Monthly Archives: July 2019

2019-07-31: News Headlines

Staff (2019-07-31). On Direct Action and Trump's Immigration Agenda. truthout.org | | We are nearing the tail end of the latest round of reports of (and subsequent righteous uproar at) the ongoing crisis at the U.S./Mexico border and all things immigration. At different points over the last several weeks, folks have wondered aloud online about where was the immigrant rights movement? What could be done? | Speaking for myself, it's been difficult to produce a convenient answer (or even an inconvenient one that will work). I have felt pena ajena when I see that the only action step for people is to do…

Edward B. Winslow (2019-07-31). Killing Democracy: US Imperialism, Civil War and Genocide in Guatemala 1954-1996. globalresearch.ca "This ideology of [United States corporatism] embraces a belief that societies and cultures can be regenerated through violence…. This belief that [the US has] a divine right to resources, land and power, and a right to displace and kill to …

teleSUR (2019-07-30). Costa Rican Teachers Protest Against Privatization of Education. telesurenglish.net Hundreds of teachers affiliated with the Association of Secondary School Teachers APSE marched Monday in the capital toward the National Assembly, protesting against the neoliberal policies affecting the public sector. | RELATED: | Chile's Teachers Vote to End Second-Longest Strike | APSE President Melida Cedeño told reporters that the protest aimed to show the public that the government and most of the Parliament attempt to criminalize strikes with…

Staff (2019-07-30). Four Immigrants Have Died at Stewart ICE Facility in Georgia. Advocates Want It Shut Down. democracynow.org A 44-year-old immigrant from Mexico died last week at Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigration jails in the United States and one that has been plagued by allegations of neglect and abuse for years. Pedro Arriago-Santoya was the fourth person to die at Stewart in just two years and the seventh person to die while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October. An immigration judge had ordered Arriago-Santoya be deported in June. Instead, he was transferred to Stewart on July 10 as his removal proceedings continued. Two weeks later he was pronounced dead at a Georgia hospital.

Staff (2019-07-30). Four Immigrants Have Died at Stewart ICE Jail in Georgia. Advocates Want It Shut Down. democracynow.org A 44-year-old immigrant from Mexico died last week at Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigration jails in the United States and one that has been plagued by allegations of neglect and abuse for years. Pedro Arriago-Santoya was the fourth person to die at Stewart in just two years and the seventh person to die while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October. An immigration judge had ordered Arriago-Santoya be deported in June. Instead, he was transferred to Stewart on July 10 as his removal proceedings continued. Two weeks later he was pronounced dead at a Georgia hospital.

Staff (2019-07-30). Four Immigrants Have Died at Stewart ICE Facility in Georgia. truthout.org | | A 44-year-old immigrant from Mexico died last week at Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigration jails in the United States and one that has been plagued by allegations of neglect and abuse for years. Pedro Arriago-Santoya was the fourth person to die at Stewart in just two years and the seventh person to die while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October. An immigration judge had ordered Arriago-Santoya be deported in June. Instead, he was transferred to Stewart…

teleSUR (2019-07-30). Costa Rica and Panama Bust Migrant-Smuggling Network. telesurenglish.net Costa Rican and Panamanian officials arrested Tuesday nearly 49 people linked to an international human smuggling network that would charge migrants thousands of dollars to take them through Central America en route to the United States. | RELATED: | Guatemala's Top Court to Rule on 'Safe Third Country' Agreement with US | The operation constitutes one of the largest ever launched against human smugglers in Costa Rica. Migration police and prosecutors raided 36 locations…

Staff (2019-07-30). DOJ Guts Asylum Protections for Members of Families Threatened With Violence. truthout.org | | In a decision immigrant rights advocates said could have horrific consequences for thousands of people fleeing violence in Central America, Attorney General William Barr ruled Monday that being an immediate member of a persecuted family is not sufficient grounds to seek asylum in the United States. | According to immigration experts, Barr's move rewrites years of law and represents the Trump administration's…

Al Neal (2019-07-30). "It's nothing but intimidation tactics": On the border in El Paso, Texas. peoplesworld.org "I come from Honduras, I left on April 22nd, I brought my daughter with me, because in Honduras they killed my brother, they had already killed my dad, there is no safety, two years later they killed my cousin just because. My daughter was studying and already those of the organized crime had told us …

