(2019-01-01). Brasilia Militarized as Far-right Jair Bolsonaro Takes Oath. telesurenglish.net Far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who has vowed to crack down on left-wing opposition, progressive politics, and open up the Amazon harming the Indigenous population, was sworn in as Brazil's president Tuesday. | RELATED: | US: Mike Pompeo Starts Interventionist Latin American Tour | The neoliberal, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic former army captain scored the B…
(2019-01-01). Family of American held in Russia for 'spying' says he's innocent. aljazeera.com Brother of Paul Whelan says the retired marine was in Moscow for a wedding.
(2019-01-01). 'You Are Courting a Fascist': Pompeo Gives Inauguration US Blessing as Brazilians Brace for 'Repugnant' Bolsonaro. commondreams.org While progressives, women's rights advocates, journalists, and the LGBTQ community were among the many mourning Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's inauguration on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo angered critics Tuesday with a celebratory tweet congratulating the proud misogynist, who has defended Brazil's former military dictatorship. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/screen_shot_2019-01-01_at_11.29.23_am1.jpg…
(2019-01-01). Trump's Lawyer Rudy Giuliani Admits Julian Assange Should Not Be Prosecuted. theantimedia.com 
Donald Trump's lawyer said on Monday that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange should not be prosecuted and he compared WikiLeaks publications to the Pentagon Papers. (CN) — Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, said Monday that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange had done "nothing wrong" and should not go to jail for disseminating stolen information just as …
(2018-12-31). Prisoner for free speech. zcomm.org The US authorities' relentless pursuit of Assange is encouraged by the cowardice of many journalists who have abandoned him to his fate or even delight in his misfortune…
(2018-12-31). Prisoner for Free Speech: the Relentless Pursuit of Julian Assange. counterpunch.org CNN correspondent Jim Acosta returned to the White House on 17 November, a few days after a US judge had forced President Donald Trump to reverse the revocation of his press pass. Smiling before 50 or more photographers and cameramen, Acosta said triumphantly: 'This was a test and I think we passed the test. Journalists need to know that in this country their First Amendment rights of freedom of the press are sacred, they're protected in our constitution. Throughout all of this I was confident and I thought that … our rights would be protected as we continue to cover our government and hold our leaders accounta…
(2018-12-31). Giuliani Says Assange Should Not Be Prosecuted. consortiumnews.com Donald Trump's lawyer said on Monday that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange should not be prosecuted and he compared WikiLeaks publications to the Pentagon Papers. By Joe Lauria Special to Consortium News Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, said… Read more →
(2018-12-31). Justice for Julian Assange, Test of Western Democracy. commondreams.org Julian Assange, through his work with WikiLeaks, engaged in that type of vibrant journalism that revitalized the impulse for real democracy.(Photo: Reuters) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/assange_8.jpg…
(2018-12-31). UAE: Rights Defender's Conviction Upheld. hrw.org 
| | Ahmed Mansoor speaks to Reuters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2011. | © 2011 Reuters | The United Arab Emirates Federal Supreme Court, the country's court of last resort in state security cases, on December 31, 2018, upheld a 10-year sentence for Ahmed Mansoor, an award-winning human rights activist, Human Rights Watch said today. | In May, an Abu Dhabi court sentenced Mansoor to 10 years in prison for "defaming" the UAE on s…
(2018-12-31). US intelligence think tank conducted "false flag" operation impersonating Russian election interference. wsws.org New Knowledge sought to influence the 2017 Alabama election and make it appear that Russia was intervening to back the Republican candidate.
(2018-12-28). Watch Replay of 10th Online Vigil for Julian Assange. consortiumnews.com Consortium News on Friday night broadcast live the 10th online vigil for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. Among the guests was Francis Boyle, a University of Illinois international law professor, who spoke about his experiences with the U.S.-British extradition treaty. Other guests… Read more →
(2018-12-28). A Path to Freedom? Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal Wins Chance to Reargue Appeal in 1981 Police Killing. democracynow.org 
Former Black Panther and award-winning journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner but has always maintained his innocence. On Thursday, a Philadelphia judge ruled Abu-Jamal can reargue his appeal in the case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The judge cited then-Chief Justice Ronald Castille's failure to recuse himself from the case due to his prior role as Philadelphia district attorney when Abu-Jamal was appealing. We get an update from Johanna Fernández, professor of history at Baruch College-CUNY and one of the coordinators of the Campaign t…
(2018-12-27). A Reuters Report on Iran That Spurred US Diatribes. consortiumnews.com This year, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made speeches about corruption and property confiscation in Iran that borrowed animating details from a skewed, 5-year-old story that is gaining influence, writes Ivan Kesic. By Ivan Kesic in Zagreb, Croatia Special to… Read more →
(2018-12-27). "RBG": As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Recovers from Surgery, a Remarkable Film Charts Her Trajectory. democracynow.org 
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital following surgery that removed two malignant growths in her left lung. Doctors called the surgery a success and said there's no sign that Ginsburg's cancer has spread. The health of the liberal 85-year-old justice—the oldest sitting justice on the Supreme Court bench—has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. In November, she was hospitalized after a fall that resulted in three fractured ribs. She previously fractured two ribs in 2012 and has twice survived cancer—pancreatic cancer in 2009 and colon cancer in…
