What it Really Takes to Secure Peace in Afghanistan
Kathy Kelly | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-15
Constant military surveillance of Afghans yields almost no real intelligence about the problems they face each day. An unusual group of volunteers uses a far different approach. Hossein, a member of the Afghan Peace Volunteers, (APV), which hosted my recent visit to Afghanistan, rolled up his sleeve to show me a still-healing three-inch wound. Thieves…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/15/what-it-really-takes-to-secure-peace-in-afghanistan/

Live Webcast of 17th Assange Vigil Today at 4pm EST
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-02-15
The 17th vigil for Julian Assange, now a weekly event every Friday, will air from 4 pm to 7pm EST today. The vigils will continue until Assange is free. Please join us today for the 17th Assange vigil. Among the… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/02/15/live-webcast-of-17th-assange-vigil-today-at-4pm-est/

In Libya, "We Came, We Saw, He Died." Now, Maduro?
Brian Cloughley | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-15
"Now it is time for every other nation to pick a side. No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you're in league with Maduro and his mayhem." — US Secretary of State Pompeo addresses the UN Security Council on January 26, 2019. Libya is in a state of anarchic…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/15/in-libya-we-came-we-saw-he-died-now-maduro/

Warsaw Summit Was a Failure for Trump—But a Win for Netanyahu
Trita Parsi | commondreams.org | 2019-02-15
Israel's Prime minister of Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on 14 February, 2019 (Photo: AFP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gross_1.jpeg…
commondreams.org/views/2019/02/15/warsaw-summit-was-failure-trump-win-netanyahu?cd-origin=rss

SEP (Australia) national secretary James Cogan to speak tomorrow on Unity4J online vigil
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-02-15
Cogan will be interviewed about the demonstrations called by the Socialist Equality Party to demand the freedom of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, and the broader campaign being waged by the WSWS against internet censorship.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/15/unit-f15.html

Human rights advocate Professor Stuart Rees supports rallies for the freedom of Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-02-15
"Julian Assange follows in the footsteps of a long tradition of journalists and whistleblowers who have made significant contributions to civil societies."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/15/rees-f15.html

The Supreme Court Will Decide if Census Citizenship Question Is Legal. Democrats Should Also Work to Block It
Sam Adler-Bell | theintercept.com | 2019-02-15
House Democrats should use their oversight power to expose the Trump administration's nefarious reasons for asking about citizenship on the 2020 census. | The post The Supreme Court Will Decide if Census Citizenship Question Is Legal. Democrats Should Also Work to Block It. appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2019/02/15/2020-census-citizenship-question/

SPLC statement on Supreme Court's denial of Trump administration's request to immediately enforce asylum ban
Melissa Crow, Senior Supervising Attorney of the SPLC's Immigrant Justice Project | splcenter.org | 2019-02-15
The U.S. Supreme Court today denied the Trump administration's request to immediately enforce a new policy of denying asylum to migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry.
splcenter.org/news/2019/02/15/splc-statement-supreme-court%25E2%2580%2599s-denial-trump-administration%25E2%2580%2599s-request-immediately-enforce

National Civil Rights Group Responds to Supreme Court's Decision to Hear Census Case
commondreams | commondreams.org | 2019-02-15
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2019/02/15/national-civil-rights-group-responds-supreme-courts-decision-hear-census-case?cd-origin=rss

Politically Charged Show Trial of Catalan Independence Supporters
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-02-15
What's billed as Spain's "trial of the century" began in Madrid before the nation's Supreme Court on Tuesday. | On trial are 12 activist Catalan politicians — falsely charged with rebellion, misuse of public funds, and civil disobedience. | They justifiably support … | The post Politically Charged Show Trial of Catalan Independence Supporters appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/politically-charged-show-trial-of-catalan-independence-supporters/5668663

Sydney meeting opposes persecution of Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-02-15
The event was addressed by Consortium News editor Joe Lauria, SEP national secretary James Cogan and other prominent WikiLeaks defenders.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/15/syds-f15.html

Deadly US Applications of Artificial Intelligence
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-14
In the United States and around the world, public concern is rising at the prospect of weapons systems that would select and attack targets without human intervention. | © 2018 Campaign to Stop Killer Robots | As the United States Department of Defense releases a strategy on artificial intelligence (AI), questions loom about whether the US government intends to accelerate its investments in weapo…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/14/deadly-us-applications-artificial-intelligence

CIA says MBS ordered Khashoggi hit, but don't expect Saudi-US relations to change — John Kiriakou
RT | rt.com | 2019-02-14
The CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed, but the young ruler is there to stay, and so is the cosy US-Saudi relationship, a prominent CIA whistleblower told RT. | …
rt.com/usa/451469-cia-mbs-khashoggi-us-relations-unchanged/

Venezuela Accuses U.S. of Secretly Shipping Arms After Weapons Found on Plane with Possible CIA Ties
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-02-13
A North Carolina-based air freight company has halted flights to Venezuela following a report by McClatchy linking it to possible arms smuggling. Last week, Venezuelan authorities claimed they had uncovered 19 assault weapons, 118 ammunition cartridges and 90 military-grade radio antennas on board a U.S.-owned plane that had flown from Miami into Valencia, Venezuela's third-largest city. The Boeing 767 is owned by a company called 21 Air based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The plane had made nearly 40 round-trip flights between Miami and spots in Venezuela and Colombia since January 11, the day after Venezuelan…
www.democracynow.org/2019/2/13/venezuela_accuses_us_of_secretly_shipping

Peru: Supreme Court confirms annulment of Fujimori's pardon and supports victims' rights
amnesty | amnesty.org | 2019-02-13
The Special Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice has confirmed an earlier ruling that the pardon granted to former President Alberto Fujimori on 24 December 2017 has no legal effect. In an initial response to the decision, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said: | "This decision represents the closure that victims of the crimes against humanity and serious human rights violations — crimes for which former President Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison — have been waiting for. It comes after wounds were unnecessarily reopened by the decision to grant F…
amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/02/peru-al-confirmar-la-nulidad-del-indulto-a-fujimori-la-corte-suprema-respalda-los-derechos-de-las-victimas/

What it Really Takes to Secure Peace in Afghanistan
Kathy Kelly | progressive.org | 2019-02-12
Constant military surveillance of Afghans yields almost no real intelligence about the problems they face each day. An unusual group of volunteers uses a far different approach.
progressive.org/dispatches/securing-peace-in-afghanistan-kelly-19212/

The Supreme Court Is Playing Favorites With Religion
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-02-11
The court's recent decisions threaten religious neutrality — the "clearest command" of the Establishment Clause. | Last week, the Supreme Court permitted the state of Alabama to execute a Muslim man, Domineque Ray, without his religious advisor present. The court's 5-4 decision reversed an emergency lower-court order that had temporarily delayed the execution because of grave concerns that Alabama's pr…
aclu.org/blog/religious-liberty/supreme-court-playing-favorites-religion

Was that the Onion or Reuters Quoting Mike Pompeo on Venezuela?
Joe Emersberger | zcomm.org | 2019-01-16
This Reuters article says "The Maduro regime is illegitimate and the United States will work diligently to restore a real democracy to that country," Pompeo told reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he is on a tour of Middle East countries. " [emphasis added] The Onion might have simply changed "countries" above to "dictatorships" or, Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/was-that-the-onion-or-reuters-quoting-mike-pompeo-on-venezuela/