Australian media union complicit in the persecution of Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-02-27
The MEAA claims to defend journalists, but only those who have not fallen afoul of the US and Australian governments and the major media conglomerates with which it collaborates.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/27/meaa-f27.html
Shifting the Centre of Gravity: Julian Assange Receives His Passport
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-26
In March 2008, one Michael Horvath of the US Army Counterintelligence Center within the Cyber Intelligence Assessments Branch considered the risks posed by WikiLeaks in a 32 page document. Created under the auspices of the Department of Defence's Intelligence Analysis Program. The overview suggests, importantly, the interest shown in Assange by the defence wing of…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/26/shifting-the-centre-of-gravity-julian-assange-receives-his-passport/
Shifting the Centre of Gravity: Julian Assange Receives His Passport
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-02-26
In March 2008, one Michael Horvath of the US Army Counterintelligence Center within the Cyber Intelligence Assessments Branch considered the risks posed by WikiLeaks in a 32 page document. Created under the auspices of the Department of Defence's Intelligence …
globalresearch.ca/shifting-the-centre-of-gravity-julian-assange-receives-his-passport/5669734
The Bitter Fruit of Trump's China Bashing: Anti-Asian Racism
Ashley Smith | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-26
Donald Trump's New Cold War with Beijing has caught Chinese foreign students at American universities in its crosshairs. His administration has tightened restrictions on their visas, accused them of spying for the Chinese state and its high tech giants, and in the process whipped up a climate of Anti-Asian racism. Trump's policies have yielded bitter…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/26/the-bitter-fruit-of-trumps-china-bashing-anti-asian-racism/
'Ask Snowden': Huawei exec pokes fun at US spying during tech show
RT | rt.com | 2019-02-26
A Huawei executive hit the US where it hurts by making fun of the NSA and bringing up whistleblower Edward Snowden during a no-holds-barred speech at the world's biggest mobile conference. | …
rt.com/usa/452478-huawei-snowden-us-ban/
The "Permanent War State" Aims to Plunder Venezuela — Wilkerson and Jay
Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski | therealnews.com | 2019-02-26
Trump promises "democracy and freedom" to Venezuela, delivered by Elliott Abrams who brought you illegal wars, coups, and support for dictatorships; and Mike Pompeo and VP Pence, both with deep ties to the Koch brothers who need Venezuelan heavy crude to feed their Texas refinery — Col. Larry Wilkerson joins TRNN's Paul Jay…
therealnews.com/stories/the-permanent-war-state-aims-to-plunder-venezuela-wilkerson-and-jay
The Secret History of Fiat Brazil's Internal Espionage Network and Collaboration With the Military Dictatorship
Janaina Cesar | theintercept.com | 2019-02-25
The workers were a threat to the company's bottom line, so Fiat Brazil suppressed labor organizing through an internal spy ring.