(2018-12-26). Headlines for December 26, 2018. democracynow.org 8-Year-Old Guatemalan Migrant Dies in U.S. Custody, Trump Warns of "Very Long" Government Shutdown over Border Wall, 800,000 Federal Employees Furloughed or Working Without Pay, Supreme Court Blocks Trump's Asylum Ban, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Lung Cancer Surgery, ICE Strands Hundreds of Migrants in Winter Cold for Christmas, Stocks Plunge as Trump Assails Federal Reserve, Syria: Israeli Warplanes Bomb Sites Near Damascus, U.S. Ends Support to Kurdish Militias as Turkish Troops Mass for Invasion, Trump to Replace James Mattis with Patrick Shanahan on January 1, U.S. Anti-ISIS Envoy Quits over…
(2018-12-26). 8-Year-Old Guatemalan Boy Dies in Border Patrol Custody Days After High Court Rejects Asylum Ban. democracynow.org 
For the second time this month, a Guatemalan child has died in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Eight-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo died in New Mexico on Christmas Eve, after being detained since December 18. This follows the death of a 7-year-old indigenous Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquín, who died on December 8, two days after she and her father presented themselves at the border in a bid for asylum. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's asylum ban, which attempted to deny asylum to anyone entering the country from outside of a legal port of entry. Supreme Court Chief…
(2018-12-25). The Double Games of Foes and Friends: The Intercept's 2018 National Security Coverage. theintercept.com 
From government eavesdropping on private citizens to revelatory details about Russian interference in the 2016 election to Washington's draconian efforts to track and punish whistleblowers and journalists, surveillance and spying have been recurring themes this year. Influence-peddling has been rampant, with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies cozying up to the Trump administration in exchange for insider information, freedom to silence dissidents, and crucial assistance for their brutal war in Yemen. The U.S. government, meanwhile, has been up to its old tricks, honoring war criminals and promoting a notorious over…
(2018-12-24). Cold War Radar System a Trillion Dollar Fraud — Lester Earnest on RAI (1/4). therealnews.com 
Profit and deception drove cold-war militarization, says Lester Earnest, founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at Stanford; Earnest says the anti-nuclear bomber SAGE radar system never worked and carried on for 25 years — Lester Earnest on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay
(2018-12-23). Indigenous Nation Blocks TransCanada Pipeline with New Checkpoint. therealnews.com 
When TransCanada attempts to deliver a Canadian court injunction against a decade-old Wet'suwet'en checkpoint, they run into a second checkpoint instead. The Wet'suwet'en people have never signed treaties with Canada or sold their lands, a fact confirmed by Canada's Supreme Court in 1997 in a landmark case known as Delgamuukw.
(2018-12-21). Headlines for December 21, 2018. democracynow.org Secretary of Defense Mattis Resigns in Rebuke of Trump Foreign Policy, Trump & Senate at Impasse over Border Wall Funding as Shutdown Looms, Acting AG Whitaker Rejected Advice of DOJ to Recuse Himself from Mueller Probe, U.S. Plans to Send Asylum Seekers Back to Mexico While Awaiting Claims Processing, Treasury Dept. Lifts Sanctions on Russian Oligarch's Business Empire, DOJ Charges 2 Chinese Nationals over Massive Hacking Campaign, Yemeni Mother Reunites with Dying Son After Travel Ban Waiver, Egypt: Court Acquits 40 NGO Workers over 2013 Illegal Funding Charges, Pope Francis: Catholic Church Will "Never Again"
(2018-12-21). SPLC statement on Supreme Court's denial of Trump administration's request to immediately enforce asylum ban. splcenter.org …
(2018-12-08). How George HW Bush's 1989 invasion of Panama set the stage for US wars to come. greenleft.org.au 
The death of George H.W. Bush has dominated the U.S. news for days, but little attention has been paid to the defining event of Bush's first year in office: the invasion of Panama. On December 19, 1989, Bush Sr. sent tens of thousands of troops into Panama, ostensibly to execute an arrest warrant against its leader, Manuel Noriega, on charges of drug trafficking. General Noriega was once a close ally to Washington and on the CIA payroll. | In a nationally televised address, Bush claimed the invasion was needed to defend democracy in Panama. During the attack, the U.S. unleashed a force of 24,000 troops equipped w…
(2018-12-07). Jury fails to agree on verdict in trial of Kurdish journalist. greenleft.org.au 
NSW Supreme Court judge Lucy McCallum discharged the jury on December 6 after it failed to agree on a verdict in the trial of Kurdish journalist Renas Lelikan on "foreign fighter" charges under Australia's draconian "anti-terrorism" laws. | Lelikan denied this charge, insisting he was not a combatant but a journalist reporting on the Kurdish liberation struggle. | A February 15 hearing will be told if the prosecution intends to ask for a re-trial. Lelikan remains free on bail, with relaxed conditions. | The case had been going on for nine weeks, four of which have been taken up with the jury's deliberation. | Phi…
(2018-12-04). With INF Ultimatum, Trump's Maximalist Approach Strikes Again. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — December 4, 2018 — In response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement that the U.S. will formally announce its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 60 days if Russia does not come into compliance with the treaty by then, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy […]
(2018-11-29). On Julian Assange and the Political Economy & future of Europe. zcomm.org Interview on the socio-economic transformations taking place within the core of the European Union and how much time is left until it disintegrates…
(2018-11-26). Crucifying Julian Assange. zcomm.org Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria, journalist and editor-in-chief, Consortium, discuss efforts to force #WikiLeaks publisher, #JulianAssange, out of the Ecuador Embassy in London and extradite him to the USA to stand trial.