To Ola Bini, a Political Prisoner Caught Up in the Assange Debacle
Vijay Prashad | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-17
Dear Ola, The last time we had a long conversation, it was about the night. We were at a hotel in South America, where the ambient noise near your room was fairly loud. By ambient noise, I mean music. There was a band playing, a bar in motion, people happy for the evening. You said…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/17/to-ola-bini-a-political-prisoner-caught-up-in-the-assange-debacle/

How the Pentagon and CIA push Venezuela regime-change propaganda in video games
Max Blumenthal | mronline.org | 2019-04-17
The US military and CIA launder coup propaganda through popular first-person shooter video games like Call of Duty, simulating assassinations of Venezeula's socialist leader and sabotage of its electrical infrastructure. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/04/17/how-the-pentagon-and-cia-push-venezuela-regime-change-propaganda-in-video-games/

VIPS Fault Mueller Probe, Criticize Refusal To Interview Assange
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-17
The bug in Mueller's report to be released Thursday is that he accepts that the Russian government interfered in the election. Trump should challenge that, says VIPS. MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: The Fly in… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/16/vips-fault-mueller-probe-criticize-refusal-to-interview-assange/

Assange Arrest, Part 1: "So Now He's Our Property"
Media Lens | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-17
If 'journalism' meant what it is supposed to mean– acting as the proverbial 'fourth estate' to challenge power and to keep the public informed — then Julian Assange and WikiLeaks would be universally lauded as paragons. So would Chelsea Manning, the brave former US Army whistleblower who passed on to WikiLeaks more than 700,000 confidential …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/assange-arrest-part-1-so-now-hes-our-property/

Iran Officially Adds US Forces to Terrorist List
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-17
Iran has officially added the U.S. Armed Forces in the Middle East to their terrorist list, IRNA reported Tuesday. | RELATED: | Iran Calls Pompeo's Accusations of Meddling in Venezuela 'Ridiculous' | Iran's Minister of Defense General Amir Hatami first introduced the bill declaring the U.S. Armed Forces in the Middle East as terrorists shortly after Trump's designation, but it was not approved until recently. | The Iranian lawmakers unanimously supported the bill, IRNA re…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Officially-Adds-US-Forces-to-Terrorist-List-20190417-0003.html

Pompeo is "Setting the Stage for a War with Iran"
STAFF | therealnews.com | 2019-04-17
In recent congressional testimony, Sec. of State Pompeo linked Iran to al Qaeda and 9/11 and would not say whether he would apply the 2001 war authorization (AUMF) to Iran. Col. Larry Wilkerson discusses the implications…
therealnews.com/stories/pompeo-is-setting-the-stage-for-a-war-with-iran

Delegitimising Journalism: The Effort to Relabel Julian Assange
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-17
"Your honour, I represent the United States government". The Westminster Magistrates Court had been left with little doubt by the opening words of the legal team marshalled against the face of WikiLeaks. Julian Assange was being targeted by the imperium itself, an effort now only garnished by the issue of skipping bail in 2012. Would the…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/17/delegitimising-journalism-the-effort-to-relabel-julian-assange/

Julian Assange Arrested: Murdering Human Rights, Freedom of Speech, Murdering Freedom
Peter Koenig | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-17
Indignation has no limits! Arresting Julian Assange is murdering the truth, murdering Human Rights — and eliminating freedom of speech, let alone freedom of the media. The latter has been a farce since a while, but what happened on 11 April and in preparation of 11 April — the storming by UK police of the …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/julian-assange-arrested-murdering-human-rights-freedom-of-speech-murdering-freedom/

Julian Assange's Victory
Andre Vltchek | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-17
Throughout history, dark and reactionary forces have always attempted to control the world; by violence, by deceit, by kidnapping and perverting the mainstream narrative, or by spreading fear among the masses. | Consistently, brave and honest individuals have been standing up, …
globalresearch.ca/julian-assanges-victory/5674692

