Monthly Archives: August 2019

2019-08-29: News Headlines

RT (2019-08-29). Trump reviews Ukraine aid to ensure it's being used in US' interests — report. rt.com US President Donald Trump is reviewing military aid to Ukraine to ensure American interests are being "prioritized," according to a senior administration official, putting the funding on hold and enraging Russiagate truthers. | Around $250 million in funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, earmarked for weapons, training, equipment and intelligence support, has been frozen while administration officials review whether the money is being used "in the best interest of the United States," the official told Politico on Wednesday. Trump reportedly wants to ensure that other nations are "paying their…

Staff (2019-08-29). Satellite Photos Show Burning Iran Space Center Launch Pad. truthdig.com A rocket at an Iranian space center that was to conduct a satellite launch criticized by the U.S. apparently exploded on Thursday.

teleSUR (2019-08-29). Assange Suffering "Psychological Torture" In UK Prison: Pilger. telesurenglish.net Julian Assange's 'Psychological Torture is unabated', investigative journalist John Pilger said shortly after speaking to the Wikileaks founder. There are concerns for his health after being incarcerated in a high-security prison with few rights, as he faces extradition to the U.S. for exposing the wrongdoings of the United States government. | RELATED: | Assange to Face Full US Extradition Hearing in February 2020 | "I spoke to Julian #Assange at the weekend. His psychological…

Bay Action 2 Free Assange (2019-08-29). Pre Jimmy Dore show #FreeAssange #FreeManning. indybay.org Marines' Memorial Theatre | 609 Sutter St. | San Francisco…

Binoy Kampmark (2019-08-29). The Stupidity of Smart Devices and Smart Cities. counterpunch.org Insentience cannot have intelligence, but the modern public relations revolution would have you think otherwise. Smart phones, smart bombs, and, it follows, Smart Cities (capitalising such terms implies false authority), do not exist in that sense, whatever their cheer squad emissaries in High Tech land claim. They are merely a masterfully daft celebration of tactically More

Staff (2019-08-29). Voters Say Touchscreen Machines Switched Votes in Nine Mississippi Counties. truthout.org | | A viral video published on Facebook showed a voter baffled as a touchscreen voting machine repeatedly switched his vote in Tuesday's Mississippi gubernatorial runoff race. | "It is not letting me vote for who I want to vote for," the voter in the video is heard saying as he repeatedly tried to vote for former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. but continued to see Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' name m…

WSWS (2019-08-28). Clinical psychologist Lissa Johnson: They are trying to break Assange "physically and psychologically" wsws.org "Of all the passive bystanders to Julian Assange's abuse, the Australian government is by far the most culpable and complicit."

Aaron Maté (2019-08-28). Russiagate skeptics are vindicated, but conspiracy theorists are rewarded (w/ Glenn Greenwald). thegrayzone.com Glenn Greenwald on Robert Mueller's disappearance; how Andrew McCabe has become the latest former U.S. intelligence official to join either…

ACLU (2019-08-27). New Resource Tool Sheds Light on Government's Prepublication Review System. aclu.org Millions of current and former government employees are subjected to this far-reaching censorship system. | This piece was originally published in Just Security. | For more than three years, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University have been litigating a series of Freedom of Information Act requests relating to "prepublication review." Under this far-reaching censorship system, millions of current and former government employees, con…

Mnar Muhawesh (2019-08-26). Breaking The Media Blackout on the Imprisonment of Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com The same media that has spent years dragging Assange's name through the mud is now engaging in a blackout on his treatment. If you are waiting for corporate media pundits to defend freedom of the press, you're going to be disappointed.

