(2019-11-21). 'Orwellian absurdity': U.S. reversal on settlements draws international outrage. mronline.org 
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that the U.S. was softening its position on Israel's network of settlements in the occupied Palestinain territory, saying it was revoking the notion that settlements are illegal under international law—a notion recognized by the rest of the world as factual and true. | Source
(2019-11-21). Craig Murray on Assange: "Swedes should be ashamed of the way they've been played by the CIA" dissidentvoice.org "The Swedish people should be ashamed of the way they've been played by the CIA." | Craig Murray reacts to the prosecutor dropping the rape case against Julian Assange which he believes was a "political fit up from the start."
(2019-11-21). Striking university workers speak out: "Assange won't be defended by the rich, it must be the working people!" wsws.org WSWS reporters spoke to striking outsourced workers at University College London, on Tuesday.
(2019-11-21). Conference at European Parliament defends Julian Assange. wsws.org Speakers warned that the persecution of Assange was creating a precedent for the suppression of press freedom and for the application of repressive US laws all over the world.
(2019-11-21). Video: An Interview with John Shipton, Father of Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca * | Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc….
(2019-11-21). Rethinking National Security: CIA and FBI Are Corrupt, but What About Congress? globalresearch.ca The developing story about how the US intelligence and national security agencies may have conspired to influence and possibly even reverse the results of the 2016 presidential election is compelling, even if one is disinclined to believe that such a …
(2019-11-21). Mike Pompeo Reportedly Plans to Quit to Run for Senate. truthout.org Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told Republican colleagues that he plans to resign and run for Senate in his home state of Kansas next year. | Pompeo had long been rumored to be eyeing the Kansas Senate seat now held by Republican Pat Roberts, who will retire in 2020. Pompeo planned to depart the Trump administration in the spring, but the impeachment proceedings have hurt him politically,…
(2019-11-21). WATCH: Trump Impeachment Inquiry Hearings. truthout.org The fifth day of televised impeachment hearings have begun into whether President Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son. It is only the third time in U.S. history there have been televised impeachment hearings. | On Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 9 AM E.T., the House Intelligence Committee will hear testimony from Dr. Fiona Hill, Former Senior Director for Europe and Russia, National Security Council and Mr. David Holmes, Political Coun…
(2019-11-21). Congress Just Temporarily Extended the Government's Spying Powers. aclu.org In a bill passed today and now headed to the president's desk for signature, Congress temporarily extended the NSA's spying powers that time and again have been used to violate our rights. Disturbingly, this three-month extension was snuck into a broader funding bill, forcing members of Congress to choose between extending this program and causing a government shutdown. The extension is an unnecessary lifeline to spying programs that are plagued with compliance violations, have no proven intelligence value, and violate our rights. | Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, one of the spying | powers extended, th…
(2019-11-21). Democrats Must Expand Impeachment Beyond Ukraine to Counter Right-Wing Lies. truthout.org After weeks of taking depositions behind closed doors, Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee probably knew they would get what they wanted out of the public impeachment hearings over the past week. Republicans are betting none of it will be enough to cancel the Trump Show. | The icing on the cake for Democrats came on Wednesday, when Gordon Sondland, President Trump's ambassador to the European Union, said he and other top diplomats understood that the White House withheld military aid…
(2019-11-21). OPCW Must Come Clean: Grave Flaws in Syria Report. Open Letter To States' Representatives. globalresearch.ca Following revelations of grave flaws in its Syria reporting, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons must allow whistleblowers' evidence to be heard at the coming OPCW Conference of States Parties. That's the message from the following public …
(2019-11-21). One Pound Capitalism, a Pinch of Democracy, and an Impeachment. counterpunch.org (includes a recipe brought to you by Discomfort Foods) In February 2018 on Fox News, Laura Ingraham ended her interview with former CIA director James Woolsey by asking him if the United States continues to "mess around in other people's elections." To which Woolsey, as though tasting the tasty lie in his mouth, replied: "Welllllllll More
(2019-11-21). Media continues its smear campaign against Lula. greenleft.org.au 
media lies Brian MierIssue 1246 Brazil stitch upNovember 21, 2019The Brazilian Supreme Court reversed a 2018 ruling on November 7, upholding the principle of innocent until proven guilty in the 1988 Constitution and declaring it illegal to jail defendants before their appeals' proces…
