(2019-03-07). Should We Trust Artificial Intelligence Regulation by Congress If Facebook Supports It? theintercept.com 
Last week, several members of Congress began pushing the resolution with the aim of "supporting the development of guidelines for ethical development of artificial intelligence." It was introduced by Reps. Brenda Lawrence and Ro Khanna — the latter of whom, crucially, represents Silicon Valley, which is to the ethical development of software what West Virginia is to the rollout of clean energy. This has helped make Khanna a national figure, in part because, far from being a tech industry cheerleader, he's publicly supported cracking down on the data Wild West his home district helped create. For exa…
(2019-03-07). Russia-gate Grand Wizard Deceives Audience About Assange. consortiumnews.com Obsessed Russia-gaters just can't accept that the Assange indictment has nothing to do with the 2016 election, writes Caitlin Johnstone. By Caitlin Johnstone Caitlinjohnstone.com When it was first revealed in November that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is under secret charges by the Trump administration,… Read more →
(2019-03-07). Trump Cancels Report on Civilians Killed by US Drone Strikes. theantimedia.com (CD) — In his latest attack on transparency, President Donald Trump on Wednesday rescinded a rule requiring U.S. intelligence officials to publicly disclose the number of civilians killed by drone strikes. "Shameful, indefensible, dangerous," tweeted Elizabeth Beavers, associate policy director with progressive advocacy group Indivisible. "Time for Congress to step in." Trump used an executive order to scrap the three-year-old rule, …
(2019-03-06). With Ecuador's Cooperation Bought by IMF Loans, Washington Waxes Optimistic on Assange Extradition. mintpressnews.com Moreno's willingness to quickly enact the various other requirements of the IMF loan begs the question of how quickly he will seek to enact the alleged U.S. government demands that have also been linked to the loan, namely Assange's asylum and Ecuadorian citizenship.
(2019-03-06). Assange May Be Elephant in Room as Chelsea Manning a Fights Federal Grand Jury Subpoena. mintpressnews.com "If you end up going to trial rather than taking a plea, they actually use it against you in sentencing. They do something called 'sentencing enhancement' and they call it 'failure to take responsibility.'" — CIA-Torture Whistleblower John Kiriakou…
(2019-03-06). US Court Upholds Subpoena of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning. globalresearch.ca Chelsea Manning yesterday lost the challenge she launched against a subpoena that requires her to be cross-examined by the Grand Jury in the Eastern District of Virginia which was convened in 2010 to decide whether to file charges against WikiLeaks …
(2019-03-06). Headlines for March 6, 2019. democracynow.org NY Regulators Probe Trump Org. Insurance Company, BLM Occupies Sacramento Police Dept. After Police Get Off for Killing Stephon Clark, Whistleblower: Chicago PD Tried to Falsify Report on Shooting of Unarmed Black Teen, House Updates Anti-Semitism Resolution to Include Islamophobia, Alabama Tornado Kills At Least 23, 8 Still Missing, U.K. Labour Leader Calls for End to Israeli Arms Sales, Egypt: Noted Photojournalist Shawkan Released After 5 Years in Jail, White House Rejects Dems' Request for Security Clearance Info, CNN: Trump Pressured Staff to Grant Security Clearance for Ivanka | , GOP Senators Confirm 37-Ye…
(2019-03-06). US court upholds subpoena of whistleblower Chelsea Manning. wsws.org The subpoena is an escalation of the US government's efforts to extradite Julian Assange, and a new and vindictive persecution of Manning.
(2019-03-06). Clapper claims he 'didn't lie' about NSA spying on Americans, but 'didn't understand' the question. rt.com 
NSA director-turned-cable-news-pundit James Clapper is still insisting he wasn't lying when he told a congressional panel the NSA wasn't spying on American citizens — three months before Edward Snowden told everyone it was.
