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For Immediate Release
October, 29 2010, 02:36pm EDT
Contact:
Wende Gozan Brown at 212-633-4247,
wgozan@aiusa.org.
Hundreds Gather in San Francisco to Tackle Pressing Human Rights Concerns; Migrant Rights, Aung San Suu Kyi Are Front and Center
Amy Goodman, Jorge Bustamante, Rebiya Kadeer Headline Amnesty International Human Rights Conference, Nov. 5-7
SAN FRANCISCO
Amnesty International
USA (AIUSA) will bring together hundreds of activists from 13 Western states
November 5-7 for the organization's annual regional conference. This
year's theme, Shine A Light: 50 Years of Activism, highlights Amnesty
International's 50th anniversary - which will be celebrated
in San Francisco in March 2011 -- and spotlights some of the most critical
human rights issues today. Open to the public, the event will take
place at the University of California's Hastings College of Law on 200
McAllister Street. The cost of attendance ranges from $15 to $35, on a
sliding scale.
"For almost 50 years, Amnesty International
members around the world have proven time and again the power of grassroots
activism," said
Rini Chakraborty, western regional director for
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "San Francisco is a particularly
poignant backdrop for this conference. It is the birthplace of the
U.N. Charter, which established human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all without discrimination. Given the city's rich and vibrant activist
history of fighting for civil, political, and economic rights, this is
the right place to celebrate our 50th anniversary."
The human rights conference, which features
workshops, panel discussions and interactive exhibits, opens on
Friday
with a 5:00 p.m. march and rally in solidarity with the Burmese democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the Burmese people. The march, which precedes
the Nov. 7 elections in Myanmar (formerly Burma), will begin on McAllister
and Hyde Streets and end at steps of San Francisco City Hall. Speakers
include Toe Lwin, a youth leader for the National League for Democracy
and a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's Security Team; Nyunt Than of
the Burmese American Democratic Alliance; Yasmin Vanya of the Burmese
American Women's Alliance and Maung Maung Latt, an exiled Minister
of Parliament. Amnesty
International is calling for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi
and the other 2,000-plus prisoners jailed for peaceful activism.
AIUSA Executive Director
Larry Cox
will open the conference at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday at Hastings College of
Law, where he will highlight a half a century of successful human rights
activism. Throughout Saturday activists will attend panels on a number
of pressing human rights issues: the death penalty in the
U.S., maternal mortality, immigrant rights, Guantanamo
and more.
At 4:15 p.m., a special plenary session,
Somos Arizona: Migrant Rights in the U.S, will feature Dr.
Jorge Bustamante, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of
Migrants, and Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith, coordinator of the Binational
Migration Institute of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona,
who will discuss the impact of the state's draconian law, SB
1070.
On Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m., conference
attendees will hear from
Amy Goodman, host and executive producer
of Democracy Now! and long-time human rights champion. Goodman will
also sign copies of her book, Breaking the Sound Barrier, from 10-11
a.m. At 11:45 a.m., the conference will wrap up with Rebiya Kadeer,
a Uighur human rights activist and former Amnesty International "prisoner
of conscience." Kadeer spent six years in a Chinese prison for criticizing
the government's repression of the Uighur people and abuse of their human
rights. Amnesty International publicized her case and pursued her
freedom until she was released in 2005.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning
grassroots activist organization with more than 2.8 million supporters,
activists and volunteers who campaign for universal human rights from more
than 150 countries. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates
and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice,
freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
(212) 807-8400LATEST NEWS
GOP Senators Blasted for Voting to 'Spike Healthcare Costs for Millions'
"This was a calculated attack on hard-working families across the nation, all so Republicans can keep showering billionaires and big corporations with tax breaks."
Dec 11, 2025
The Republican Party "owns the healthcare crisis to come," said US Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday after the GOP voted down a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, all but guaranteeing that health insurance premiums will double on average for about 22 million Americans—and at least one Republican lawmaker couldn't help but agree with her.
"If you're not concerned, then you're living in a cave," said Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) regarding the impact the vote could have on the Republican Party in next year's midterm elections. "If you're not watching the elections that are happening all the time, then you're living in a cave."
The much-anticipated vote came more than two months after the beginning of a record-breaking shutdown which lasted from October-November and started when Democrats refused to back a spending bill that would have allowed for the expiration of the ACA subsidies. A November poll found that Americans blamed President Donald Trump and the GOP for rising healthcare costs and for the shutdown.
On Thursday, and as expected, the vast majority of Senate Republicans refused to join Democrats in voting to extend the subsidies.
Four Republicans—Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Susan Collins of Maine—voted in favor of the extension, but the legislation failed by a vote of 51-48, with 60 votes needed for it to pass.
A GOP bill failed by the same margin. Introduced by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the legislation would have allowed the subsidies to expire on December 31, but would have replaced them with an annual payment of up to $1,500 in tax-advantaged health savings accounts to help people pay for out-of-pocket healthcare costs. The HSAs would not be usable for monthly premium payments and only people with high-deductible or catastrophic plans on the ACA exchanges would be eligible.
