2020-01-29: News Headlines

RT (2020-01-29). 'I have a tiny violin somewhere': Private schools roasted online after complaining about plans to get more poor students into uni. rt.com Leading private schools in England have criticized plans to improve access to top universities for poorer students, saying it could lead to discrimination of rich kids based on "class," provoking ridicule on social media. | The Headmasters' & Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), an association that represents some of the UK's most expensive private schools, voiced concerns about proposals

RT (2020-01-29). Former Moscow Police officers arrested over framing of Russian journalist Ivan Golunov. rt.com Last summer, his detention on bogus drug charges rocked the world of Russian media, leading to an unprecedented show of journalistic unity. | Now, investigators have detained five ex-police officers who are accused of fabricating the case against Ivan Golunov, a reporter for Riga-based online publication Meduza. | The former members of the Moscow Police's drug trafficking control department are currently being interrogated, according to Svetlana Petrenko, the official representative of Russia's Investigative Committee. The detainees were removed from their posts last July in the immediate fallout from the cont…

John Grant (2020-01-29). Iran is Not Responsible for US Deaths in Iraq. counterpunch.org Who exactly is responsible for US casualties in Iraq during the Iraq War? The question has been raised thanks to President Trump's decision to assassinate Iranian General Gasem Soleimani. On January 13, the New York Times published a front-page story about a lawsuit filed against Iran in federal court by US veterans and veteran families;

teleSUR (2020-01-29). Putin Pardons US-Israeli Woman Jailed in Russia on Drug Charges. telesurenglish.net Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned the U.S.-Israeli woman that was jailed in Russia for drug-related charges, the Kremlin announced on Wednesday. | RELATED: | According to the Kremlin, Putin signed the presidential decree to pardon the woman, Naama Issachar of New Jersey, a move that received acknowledgement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of their bilateral meeting. | The U…

Staff (2020-01-29). Headlines for January 29, 2020. democracynow.org McConnell Tries to Secure Votes to Block Impeachment Witnesses, "Our Rights Are Not for Sale": Palestinians Reject Trump's Middle East Plan, Trump Praises Pompeo for Shouting and Cursing at NPR Reporter, WaPo Reinstates Reporter Suspended for Tweeting About Kobe Rape Case, Death Toll from Coronavirus Virus Hits 132, with 6,000 Infected, Over 100,000 Syrian Civilians Flee Regime Offensive in Idlib, Floods Kill 30, Displace 16,000 in Madagascar, Mississippi to Shut Down Unit of Parchman Prison After Deaths of 9 Prisoners, Maryland Cop Charged with Murder for Killing Handcuffed Man in Police Car…

Shawn Fremstad (2020-01-29). Marital-Status Discrimination Reduces Fertility in China. counterpunch.org Building on recent posts by Dean Baker (responding to NYT and Washington Post here and Ross Douthat here) that debunk the idea that there is a "demographic crisis" in China, there's also an important family justice aspect to fertility in China. Although Douthat attributes China's fertility rate (1.6 births per woman) to "cruel policy choices,"

Ashoka Mukpo (2020-01-28). Asylum-Seekers Are Being Abandoned in Guatemala in a New Policy Officials Call a "Total Disaster" aclu.org In late November, U.S. immigration authorities began | deporting some Central American asylum-seekers to Guatemala under a new | policy that makes it nearly impossible for them to seek asylum in the U.S. | But Guatemalan human rights workers say that their country's | asylum system isn't capable of handling even the relatively small numbers that | have been sent there so far, and that asylum seekers' precarious status in the | country has already pushed many to leave. | "They're preferring to move on…

Jay Stanley (2020-01-28). What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus Outbreak: A Civil Liberties Perspective. aclu.org The world is watching anxiously to see what happens with the | coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. As scientists and public health | officials in the United States learn more about the virus, and as we all see | how bad the outbreak turns out to be, it is important that public policymaking | remain firmly centered around science. | Unfortunately, our history of reactions to infectious | disease outbreaks suggests that if this outbreak becomes severe, we're likely | to see strong pressure to the contrary. In particular, we can expect three | things: | We can expect some to | panic.: | Unfortu…

teleSUR (2020-01-28). Peru Court Orders Keiko Fujimori to Return to Prison. telesurenglish.net A Peruvian judge ordered Tuesday that Popular Force opposition leader Keiko Fujimori to return to prison for a further 15 months pre-trial detention as part of an open investigation into the Odebrecht corruption scandal. | RELATED: | Justice Victor Zuñiga accepted the request from Attorney General Jose Domingo Perez on the grounds that the measure is "appropriate, necessary and proportionate" due to likely flight risk from Fujimori.

Staff (2020-01-28). Eden Place Arts Centre, Derry, Ireland. imemc.org January 27, 2020, 7pm — By Niall àì Brolcháin — IMEMC: As part of The Bloody Sunday March Committee's annual events, Eden Place Arts Centre launched an exhibition of paintings and fine art prints by artist Nadia Kaczmarczuk on the theme of the oppression of the Palestinian people in Gaza …

Mohamed Elmaazi (2020-01-27). French Yellow Vests hold large solidarity demo for Julian Assange at Belmarsh prison. thecanary.co Members of the French

news.un (2020-01-27). Libya: UN report urges accountability for deadly attack against migrant centre. news.un.org Warring parties in Libya, as well as foreign governments supporting them, are being urged to investigate deadly airstrikes last July which killed at least 53 migrants and refugees at a detention centre in the northwest of the country.

news.un (2020-01-26). End discrimination against women and children affected by leprosy. news.un.org Governments must put an end to the informal segregation and institutionalized neglect of hundreds of thousands of women and children affected by leprosy, an independent UN human rights expert said on Sunday, World Leprosy Day.