Johnny Dwyer (2019-08-23). Unsealed Filings Detail Felix Sater's Work as an Intelligence Asset, With Significant Gaps. theintercept.com Felix Sater was among the most closely held secrets for federal prosecutors and investigators in New York for nearly a decade. Two documents unsealed Friday following a request by The Intercept reveal in greater detail the government's account of his history as an informant and intelligence asset. However, redactions in the release point to ongoing interests in the government maintaining secrecy around a man who has…

ACLU (2019-08-23). Will North Carolina's Supreme Court Allow Racism to Remain a Persistent Factor in its Death Penalty? aclu.org North Carolina's Supreme Court will determine whether evidence of racism in capital punishment can be swept under the rug. | In 2009, North Carolina passed the Racial Justice Act (RJA), which allowed defendants to strike the death penalty from their cases if they could show that racial discrimination was a factor in their prosecution. The law came as a response to a series of exonerations of Black people who were falsely convicted of crimes they did not commit by all-white or nearly all-white juries. The legislature took a bold step to address was what suspected to be deeply troubling evidence of racism infe…

Fidel Narváez (2019-08-20). 40 rebuttals to the media's smears of Julian Assange — by someone who was actually there. thegrayzone.com A former diplomat who worked in the Ecuadorian embassy while Julian Assange lived there in asylum debunks 40 of CNN's…

Ricardo Vaz (2019-08-14). Venezuela's Maduro Reshuffles Cabinet as Supreme Court Strips Three Opposition Lawmakers of Immunity. venezuelanalysis.com The National Constituent Assembly will also evaluate bringing forward legislative elections.

splcenter (2019-08-13). SPLC joins brief opposing Kansas law targeting immigrants. splcenter.org The SPLC and 29 worker and immigrant rights organizations filed an amicus brief today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a court decision stating that a Kansas identity theft law cannot be used to turn local law enforcement into immigration agents.

2019-08-29: Social Media Postees

Pre Jimmy Dore show #FreeAssange #FreeManning
Bay Action 2 Free Assange | indybay.org | 2019-08-29
Marines' Memorial Theatre | 609 Sutter St. | San Francisco…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/08/27/18825738.php

Assange Suffering "Psychological Torture" In UK Prison: Pilger
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-29
Julian Assange's 'Psychological Torture is unabated', investigative journalist John Pilger said shortly after speaking to the Wikileaks founder. There are concerns for his health after being incarcerated in a high-security prison with few rights, as he faces extradition to the U.S. for exposing the wrongdoings of the United States government. | RELATED: | Assange to Face Full US Extradition Hearing in February 2020 | "I spoke to Julian #Assange at the weekend. His psychological…
telesurenglish.net/news/Assange-Suffering-Psychological-Torture-In-UK-Prison-Pilger–20190829-0018.html

The Stupidity of Smart Devices and Smart Cities
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-29
Insentience cannot have intelligence, but the modern public relations revolution would have you think otherwise. Smart phones, smart bombs, and, it follows, Smart Cities (capitalising such terms implies false authority), do not exist in that sense, whatever their cheer squad emissaries in High Tech land claim. They are merely a masterfully daft celebration of tactically…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/29/the-stupidity-of-smart-devices-and-smart-cities/

Trump reviews Ukraine aid to ensure it's being used in US' interests — report
rt.com | 2019-08-29
US President Donald Trump is reviewing military aid to Ukraine to ensure American interests are being "prioritized," according to a senior administration official, putting the funding on hold and enraging Russiagate truthers. | Around $250 million in funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, earmarked for weapons, training, equipment and intelligence support, has been frozen while administration officials review whether the money is being used "in the best interest of the United States," the official told Politico on Wednesday. Trump reportedly wants to ensure that other nations are "paying their…
rt.com/usa/467512-trump-freezes-ukraine-aid-review/

Voters Say Touchscreen Machines Switched Votes in Nine Mississippi Counties
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-29
| A viral video published on Facebook showed a voter baffled as a touchscreen voting machine repeatedly switched his vote in Tuesday's Mississippi gubernatorial runoff race. | "It is not letting me vote for who I want to vote for," the voter in the video is heard saying as he repeatedly tried to vote for former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. but continued to see Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' name m…
truthout.org/articles/voters-say-touchscreen-machines-switched-votes-in-nine-mississippi-counties/