Trump gave his tacit approval of the plan but didn't explicitly endorse it; he has not released a healthcare plan of his own.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the GOP proposal was "essentially to hand people about $80 a month and wish them good luck."
“So, to get that $80 a month, you’re going to pay $7,000 off the top before you even get any health insurance," he said. "How ridiculous. How stingy. And how mean and cruel to the American people.”
GOP leaders in the House have said they hope to hold a vote on healthcare next week, but they don't yet have a proposal for the vote. Meanwhile, some Republicans in swing districts have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to simply hold a vote on extending the ACA tax credits as Democrats have been demanding for months—with some signing two discharge petitions to circumvent Johnson and force a vote.
The advocacy group Protect Our Care condemned Republicans after Thursday's vote for delivering "one of the most devastating blows to American healthcare in years."
“Senate Republicans didn’t just turn their backs on American families—they actively voted to spike healthcare costs for millions,” said Protect Our Care president Brad Woodhouse. “They know ending the tax credits will send premiums skyrocketing, force people off their coverage, and push families to the brink just to afford a doctor’s visit, and they did it anyway. This was a calculated attack on hard-working families across the nation, all so Republicans can keep showering billionaires and big corporations with tax breaks."
"Every person left uninsured, every skipped prescription, every family thrown into financial turmoil is the direct result of the choice Republicans made," added Woodhouse. "With this vote, Republicans told struggling families loud and clear: ‘You’re on your own.’”
Michelle Sternthal, director of government affairs at health advocacy organization Community Catalyst, emphasized that Republicans voted to end the subsidies at the end of a year of "record enrollment, illustrating just how essential affordable coverage is to people’s health and economic stability."
The vote came as Trump is seeking to deny that Americans are struggling to afford groceries, healthcare, and other essentials—claiming he would give the economy an "A+++++" rating on Tuesday and asserting that prices are going down, even as he was launching a nationwide tour focused on affordability. A Politico poll released this week found that nearly half of Americans are having trouble affording the necessities of everyday life, and 55% blame Trump's policies for the affordability crisis.
“It is beyond ironic that the party that campaigned on lowering costs is now responsible for double digit premium increases for families," said Sternthal on Thursday. “This was a deliberate choice. By sabotaging the extension of enhanced ACA premium tax credits, congressional Republicans are deepening the affordability and medical debt crisis—driving premiums higher and forcing millions of families to choose between the care they need and putting food on the table."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the healthcare vote called into question for the latest time the Trump administration's promise that it aims to "Make America Healthy Again."
At MoveOn Civic Action, chief communications officer Joel Payne condemned Senate Republicans for voting to double healthcare premiums as grocery and rent prices rise—but also reserved some outrage for the Democrats who voted to end the shutdown in November after securing no commitment from the GOP that the party would protect people's healthcare.
“Donald Trump and Republicans will not lift a finger to do anything about the healthcare crisis that they created," said Payne. "If Senate Democrats held firm during the government funding debate and used the leverage the grassroots created for them, they would have been in a stronger position to deliver more affordable healthcare for the American people."
"This predictable outcome shows us yet again," Payne added, "that working people need a robust opposition party to stop Republicans and the Trump administration from screwing us.”
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"How dare she sit there and talk about 'threats to our homeland' when she's the one using OUR tax dollars to terrorize our communities," said another protester.
Dec 11, 2025
A protester dressed as a priest confronted US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the Trump administration's violent crackdown on immigrants during a Thursday hearing held by the House of Representatives' Committee on Homeland Security.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief has often spoken about her Christian faith—she said just two days ago on a government social media account that "I have relied on God and placed my faith in Him throughout my career in public service."
During the Republican-led committee's hearing on "Worldwide Threats to the Homeland," a man in black and red religious attire began shouting about recent raids and other actions by DHS, including two department agencies: Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"Stop ICE raids! The power of Christ compels you!" the man shouted. "End deportations! The power of Christ compels you! Love thy neighbor! The power of Christ compels you!"
As police removed that man from the room, another protester stood and shouted similar messages: "Stop ICE! Get ICE off our streets! Stop terrorizing our communities!"
The second man—who displayed a sign that read, "No ICE, No Troops," and noted an affiliation with the peace group CodePink—was also swiftly forced from the room by police.
In a statement from CodePink, Bita Iuliano, another activist who attended the hearing, took aim at Noem: "How dare she sit there and talk about 'threats to our homeland' when she's the one using OUR tax dollars to terrorize our communities. If she really wants to protect our homeland, which by the way is stolen land, she should stop asking for more and more of our tax dollars for a department that is making our neighbors afraid to leave their homes."
"ICE should be abolished, and that money should be used to fund what our communities actually need—healthcare, schools, housing, the fight against climate change, to name a few," Iuliano argued, also calling out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"Noem, along with Hegseth, Rubio, and the rest of the war criminal crew, are the ones terrorizing our communities, from our streets here to Palestine, Venezuela, and all over the world," she said. "They are the ones making it unsafe, and they're using our dollars to do it. All we have are our voices, and we're going to make sure we're heard."
