2019-07-15: News Headlines

Robert Fisk (2019-07-15). Trump's Hissy-Fit Over Darroch Will Blow a Chill Wind Across Britain's Embassies in the Middle East. counterpunch.org Just for a moment, let's forget poor old Kim Darroch. Let's jump a couple of days in front of this news story. Let me tell you how his utter humiliation and sacrifice at the hands of Trump — and with the connivance of the man who will probably be the next British prime minister — More

Oscar Grenfell (2019-07-15). Three Months Since Arrest of WikiLeaks Publisher: UK Government Holds "Media Freedom" Conference While Imprisoning Assange. globalresearch.ca Thursday marked three months since WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy and into London's Belmarsh Prison, where he is being held pending extradition to the United States and a drumhead trial on Espionage Act charges …

Bas News (2019-07-15). Strained US-Iraq Relations: Pompeo Considers Baghdad Embassy Pullout "Permanent": Officials. globalresearch.ca US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is not willing to send back the diplomats to the country's embassy in Baghdad after they were evacuated earlier this year in May, according to several State Department officials. | The evacuation came after tensions …

Tracy Keeling (2019-07-15). Edward Snowden absolutely nails why the 'rinky dink' UK government lives in fear of the left. thecanary.co Whistleblower Edward Snowden was the keynote speaker at the Open Rights Group's (ORG) annual conference on 13 July. During his talk on human rights in the mass surveillance age, Snowden spoke about the difference between 'left' and 'right' activism. | As he did so, the whistleblower nailed what the "rinky dink" UK government fears most about the left. And it's right to fear the 'left' quality that Snowden identified. Because it's ultimately what can shield us from the creeping au…

Staff (2019-07-15). Pompeo's 'Inalienable Rights Commission' — A Conservative Christian Assault on Human Rights? therealnews.com The newly-announced State Department "commission on inalienable rights" is a Trojan Horse for the long-planned Conservative Christian attack on human rights.

WorkWeek Radio (2019-07-15). The SF Mime Troupe, SF Chronicle & The Treasure Island Cover-up. indybay.org WorkWeek radio on KPFA looks at the recent SF Mime Troupe play which was panned by the SF Chronicle reviewer. WorkWeek then hears from the SF Chron editor Audrey Cooper who talks about the powerful figures who are threatening their. reporters because of their stories on Hunters Point and Treasure Island. WorkWeek then hears from Treasure Island residents and Tetra Tech whistleblowers and former Cal-OSHA medical director Dr. Larry Rose about the failure to inspect sites and defend whistleblowers.

RT (2019-07-15). PayPal co-founder Thiel says FBI, CIA should probe Google over 'infiltration' by China — media. rt.com Silicon Valley bigwig Peter Thiel believes that Google, which aided China's military, may be infested with Beijing's agents, according to a media report. The FBI and CIA now have to keep an eye on the search giant, he said. |

WSWS Repost (2019-07-15). Twitter removes account of Assange defence organisation. indybay.org Supporters of Julian Assange protest the unexplained suspension of a Twitter account dedicated to circulating information and advocacy on his behalf.

WSWS (2019-07-15). Rally in Melbourne demands freedom for Julian Assange. wsws.org Amid cold and wet weather, about 130 people rallied with determination to demand Assange's freedom.

WSWS (2019-07-15). Melbourne rally participants speak in defence of Assange and Manning. wsws.org "I don't believe any government will stand up for Assange. I think that it comes down to normal people standing and fighting."

WSWS (2019-07-15). UK: SEP wins support for Julian Assange at Durham Miners' Gala. wsws.org The gala is an annual labour movement event. Held for the first time in 1871, it attracts an estimated 200,000 attendees in celebration of the town's coal mining heritage.

Caitlin Johnstone (2019-07-14). Main Twitter Account Defending Julian Assange Removed for No Reason. theantimedia.com The operators of the account report that they have been given no reason for its removal by Twitter staff, and no response to their appeals.

Eds. (2019-07-13). Join the CIA: travel the world passing out nuclear blueprints. mronline.org In the year 2000, the CIA gave Iran (slightly and obviously flawed) blueprints for a key component of a nuclear weapon. In 2006 James Risen wrote about this "operation" in his book State of War. | Source

Patti Lynn (2019-07-13). Current investigation of ExxonMobil could spur broader climate action. nationofchange.org On January 7, 2019, after two years of struggle in the lower courts, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey received some good news: The U.S. Supreme Court had cleared the way for her to investigate one of the largest fossil fuel corporations in the world—ExxonMobil—regarding what it knew, and when, about climate change. | The rapid heating of our planet poses an existential threat to all of us. Over the next decade, we must make significant cha…

WSWS (2019-07-13). Twitter removes account of Assange defence organisation. wsws.org Unity4J, which campaigns against the persecution of the WikiLeaks founder, was given no reason for the suspension.

Caitlin Johnstone (2019-07-13). Top Assange Defense Account Deleted by Twitter. dissidentvoice.org One of the biggest Twitter accounts dedicated to circulating information and advocacy for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, @Unity4J, has been completely removed from the site. The operators of the account report that they have been given no reason for its removal by Twitter staff, and have received no response to their appeals. Any Assange supporter …

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2019-07-12). Venezuela: 'Progress' Reported in Gov't-Opposition Talks as US Sanctions Counter-Intelligence Agency. venezuelanalysis.com The agenda of the talks has not been disclosed but the topic of elections is reportedly being left for last.

