With Extradition Imminent, the Implications of Assange's Persecution for Journalism and Democracy
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-05
In light of Wikileaks tweeting that Julian Assange will be forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in a matter of "hours or days, MPN brings you a piece by Whitney Webb first published last June on the dangerous implications of the persecution of the Wikileaks founder.
mintpressnews.com/the-implications-of-juilian-assange-persecution-for-journalism-and-democracy/244339/

What Baltimore's Children's Book Scam Says About Corporate Power
STAFF | therealnews.com | 2019-04-05
Baltimore Beat Editor-in-Chief Lisa Snowden-McCray discusses the fallout from the unfolding Healthy Holly corruption scandal…
therealnews.com/stories/what-baltimores-childrens-book-scam-says-about-corporate-power

NATO's Mission Creeps into Latin America as Unholy Alliance Turns 70
Alexander Rubinstein | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-05
"Vladimir Putin harbors dark dreams of imperialism," Mike Pompeo told his NATO audience with his usual lack of self-reflection. Pompeo went on to bemoan Russia's military presence in Venezuela, where 100 military personnel have been stationed in defense of the government of Nicolas Maduro.
mintpressnews.com/nato-mission-creeps-into-latin-america-as-unholy-alliance-turns-70/257012/

Pompeo Appoints Fox News Neocon as Spokesperson
Kurt Nimmo | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-05
And the neocon-ization of the Trump administration continues. While The Donald is packing away Big Macs and Diet Cokes, his neocon secretary of state is appointing likeminded warmongers. | Morgan Ortagus is a deep insider with connections to both sides of …
globalresearch.ca/pompeo-appoints-fox-news-neocon-spokesperson/5673656

UN Torture Expert Urges Ecuador Not to Expel Assange
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-05
Fears over Julian Assange's expulsion from the Ecuadorean Ambassy in London have been growing over the past few days, following threats by Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno that he will "make a decision in the short term" on the situation of the Wikileaks editor. | RELATED: | INA Papers: The Corruption Case Against Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno | The Ecuadorean President argued Tuesday that the Wikileaks founder has "repeatedly violated" the terms of his asylum in th…
telesurenglish.net/news/UN-Torture-Expert-Urges-Ecuador-Not-to-Expel-Assange–20190405-0020.html

LIVE: Join Christine Assange, Dan Ellsberg and Many More for Marathon Assange Vigil, Starting at 4 PM EST Today
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-05
Join us for a marathon, online vigil beginning Friday at 4 pm EST, after two sources in the Ecuadorian government told WikiLeaks it can expect Julian Assange to be expelled from the London Embassy within "hours or days." Among the… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/05/live-join-christine-assange-dan-ellsberg-and-many-more-for-marathon-assange-vigil-starting-at-4-pm-est-today/

Ecuador Twists Embarrassing INA Papers into Pretext to Oust Assange
Defend Wikileaks | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-05
On 26 March, WikiLeaks' Twitter account announced that President Moreno is being investigated by Ecuador's Congress for corruption, sparked by the INA Papers leak. The same tweet referenced President Moreno's attempt to surrender Assange in exchange for US debt relief, …
globalresearch.ca/ecuador-ina-papers-pretext-oust-assange/5673682

Terms of Asylum and Distraction: Moreno's Assange Problem
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-05
Political asylum is an accepted if often ignored right. It is also at the mercy of those interests that grant it. Ecuador's repeated insistence on conditioning Julian Assange's stay in its London abode is tantamount to corroding the idea of asylum to vacuity. You are granted asylum as a political dissident, but political dissident you…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/05/terms-of-asylum-and-distraction-morenos-assange-problem/

UK Minister: 'Assange Is a Free Man, He Can Leave The Embassy'
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-04-05
Amid talk that of expulsion, which would lead to a possible arrest, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt claims that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London whenever he chooses to do so. | RELATED: | WikiLeaks Says Assange to Be Expelled Within 'Hours to Days' | "Well Julian Assange is a free man, he can leave the embassy whenever he wants to. So, we want the situation resolved as quickly as possible," the minister said Friday to a reporter who…
telesurenglish.net/news/UK-Minister-Assange-Is-a-Free-Man-He-Can-Leave-The-Embassy-20190405-0006.html