Washington's Biggest Fairy Tale: "Truth Will Out"
James Bovard | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-17
The arrest of Julian Assange has produced rapturous cheering from the American political elite. Hillary Clinton declared that Assange "must answer for what he has done." Unfortunately, Assange's arrest will do nothing to prevent the vast majority of conniving politicians and bureaucrats from paying no price for deceiving the American public.
counterpunch.org/2019/04/17/washingtons-biggest-fairy-tale-truth-will-out/

Julian Assange's Victory
Andre Vltchek | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-17
Throughout history, dark and reactionary forces have always attempted to control the world; by violence, by deceit, by kidnapping and perverting the mainstream narrative, or by spreading fear among the masses. Consistently, brave and honest individuals have been standing up, exposing lies, confronting the brutality and depravity. Some have fought against insane and corrupt rulers …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/julian-assanges-victory/

Moreno: Assange is an 'Informational Terrorist,' Russian Agent
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-17
Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno, in an exclusive interview with the BBC, stated that Julian Assange could be an agent of Russia, who has selectively never revealed information about Moscow amid leaking information about other nations. | RELATED: | Julian Assange Wins 2019 EU Journalism Award | Moreno also discredited Assange as a journalist and accused the WikiLeaks chief of working to preserve Russia and expose other countries, as evidenced by his interfering with the Vatican, the United Stat…
telesurenglish.net/news/Moreno-Assange-is-an-Informational-Terrorist-Russian-Agent-20190417-0013.html

May 3rd Day Of Action For Journalists &Whistleblowers -Stand Up For Assange & Manning
WPFDA | indybay.org | 2019-04-17
On World Press Freedom Day on May 3 actions will take place around the world to demand the freedom of Journalist Julian Assange, Whistleblower Chelsea Manning and all jailed journalists and whistleblowers…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/04/16/18822766.php

The media's role in persecuting Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-17
The newspapers, the broadcast news, and, perhaps worst of all, the late-night talk shows have targeted crude insults against a persecuted man who cannot defend himself.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/17/medi-a17.html

Trump Is 'Going To Go Full Animal' Says Steve Bannon
Curt Wechsler | indybay.org | 2019-04-17
Donald Trump's former chief adviser predicted Mr. Trump would "come off the chains" and use the Mueller Report to "bludgeon" his opponents and ignore congressional oversight requests for documents. Attorney General Barr's memorandum on Mueller's report left Trump feeling vindicated, triumphant and unleashed.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/04/15/18822746.php

Pentagon ordered to draft military plans to counter Russia and China in Venezuela
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-17
The report of active planning for US military intervention followed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's provocative visit to the Venezuelan-Colombian border on Sunday.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/17/vene-a17.html

SEP and IYSSE in Sri Lanka rally to defend Assange and Manning
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-17
Sri Lankan media outlets, including Veerakesari, Sri Lanka's main Tamil-language daily newspaper, covered the SEP and IYSSE demonstration in Colombo.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/17/rall-a17.html

Unsealed affidavit demonstrates US seeking to prosecute Assange for his journalism
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-17
The extradition request is a pseudo-legal figleaf for an extraordinary rendition operation.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/17/assa-a17.html

'Shameful': With Millions on Brink of Famine in Yemen, Trump Vetoes Resolution to End US Complicity
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-04-17
Congress urged to "pull out the stops to confront this president who thinks starving millions of Yemenis is a price worth paying for high arms industry profits." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_pompeo.png…
commondreams.org/news/2019/04/17/shameful-millions-brink-famine-yemen-trump-vetoes-resolution-end-us-complicity?cd-origin=rss

Over 140 attend lecture by Christoph Vandreier in Michigan on "The Threat of Fascism and How to Fight It"
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-17
Vandreier, deputy national secretary of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, and WSWS chairman David North related the arrest and persecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the global turn to authoritarianism.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/17/uofm-a17.html

