2019-12-09: News Headlines

Ben Norton (2019-12-09). US and UK Military-Intelligence Apparatus Campaigns to Destroy Jeremy Corbyn. globalresearch.ca Days before Britain's historic election, the UK's military-intelligence apparatus is turning to the corporate media and US government-funded NATO cut-outs to smear Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn with evidence-free Russiagate allegations. | *** | The popular socialist leader of Britain's Labour Party, Jeremy

WSWS (2019-12-09). Exiled NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden condemns persecution of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. wsws.org Edward Snowden gave an interview via live video link to The Right Livelihood Awards in Stockholm, in which he categorically defended WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange and imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

WSWS (2019-12-09). UN Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer: "With censorship inevitably comes tyranny" wsws.org The World Socialist Web Site interviewed Nils Melzer, who denounced the role of governments and the mainstream media in the persecution of Julian Assange and warned of the dangerous consequences of the erosion of democratic rights.

WSWS (2019-12-09). Hundreds of journalists around the world sign open letter demanding freedom for Assange. wsws.org The signatories declare: "As journalists and journalists' organizations that believe in human rights, freedom of information and of the public's right to know, we demand the immediate release of Julian Assange."

Heather Stroud (2019-12-09). Question for Kirbymoorside UK Hustings Meeting: Would you stand up for Julian Assange? dissidentvoice.org To those candidates who are putting themselves forward as MPs to become a voice within the UK Parliament — would you stand up for Julian Assange and for those who. in speaking truth, have the audacity to challenge the dialogue of power? I am disappointed that my question relating to the arbitrary detention of Julian …

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts (2019-12-09). Will Artificial Intelligence Destroy Us or Simply Make Humans Irrelevant? globalresearch.ca Artificial Intelligence is generally seen as a great advance and benefit for mankind. Smart humans, however, see it as our undoing and even possibly our extermination. | Much of modern technology has far more prospect for harm than for good. | Consider …

Emily Apple (2019-12-09). The Sun deleted its latest Jeremy Corbyn smear after being caught using neo-Nazi sources. thecanary.co On Saturday 7 November, the Sun managed to plunge to a depth even we didn't think was possible. It published a smear about Jeremy Corbyn headlined: Ex-British intelligence officers say Jeremy Corbyn is at the centre of a hard-left extremist network.The story itself is laughable. These supposed intelligence officers have basically just scribbled a load of coloured lines on a website and added some names and links to back up their claims. But it's much worse than just another dodgy Sun story, because the researchers of this network used neo-Nazi and antisemitic sources to back up its already incredibly dodgy points:…

Jefferson Morley (2019-12-09). Trump's Hand-Picked Prosecutor John Durham Cleared the CIA Once, Will He Again? counterpunch.org For months, the names of Michael Horowitz and John Durham have figured in the pounding rhythms of right-wing media in which a heroically afflicted president faces down his perfidious enemies. A steady drumbeat of reports from Fox News, echoed by President Trump and Republican loyalists in Congress, proclaimed these two obscure Justice Department officials would get to the bottom of an alleged conspiracy against the Trump presidency. More

WSWS (2019-12-09). America's torturers and their co-conspirators must be prosecuted. wsws.org Five years after the release of the Senate report on CIA torture, the gruesome drawings contained in the Seton Hall Law School paper on "How America Tortures" are a powerful indictment of the entire US political establishment.

Staff (2019-12-09). Supreme Court Allows Kentucky's Fetal Ultrasound Law to Stand. truthdig.com WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before abortions. | The justices did not comment in refusing to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the law. Enforcement of the law had been on hold pending the legal challenge but will begin shortly, said Steve Pitt, general counsel to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. | The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the law on behalf of Kentucky's lone remaining abortion clinic. The ACLU argued that "display and describe" ultrasound laws violate physicians' speec…

