Daily Archives: November 20, 2020

2020-11-20: News Headlines

Staff (2020-11-20). "A Huge Blow to Civil Society": Egypt Arrests Leading Human Rights Monitors in Latest Crackdown. democracynow.org In Egypt, the executive director of the country's leading human rights group has been arrested as part of an unprecedented crackdown on activists and journalists. Gasser Abdel-Razek was arrested at his home just days after two other staffers for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights were also arrested. The move signals a major escalation of repression from the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has imprisoned thousands of people since he came to power after the 2013 overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi. "These arrests are a huge blow to civil society in Egypt," says Sharif Abdel Kouddo…

Sheren Khalel (2020-11-20). Campaigns to boycott Saudi Arabia G20 summit gain momentum. middleeasteye.net Campaigns to boycott Saudi Arabia G20 summit gain momentum | From hashtags to petitions, damning statements and full-page newspaper ads, human rights groups demand kingdom be held accountable | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 17: 12 | G20 logo is projected at historical al-Tarif in Diriyah district on outskirts of Saudi capital, Riyadh, on 20 November (AFP) | Human rights groups and activists have intensified ca…

Shatha Hammad (2020-11-20). Palestinians with disabilities battling PA for vital healthcare. middleeasteye.net Palestinians with disabilities battling PA for vital healthcare | Covid-19 has exposed a deeply flawed health insurance system that lets disabled Palestinians down badly | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 16: 17 | Disability rights activists including Abdelrahman Awwad (C) and Shatha Abu Srour (R) have staged a sit-in for nearly three weeks in Ramallah. The banner reads: "We die of coronavirus and we die of medic…

Dan Cohen (2020-11-20). How Joe Biden Plans to Make The American Empire Great Again. mintpressnews.com Behind his rhetoric, Joe Biden will seek nothing less than global supremacy, escalating a new and even more dangerous arms race that risks the destruction of humanity, what he calls "decency" and "normalcy."

_____ (2020-11-20). Jewish-Led Groups Condemn Pompeo For Declaring Boycott-Divestment Movement Anti-Semitic. popularresistance.org Jewish peace activists led a wave of stinging rebuke of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday after he declared the peaceful Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian human rights "anti-Semitic" while visiting an illegal Israeli settler colony built on stolen West Bank land. | Pompeo became the first top U.S. diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement in the unlawfully occupied West Bank of Palestine as he lunched at a winery in Psagot, located on a hill formerly known as Jabel Tawil until Israeli forces conquered it in 1967.

MEE and agencies (2020-11-19). BDS: US to label Israel boycott movement as 'antisemitic'. middleeasteye.net BDS: US to label Israel boycott movement as 'antisemitic' | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also announces that settlement products will be labelled 'made in Israel' | Thu, 11/19/2020 – 08: 38 | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan are seen past American and Israeli flags as they step off a plane at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv (AFP) | The United States will label the Boycott…

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2020-11-19). Biden will likely be worse than Obama. The left must lead the backlash, or the right will. mronline.org It looks like a safe bet that Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20th after successfully campaigning on returning the murderous and oppressive Orwellian US empire back to its pre-Trump "normal".

Sheren Khalel (2020-11-19). 'We are not afraid of you, Mike': Activists react to Pompeo's move against pro-BDS groups. middleeasteye.net 'We are not afraid of you, Mike': Activists react to Pompeo's move against pro-BDS groups | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated any group that supports Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as antisemitic | Thu, 11/19/2020 – 19: 35 | Palestinians demonstrate near Israeli settlement of Psagot against visit by Mike Pompeo on 18 November (AFP/File photo) | Pro-Palestine and…

Alex MacDonald (2020-11-19). Israel boycott: What is the BDS movement? middleeasteye.net Israel boycott: What is the BDS movement? | As the US prepares to brand the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement 'antisemitic', Middle East Eye takes a look at the campaign | Thu, 11/19/2020 – 11: 20 | People take part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration on 10 October 2015 in Paris calling for a boycott of Israel and for the recognition of the State of Palestine (AFP) | For 15 years, the Bo…

Areeb Ullah (2020-11-19). UK's Raab 'directly' intervenes on behalf of arrested Egyptian activists. middleeasteye.net UK's Raab 'directly' intervenes on behalf of arrested Egyptian activists | Three members of a prominent human rights organisation detained after meeting with western diplomats, including the British ambassador in Cairo | Thu, 11/19/2020 – 16: 17 | Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has raised the activists' case directly with his Egyptian counterpart (Reuters) | British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has per…

Hajira Asghar (2020-11-19). Palestinians, Iran in the crosshairs as Pompeo makes farewell visit to Israel. liberationnews.org Pompeo used the occasion to deepen two of the most odious features of U.S. foreign policy: support for the colonial occupation of Palestinian land, and warmongering against Iran.