Staff (2019-07-30). Trump Administration, Democrats Make Progress on New NAFTA. truthdig.com WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats appear to be moving from "no way" to "maybe" on President Donald Trump's rewrite of a trade pact with Canada and Mexico. House Democrats have met four times with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, most recently on Friday, and both sides say they are making progress toward a deal that would …

teleSUR (2019-07-30). Guatemala's Top Court to Rule on Migration Agreement with US. telesurenglish.net Guatemala's Human Rights Prosecutor Jordan Rodas Monday filed an urgent appeal to the Constitutional Court to curb the "Safe Third Country" (STC) agreement signed by President Jimmy Morales administration in Washington, D.C., on July 26. | RELATED: | Trump Admin Enacts Another Restriction for Asylum-Seekers | "The agreement contradicts not only the Guatemalan Constitutio…

The Grayzone (2019-07-30). Nicaraguan 'human rights' director accused by staff of massive theft of US taxpayer money, death toll inflation. thegrayzone.com ANPDH's board members are accusing their director of stealing huge sums from US soft power organizations and inflating death tolls…

The Canary (2019-07-30). Seesaws on US-Mexico border allow citizens to connect through the wall. thecanary.co Seesaws have been constructed on the border wall between the United States and Mexico encouraging children in the two countries to play together. | The event was the brainchild of two professors of architecture and design, who came up with the idea back in 2009 as a way to represent the fact that "actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side". | Ten years later, Ronald Rael (professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley) and Virginia San Fratello (associate professor of interior design at San Jose University) were present as their concept was brought to lif…

WSWS (2019-07-30). US Marines arrested for human trafficking and drug offenses. wsws.org Nineteen active-duty soldiers stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corp base in Southern California were arrested following an earlier investigation that revealed Marines smuggling immigrants near the US-Mexico border.

Staff (2019-07-29). Headlines for July 29, 2019. democracynow.org Baltimore Pushes Back After Trump Calls City "Rodent Infested Mess" and Attacks Rep. Cummings, Gunman Kills 3, Injures 15 at Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California, Shooting at Brownsville, Brooklyn, Block Party Kills 1, Injures 11, SCOTUS OKs Trump Plan to Use Military Funds for Border Wall, U.S. and Guatemala Sign Controversial Immigration Deal Despite Widespread Opposition, Dir. of National Intelligence Dan Coats Resigns, Brazilian President Bolsonaro Threatens Glenn Greenwald with Imprisonment, Miners Raid Tribe in Brazil, Killing Leader as Amazon Suffers Mass Deforestation by Illegal Loggers, Russian…

Fight Back (2019-07-29). Nicaragua celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Sandinista Popular Revolution. fightbacknews.org Managua, Nicaragua – On July 19, 500,000 Nicaraguans filled Managua's Plaza de la Fe to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista Popular Revolution and Nicaragua's liberation from the U.S.-imposed Somoza dictatorship. | President Daniel Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and international representatives electrified the crowd – many in attendance had traveled hours in packed caravans from all over the country – with calls for peace, continued economic and social progress, and the defense of Nicaraguan sovereignty in the face of U.S. aggression.

Staff (2019-07-29). Mass Protests in Colombia and Abroad Decry Killings of 500 Activists Since Peace Accords. democracynow.org Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Friday in more than 50 cities and towns across Colombia to protest a surge of lethal attacks on indigenous, Afro-Colombian and environmental leaders in recent years. Solidarity marches were held in dozens of cities around the world, from Mexico City to Athens. In 2016, the Colombian government and FARC rebels signed a historic peace accord to move the country forward after a half-century of armed conflict. But since then, nearly 500 human rights activists, many from the Afro-Colombian community, have been killed, targeted for their work combating illegal m…

Max Blumenthal (2019-07-28). How Joe Biden's privatization plans helped doom Latin America and fuel the migration crisis. thegrayzone.com On the campaign trail, Joe Biden has boasted of his role in transforming Colombia and Central America through ambitious economic…

Staff (2019-07-26). Judge Halts Trump's Asylum Ban That Represents a "Relentless Attack on the Very Idea of Asylum" democracynow.org A federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily blocked President Trump's plan to bar nearly all migrants from seeking asylum in the United States. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of California ordered Trump to continue accepting asylum claims, issuing a preliminary injunction against a rule that would block anyone who passes through a third country before arriving in the U.S. from applying for asylum. The rule would effectively stop people from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala from seeking refuge in the United States. The preliminary injunction came just hours after a federal judge in Washington…