Assange Used Ecuadorian Embassy for Spying? Lenin Moreno
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-16
Unacceptable actions need a veneer of plausibility to make them appear justifiable, no matter how outrageous they are in the cold light of day. | The US unjustifiably justifies naked aggression and other hostile actions on the phony pretexts of humanitarian …
globalresearch.ca/assange-used-ecuadorian-embassy-spying/5674622

San Francisco Housing Prices Are Set Based on What Rich Techies Can Pay
STAFF | truthout.org | 2019-04-16
This video is episode 2 of the series " Priced Out," created by [people. power. media]. | Curtis and Riley with the help of Riley's Artificial Intelligence watch, Olive, meet with condo developer Sumir who tells them how development works.
truthout.org/video/san-francisco-housing-prices-are-set-based-on-what-rich-techies-can-pay/

A Land Uncharted: the Persecution of Julian Assange
Kenn Orphan | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-16
The persecution and arrest of Julian Assange is the first and most definitive step toward full blown global fascism. The symbolism of a gravely ill journalist being manhandled by uniformed henchmen is the exact imagery it needed to send a chilling message to whistleblowers and the press. The assault and eventual dismantling of what remains of a free press has always been that first step, and it is what lies on the horizon barring mass dissent. For decades the mainstream media has acquiesced to the demands of the corporate world of high finance that now owns them outright and the military and surveillance state th…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/16/a-land-uncharted-the-persecution-of-julian-assange/

Julian Assange Wins 2019 EU Journalism Award
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-16
Julian Assange has been awarded the 2019 European United Left-Nordic Green Left Award for Journalists, Whistleblowers and Defenders of the Right to Information, WikiLeaks informed Tuesday. | RELATED: | The Assange Arrest is a Warning From History | The award is given to individuals "uncovering the truth and exposing it to the public" and to honor "individuals or groups who have been intimidated and/or persecuted" for such actions. Thus recognizing Assange's work through WikiLeaks. | The prize i…
telesurenglish.net/news/Julian-Assange-Wins-2019-EU-Journalism-Award-20190416-0035.html

Few Good Men in Post-NATO Libyan Quagmire as Jihadists Battle Former CIA Asset's Forces
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-16
It is likely that Saudi Arabia sees Libya's Khalifa Haftar as a means of beating down the Muslim Brotherhood, which has a notoriously hostile relationship with the Wahhabi kingdom.
mintpressnews.com/good-men-post-nato-libya-quagmire-jihadists-battle-khalifa-haftar-forces/257462/

China First Quarter GDP Growth at 6.4 Percent Beats Naysayers
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-16
China's economy grew at a steady 6.4 percent pace in the first quarter from a year earlier, defying expectations for a slowdown, as industrial output jumped sharply. | The upbeat readings, which also showed faster growth in retail sales and investment, are likely to add to optimism that China's cooling economy may be starting to stabilize, relieving some investor anxiety over sputtering global demand. | RELATED: | 'Pompeo has Lost His Mind': Chinese Ambassador to Chile | Analysts polled…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-First-Quarter-GDP-Growth-at-6.4-Percent-Beats-Naysayers-20190416-0037.html

PATRICK LAWRENCE: Trump & the Bolton-Pompeo Axis
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-16
Patrick Lawrence eyes the U.S. president's difficulties with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton as he tries to resume peace talks with Pyongyang. By Patrick Lawrence Special to Consortium News Moon Jae-in's Oval Office meeting… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/16/patrick-lawrence-trump-the-bolton-pompeo-axis/

Mike Pompeo Continues Venezuela Regime Change Tour — Vows to 'Tighten Noose'
Ricardo Vaz | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-16
UN Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy has criticized the use of sanctions to promote regime change, while former UN Expert Alfred de Zayas likened sanctions to "medieval sieges," meant to bring countries "to their knees."
mintpressnews.com/canada-imposes-fresh-sanctions-pompeo-vows-tighten-noose-venezuela/257446/

