Human Rights

The Audacity of Nope: Obama’s Failure to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison

August 2, 2014 Dennis Trainor Jr, www.PopularResistance.org Resistance Report Barack Obama, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Democracy, Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights, Wars and Militarism

Citing President Obama’s major 2013 counter terrorism speech, wherein he acknowledged that a US drone had targeted and killed a U.S. citizen (Anwar Al-Awlaki) and where the President was forced to discuss GITMO because, “it was the height of a hunger strike and it attracted attention around the world.” In that speech, Leopold notes, Obama lifted a moratorium, “that he put into place and here we are year later and there have been no Yemeni’s released. As we saw with the swap with the Taliban of the five prisoners for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, that was a fight he was willing to wage with Congress.”

Happy 49th Birthday Medicare; Medicare For All On Its 50th!

August 1, 2014 Staff, www.kyhealthcare.org Organize! Healthcare, Human Rights, Single payer health care

Thousands attending a riverside concert on July 30, 2014, saw the message curving across the city skyline. Louisville joined dozens of cities in celebration of our nation's best health program. We must protect Medicare for it has lifted generations of seniors from poverty, made the hospitals of the South integrate because Medicare could not be collected by those who segregated, brought dialysis to all with kidney failure, and shown that this public program works efficiently and saves money. Yet we must improve Medicare for even with it some cannot afford care--it does not cover dental, nor hearing aids, nor nursing homes, co-pays and deductibles are growing, and some drugs are very expensive. And we must expand Medicare so that every person, regardless of age, has health care. By passing HR 676, national single payer health care, we will secure Medicare, save billions, and make health care a human right.

Is Hamas Rhetoric A Natural Outgrowth of Israel’s Genocide?

August 1, 2014 Dennis Trainor Jr, www.PopularResistance.org Resistance Report Food and Agriculture, Human Rights, Palestine, Wars and Militarism

According to Kash Nikazmrad of Students for Justice in Palestine, one should view passages from the Hamas charter like the one above as hyperbolic political rhetoric meant to stoke a political base, and not, he says, as something to be taken literally. The focus, he says should be on the genocidal conditions imposed by Isreal that give birth to the resistance. “The UN recognizes Genocide as anything deterring the progression of human life,” says Nikazmrad, “and that is what (Israel) does in Gaza. They don’t allow them to fish. Settlers come and cut down Oliver trees and put concrete on the olive trees. And (Israel) is all outside, and they blame Palestinians for building tunnels to try to bring medical supplies in. What do you think will happen when you build a prison (Gaza) and you prevent people from having any kind of right to life? They are going to try and build tunnels and they are going to try and resist the occupation that is there.”

Saskatoon Protesters Rally Against Prime Minister’s Visit

August 1, 2014 WC Native News, www.westcoastnativenews.com Resist! Canada, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Protest, Women's Rights

Cheers of protest echoed in the streets out front of Prairieland Park in Saskatoon on Wednesday. Dozens of people holding signs proclaiming their concerns gathered to oppose Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to the city. Harper was there to speak at a Conservative Party event. Many people at the protest were calling for Indigenous sovereignty, while others criticized Canada’s relationship with Israel. Protestor Sungandhi del Canto said Wednesday she shares those concerns and pointed to a number of other issues as well. “Cutting the women’s health contribution plan, the temporary foreign workers program,” del Canto added. ”The fact that he’s slowly erasing all records of feminists from history. The abuses of human rights both within our country and what he’s allowing to happen abroad. It’s horrifying.”

Syria: Activists Call For Release Of Human Rights Defender Mazen Darwish

July 31, 2014 Suzan Ahmad, www.english.globalarabnetwork.com Organize! Activism, Assad, Human Rights, Syria

Mazen Darwish, a prominent Syrian activist, human rights defender and the director of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), was arrested with a number of his colleagues on 16 February 2012 by Assad forces that broke into his office in Damascus. For two years and half, Darwish, Hussien Ghreer and Hani al-Zayati have been kept Damascus central prison standing trial in terrorism court according to article (8), added newly to the Syrian law; while the regime is ignoring all International, legal and humanitarian calls to release them. The statement stresses the fact that the presidential pardon issued by Assad after the elections was another trick of the regime since dozens of people including Darwish and his co-workers were not released, though according to decree No. (22), they should be set free immediately with other activist detainees. The statement raises the issue of detaining and torturing civil activists and sending them to terrorism court while pardoning military people on one hand. On the other hand, the regime claims on media its readiness to negotiate with the opposition.