RT (2019-12-09). Real Madrid star Benzema could face criminal trial over 'sextape blackmail' case. rt.com The French Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Karim Benzema to bury allegations dating back to 2015 regarding the former France international's alleged involvement in a plot to blackmail then-teammate Matthieu Valbuena. | The Real Madrid striker may now face a criminal trial after the dismissal of his appeal aimed at undermining the legality of a blackmail investigation which alleges that Benzema was part of a plot to blackmail Valbuena in relation to a so-called 'sex tape'. | The court determined that the methods of investigation used by authorities were within the legal framework of the law, contradic…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2019-12-09). Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal of Kentucky's Forced Ultrasound Law, Allowing Law Intended to 'Shame' Patients Stand. commondreams.org Kentucky will uphold a law reproductive rights groups say is intended only to "shame and intimidate" patients who seek abortion care, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Monday not to hear an appeal to H.B. 2, or what the ACLU calls a "forced narrated ultrasound law." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/5880678247_59510d0bff_o1_1_0_0.jpg

RT (2019-12-09). Ukraine, Syria, nukes and… Russiagate? What's all on the table as Lavrov goes to Washington. rt.com While there is little hope that relations between Washington and Moscow will warm up, the fact that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is meeting with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo suggests they haven't frozen over quite yet. | If unnamed diplomatic sources sharing insider information with news agencies are to be believed, Lavrov and Pompeo will discuss Ukraine, Syria, arms control and "other issues" between the US and Russia when they meet on Tuesday. | The last time Lavrov visited Washington, in May 2017, Pompeo was he…

RT (2019-12-09). Former CIA Director Brennan lied to Congress about Steele Dossier, IG report reveals. rt.com A dossier of salacious anti-Trump gossip was used to pad out the intelligence community report on supposed Russian election interference, and CIA Director John Brennan may have misled Congress about it, a new report reveals. | According to the Justice Department Inspector General's report into the FBI's surveillance of the Trump campaign, the information contained in the now-infamous 'Steele Dossier' was used to inform the Obama administration's Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russia's "Activities and Inte…

RT (2019-12-09). FBI surveillance 'an embarrassment to our country', Trump says, after Justice Department report released. rt.com President Donald Trump has slated the FBI's surveillance operation against him, calling it a "disgrace" and "an embarrassment to our country," after a Justice Department report found "mistakes" in the agency's conduct. | "This was an attempted overthrow and a lot of people were in on it, and they got caught," Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, hours after the Justice Department's Inspector General released a report on the origins of the FBI's 2016 counterintelligence probe against the Trump campaign. | "It's a disgrace…it's incredible, far worse than I would have ever thought possible. It's a…

Ben Norton (2019-12-08). US and UK military-intelligence apparatus campaigns to destroy Jeremy Corbyn. thegrayzone.com Days before Britain's historic election, the UK's military-intelligence apparatus is turning to the corporate media and US government-funded NATO cut-outs…

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-07). US Claims "Fresh Intelligence" Of Iran Attacks Yet Provides Zero Evidence — MSM Blindly Regurgitates. thelastamericanvagabond.com Here we go again with "fresh intelligence" to justify the continued sanctions and destabilization of Iran. It's a plan that has been well documented even by their own writings (See Which Path to Persia? — 2009). Of course, complicating U.S. foreign policy is the involvement of Israel. The Last American Vagabond covers the latest political posturing, distortion, and general …

Alan Macleod (2019-12-06). Study Reveals How UK Intelligence Works with Media to Smear Jeremy Corbyn. mintpressnews.com The United Kingdom goes to the polls December 12 in a pivotal vote that will decide the future of the country. Like in 2017, the Labour Party, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, is surging towards the ruling Conservative Party in the last weeks of campaigning. But he will not become Prime Minister if the UK's security services have anything to do with it. Corbyn, frequently compared to Bernie Sanders in terms of ideology, spent decades in the political wilderness, a lonely leftist voice among a party embracing neol…

Michael Steven Smith and Heidi Boghosian (2019-12-06). Inside the Organized Crime Syndicate Known as the CIA. dissidentvoice.org Douglas Valentine is an investigator and author with a rare and tenacious approach toward research. His writing results in uniquely incisive and revealing books on the dark side of U.S. intelligence activities and the National Security State. His latest book, The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World, draws parallels between CIA operations …