(2019-03-06). Bernie Sanders Is Beating Kamala Harris 2-1 Among Black Democratic Primary Voters, New Poll Finds. theintercept.com Three weeks after launching his presidential campaign, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is leading all other announced candidates in support from black voters, a new poll finds. The only potential candidate who polled better with African-Americans than Sanders, according to the poll by Morning Consult, is former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not announced a campaign. | Despite a persistent notion that his supporters are disproportionately white male "bros," the new survey suggests that Sanders is actually slightly…
(2019-03-06). Russiagate Grand Wizard Rachel Maddow Deceives Audience About Julian Assange. theantimedia.com (CJ Opinion) — When it was first revealed in November that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is under secret charges by the Trump administration, I spent the next few days being told by Russiagaters that this was proof that I have been wrong about their demented cold war cult all along, because #MuellerTime is fast approaching. At long last, they vehemently assured …
(2019-03-06). NSA kills phone spying program exposed by Snowden… to replace it with something better? rt.com 
The National Security Agency has reportedly ended the intrusive spying program that combs through Americans' calls and texts and won't be seeking to renew it, begging the question — what are they doing now that's more effective?
(2019-03-05). Ending the NSA's Massive Phone Spying Program Would Be a Good Start — But There's a Lot More to Do. aclu.org The successor to the NSA's bulk surveillance program revealed by Snowden is reportedly being abandoned. Congress needs to make sure it stays dead. | We may be one step closer to putting the final nail in the coffin of the National Security Agency's massive phone records surveillance program, if a New York Times report bears out. Ending this program is a good first step, but as Congress debates expiring Patriot Act provisions this year, it needs to do much more to protect individual rights, including eliminating t…
(2019-03-05). Lawmakers move to end anti-worker, anti-consumer forced arbitration. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON — Five congressional Democrats, including the influential chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, have introduced legislation to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's 2-year-old ruling that forced workers into mandatory arbitration over disputes with bosses, including when forced arbitration overrides U.S. labor law. The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) act would also end forced arbitration …
(2019-03-05). Universities on the Foreign Payroll. truthout.org After the Central Intelligence Agency found that the crown prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia likely ordered the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced it would be reviewing its "Institute-level engagements" with the Kingdom. The fallout from the murder of Khashoggi has put a spotlight on Saudi Arabia's extensive financial connections to universities acro…
(2019-03-04). The Prisoner Says 'No' to Big Brother. consortiumnews.com The refusal by Australia's foreign ministry to honor the UN's declaration that Julian Assange is the victim of "arbitrary detention" is a shameful breach of the letter and spirit of international law, says John Pilger. By John Pilger in Sydney,… Read more →
(2019-03-04). John Bolton Defends Monroe Doctrine as Juan Guaido Lobs New Threats at Venezuela Gov't. mintpressnews.com Self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaido is to return to the country on March, 4 to lead new protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government. In returning he is risking arrest, as he was prohibited from leaving the country by the Venezuelan Supreme Court.
(2019-03-01). Watch the 18th Vigil for Julian Assange. consortiumnews.com The 18th Unity4J vigil for Julian Assange was held Friday evening. In this edition we broke down Trump lawyer Michael Cohn's testimony regarding WikiLeaks, Australia's repressive press law, as well as other news. You can watch it here: Read more →
(2019-03-01). JOHN KIRIAKOU: Neither Rain, Sleet, nor Snow Will Stop the Post Office From Spying on You. consortiumnews.com It's called the "Mail Cover Program" and it's run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Yes, even…
(2019-03-01). SPLC Action Fund: Grand jury investigation of school officials into alleged 'school safety' crimes erodes democracy, politicizes tragedy. splcenter.org The Florida Supreme Court recently ordered a statewide grand jury to investigate school officials in light of last year's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people. The high court's order was in response to a request from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
(2019-01-16). Was that the Onion or Reuters Quoting Mike Pompeo on Venezuela? zcomm.org 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 more…
(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.