Protecting Julian Assange: A Must for People of Conscience
Kim Petersen | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-05
A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told Wikileaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within 'hours to days.' — WikiLeaks on Twitter. | The Mueller investigation of an alleged collusion between Donald Trump and Russia to influence the …
globalresearch.ca/protecting-julian-assange/5673698

Julian Assange faces 'imminent eviction' by Ecuadorian president implicated in corruption scandal
Tom Coburg | thecanary.co | 2019-04-05
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange believes he is under imminent threat of eviction from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. WikiLeaks states this could happen within … | Read more Julian Assange faces 'imminent eviction' by Ecuadorian president implicated in corruption scandal | By Tom Coburg…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2019/04/05/julian-assange-faces-imminent-eviction-by-ecuadorian-president-implicated-in-corruption-scandal/

Lessons for Progressives from Bob Mueller — and the Valerie Plame Affair
Charles Davis | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-05
If one of Donald Trump's oafish sons outed a covert intelligence agent tomorrow — in an angry tweet disclosing their party registration or in a clumsy boast to an Instagram thirst-trap — it would prompt a newscycle of clucking from former national security officials and their conventionally liberal interrogators. A spook would call it "treason,"
counterpunch.org/2019/04/05/lessons-for-progressives-from-bob-mueller-and-the-valerie-plame-affair/

Twitter locked me out of my account for reporting on extremists
Michael Edison Hayden, Intelligence Project | splcenter.org | 2019-04-05
Twitter temporarily suspended my account this week after I posted a tweet that opposed far-right extremism.
splcenter.org/news/2019/04/05/twitter-locked-me-out-my-account-reporting-extremists

The Case Against the CIA's Censors
Melvin Goodman | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-05
I have joined in a lawsuit with four former federal employees to end the government's censorship of our writings on national security issues. The current publications review system of our military and intelligence agencies is dysfunctional, inhibiting our ability to participate in national security debates. The government has a legitimate interest in protecting bona fide secrets, but the review system is opaque, exceeding legitimate national security boundaries and compromising free speech.
counterpunch.org/2019/04/05/the-case-against-the-cias-censors/

Iraq's WMDs Found…In Russia
Rob Urie | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-05
In late 2017, actor Morgan Freeman announced in a video created by a who's who of senior U.S. Intelligence officials that Russia had attacked the United States and that 'we' were at war. Freeman, whose net worth is said to be about a quarter-billion dollars, claimed that ex-Soviet 'authoritarian' Vladimir Putin, bitter about the dissolution of 'his' country, was behind the attack. The terms 'attack' and 'war' were not qualified as metaphors.
counterpunch.org/2019/04/05/iraqs-wmds-found-in-russia/

Pentagon Obsession: China, China, China
Pepe Escobar | globalresearch.ca | 2019-04-05
Chinese nuclear bombers. Chinese hypersonic missiles. Chinese carrier killer missiles. Chinese cyberattacks. Chinese anti-satellite weaponry. Chinese militarization of the South China Sea. Chinese Huawei spying. | So many Chinese "malign intentions". And we're not even talking about Russia. | Few people around …
globalresearch.ca/pentagon-obsession-china-china-china/5673713

Hyperbole and Outrage as Substitutes for Thought, Facts, Accuracy and Truth
John Atcheson | commondreams.org | 2019-04-05
Trump is a master at faux outrage—witness his oft repeated claim that the Mueller investigation was "disgraceful," "outrageous" or a "witch hunt."(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_17.jpeg…
commondreams.org/views/2019/04/05/hyperbole-and-outrage-substitutes-thought-facts-accuracy-and-truth?cd-origin=rss

New Hints of the Mueller Report: Did Trump Simply Get Rolled by the Russians?
STAFF | truthout.org | 2019-04-05
Despite the fact that William Barr had made public comments denigrating the Mueller investigation and clearly auditioned for the job with a spurious memo suggesting that it was almost impossible for a president to obstruct justice, he was confirmed as Donald Trump's new attorney general with little difficulty. After what had happened with Jeff Sessions, it was understood that Trump would never again stand for an AG recusing himself from any investigation of the president. So everyone knew that Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election would be in the hands of someone who was unlikely…
truthout.org/articles/new-hints-of-the-mueller-report-did-trump-simply-get-rolled-by-the-russians/