Kevin Gosztola (2019-07-12). Then CIA is Invoking Wikileaks to Push for the Expansion of a Cold War Era Secrecy Law. mintpressnews.com Three decades ago, the CIA mobilized to protect itself from radical acts of transparency, and now, with the internet and organizations like WikiLeaks, it hopes to be able to further isolate and criminalize those who challenge it.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-07-12). Donald Trump, The Manchurian Candidate and The Russia Probe. The Rosenstein Comey Mueller Intrigue. globalresearch.ca Trump's Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was to organize the so-called Russia Probe pertaining to alleged Kremlin interference in the November 2016 elections. Rosenstein's first step consisted in the firing of FBI Director James Comey & appointing former FBI Director Robert Mueller to lead the Russia Probe.

ACLU (2019-07-12). Pompeo's New "Human Rights" Commission is Up To No Good. aclu.org The Trump administration appears to be trying to find new moral footing for the president's discriminatory policies. | This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally announced the creation of a "Commission on Unalienable Rights." Its stated purpose, according to a notice published in the Federal Register in May, is to provide "fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation's founding principles of natural law and natural rights." | Th…

pip.hinman (2019-07-12). Protecting rights requires confronting privilege. greenleft.org.au No sooner had the government won re-election its own actions once again showed politics is, after all, fundamental to how you live. | Shortly after home affairs minister Peter Dutton was re-elected, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which falls within his ministry, executed search warrants against journalists who have investigated allegations of soldiers unlawfully killing Afghan civilians and government plans to spy on us. | The police claimed their target was the journalist's sources. But the raids were also a public show of force against whistleblowers in general, much like the prosecution of Witness K and…

Janine Jackson (2019-07-12). 'This Is Designed to Shape the Electorate to Retain Political Power' – CounterSpin interview with Steven Rosenfeld on gerrymandering. fair.org Janine Jackson interviewed Steven Rosenfeld on the Supreme Court's gerrymandering decision for the July 5, 2019, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…

Ryan Grim (2019-07-11). Amy McGrath Is Challenging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. She's Everything Wrong With the Democratic Party. theintercept.com Amy McGrath is everything wrong with the Democratic Party. She launched her high-profile campaign Tuesday with a multimillion-dollar burst of fundraising, with Democrats across the country eager to see her upend Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. By Wednesday, she was apologizing for a bizarre flip-flop-flip on a question — Brett Kavanaugh's fitness for the Supreme Court — that seemed like a layup. In between, she told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that she was running on the mind-bending rationale that McConnell needs to go because he has been obstructing the agenda of Donald Trump. | Perhaps the strang…

Mazda Majidi (2019-07-10). Iran breaks out of nuclear accord: Should the world be concerned? liberationnews.org Since early July, President Hassan Rouhani and several other officials have been announcing Iran's intention to start going beyond the restrictions set by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Staff (2019-07-05). An Hour with Noam Chomsky on Fascism, Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change, Julian Assange & More. democracynow.org In April, hundreds of people packed into the Old South Church in Boston to hear the world-renowned dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky speak. In this hour-long special, we air an excerpt of Chomsky's speech and his on-stage interview with Amy Goodman.

Keegan Hankes, Intelligence Project (2019-07-03). SPLC: Hate groups have long adopted symbols of U.S. history to promote white supremacy. splcenter.org As America prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July this week, the display of some of the nation's earliest regalia has rekindled a debate about racist symbolism.

ACLU (2019-07-03). Thousands of Voices Are Telling the Supreme Court: Don't Roll Back LGBTQ Rights. aclu.org Businesses, women CEOs, civil rights organizations, Republicans tell the Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ employees like Aimee Stephens and Don Zarda. | President Trump has told the Supreme Court it should be legal to fire someone just because they're LGBTQ. The President may be a bully, but he's just one voice. Today, more than 2,000 voices from across the country joined together to tell the Supreme Court: Don't roll back our rights. | The message came in the form of friend-of-the-court briefs—nearly 50 in all—filed in a…

splcenter (2019-07-03). SPLC urges Supreme Court to preserve workplace protections for LGBTQ people. splcenter.org Soon after Y.B. took the night shift as a forklift operator, her boss started harassing her because she is a lesbian.

Keegan Hankes, Intelligence Project (2019-06-28). SPLC: Sentencing of James Alex Fields Jr., who killed Heather Heyer at 'Unite the Right,' will not heal victims or their families. splcenter.org James Alex Fields Jr., who was sentenced to life in prison today for murdering a woman who was protesting a white supremacist rally two years ago, is a remorseless killer and a domestic terrorist.

ACLU (2019-06-28). Georgia Tried to Ban Abortion, So We Sued. aclu.org Abortion bans place people in danger, and Georgia's is no exception. | Alabama. Arkansas. Kentucky. Ohio. And today, Georgia. That's the list of states where the ACLU has had to go to court over the last few months to challenge laws banning abortion. | The Georgia law bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy and is in clear violation of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. In fact, that is the whole point of the law. Georgia politicians, including Governor Brian Kemp, emboldened by President Trump's appointment of two new justices to the Supreme Court, think this is their chance to get the court to take aw…

splcenter (2019-06-27). SPLC: Supreme Court decision not to stop politicians from rigging voting maps hurts our democracy. splcenter.org The Supreme Court decided today that federal courts have no role in regulating state legislatures' gross abuses of power when drawing political lines.

Paul Dobson (2019-06-26). Abrams Welcomes Venezuela's Former Intelligence Chief to the US, Reaffirms Trump's Commitment to Ousting Maduro. venezuelanalysis.com The press conference came as the Venezuelan military called for respect from those looking to fracture it.

Paul Dobson (2019-06-06). Venezuela: Pompeo Exposes Frustration Over Opposition Divisions as China, Russia Call for Non-Interference. venezuelanalysis.com The US Secretary of State claims efforts to unify the opposition have been "devilishly difficult."