Ron Jacobs (2019-12-06). Law Seminar in the Hearing Room: Impeachment Day Six. counterpunch.org The week began with a few tweets from ignorant congresspeople and the president decrying the supposed unfairness of the proceedings. Pompeo chimed in with a remark that the timing was "unfortunate." His reasoning was that Trump had important business to take care of in Britain at the NATO meeting. You know, the North Atlantic Treaty More

Jon Schwarz (2019-12-06). The Supreme Court Case That Made Michael Bloomberg's Campaign Possible — and Doomed Kamala Harris. theintercept.com Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California suspended her presidential campaign on Tuesday. Why? Because, she said, she did not "have the financial resources we need to continue. I'm not a billionaire. I can't fund my own campaign." | Meanwhile, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who definitely is a billionaire, has spent at least $57 million of his own money since he jumped into the race on Novem…

RT (2019-12-06). Defense firm faked documents to bilk US government of $1.2 billion — lawsuit. rt.com A defense contractor overcharged the Pentagon by more than $1.2 billion for thousands of armored vehicles, a whistleblower's complaint alleges. The company also threatened employees who refused to go along with the grift. | With Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks responsible for more than six in ten deaths of US personnel in Iraq and four in ten deaths in Afghanistan in 2007, the Pentagon solicited designs for a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle to replace its thin-s…

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-05). CNN Says US Has "Fresh Intelligence" Of Iran Prepping Attack But Can't Show It & More NYT Propaganda. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/4/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

Staff (2019-12-05). Edward Snowden: If I Came Back to the U.S., I Would Likely Die in Prison for Telling the Truth. democracynow.org The Right Livelihood Awards celebrated their 40th anniversary Wednesday at the historic Cirkus Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, where more than a thousand people gathered to celebrate this year's four laureates: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; Chinese women's rights lawyer Guo Jianmei, Brazilian indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa and the organization he co-founded, the Yanomami Hutukara Association; and Sahrawi human rights leader Aminatou Haidar, who has challenged the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara for decades. The Right Livelihood Award is known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize." Over the past four deca…

Lucas Koerner (2019-12-04). TIAR Countries Blacklist Top Venezuelan Officials as US Slaps New Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Venezuela of "hijacking" mass anti-neoliberal protests in "our own backyard."

Alex Emmons (2019-12-04). Seventeen Years After His Arrest, Alleged USS Cole Plotter Is Still Fighting to See Records of His CIA Torture. theintercept.com Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri's lawyers say that details of his torture are essential to defending him against death penalty charges.

Jason Ditz (2019-12-03). Pompeo: US Will Prevent Cuba, Venezuela From 'Hijacking' Protests in Latin America. theantimedia.com Pompeo positioned the US as in favor of "democratic" protests in the region, while accusing Cuba and Venezuela of trying to "hijack" them.

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-03). Pompeo Says US Will "Help Prevent" Protests For "Legitimate" Governments & US Bombs Afghan Family. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (12/2/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

Christine Harrison (2019-11-16). Weekend Read: The importance of documenting racism in the White House. splcenter.org Earlier this week, the SPLC's Intelligence Project released the first two installments of an explosive four-part series examining more than 900 leaked emails between White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and an editor at the Breitbart News Network, a far-right website that its co-founder once dubbed the "platform for the alt-right."

Activist Post (2019-11-12). Pompeo's Iran Nuclear Lies Exposed Using Clear Evidence & The JCPOA Document Itself. thelastamericanvagabond.com Mike Pompeo continues to lead the propaganda push to get the public panicking about an Iran "nuclear breakout" even when all evidence shows that Iran is nowhere near capable of being a nuclear threat. Of course many other countries have far more robust nuclear programs, but because it's Iran we have to come together as …

Ryan Cristián (2019-11-09). Possible False Flag In Iraq, US Votes Against Anti-Nazi Res. & Pompeo's Iran Nuclear Lies Debunked. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (11/6/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …

CounterSpin (2019-10-04). Dana Gold on Whistleblower Protections, Craig Aaron on Net Neutrality Setback. fair.org Media…