Tens of thousands demand release of Mueller report with backup evidence
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-04-05
WASHINGTON–Shades of Watergate. In late 1973, GOP President Richard Nixon tried to shut down the Watergate investigation by arbitrarily firing Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, padlocking the prosecutor's offices and canning a top official, William Ruckelshaus, who refused to fire Cox. Another Nixonite, Robert Bork, did so. Cox responded that whether the nation would be governed …
peoplesworld.org/article/tens-of-thousands-demand-release-of-mueller-report-with-backup-evidence/

After Mueller: Trump's presidency a product of US capitalism
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-04-05
The most important finding of the long Mueller investigation into United States President Donald Trump — that there was no collusion with the Russians to fix the 2016 US election so that Trump would win — came as a shock to most liberals, progressives and even many socialists. | I have seen only one figure in the mass media who faces even parts of the truth. Farhad Manjoo, an op-ed writer in the New York Times wrote on March 25: "Trump's win was not the illegitimate product of a treasonous conspiracy … The president was not a Manchurian candidat…
greenleft.org.au/content/after-mueller-trump%E2%80%99s-presidency-product-us-capitalism

'Worker Power Wins': Google Scraps Controversial AI Ethics Board After Widespread Outrage
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-04-05
In a win for collective action, Google canceled an ethics advisory board on artificial intelligence that began to crumble after the appointment of a couple controversial members sparked outrage among thousands of employees, tech experts, and the public. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-828896324-crop_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/04/05/worker-power-wins-google-scraps-controversial-ai-ethics-board-after-widespread?cd-origin=rss

San Rafael Activists Demand Release of Entire Mueller Report
Leon Kunstenaar | indybay.org | 2019-04-05
Hundreds of Protesters excoriate Attorney General Barr for hiding Mueller's report on Trump's alleged crimes and violations of his oath of office. Steve Disenhof and Leon Kunstenaar, Pro Bono Photo…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/04/05/18822531.php

As Rumors Swirl, UN Expert Warns Extraditing Julian Assange to US Would Violate Human Rights Protections
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-04-05
While Ecuador denies plans to revoke Julian Assange's political asylum, a top United Nations human rights official has vowed to investigate fresh rumors, noting that if the WikiLeaks founder is expelled from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he likely would be arrested by British authorities and extradited to the United States. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-11349715221.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/04/05/rumors-swirl-un-expert-warns-extraditing-julian-assange-us-would-violate-human?cd-origin=rss

The Coalition for Police Accountability Files Motion to Intervene in OPD Federal Oversight
Pamela Drake | indybay.org | 2019-04-05
Nine members of the Coalition for Police Accountability have joined in a Motion to Intervene in federal oversight of the Oakland police department. A NSA status conference is scheduled with Judge Orrick for April 3 at 3: 30pm at the United States District Court in San Francisco.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/04/03/18822507.php

Discussion: The Mueller Report, Trump's Response, and the Interests of the People
Revolution Books | indybay.org | 2019-04-05
Revolution Books, 2444 Durant Ave. Berkeley CA 94704…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/04/03/18822510.php

Some Democrats Haven't Learned the Lessons of #MeToo
Steve Phillips | thenation.com | 2019-04-05
Some Democrats Haven't Learned the Lessons of #MeToo…
thenation.com/article/biden-metoo-kavanaugh-harassment/

The Death Penalty is Getting Crueler
Jill Richardson | counterpunch.org | 2019-04-05
For years, most of the U.S. has been changing death penalty laws in the direction of phasing it out, or at least applying it in a more humane way. In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that people with intellectual disabilities cannot be executed. In 2005, another ruling held that the U.S. cannot execute anyone for…
counterpunch.org/2019/04/05/the-death-penalty-is-getting-crueler/

WikiLeaks warns that Julian Assange faces imminent eviction from Ecuador's London embassy
WSWS | wsws.org | 2019-04-05
The publisher warned that a "high-level source" within the Ecuadorian state had information that Assange would be expelled from the building and taken into British custody "within hours or days."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/05/assa-a05.html

Venezuela: Guaido stripped of immunity, protest erupt over blackouts
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-04-05
Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) has lifted self-declared "interim president" Juan Guaido's parliamentary immunity, opening the door for criminal charges to be brought against him. | The unanimous April 2 decision came following a request from the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and included an "authorisation" to continue investigations into the parliamentary deputy and president of the National Assembly. | The ANC based its move on article 200 of Venezuela's constitution, which gives the TSJ the unique power to overrule parliamentarian…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-guaido-stripped-immunity-protest-erupt-over-blackouts

