnesty.org

amnesty (2019-01-31). Venezuela: Authorities must release journalists detained while covering crisis. amnesty.org In response to reports of the detention of at least 11 journalists in Venezuela this week, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: | "The detention of journalists is a flagrant and deeply concerning attack on freedom of expression and the right to truth, in a vain attempt to prevent the world from seeing the massive human rights violations that the Venezuelan authorities are committing." |

Human Rights Watch (2019-01-31). EU Leaders Drag Their Feet on Hungary Sanctions. hrw.org In September, it seemed as if the European Union had finally woken up to the threat that Hungary's Fidesz government poses to the rights of Hungarian citizens, democratic institutions, and shared values of the EU, when the European Parliament voted to launch political sanctions. | | But since then the EU Council, made up of member state governments, has dragged its feet even as the situation in Hungary worsens. | In a debate on Hungary yesterday, members of the European Parliament called out the lack of progress by the Council on the political sanctions process under ar…

amnesty (2019-01-31). Étude sur le bien-être du personnel. amnesty.org

amnesty (2019-01-31). KonTerra (Wellbeing) Report – Management Response. amnesty.org

Shared by Cherise (2019-01-31). Stacey Abrams: "We Have to Work Harder" Than Those Who Would Suppress the Vote. truthout.org Democrats have selected former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to deliver the response to President Trump's State of the Union address. The address will take place on Tuesday, after being delayed due to the government shutdown. Abrams will become the first person not in public office to respond to the president, as well as the first African-American woman to deliver the response. She recently launched Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy group, after she narrowly lost Georgia's governor's race to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who was widely accused of suppressing the vote. In mid-November…

amnesty (2019-01-31). Management response – Investigación independiente sobre la trágica pérdida de Rosalind McGregor, trabajadora en prácticas de la oficina de Ginebra del Programa de Incidencia Internacional de Amnistía Internacional. amnesty.org

teleSUR (2019-01-31). Activists Bring Awareness to Trafficking Ahead of Super Bowl. telesurenglish.net Thirty-three arrests for sex trafficking set the tone for this year's Super Bowl in Georgia and activists are working to bring awareness to the crime, said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. | RELATED: | Nigerian Rights

RT (2019-01-31). Muslim child-murderer sues prison over refusal to allow imam instead of priest attend death chamber. rt.com A Muslim inmate in Alabama has asked a court to postpone his execution, claiming the state has violated his rights by not allowing an imam to be present when he is put to death, instead of a Christian cleric.

amnesty (2019-01-31). Estudio sobre el bienestar del personal en Amnistía Internacional, realizado por el KonTerra Group – Management Response. amnesty.org

amnesty (2019-01-31). Sahiwal shootings: The rot goes as deep as the roots. amnesty.org For as long as I can remember, I have been told that Pakistan needs to change. | We need to change the government, we need to change the law, we need to change the politicians, we need to change the economy, we need to change our policies, we need to change ourselves. | The demand for change gets the loudest when something terrible happens. Never again, we tell ourselves. Things must change, we chant. Leaders faithfully echo the sentiment. | All that changes, however, is seasons. | On January 21, the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) opened fire on a car car…

amnesty (2019-01-31). Russia: Heartless charges against activist who supported detained colleague. amnesty.org The Russian authorities must stop their vicious campaign against opposition movement Otkrytaya Rossiya (Open Russia), Amnesty International said today after an activist from the organization was charged for posting solidarity messages about a recently detained colleague. | Roman Zaitsev was indicted last night under Russia's repressive "undesirable organizations" law for sharing Open Russia's articles about activist Anastasia Shevchenko and an Amnesty statement calling for her release. In a further tragic twist this morning, Shevchenko's 17-year-old daughter died in hospital. The authorities refused Shevchenko pe…

Human Rights Watch (2019-01-31). Myanmar: Peaceful Critics Prosecuted. hrw.org | | Demonstrators shout slogans at a protest against an amendment to Myanmar's public assembly law in Yangon, March 5, 2018. | © 2018 Thein Zaw/AP Photo | (Yangon) — Myanmar's first democratically elected civilian government in decades has prosecuted large numbers of peaceful critics in violation of basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Concerned governments should press Myanmar to protect the rights to expression and assembly, and re…

amnesty (2019-01-31). Management Response – Enquête indépendante sur la mort tragique de Rosalind McGregor, stagiaire au Programme de plaidoyer international (IAP) d'Amnesty, bureau de Genève. amnesty.org