Legal Experts Say There's No Justification for Refusing to Release the Mueller Report in Full
Joshua Holland | thenation.com | 2019-04-16
Legal Experts Say There's No Justification for Refusing to Release the Mueller Report in Full…
thenation.com/article/william-barr-robert-mueller-democrats-trump-impeachment/

From Tribe, to King, to 'Democracy' to Mafia. The Criminalization of US Politics
Deena Stryker | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-16
The dramatic arrest of Julian Assange, hauled bodily from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, will be touted as an example of 'rules-based' politics, and yet his 'crime' is to have revealed the underside of modern democracy. | The problem is no …
globalresearch.ca/tribe-king-democracy-mafia/5674526

Assange's Judge a Disgrace to the Bench, Former UK Ambassador Says
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-16
Craig Murray asks you to imagine Western media reaction if a Russian opposition politician were dragged out by armed police, and within three hours convicted on a political charge by a patently biased judge. By Craig Murray CraigMurray.org.uk Both Chelsea… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/15/assanges-judge-a-disgrace-to-the-bench-former-uk-ambassador-says/

Julian and Martin: Reflections on the Arrest of Assange
Richard Rubenstein | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-16
Will someone please explain to me why Martin Luther King, Jr. is considered a hero for violating laws sustaining the system of racial discrimination, while Julian Assange is considered a villain for violating laws sustaining the system of imperial war? Democratic Party bigwigs are celebrating the arrest of the Wikileaks founder in London and the…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/16/julian-and-martin-reflections-on-the-arrest-of-assange/

The Ordeal of Julian Assange
Denis Rogatyuk | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-16
The scenes of six Metropolitan police officers dragging Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London as he was clutching a copy of "History of the National Security State" by Gore Vidal have sent shockwaves of horror and an avalanche of condemnation from all around the world. Although Lenin Moreno has been working towards…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/16/the-ordeal-of-julian-assange/

Assange 'must answer for what he has done', says Hillary Clinton — who backed devastating wars abroad
Mohamed Elmaazi | thecanary.co | 2019-04-16
Hillary Clinton recently told an audience in New York that Julian Assange "must answer for what he has done". The problem is that, while … | Read more Assange 'must answer for what he has done', says Hillary Clinton — who backed devastating wars abroad | By Mohamed Elmaazi…
thecanary.co/trending/2019/04/16/assange-must-answer-for-what-he-has-done-says-hillary-clinton-who-backed-devastating-wars-abroad/

Uncle Tom's Empire
C. J. Hopkins | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-16
I don't normally do this kind of thing, but, given the arrest of Julian Assange last week, and the awkward and cowardly responses thereto, I felt it necessary to abandon my customary literary standards and spew out a spineless, hypocritical "hot take" professing my concern about the dangerous precedent the U.S. government may be setting …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/uncle-toms-empire/

Manning, Assange, WikiLeaks and U.S. war crimes
Taryn Fivek | workers.org | 2019-04-16
No person who watched "Collateral Murder" could deny the brutality of U.S. imperialism. Smuggled out of Iraq by Chelsea Manning and published by WikiLeaks in 2010, the video reveals the murder of more than a dozen people by occupying U.S. soldiers from Apache helicopters. The video itself is shot from . . . | Continue reading Manning, Assange, WikiLeaks and U.S. war crimes at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/04/16/manning-assange-wikileaks-and-u-s-war-crimes/

If Your Country Were Committing War Crimes Would You Want to Know?
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-16
That is a question one might pose to people who are celebrating the arrest of Julian Assange. The arrest of WikiLeakers founder Julian Assange on April 11 has been met with celebration by politicians and media figures and with howls… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/16/if-your-country-were-committing-war-crimes-would-you-want-to-know/