Clinical psychologist Lissa Johnson: They are trying to break Assange "physically and psychologically"
wsws.org | 2019-08-28
"Of all the passive bystanders to Julian Assange's abuse, the Australian government is by far the most culpable and complicit."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/28/liss-s28.html

Russiagate skeptics are vindicated, but conspiracy theorists are rewarded (w/ Glenn Greenwald)
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2019-08-28
Glenn Greenwald on Robert Mueller's disappearance; how Andrew McCabe has become the latest former U.S. intelligence official to join either…
thegrayzone.com/2019/08/28/russiagate-skeptics-are-vindicated-but-conspiracy-theorists-are-rewarded-w-glenn-greenwald/

New Resource Tool Sheds Light on Government's Prepublication Review System
aclu.org | 2019-08-27
Millions of current and former government employees are subjected to this far-reaching censorship system. | This piece was originally published in Just Security. | For more than three years, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University have been litigating a series of Freedom of Information Act requests relating to "prepublication review." Under this far-reaching censorship system, millions of current and former government employees, con…
aclu.org/blog/free-speech/employee-speech-and-whistleblowers/new-resource-tool-sheds-light-governments

Breaking The Media Blackout on the Imprisonment of Julian Assange
Mnar Muhawesh | mintpressnews.com | 2019-08-26
The same media that has spent years dragging Assange's name through the mud is now engaging in a blackout on his treatment. If you are waiting for corporate media pundits to defend freedom of the press, you're going to be disappointed.
mintpressnews.com/media-blackout-imprisonment-espionage-act-julian-assange/261510/

Unsealed Filings Detail Felix Sater's Work as an Intelligence Asset, With Significant Gaps
Johnny Dwyer | theintercept.com | 2019-08-23
Felix Sater was among the most closely held secrets for federal prosecutors and investigators in New York for nearly a decade. Two documents unsealed Friday following a request by The Intercept reveal in greater detail the government's account of his history as an informant and intelligence asset. However, redactions in the release point to ongoing interests in the government maintaining secrecy around a man who has…
theintercept.com/2019/08/23/unsealed-filings-detail-felix-saters-work-as-an-intelligence-asset-with-significant-gaps/

Will North Carolina's Supreme Court Allow Racism to Remain a Persistent Factor in its Death Penalty?
aclu.org | 2019-08-23
North Carolina's Supreme Court will determine whether evidence of racism in capital punishment can be swept under the rug. | In 2009, North Carolina passed the Racial Justice Act (RJA), which allowed defendants to strike the death penalty from their cases if they could show that racial discrimination was a factor in their prosecution. The law came as a response to a series of exonerations of Black people who were falsely convicted of crimes they did not commit by all-white or nearly all-white juries. The legislature took a bold step to address was what suspected to be deeply troubling evidence of racism infe…
aclu.org/blog/capital-punishment/racial-disparities-and-death-penalty/will-north-carolinas-supreme-court

40 rebuttals to the media's smears of Julian Assange — by someone who was actually there
Fidel Narváez | thegrayzone.com | 2019-08-20
A former diplomat who worked in the Ecuadorian embassy while Julian Assange lived there in asylum debunks 40 of CNN's…
thegrayzone.com/2019/08/20/cnn-media-smears-julian-assange-fidel-narvaez/

Venezuela's Maduro Reshuffles Cabinet as Supreme Court Strips Three Opposition Lawmakers of Immunity
Ricardo Vaz | venezuelanalysis.com | 2019-08-14
The National Constituent Assembly will also evaluate bringing forward legislative elections.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14628

SPLC joins brief opposing Kansas law targeting immigrants
splcenter.org | 2019-08-13
The SPLC and 29 worker and immigrant rights organizations filed an amicus brief today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a court decision stating that a Kansas identity theft law cannot be used to turn local law enforcement into immigration agents.
splcenter.org/news/2019/08/13/splc-joins-brief-opposing-kansas-law-targeting-immigrants