Gaza Solidarity Grows as Israel Continues Massacre

July 29, 2014 Dennis Trainor Jr, www.PopularResistance.org Resistance Report Criminal Justice and Prisons, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Palestine, Racism, Solidarity, Wars and Militarism

“We are a diverse group of people who have come together against the Israeli occupation and against the massacre. However,” says Kash Nikazmrad, an organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine, “every massacre, every occupation, every act of colonialism always has a mechanism and a supporter. The supporter in this situation has been America.” Nikazmrad is one of the organizers behind the Los Angeles “Stop The Massacre in Gaza” events. Judging by the (in)action of Congress, it is hard to dispute Nikazmrad’s claims. When it comes to Israel and Gaza, there is unanimous agreement. As Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss sums up:

20 Students Arrested During Sweatshop Protest

July 28, 2014 USAS, www.northfacedeathtraps.com Resist! Human Rights, Protesters Arrested, Student Activism, Sweatshops

Earlier today, 20 students and community members were arrested at an REI location in Rockville, MD, while protesting REI’s refusal to cut ties with serial human rights abuser The North Face. USAS has been demanding REI cut ties with TNF/VF Corporation for several months, but the company’s leadership has refused to even speak with student leaders. Recreational Equipment, Inc does big business with notorious human rights abuser The North Face. Together, they let nothing stand in the way of maximum profits – not even a human life. As a result, since 2005 more than 1,800 garment workers have died in preventable factory disasters. Together with Bangladeshi workers, students and REI members have decided they’ve had enough. United Students Against Sweatshops is calling on REI to cut ties with their corporate cronies at North Face/VF Corporation, until they take responsibility for the safety of their workers and sign a contract to end deathtraps — the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. After months of campaigning by USAS and its union allies, more than 150 companies, including American Eagle, H&M, and Adidas, have signed the Accord. However, VF Corporation, the largest branded apparel manufacturer in the world, has refused to sign. Join us in taking on this corporate co-op to fight for worker safety in Bangladesh!

Canadians Decry Detroit Shutoffs, Plan Water Convoy

July 25, 2014 Robert Allen, www.usatoday.com Resist! Canada, Detroit, Human Rights, Water

Detroiters without running water have a special delivery coming Thursday from Canada, if it can get past the border guards. Eight cars, adorned with Canadian flags, will be loaded with 1,000 liters (about 264 gallons) of Canadian tap water in a convoy through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, said Sujata Dey of the Council of Canadians. "We needed to show solidarity with our neighbors," she said. "How could we not do something for them?" The City of Detroit, in a ramped-up effort, shut off thousands of residential taps in the past few months because the bankrupt city is owed tens of millions of dollars in overdue bills. The shutoffs were put on a 15-day hold Monday, to give people a chance to pay up or demonstrate why they can't pay their bills. Many people remain without running faucets, flushable toilets and running spigots, and the Canadian convoy is the latest of many public demonstrations opposing the shutoffs. But whether the delivery will get past the border checkpoint is uncertain. Any water carried across the border that exceeds what is needed for personal use requires approval from the U.S. government to help ensure it is safe, and a number of laws, such as those in the U.S. Bioterrorism Act of 2002, would apply, said Ken Hammond, chief officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

How Americans Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Guantanamo Prison

July 24, 2014 Dennis Trainor Jr, www.PopularResistance.org Resistance Report Criminal Justice and Prisons, Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights, Wars and Militarism

There are many crimes committed in the pursuit of, or as an accessory to, the crimes of US Foreign Policy. I’m not exactly sure where to rank the operation of Guantanamo Bay on that list, but consider these numbers, compiled by the Center for Constitutional Rights: 779 men and boys have been imprisoned at Guantánamo since January 2002. 100% of them are Muslim. Of the 149 who remain there, 78 have been cleared for release for years but are still imprisoned. President Obama’s Task Force has designated 38 men for indefinite detention without charge or trial. The longer the illegal prison remains open, the more accepting of its existence American citizens seem to be, at least according to Gallup poll conducted in the days after the release of Sgt. Bergdahl in exchange for 5 prisoners who were not on that list cleared for release. That poll revealed that 66% of Americans said the U.S. should not “close this prison and move some of the prisoners to U.S. prisons.” That is up from the 53% of Americans who said the same thing in July of 2007. Today, again, according to that latest Gallup poll, just 29% of Americans want the facility closed and the prisoners either released or transported to the U.S.

Speaking out about Palestine? This could happen to you.

July 21, 2014 Noah Cohen, www.counterpunch.org Organize! Human Rights, Jordan, Palestine, political prisoners, UN

A man is taken from his home by 20 armed, militarized police in fascist black uniforms. They break in through the doors and windows, rappel from the roof with ropes, storm the home where he lives with his wife and four children, in the dead of night. They take him away, and no one hears from him for days, and then weeks, and then months. He isn’t charged with anything; for a long time he is simply disappeared. There is no official charge, but he is a known political activist, a writer, a lecturer. This isn’t news, because the country is Jordan, the orders come from the US or from Israel, and the man is an Arab, a Palestinian.