Staff (2019-07-26). Headlines for July 26, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Administration to Bring Back Federal Executions After 16-Year Hiatus, 44-Year-Old Mexican Immigrant Dies in ICE Custody, Trump Threatens to Impose Travel Ban on Guatemalans, Oklahoma Suspends Plans to Jail 1,600 Migrant Children at Fort Sill, 150 Migrants Feared Dead in Shipwrecks Off Libyan Coast, Five Dead as Europe Swelters Under Record-Setting Heat, "Unprecedented" Wildfires Scorch Over 1 Million Acres of Alaskan Forest, California and Automakers Agree to Fuel Efficiency Targets Opposed by Trump, Rep. Ilhan Omar Introduces Zero Waste Act as Part of Green New Deal, GOP Blocks Election Security Bills as S…

Aaron Maté (2019-07-25). Trump openly terrorizes Central American migrants, whereas Democrats did it quietly. thegrayzone.com Roberto Lovato argues that while Trump's racist anti-immigrant rhetoric is unprecedented, US cruelty towards Central American refugees is longstanding, and…

splcenter (2019-07-25). More families seek damages for harm suffered due to Trump administration's family separations. splcenter.org After seeking asylum from Guatemala at a port of entry in 2017, M.C.L. and his 7-year-old son spent two days in various cells where the temperature was kept extremely cold, with only a thin blanket and a single mattress to share.

Staff (2019-07-24). Headlines for July 24, 2019. democracynow.org Robert Mueller Testifies Before Congress, Trump Rails Against Squad, Mueller Report in Speech to Teenagers, Disgraced Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló Expected to Step Down, ORR Says Unaccompanied Migrant Children Could Be Detained for Years, Immigration Agents Detain Texas Teen for 3+ Weeks Despite Being a U.S. Citizen, Tennessee Community Blocks ICE from Taking Neighbor by Forming Human Chain, Trump Threatens Guatemala with Tariffs and Other Penalties After Failure of Immigration Deal, DOJ Pursues Antitrust Probe into Big Tech, Reports: FTC to Accuse Facebook of Misleading Consumers on Personal Data Use, F…

Alexander Rubinstein (2019-07-19). "The US Got Scared" Voices of the Resistance in Post-Coup Honduras. mintpressnews.com Members of the resistance in Honduras tell MintPress how a US-backed coup – and the Neoliberalism it brought with it – have impacted their country.

Ricardo Vaz (2019-07-18). Venezuela: Trump Diverts Central America Aid to Guaido as EU Threatens More Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com Guaido's team is receiving over $40 million to fund salaries, travel, training, propaganda and technical assistance.

2019-07-31: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

On Direct Action and Trump's Immigration Agenda
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-07-31
| We are nearing the tail end of the latest round of reports of (and subsequent righteous uproar at) the ongoing crisis at the U.S./Mexico border and all things immigration. At different points over the last several weeks, folks have wondered aloud online about where was the immigrant rights movement? What could be done? | Speaking for myself, it's been difficult to produce a convenient answer (or even an inconvenient one that will work). I have felt pena ajena when I see that the only action step for people is to do…
truthout.org/articles/on-direct-action-and-trumps-immigration-agenda/

On Direct Action and Trump's Immigration Agenda
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-07-31
| We are nearing the tail end of the latest round of reports of (and subsequent righteous uproar at) the ongoing crisis at the U.S./Mexico border and all things immigration. At different points over the last several weeks, folks have wondered aloud online about where was the immigrant rights movement? What could be done? | Speaking for myself, it's been difficult to produce a convenient answer (or even an inconvenient one that will work). I have felt pena ajena when I see that the only action step for people is to do…
truthout.org/articles/on-direct-action-and-trumps-immigration-agenda/

Killing Democracy: US Imperialism, Civil War and Genocide in Guatemala 1954-1996
Edward B. Winslow | globalresearch.ca | 2019-07-31
"This ideology of [United States corporatism] embraces a belief that societies and cultures can be regenerated through violence…. This belief that [the US has] a divine right to resources, land and power, and a right to displace and kill to …
globalresearch.ca/killing-democracy-united-states-imperialism-civil-war-genocide-guatemala-1954-1996/5685144

Four Immigrants Have Died at Stewart ICE Facility in Georgia. Advocates Want It Shut Down
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-30
A 44-year-old immigrant from Mexico died last week at Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigration jails in the United States and one that has been plagued by allegations of neglect and abuse for years. Pedro Arriago-Santoya was the fourth person to die at Stewart in just two years and the seventh person to die while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October. An immigration judge had ordered Arriago-Santoya be deported in June. Instead, he was transferred to Stewart on July 10 as his removal proceedings continued. Two weeks later he was pronounced dead at a Georgia hospital.
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/30/pedro_arriago_santoya_ice_custody_death