Refuting Right-Wing Narrative, James Foley Foundation Says It Rescinded Pompeo Award Over Handling of Khashoggi Murder
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-04-05
"The protection of free speech and promotion of journalists' safety is a key pillar of our foundation and this award would have been in conflict with that key principle." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/pompeo_4.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/04/05/refuting-right-wing-narrative-james-foley-foundation-says-it-rescinded-pompeo-award?cd-origin=rss

Release the Mueller Report! Rapid Response Rallies in CA & Across the Nation
Moveon.org & others | indybay.org | 2019-04-05
Rallies throughout CA & the United States | Use link to find a rally near you: act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/04/02/18822490.php

Pioneer in Field Warns Dangers Posed by Artificial Intelligence 'Very Real'
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-04-05
"What is most concerning is not happening in broad daylight" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/bengio-ai-warning.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/04/05/pioneer-field-warns-dangers-posed-artificial-intelligence-very-real?cd-origin=rss

Nobody is Above the Law Rally Release Mueller Report
Move on | indybay.org | 2019-04-05
at the Powell & Market cable car turnaround…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/04/04/18822524.php

WikiLeaks Says Assange Will Be Arrested in "Hours to Days"
Consortium News | theantimedia.com | 2019-04-05
(CN) — WikiLeaks warned Thursday that its founder "will be expelled within 'hours to days'" from Ecuador's London embassy and that Ecuador has an agreement with Britain to have him arrested. President Lenin Moreno will use the pretext of a scandal engulfing his presidency to oust Assange, a "high level source" in the Ecuador government told WikiLeaks. …

WikiLeaks Says Assange Will Be Arrested in "Hours to Days"

The Tale of a 'Deep State Target'
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-04
Daniel Lazare reviews George Papadopoulos's book about his misadventures with a nest of intelligence agents. By Daniel Lazare Special to Consortium News Now that Russian collusion is dead and buried thanks to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, the big question is… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/04/the-tale-of-a-deep-state-target/

WikiLeaks Says Assange Can be Expelled 'Within Hours'
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-04
In a tweet, Wikileaks quoted a high-level Ecuadorian government source as saying that Julian Assange could be imminently kicked out of the London embassy and that Quito has an agreement with the UK to arrest him. WikiLeaks warned in a… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/04/wikileaks-says-assange-can-be-expelled-within-hours/

BREAKING: Assange 'Will Be' Arrested in 'Hours to Days,' WikiLeaks Says
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-04
WikiLeaks has quoted a "high-level" Ecuadorian government source as saying that Julian Assange could be imminently expelled from Ecuador's London embassy and that Quito has an agreement with the UK to arrest him. By Joe Lauria Special to Consortium News… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/04/assange-will-be-arrested-in-hours-to-days-wikileaks-says/

VIPS Urge Trump to Avoid War in Venezuela
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-04
VIPS warn that Trump's policies regarding Venezuela appear to be on a slippery slope that could take us toward war in Venezuela and military confrontation with Russia. MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: Avoiding War with Russia… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/04/vips-urge-trump-to-avoid-war-in-venezuela/

Russia Reacts to the Release of the Mueller Report
Nadezhda Azhgikhina | thenation.com | 2019-04-04
Russia Reacts to the Release of the Mueller Report…
thenation.com/article/russia-mueller-report-reaction-bilateral-relations/

Lee Camp Weighs in on Mueller Report, Self-Defeating Media, and "Dingle Sticks"
Nick Rehwaldt | mintpressnews.com | 2019-04-04
"I'm not saying that Trump isn't corrupt, but by creating this laughable and baseless conclusion about Russian collusion, that has now been completely and utterly refuted, the Democrats, the faux resistance and our media have caused deep harm" — Lee Camp, Redacted Tonight…
mintpressnews.com/lee-camp-on-mueller-report-self-defeating-media-and-dingle-sticks/256944/

Right wing takes Wisconsin court seat in a strident hate campaign
Dominique Paul Noth | peoplesworld.org | 2019-04-04
Across the Illinois-Wisconsin border April 2, the contrast couldn't have been starker. While Chicago elected its new mayor Lori Lightfoot, a black former prosecutor who is also gay, the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest, in results still being challenged, nipped into office the Scott Walker appointee who compared homosexuality to bestiality and three months ago was …
peoplesworld.org/article/right-wing-takes-wisconsin-court-seat-in-a-strident-hate-campaign/