Detroit Rallies Largest Turnout For Palestine In Years

July 18, 2014 Jimmy Johnson, www.truth-out.org Resist! Detroit, Human Rights, Palestine, Rally, Water

Over 1,000 people turned out for a demonstration and public outreach campaign in Detroit on Sunday outside the annual Concert of Colors on Woodword Avenue near the Wayne State University campus. The day focused on both Israel’s ongoing military attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the recent water shut-offs by the Detroit Water and Sewage Department. Tens of thousands of primarily black, working class residents are going thirsty because of this move by the bankrupted city of Detroit. It has been condemned as a public health disaster in the making by the largest professional association of nurses in the US. An informal working group, which is part of a black-Palestinian and black-Arab solidarity effort, mobilized the largest local turnout for a Palestine event in recent years Rather than choose symbolic or concrete places of oppression for the protest, organizers (of which I was one) decided to bring the message directly to the people. Demonstrators initially gathered outside of the Max Fisher Theater on Woodward Avenue, where the annual high-profile Concert of Colors was to begin. The marchers engaged people they encountered in conversation, with leaflets calling for solidarity and joint struggle between Palestine and Detroit. At both the gathering spot and along the march demonstrators chanted, “Free Palestine! Free Detroit!” while numerous cars drove by with large Palestinian flags.

Join The Movement! Water For Detroit

July 17, 2014 Staff, www.detroitwaterbrigade.org Resist! Democracy, Detroit, Human Rights, Water

40% of Detroit’s population is about to have their water shut off - The Detroit Water and Sewage Department is conducting mass water shut offs in Detroit Michigan which will effect over 120,000 account holders over a 3 month period (June-September 2014) at a rate of 3,000 per week. This accounts for over 40% of customers who are using the Detroit Water system and has been dubbed a violation of Human Rights by various organizations. 70,000 of those accounts are residential accounts which could amount to anywhere from 200,000-300,000 people directly effected. . . Without water, the threat to the health and safety of Detroit residents becomes immediate, the resulting negative effects of mass water shut offs begin just 2 days after shut off and can become endemic in just 60 days time. When taking the scope into account (120,000 water accounts or 300,000+ people ) the implications become clear; this is a disaster zone – and immediate relief and preparation is needed. . . Together, we’re doing something about it

UN Human Rights Commissioner: Snowden Should Not Face Trial

July 17, 2014 Reuters, www.theguardian.com Educate! Edward Snowden, Human Rights, Privacy, Surveillance, UN

The United Nations's top human rights official has suggested that the United States should abandon its efforts to prosecute Edward Snowden, saying his revelations of massive state surveillance had been in the public interest. The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, credited Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contractor, with starting a global debate that has led to calls for the curtailing of state powers to snoop on citizens online and store their data. "Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected: we need them," Pillay told a news conference. "I see some of it here in the case of Snowden, because his revelations go to the core of what we are saying about the need for transparency, the need for consultation," she said. "We owe a great deal to him for revealing this kind of information." The United States has filed espionage charges against Snowden, charging him with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorised person.

A National Call To Link Arms For Detroit

July 11, 2014 Ben Ptashnik and Victoria Collier, www.progressive.org Resist! Detroit, Human Rights, Protest, Water

On July 18 thousands of activists and dozens of organizations will converge on downtown Detroit to protest the privatization of the city’s assets and the disconnection of water to tens of thousands of low-income residents. The UN has called the shutoff a human rights violation. Demonstrators from around the country will rally in Hart Plaza at 1 pm, linking arms with the citizens of Detroit to protest the hostile corporate takeover by Wall Street banks and their ALEC-led political allies in the Michigan Statehouse, including Governor Rick Snyder. July 18 marks the one-year anniversary of the announcement by Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr that Detroit must file for bankruptcy—a decision that County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina immediately ruled violates the Michigan Constitution and state law and must be withdrawn. “I have some very serious concerns because there was this rush to bankruptcy court that didn’t have to occur and shouldn’t have occurred,” Aquilina stated. Orr and Snyder managed to circumvent her ruling, and the bankruptcy proceeded. The next few months will determine how successful they will be.

Arrests In Detroit Today Over Water Shut-Offs

July 10, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Detroit, Human Rights, Water

Police arrested about 10 protesters this morning after opponents of massive water shutoffs in Detroit locked hands and blocked the entrance to a company hired to turn off the utilities of tens of thousands of delinquent residents. Police began making the arrests as the human blockade stopped a red pickup truck from entering the Homrich Inc. facility on East Grand Boulevard. The city is paying the company $5.6 million to handle shutoffs for two years. Among those arrested were pastors and seniors, who were placed in the backs of police cars and hauled off. Some were dragged by police for refusing to move. Protesters said tens of thousands of residents are delinquent on their water bills because they can’t afford them. Water is a human right, they said. The city said the water system is hemorrhaging money and delaying much-needed repairs because of nonpaying residents.

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