Various faith leaders have also spoken out against the Trump administration's attacks on immigrants, including Pope Leo XIV, whose hometown of Chicago has been a key target of DHS action since President Donald Trump returned to power in January.
Pointing to Christian scripture, the first-ever American pontiff said in early November: "How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening."
Pope Leo also advocated for allowing religious leaders to access people who have been detained, saying that "many times they've been separated from their families. No one knows what's happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to."
Shortly after that, more than 200 US Catholic bishops released a rare joint statement last month stressing that "human dignity and national security are not in conflict" and calling for "meaningful reform of our nation's immigration laws and procedures."
The pope then urged "all people in the United States to listen" to the bishops and said that while "every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter," the way immigrants are being treated in the US "is extremely disrespectful."
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Autopsy Says Corporate Capture, Support for Genocide Were Key Factors in Democrats' 2024 Disaster
"Harris and the Democratic Party leadership prioritized the agendas of corporate donors and gambled on a centrist path, while largely abandoning working-class, young, and progressive voters."
Dec 11, 2025
As the Democratic establishment slow-walks its own assessment of what went wrong in last year's elections, an outside autopsy released Thursday argues the party's failure to sufficiently appeal to and mobilize working-class voters as well as its complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza were key factors behind the failure to prevent President Donald Trump from securing a second White House term.
The report, authored by journalist Christopher D. Cook and published by the progressive advocacy group RootsAction, argues there were five primary reasons for former Vice President Kamala Harris' loss to Trump:
- Harris' loss of nearly 7 million voters who backed Joe Biden in 2020;
- Biden's refusal to exit the top of the ticket until just months before the election;
- The Democratic Party's decision to prioritize courting so-called moderate Republicans and corporate donors over organizing working-class voters;
- Support for Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza; and
- The loss of young-voter support.
Cook acknowledges that certain "external factors" impacted the 2024 contest beyond the Democratic Party or the Harris campaign's control, including "immense special-interest spending to manipulate voters’ information and perceptions on social media platforms" such as Elon Musk's X and racism and sexism, which "certainly disadvantaged" the former vice president.
But ultimately, Harris' campaign and the leadership of the Democratic Party "bear responsibility for Trump’s return to the White House," the report says.
"This was a preventable disaster, but Harris and the Democratic Party leadership prioritized the agendas of corporate donors and gambled on a centrist path, while largely abandoning working-class, young, and progressive voters," Cook said in a statement.
The report places significant emphasis on the Harris campaign's fateful decision to openly appeal to Republican voters in the hope that some would abandon Trump—a strategy that Hillary Clinton pursued during her 2016 presidential bid, to disastrous effect.
Cook points to the Harris campaign's embrace of former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as the most galling example of this strategy.
"Harris and Cheney—a Republican who had become a pariah in her own party—campaigned for several days together," the report observes. "On the campaign trail, they repeatedly hit high-minded themes about the threat that Donald Trump posed to American democracy, while scarcely speaking to voters’ more urgent concerns about the state of the economy."
The campaign's gamble that it could appeal to potential GOP swing voters while keeping the Democratic base intact "proved to be a huge mistake," the report says, arguing the approach muddied "Democrats’ message about economic inequality" while "consuming valuable campaign resources that should have been spent on a more robust base turnout operation."
The report cites a "glaring instance" in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, which Trump ended up winning by fewer than two percentage points:
As the New York Times reported, Harris campaign staffers in Pennsylvania were so concerned about poor outreach to Black and Latino voters in crucial areas of Philadelphia, they met secretly at a donut shop and formed a “rogue” voter turnout operation to reach these core Democratic constituents. In this clandestine operation, hastily conceived in the waning days of the campaign, members of Harris’s team set out to knock on the doors of as many Black and Latino voters as possible in a desperate dash to shore up Harris’ numbers among what should have been core constituencies.
The Harris campaign also received guidance and support from corporate interests and prominent billionaires, which Cook names as a "likely factor for why more working-class voters walked away from the Democrats."
"Due to these corporate influences, including from billionaire Mark Cuban and others, the Harris campaign avoided any bold policy proposals confronting corporate power, instead adopting 'marginal pro-business tweaks to the status quo that both her corporate and progressive allies agreed never coalesced into a clear economic argument,'" Cook wrote, citing the Times.
On Gaza, the postmortem notes that Harris "offered no substantive changes from Biden’s unpopular policies backing Israel," fueling a sharp drop-off in support among Arab Americans and young voters.
"Extensive polling suggests that Biden, and later Harris, could have inspired and mobilized these voters by campaigning on policies such as cancelling student debt, expanding healthcare access, curbing support for Israel’s siege of Gaza, and boldly promoting economic populist policies," the report says, pointing to the success of progressive ballot measures even in red states where Harris struggled.
In coming elections, the report concludes, Democrats must learn from their recent failures and embrace highly popular "economic populist policies"—from Medicare for All to higher corporate taxes to a long-overdue federal minimum wage hike—to build a lasting working-class coalition.
"The Democratic Party must show voters that it has a spine and can stand up to corporate and big-money interests," the report says.
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