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-11-19). "Proudly Pro-BDS": Jewish-Led Groups Condemn Pompeo for Declaring Boycott-Divestment Movement Anti-Semitic. commondreams.org "Our response to the false designation will be to… challenge Israeli policies of occupation and apartheid and galvanize public opinion for freedom and justice in Palestine," vowed CodePink's Medea Benjamin. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

commondreams (2020-11-19). CODEPINK Appalled at the Trump Administration's Labeling of BDS as Antisemitic. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-11-19). State Department's Attack on the BDS Movement Violates Freedom of Expression and Endangers Human Rights Protection. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Elise Swain (2020-11-19). Anti-Nuclear Pacifists Get Federal Prison Terms for Nonviolent Protest. zcomm.org The most dedicated peace activists you've never heard of are headed to federal prison amid a deadly pandemic…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-19). Peaceful movement will prevail, says BDS in response to Pompeo calling it anti-Semitic. peoplesdispatch.org In a press conference with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the government would label the BDS movement as anti-Semitic and withdraw funds to organizations which are part of it…

commondreams (2020-11-19). Pompeo Tramples on International Law, Free Speech, and Human Rights With His Support for Settlements and Attack on BDS. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Manuel García, Jr. (2020-11-18). The Climate Threat From Arctic Methane Releases. counterpunch.org A friend, who is an intelligent person with no science background, asked me to explain simply what the concern expressed with alarm by many scientists and (anti) climate change activists is about the increasing rate of methane gas emissions in the Arctic. That attempted explanation follows. From even before the extinction of the dinosaurs by

Sheren Khalel (2020-11-18). Senators urge Trump to axe 'Made in West Bank' settlement labels before end of term. middleeasteye.net Senators urge Trump to axe 'Made in West Bank' settlement labels before end of term | Four Republican senators warn Trump administration that labelling Israeli settlement products anything other than 'Made in Israel' encourages BDS movement | Wed, 11/18/2020 – 19: 35 | Israeli protestor carries national flag and US President Donald Trump campaign hat after heckling tour by EU diplomats at settlemen…

Matthew Gonzalez (2020-11-18). California day of action defends human rights of immigrants. liberationnews.org On Nov. 14, in response to a statewide call to action, activists in Los Angeles gathered in unity with the Alliance to Defend Immigrants. The action and car caravan, starting at Mariachi Plaza and attracting about 200 activists, demanded the abolition of ICE and accountability for its atrocities. The event was hosted by the newly …

Fight Back (2020-11-18). Demand immediate release of Palestinian women's movement leader Khitam Saafin. fightbacknews.org Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) demands Israel immediately release Khitam Saafin, the president of the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, who has been jailed without charge or trial. Saafin was taken into custody on November 2 along with six other Palestinian human rights activists. Her imprisonment is another in the long list of crimes by the callous and cruel Zionist occupiers of Palestine. | Khitam Saafin is among those who stand in the forefront of the Palestinian women's movement and is a tireless organizer for social and national liberation. She has spoken at many international venues on th…

Ralph Nader (2020-11-18). Abdicating to Boeing: An Open Letter to FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson. counterpunch.org November 13, 2020 Stephen Dickson, Administrator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) U.S. Department of Transportation 800 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20591 Dear Mr. Dickson, It is now abundantly clear that instead of clearing out top Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operatives who have worked to make the FAA safe for Boeing, you have thrown in your

Taylor Griggs (2020-11-18). Biden vs. the Climate Revolution. progressive.org Though wary of electoral politics, progressive climate activists helped Biden win—and now must make him deliver.

Alex MacDonald (2020-11-17). Saudi activists tell UK MPs of brutal conditions facing political detainees. middleeasteye.net Saudi activists tell UK MPs of brutal conditions facing political detainees | Activists told a panel focusing on two detained princes that rape, torture and killing were commonplace in Saudi jails | Tue, 11/17/2020 – 11: 39 | Former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (R), pictured with current Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was arrested in March with little known publicly about his detention (AF…

Fight Back (2020-11-17). Environmental activists come out to protest Line 3 oil pipeline. fightbacknews.org St. Paul, MN – Over 500 protesters picketed outside Minnesota Governor Tim Walz mansion, November 14, to protest his decision to grant permits to allow Enbridge to build Line 3, a pipeline that would carry nearly a million barrels of tar sands a day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin through Minnesota. The event was organized by MN 350, and included other groups that have organized against Line 3. | The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) joined to protest Walz's decision. Katherine Gould, a CJC member explained, "We demand the people of Minnesota and Native people have a say in Line 3, not corporations tha…