Four Immigrants Have Died at Stewart ICE Jail in Georgia. Advocates Want It Shut Down
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-30
A 44-year-old immigrant from Mexico died last week at Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigration jails in the United States and one that has been plagued by allegations of neglect and abuse for years. Pedro Arriago-Santoya was the fourth person to die at Stewart in just two years and the seventh person to die while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October. An immigration judge had ordered Arriago-Santoya be deported in June. Instead, he was transferred to Stewart on July 10 as his removal proceedings continued. Two weeks later he was pronounced dead at a Georgia hospital.
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/30/pedro_arriago_santoya_ice_custody_death

DOJ Guts Asylum Protections for Members of Families Threatened With Violence
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-07-30
| In a decision immigrant rights advocates said could have horrific consequences for thousands of people fleeing violence in Central America, Attorney General William Barr ruled Monday that being an immediate member of a persecuted family is not sufficient grounds to seek asylum in the United States. | According to immigration experts, Barr's move rewrites years of law and represents the Trump administration's…
truthout.org/articles/doj-guts-asylum-protections-for-members-of-families-threatened-with-violence/

Costa Rica and Panama Bust Migrant-Smuggling Network
telesurenglish.net | 2019-07-30
Costa Rican and Panamanian officials arrested Tuesday nearly 49 people linked to an international human smuggling network that would charge migrants thousands of dollars to take them through Central America en route to the United States. | RELATED: | Guatemala's Top Court to Rule on 'Safe Third Country' Agreement with US | The operation constitutes one of the largest ever launched against human smugglers in Costa Rica. Migration police and prosecutors raided 36 locations…
telesurenglish.net/news/Costa-Rica-and-Panama-Bust-Migrant-Smuggling-Ring-20190730-0018.html

Costa Rican Teachers Protest Against Privatization of Education
telesurenglish.net | 2019-07-30
Hundreds of teachers affiliated with the Association of Secondary School Teachers APSE marched Monday in the capital toward the National Assembly, protesting against the neoliberal policies affecting the public sector. | RELATED: | Chile's Teachers Vote to End Second-Longest Strike | APSE President Melida Cedeño told reporters that the protest aimed to show the public that the government and most of the Parliament attempt to criminalize strikes with…
telesurenglish.net/news/Costa-Rican-Teachers-Protest-Against-Privatization-of-Education-20190730-0024.html

Trump Administration, Democrats Make Progress on New NAFTA
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-07-30
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats appear to be moving from "no way" to "maybe" on President Donald Trump's rewrite of a trade pact with Canada and Mexico. House Democrats have met four times with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, most recently on Friday, and both sides say they are making progress toward a deal that would …
truthdig.com/articles/trump-administration-democrats-make-progress-on-new-nafta/

Four Immigrants Have Died at Stewart ICE Facility in Georgia
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-07-30
| A 44-year-old immigrant from Mexico died last week at Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigration jails in the United States and one that has been plagued by allegations of neglect and abuse for years. Pedro Arriago-Santoya was the fourth person to die at Stewart in just two years and the seventh person to die while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since October. An immigration judge had ordered Arriago-Santoya be deported in June. Instead, he was transferred to Stewart…
truthout.org/video/four-immigrants-have-died-at-stewart-ice-facility-in-georgia/

Guatemala's Top Court to Rule on Migration Agreement with US
telesurenglish.net | 2019-07-30
Guatemala's Human Rights Prosecutor Jordan Rodas Monday filed an urgent appeal to the Constitutional Court to curb the "Safe Third Country" (STC) agreement signed by President Jimmy Morales administration in Washington, D.C., on July 26. | RELATED: | Trump Admin Enacts Another Restriction for Asylum-Seekers | "The agreement contradicts not only the Guatemalan Constitutio…
telesurenglish.net/news/Guatemalas-Top-Court-to-Rule-on-Safe-Third-Country-Agreement-with-US-20190730-0005.html

Nicaraguan 'human rights' director accused by staff of massive theft of US taxpayer money, death toll inflation
The Grayzone | thegrayzone.com | 2019-07-30
ANPDH's board members are accusing their director of stealing huge sums from US soft power organizations and inflating death tolls…
thegrayzone.com/2019/07/30/nicaraguan-human-rights-director-accused-by-staff-of-massive-theft-of-us-taxpayer-money-death-toll-inflation/

Seesaws on US-Mexico border allow citizens to connect through the wall
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-07-30
Seesaws have been constructed on the border wall between the United States and Mexico encouraging children in the two countries to play together. | The event was the brainchild of two professors of architecture and design, who came up with the idea back in 2009 as a way to represent the fact that "actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side". | Ten years later, Ronald Rael (professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley) and Virginia San Fratello (associate professor of interior design at San Jose University) were present as their concept was brought to lif…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2019/07/30/seesaws-on-us-mexico-border-allow-citizens-to-connect-through-the-wall/