(2019-11-21). The Right to Vote Should not Fall Victim to Partisan Battles. counterpunch.org The right to vote is fundamental to any democracy. Protecting that right — and making it easier to exercise it — ought to be a priority across partisan lines. Instead, in states across the country — particularly in the five years since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act — it has become a More
(2019-11-21). Julián Castro: Gordon Sondland's Testimony Is "Nail in the Coffin" of Trump's Defense. democracynow.org 
During Wednesday's impeachment hearing, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland told lawmakers that he was ordered by Trump to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Sondland also acknowledged there was a quid pro quo tying U.S. military aid to investigations, and said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence were aware of the Ukraine pressure campaign. Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro joins us to discuss these latest developments in the impeachment inquiry, which he describes as "blockbuster testimony" that could serve…
(2019-11-21). Assange's case 'a threat to free speech worldwide'. greenleft.org.au 
civil liberties Jim McIlroyIssue 1246 Australia Julian Assange SydneyNovember 21, 2019Jennifer Robinson, a lawyer for imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, believes the United States' applicatio…
(2019-11-20). Impeachment hearing gets more bizarre with Sondland confirming 'Zelensky loves Trump's ass' , but vague on quid pro quo. rt.com 
House Democrats tried repeatedly to goad their diplomatic witness into "admitting" the elusive quid pro quo of aid withheld pending a probe, but the best they could get was confirmation he told Trump "Zelensky loves your ass." | US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland played the 'can't recall exactly' card as Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff and Democratic Counsel Daniel Goldman pushed him to confirm President Donald Trump had made the release of foreign aid to Ukraine contingent upon President Volodymyr Zelensky's launch of a corruption investigation. Sondland did say he believed that there was a quid…
(2019-11-20). So much for the #Resistance! While all eyes were on impeachment hearing, House re-authorized PATRIOT Act. rt.com 
House Democrats have slipped an unqualified renewal of the draconian PATRIOT Act into an emergency funding bill — voting near-unanimously for sweeping surveillance carte blanche that was the basis for the notorious NSA program. | A three-month reauthorization of the notorious PATRIOT Act was shoehorned into a last-minute continuing resolution (CR) funding the US government, bundling measures needed to avert yet another government shutdown with a continuation of the wildly-intrusive surveillance powers passed after the 9/11 terror attacks. Democrats voted almost unanimously for it, granting the far-reachi…
(2019-11-20). US puts new Sri Lankan president on notice. wsws.org While Pompeo couched his message to Rajapakse in terms of "human rights," Washington's real concern is that the new president will re-orient Sri Lanka towards China.
(2019-11-20). Freedom, Valor, Love: On Snowden's Permanent Record. counterpunch.org "The computer guy [sic]…can know everything…" —Edward Snowden, Permanent Record We all know someone who has suffered explicit privacy violations through data breaches, has been censored, or has valiantly fought for press, Internet, and telecommunications freedoms at a time of deep political polarities and culture war divisions. Edward Snowden's life reveals it's not just "the More
(2019-11-20). The Walls are Closing in on Donald Trump. counterpunch.org As witness after credible witness appears before the House Intelligence Committee's impeachment inquiry, the walls are closing in on Donald Trump and he knows it. If any more proof was needed, he actually tried to intimidate one of the witnesses, former Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, by posting a derogatory tweet about her while she More
(2019-11-20). The Trumpists' Attempts at Snark Define Their Day: Impeachment Day Three. counterpunch.org Monday AM. Trump says he might consider testifying in writing. I'm not sure how that is testifying and it seems that it's just a way for Trump to try and control the conversation. More delightful news involved a newly released poll that says 58% of voters between 18 and 30 years of age want Trump impeached and removed from office. At least the youngsters don't have their heads where the sun don't shine. Soon after this news comes a story that Trump is being investigated for lying to Congress in the written testimony he provided to the Mueller investigators. It's not like he's going to change his stripes this time…
(2019-11-20). Chemical Watchdog Manipulated Douma Attack Report — Whistleblower. dissidentvoice.org The head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has signed an open letter urging his own watchdog to give two whistleblowers a platform at its next conference. They claim the #OPCW suppressed evidence when conducting a probe into an alleged #chemicalattack on the Syrian city of #Douma in April 2018.