theintercept.com/2019/02/25/fiat-brazil-spying-workers-collaborated-dictatorship/
The Supreme Court Rightly Cited the Black Codes in Ruling Against Excessive Fines, Fees, and Forfeitures
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-02-25
The justices held that the Eighth Amendment protects people from state and local authorities' abusive reliance on monetary penalties to raise money. | Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a rare unanimous ruling in Timbs v. Indiana, holding for the first time that the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause applies to state and local governments — not just federal authorities. | The fact that this landmark decision is unanimous is itself remarkable. But it bears noting that in…
aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/supreme-court-rightly-cited-black-codes-ruling-against
The Supreme Court Has Undone a Century of American Opposition to Sports Gambling
Ronald Katz | thenation.com | 2019-02-25
The Supreme Court Has Undone a Century of American Opposition to Sports Gambling…
thenation.com/article/sports-gambling-supreme-court-betting/
'Is this for real?': Twitter perplexed by sudden CIA fixation on Black Panther movie
RT | rt.com | 2019-02-25
The CIA drew a hail of ridicule and incomprehension when it unexpectedly posted a Twitter thread dedicated to the hit superhero film 'Black Panther'. Some Twitter users even suspected the spy agency had been hacked. | …
rt.com/usa/452363-cia-black-panther-tweets-oscars/
Philippines: Break the culture of silence, violence and impunity
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-22
The following statement on the February 13 arrest of Filipino journalist Maria Ressa was issued by the Filipino human rights movement, iDefend. | iDefend condemns the arrest of Maria Ressa by the National Bureau of Investigation on February 13 on charges of cyber-libel. | Ressa's arrest is the latest demonstration of how government critics are silenced in a manner which mirrors a familiar style of the late Marcos dictatorship. | For two years, Senator Leila de Lima remains incarcerated on unproven drug charges; former Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was removed from her post in a Quo Waranto proc…
greenleft.org.au/content/philippines-break-culture-silence-violence-and-impunity
Ending the Punishment of Poverty: Supreme Court Rules Against High Fines & Civil Asset Forfeiture
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-02-21
In a major victory for civil liberties advocates, the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled to limit the practice of civil asset forfeiture–a controversial practice where police seize property that belongs to people suspected of crimes, even if they are never convicted. On Wednesday, the court ruled the Eighth Amendment protects people from state and local authorities imposing onerous fines, fees and forfeitures to generate money. The case centered on an Indiana man named Tyson Timbs, whose Land Rover was seized when he was arrested for selling drugs. The vehicle was worth $42,000–more than four times t…
www.democracynow.org/2019/2/21/ending_the_punishment_of_poverty_supreme
Saudis Facing Criminal Charges in the U.S. Keep Disappearing. Is the Kingdom Helping Them Escape?
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-02-20
A growing number of Saudi students are vanishing while facing serious criminal charges in the U.S. Federal law enforcement officials are now launching an investigation into the suspicious disappearances to probe if the Saudi government was involved and how. We speak with Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, The Oregonian reporter who broke the story about the spate of Saudi student disappearances. He found that in at least four cases the Saudi government paid a defendant's bail and legal fees before he disappeared. In one case, police believe Saudi officials snuck a Saudi national out of the country on a private plane using a…
www.democracynow.org/2019/2/20/saudis_facing_criminal_charges_in_the
A Supreme Court Milestone for Students' Free Speech Rights
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-02-20
In 1969, a group of public school students protesting the Vietnam War made First Amendment history that stands strong to this day. | This month marks 50 years since the landmark Supreme Court ruling that cemented students' rights to free speech in public schools, Tinker v. Des Moines. We're inspired to see that students still take advantage of their First Amendment rights and speak out on political issues today. | We grew up in Iowa, where our father was a Methodist minister. Believing that faith s…
aclu.org/blog/free-speech/student-speech-and-privacy/supreme-court-milestone-students-free-speech-rights
New hate map helps users explore landscape of hate
splcenter | splcenter.org | 2019-02-19
The Southern Poverty Law Center has introduced an updated, interactive hate map equipped with new features to help people better understand the hate groups operating in their state and across the country.
splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2019/new-hate-map
Can Turkey and Syria actually come to an agreement?
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-02-17
Ankara, who is now shifting away from the USA and towards the regional powers, is expected to begin negotiations with Damascus. Of course right now a low level exterior politics is underway with Syria. At this situation, intelligence agencies cannot just say "We execute whatever our leader orders.". Many times leaders are off the grid, …
uwidata.com/2245-can-turkey-and-syria-actually-come-to-an-agreement/
Unequal Justice: Kavanaugh's Vote on Abortion Access Bodes Ill for Roe
Bill Blum | progressive.org | 2019-02-16
It hasn't taken Kavanaugh long to show his true colors. The big reveal came on February 7, when he voted against a "stay" that will keep a draconian Louisiana abortion law from taking effect.
progressive.org/dispatches/unequal-justice-dear-brett-your-ideology-is-showing-blum-190216/
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
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/