"It's nothing but intimidation tactics": On the border in El Paso, Texas
Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2019-07-30
"I come from Honduras, I left on April 22nd, I brought my daughter with me, because in Honduras they killed my brother, they had already killed my dad, there is no safety, two years later they killed my cousin just because. My daughter was studying and already those of the organized crime had told us …
peoplesworld.org/article/its-nothing-but-intimidation-tactics-on-the-border-in-el-paso-texas/

US Marines arrested for human trafficking and drug offenses
wsws.org | 2019-07-30
Nineteen active-duty soldiers stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corp base in Southern California were arrested following an earlier investigation that revealed Marines smuggling immigrants near the US-Mexico border.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/30/mari-j30.html

Mass Protests in Colombia and Abroad Decry Killings of 500 Activists Since Peace Accords
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-29
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Friday in more than 50 cities and towns across Colombia to protest a surge of lethal attacks on indigenous, Afro-Colombian and environmental leaders in recent years. Solidarity marches were held in dozens of cities around the world, from Mexico City to Athens. In 2016, the Colombian government and FARC rebels signed a historic peace accord to move the country forward after a half-century of armed conflict. But since then, nearly 500 human rights activists, many from the Afro-Colombian community, have been killed, targeted for their work combating illegal m…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/29/colombia_protests_against_social_leader_assassinations

Nicaragua celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Sandinista Popular Revolution
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-07-29
Managua, Nicaragua – On July 19, 500,000 Nicaraguans filled Managua's Plaza de la Fe to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista Popular Revolution and Nicaragua's liberation from the U.S.-imposed Somoza dictatorship. | President Daniel Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and international representatives electrified the crowd – many in attendance had traveled hours in packed caravans from all over the country – with calls for peace, continued economic and social progress, and the defense of Nicaraguan sovereignty in the face of U.S. aggression.
fightbacknews.org/2019/7/28/nicaragua-celebrates-40th-anniversary-sandinista-popular-revolution

How Joe Biden's privatization plans helped doom Latin America and fuel the migration crisis
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2019-07-28
On the campaign trail, Joe Biden has boasted of his role in transforming Colombia and Central America through ambitious economic…
thegrayzone.com/2019/07/28/biden-privatization-plan-colombia-honduras-migration/

Judge Halts Trump's Asylum Ban That Represents a "Relentless Attack on the Very Idea of Asylum"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-26
A federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily blocked President Trump's plan to bar nearly all migrants from seeking asylum in the United States. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of California ordered Trump to continue accepting asylum claims, issuing a preliminary injunction against a rule that would block anyone who passes through a third country before arriving in the U.S. from applying for asylum. The rule would effectively stop people from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala from seeking refuge in the United States. The preliminary injunction came just hours after a federal judge in Washington…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/26/federal_judge_blocks_trump_asylum_ban

Trump openly terrorizes Central American migrants, whereas Democrats did it quietly
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2019-07-25
Roberto Lovato argues that while Trump's racist anti-immigrant rhetoric is unprecedented, US cruelty towards Central American refugees is longstanding, and…
thegrayzone.com/2019/07/25/trump-openly-terrorizes-central-american-migrants-whereas-democrats-did-it-quietly/

More families seek damages for harm suffered due to Trump administration's family separations
splcenter.org | 2019-07-25
After seeking asylum from Guatemala at a port of entry in 2017, M.C.L. and his 7-year-old son spent two days in various cells where the temperature was kept extremely cold, with only a thin blanket and a single mattress to share.
splcenter.org/news/2019/07/25/more-families-seek-damages-harm-suffered-due-trump-administrations-family-separations

"The US Got Scared" Voices of the Resistance in Post-Coup Honduras
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-07-19
Members of the resistance in Honduras tell MintPress how a US-backed coup – and the Neoliberalism it brought with it – have impacted their country.
mintpressnews.com/the-us-got-scared-voices-of-the-resistance-in-post-coup-honduras/260676/

"The US Got Scared" Voices of the Resistance in Post-Coup Honduras
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-07-19
Members of the resistance in Honduras tell MintPress how a US-backed coup – and the Neoliberalism it brought with it – have impacted their country.
mintpressnews.com/the-us-got-scared-voices-of-the-resistance-in-post-coup-honduras/260676/

Venezuela: Trump Diverts Central America Aid to Guaido as EU Threatens More Sanctions
Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-07-18
Guaido's team is receiving over $40 million to fund salaries, travel, training, propaganda and technical assistance.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14592