(2019-11-20). How Trump is Warping the Federal Courts: the Case Against Lawrence VanDyke. counterpunch.org President Donald Trump's nominations to the federal courts are deteriorating faster than his party can lower its standards to approve his picks. Case in point—Lawrence VanDyke, former Montana solicitor general and failed candidate for the Montana Supreme Court. Mr. Trump has nominated Mr. VanDyke to serve as a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of More
(2019-11-20). Headlines for November 20, 2019. democracynow.org 4 Key Witnesses Testify in Impeachment Hearings, Amnesty Says Iranian Security Forces Killed Over 100 Protesters, Bolivian Military Carries Out Second Massacre Against Morales Supporters, Senate Approves Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, U.N. Affirms It Still Considers Israeli Settlements Violation of International Law, Pentagon Says ISIS Is Rebuilding in Northern Syria, NYT: Navy SEALs Expected to Oust Gallagher, Despite Trump Restoring His Rank, Report: Mike Pompeo Planning to Resign as Secretary of State, Trump Administration Can Now Send Asylum Seekers to Guatemala, Sweden Drops Sexual Assault Investi…
(2019-11-19). 'We should thank & cherish CIA,' says star of 'Jack Ryan' — just maybe not for torture, coups & mind control. rt.com 
Americans should be thankful for the services the CIA provides, 'Jack Ryan' actor John Krasinski says. After all, without the agency, who would prop up foreign dictators, stage coups and 'play' with mind-control drugs? | In three decades between the publication of 'The Hunt for Red October' in 1984 and his death in 2013, Tom Clancy pumped out more than 20 books, giving lots of material for spy agency fanboys. | At long last though, there's someone out there who gets even more tumescent at the thought of clandestine criminality than Clancy himself. Actor John Krasinski — star of 'The Office' and now 'Tom C…
(2019-11-19). Saving Julian Assange is Saving Ourselves. dissidentvoice.org 
The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner issued a statement based on special-rapporteur-on-torture Nils Melzer's fact-finding mission into the incarceration of WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange. The facts were a scathing indictment of those nations behind the targeting of Assange. 'The evidence is overwhelming and clear,' the expert said. 'Mr. Assange …
(2019-11-19). Noura Erakat: U.S. Recognition of Israeli Settlements Is "Entrenchment of an Apartheid Regime" democracynow.org 
The Trump administration has announced it no longer views Israel settlements in the occupied West Bank to be a violation of international law, in another blow to possible Israel-Palestine peace negotiations. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a reversal to the U.S. position, putting the U.S. at odds with the international community. A U.N. resolution in 2016 declared the settlements a "flagrant violation" of international law. Israel's embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Pompeo's announcement as a historic day for Israel, but Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the…
(2019-11-18). Iran's Quds Force and the Muslim Brotherhood Considered an Alliance Against Saudi Arabia. theintercept.com 
An Iranian intelligence document describes a meeting between Iran's Quds Force and the Muslim Brotherhood in a Turkish hotel. It didn't go well.