More Americans believe in 'Clinton collusion' after Mueller probe flop — poll
RT | rt.com | 2019-04-04
After the Russiagate probe failed to find evidence that President Donald Trump conspired with Russia, a new poll shows that Americans now suspect that Hillary Clinton was the one who might have colluded with foreign operatives. | …
rt.com/usa/455502-americans-clinton-trump-collusion-poll/

Forget Russiagate: Here Are 5 Real Reasons Trump Needs to Go
Derrick Broze | theantimedia.com | 2019-04-04
(TMU) — Since at least May 2017, Americans have been subjected to non-stop, 24-7 coverage of the investigation into whether Donald Trump and Russian intelligence colluded to steal the 2016 election. Now that the investigation has concluded and the evidence was found lacking, it's time to reflect on the entire process. First, the corporate media hacks …

Forget Russiagate: Here Are 5 Real Reasons Trump Needs to Go

A new unionism for the twenty-first century
Steven Parfitt | mronline.org | 2019-04-04
As we contemplate the ongoing decline of British trade unions, and as Americans consider their next move after the Supreme Court's Janus vs AFSME decision, the the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) and United Voices of the World (UVW) point towards an alternative way of organising, fighting–and winning. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/04/04/a-new-unionism-for-the-twenty-first-century/

We Are Fighting Maricopa County's Rampant Prosecutorial Misconduct
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-04-04
The Arizona Supreme Court has a chance to address the way prosecutors use and abuse their power and hold them accountable. | The Arizona Supreme Court will soon consider the misconduct of one of Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery's top prosecutors: Juan Martinez. Martinez gained national notoriety when he prosecuted Jodi Arias for murder in 2008, but his aggressive and often unethical conduct was well-known in Arizona well before then…
aclu.org/blog/smart-justice/prosecutorial-reform/we-are-fighting-maricopa-countys-rampant-prosecutorial

Former US Intelligence Agents Urge Trump to Avoid War in Venezuela
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity | theantimedia.com | 2019-04-04
VIPS warn that Trump's policies regarding Venezuela appear to be on a slippery slope that could take us toward war in Venezuela and military confrontation with Russia. MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: Avoiding War with Russia over Venezuela Mr. President: Your Administration's policies regarding Venezuela appear to be on a slippery slope …

Former US Intelligence Agents Urge Trump to Avoid War in Venezuela

LTR Mueller Probe Observation and Nation
Thomas A. Prentice | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-03
Democrats, the Mass Media Industrial Complex and the Deep State Pentagon Intelligence Surveillance Industrial Apparatus seem to have missed these two memos in ninth grade world history from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Niccolo Machiavelli. In September, 1843, Ralph Waldo Emerson said to Oliver Wendell Holmes: "I read your piece on Plato. Holmes, when you strike …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/ltr-mueller-probe-observation-and-nation/

Rep. Ro Khanna on WH Security Clearances, Ending Support for the Saudi War in Yemen, and Venezuela
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-04-03
The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the director of White House personnel security after a whistleblower revealed senior Trump officials overturned 25 security clearance denials, despite "serious disqualifying issues." We speak with California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says, "Congressional oversight is not a choice–it's the law." We also speak to him about the latest congressional actions around Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
www.democracynow.org/2019/4/3/rep_ro_khanna_on_wh_security

Ecuador President Threatens to Decide Assange's Fate Over Scandal
Consortiumnews | consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-03
Ecuador's president is threatening to soon decide on Julian Assange's refuge after his government falsely accused WikiLeaks of publishing files about a scandal that threatens to bring the president down, as Elizabeth Vos reports. By Elizabeth Vos Special to Consortium… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/02/ecuador-president-threatens-to-decide-assanges-fate-over-scandal/

Terms of Asylum and Distraction: Moreno's Assange Problem
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-04-03
Political asylum is an accepted if often ignored right. It is also at the mercy of those interests that grant it. Ecuador's repeated insistence on conditioning Julian Assange's stay in its London abode is tantamount to corroding the idea of asylum to vacuity. You are granted asylum as a political dissident, but political dissident you …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/04/terms-of-asylum-and-distraction-morenos-assange-problem/