Binoy Kampmark (2020-01-25). The Assange Extradition Case Drags on. dissidentvoice.org It is being increasingly larded with heavy twists and turns, a form of state oppression in slow motion, but the Julian Assange extradition case now looks like it may well move into the middle of the year, dragged out, ironically enough, by the prosecution. Curiously, this is a point that both the prosecutors, fronted by …

Orion Danjuma (2020-01-23). Amendment 4 is Still on the Line. Here's What's New. aclu.org The right to vote cannot depend on how much money you have. That's what

Jennifer Stisa Granick (2020-01-23). In Latest Encryption Battle with Apple, Justice Department Still Wrong. aclu.org The | federal government is once again trying to force Apple to weaken the security | of millions of iPhones. On Wednesday, President Trump Switzerland for Apple to assist law enforcement in unlocking iPhones. Last week, | Trump made the same demand of Apple, company should unlock cell phones as a quid pro quo for any benefits it enjoys | as a result of favo…

Louise Melling (2020-01-22). The National Archives Doctored A Women's March Photo Critical of Trump. We're Demanding Answers. aclu.org "God hates Trump." | "If my vagina could shoot bullets, it'd be less REGULATED." | "Trump & GOP — Hands Off." | "This pussy grabs back." | Last week, the Washington Post

Jessica Arons (2020-01-22). 47 Years Later, We're Fighting to Make Roe a Reality Everywhere. aclu.org Today we commemorate the 47th | anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the | landmark Supreme Court case that recognized a constitutional right to abortion. | In the nearly five decades since, the decision has weathered numerous storms | and faced plenty of erosion, leaving too many without meaningful access to | abortion care. But 2020 could be its most consequential year yet. | This spring, the Supreme Court will hear | arguments in June Medical | Services v. Gee and could uphold state abortion re…

Carol Rose (2020-01-21). CBP Deported an Iranian Student With Valid Visa, Defying Court Order. aclu.org Last night, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deported an Iranian student with a valid visa, despite a federal court order prohibiting his removal. | Shahab Dehghani arrived at Boston Logan Airport on Sunday, January 19 to study at Northeastern University, where he was enrolled. Customs officials detained him and questioned him for hours, abruptly revoking his student visa, which the State Department granted after a year of intense vetting. | As CBP tried to put Shahab on the next available flight, supporters and friends gathered at night in the arrivals hall at Logan to demand that CBP stop deporting…

Ayelet Waldman (2020-01-21). "Fight of the Century" Looks at 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases. aclu.org Liberty and equality are everywhere under attack. And that's why the work of the American Civil Liberties Union feels more precious to us than ever before. The ACLU lawyers and staff are the brave souls who suit up, blast off, and do what they can to divert and repel all those incoming meteors, or blow them right out of the sky. We admire them. We admire them the way you must admire people who devote themselves to doing, to the utmost of their ability, any thankless, impossible, and absolutely essential job. | Liberty and justice for all. We used to stand up with our classmates | every morning and timelessly…

Brigitte Amiri (2020-01-17). The Supreme Court Takes Up the Issue of Birth Control Coverage — Again. aclu.org The Supreme Court just announced that it will hear | yet another case about the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) birth control coverage | requirement. If you are experiencing déjà vu, you are not alone. Court battles | over the birth control coverage requirement have been raging for almost a | decade. How did we get here? | 2012: | The Birth Control Benefit is Established | Congress passed the Women's Health Amendment to the | ACA to try to close the disparity in health care costs that women have | historically experienced. In 2012, the independent, nonpartisan Institute of | Medicine was tasked with determining wh…

splcenter (2020-01-10). Weekend Read: SPLC sues Trump administration over family separation policy. splcenter.org The SPLC and its allies have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration policy that has separated and traumatized thousands of migrant families.

splcenter (2020-01-09). Despite horrific prison stay, a mother comes to understand her addiction. splcenter.org When Shanna Rainey was a mother to two young children, she began using methamphetamine.

splcenter (2020-01-06). Former Head of Identity Evropa Taken Into Custody for Contempt of Court. splcenter.org Elliott Kline, the onetime leader of Identity Evropa, is in federal custody after being found in contempt of court for failing to cooperate in a civil lawsuit stemming from the violent "Unite the Right" rally.

Luiz ignacio lula Da silva (2019-12-28). Prison gave me a greater will to fight. zcomm.org Interview on the reality that Brazil is experiencing and the social protests that have occurred in several Latin American countries…

Marjorie Cohn (2019-12-02). Civil Rights Are on the Chopping Block in New Supreme Court Term. zcomm.org Hello, A very small proportion of ZNet content is available only to Sustainers. You can become a sustainer for a small repeating donation – monthly or yearly via the links for Sustaining, or Donating, available on the top page of ZNet.