Julian Assange Arrested — Murdering Human Rights, Freedom of Speech — Murdering Freedom
Peter Koenig | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-16
Indignation has no limits! Arresting Julian Assange is murdering the truth, murdering Human Rights — and eliminating freedom of speech, let alone freedom of the media. The latter has been a farce since a while, but what happened on 11 …
globalresearch.ca/julian-assange-arrested-human-rights-freedom-speech/5674581

Youth at climate rally in Leeds, England speak out to defend Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-16
WSWS reporters spoke about the arrest and imprisoning of Julian Assange with young people who attended last Friday's rally against climate change in Leeds, England.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/16/leed-a16.html

What the Supreme Court ruling could mean for civil asset forfeiture
Emily Early, Staff Attorney, Economic Justice Project | splcenter.org | 2019-04-16
As the U.S. Supreme Court pointed out on Feb. 20, the constitutional clause that protects Americans from having to pay "excessive fines" traces its lineage to the Magna Carta, which set forth certain rights in England more than 800 years ago.
splcenter.org/news/2019/04/16/what-supreme-court-ruling-could-mean-civil-asset-forfeiture

Australian political establishment rejects calls for defence of Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-16
Both the ruling Liberal-National Coalition and opposition Labor Party have doubled down on their support for Washington's decade-long operation to lock Assange away.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/16/aust-a16.html

Kavanaugh's Confirmation Traumatized American Women, Study Shows—And May Have Made Them Less Safe
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-04-16
The Supreme Court Justice's confirmation hearings left Americans fearful for women's rights and safety and left many men less likely to believe a woman's allegations of assault | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-10418496401_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/04/16/kavanaughs-confirmation-traumatized-american-women-study-shows-and-may-have-made?cd-origin=rss

Ecuador arrests Swedish associate of Assange amid threat of crackdown
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-16
The arrest of Ola Beni, carried out on the sole evidence of his having visited Assange, signals that the Ecuadorian government is preparing broader political repression.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/16/ecua-a16.html

US workers demand the release of Julian Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-16
Workers in the United States have reacted with outrage over the jailing of Julian Assange and the efforts of the Trump administration to illegally seize the WikiLeaks founder and subject him to detention, possible torture and even death.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/16/assa-a16.html

Prominent WikiLeaks supporter Somerset Bean speaks out in defence of Assange
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-16
"The powers that be want to use the persecution of a successful and effective publisher as a warning to us all not to challenge their power and their crimes."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/16/bean-a16.html

Venezuelan Supreme Court Rejects Canadian Coercive Measures
plenglish | plenglish.com | 2019-04-16
Caracas, April 16 (Prensa Latina) The President of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), Maikel Moreno, rejected on Tuesday the coercive measures adopted by the Government of Canada against a group of representatives of the Judicial Branch of Venezuela.
www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=40982&SEO=venezuelan-supreme-court-rejects-canadian-coercive-measures

SEP (Sri Lanka) calls urgent picket to defend Assange and Manning
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-16
The protest called by the SEP and IYSSE will be held at 4 pm today at Fort Railway Station, Colombo.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/16/pick-a16.html

VIDEO: How the Pentagon and CIA Push Venezuela Regime-Change Propaganda in Video Games
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2019-04-15
The US military and CIA launder coup propaganda through popular first-person shooter video games like Call of Duty, simulating assassinations…
thegrayzone.com/2019/04/15/video-how-the-pentagon-and-cia-push-venezuelan-regime-change-propaganda-through-first-person-shooter-games/

After Assange's Arrest, Ecuador's Creep Towards Authoritarianism Becomes a Sprint
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-15
The recent violation of Assange's rights as both political asylee and citizen of Ecuador sends a chilling message to Ecuadorians who are being increasingly targeted for their political views both within Ecuador and abroad.
mintpressnews.com/with-assange-arrest-ecuador-creeps-further-towards-authoritarianism/257381/

The Assange Arrest is a Warning from History
John Pilger | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-15
The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in almost seven years. That this outrage happened in the heart of …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/the-assange-arrest-is-a-warning-from-history/