(2019-11-18). Whistleblower: OPCW suppressed Syria chemical evidence after US pressure. thegrayzone.com A second whistleblower from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has come forward to accuse top OPCW officials…
(2019-11-18). Pompeo Issues Historic US Policy Reversal: Israeli West Bank Settlements "Not Illegal" theantimedia.com The Trump administration is reversing the official US stance on the illegality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
(2019-11-18). Leaked Iranian Intelligence Reports Expose Tehran's Vast Web of Influence in Iraq. theintercept.com In mid-October, with unrest swirling in Baghdad, a familiar visitor slipped quietly into the Iraqi capital. The city had been under siege for weeks, as protesters marched in the streets, demanding an end to corruption and calling for the ouster of the prime minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi. In particular, they denounced the outsize influence of their neighbor Iran in Iraqi politics, burning Iranian flags and attacking an Iranian consulate. | The visitor was there to restore order, but his presence highlighted the protesters' biggest grievance: He was Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, head of Iran's powerful Quds Force, and h…
(2019-11-18). The Story Behind the Iran Cables. theintercept.com The source said they wanted to "let the world know what Iran is doing in my country Iraq." They sent The Intercept 700 pages of secret intelligence reports from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, or MOIS, but never revealed their own identity. This kind of leak is unprecedented for Iran, a country with a highly secretive government and spy agencies that guard their confidential information zealously. | In the months after we received the intelligence reports, which are written in a highly bureaucratic and opaque style, we had them translated from Persian into English and then had the translations cross…
(2019-11-18). Leaked Cables Show Depth of Iranian Influence in Iraq After U.S. Invasion "Shattered" the Country. democracynow.org 
An unprecedented leak of secret intelligence reports from inside the Iranian government has shed new light on how Iran has taken control of much of the Iraqi government in the wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion. The documents from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security were leaked to The Intercept, which then partnered with The New York Times on reporting the story. The leak includes 700 pages of intelligence documents from 2014 to 2015. The documents reveal that a number of Iraqis who once worked with the CIA went on to work with Iranian intelligence. We speak with Murtaza Hussain, a reporter at The Intercept…
(2019-11-16). Syria scandal: New whistleblower claims chemical weapons watchdog OPCW suppressed Douma evidence. thegrayzone.com A whistleblower from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is accusing top officials of tampering with evidence…
(2019-11-16). Weekend Read: The importance of documenting racism in the White House. splcenter.org Earlier this week, the SPLC's Intelligence Project released the first two installments of an explosive four-part series examining more than 900 leaked emails between White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and an editor at the Breitbart News Network, a far-right website that its co-founder once dubbed the "platform for the alt-right."
(2019-11-15). Whistleblowers Are Public Servants. We Must Protect Them. aclu.org President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke on the phone. The president insists the call was " perfect." Others are concerned that, during the call, the president intimated he would withhold financial aid appropriated to Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president agreed to investigate former-Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of the president. | How do we even know about any of this? A…
(2019-11-15). "This Is My Home": Meet the Lead Plaintiff in the Supreme Court Case to Save DACA. democracynow.org 
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from three lawsuits demanding the Trump administration preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. The Obama-era program has granted protection from deportation and a work permit to at least 700,000 undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children. The court's conservative majority appeared poised to side with President Trump in ending the program, while some of the court's liberal justices seemed skeptical of Trump's efforts. In September 2017, the Trump administration announced it planned to terminate DACA, arguing the program…
(2019-11-15). Justice for Rodney Reed: Millions Urge Texas to Halt Execution Amid New Evidence of His Innocence. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court considers Friday whether to take up the case of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner in Texas who is scheduled to be executed in less than a week for a murder he says he did not commit. On Thursday, Reed's family braved the cold to camp outside the Supreme Court for a vigil asking the justices to help halt the execution. Millions of people around the country have joined their cause in recent weeks amid mounting evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. In 1998, an all-white jury sentenced Reed to die for Stites's…
(2019-11-14). Social Media Censorship Reaches New Heights as Twitter Permanently Bans Dissent. mintpressnews.com 
| | It's an open secret. The deep state is wo…
(2019-11-14). Trump Administration Forgoes Petition to Supreme Court in Jane Doe Case. aclu.org For more | than two years, the ACLU has been fighting a Trump administration policy that | prevents unaccompanied immigrant minors in federal care from accessing | abortion. We had previously won in the lower court, securing a preliminary block on | the policy. And last week, the Trump administration chose not to challenge that | ruling and ask the Supreme Court to review the case—a real victory in our fight | for justice for the Janes. | We first filed | the case in Octobe…
(2019-11-14). In First Public Impeachment Hearing, Trump Implicated in Effort to Pressure Ukraine to Probe Bidens. democracynow.org 
The first public hearing of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump was held Wednesday. Trump is just the fourth president in U.S. history to face impeachment. Two witnesses testified before the House Intelligence Committee: George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, and William Taylor, a former ambassador and the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine. They both said President Trump withheld aid to Ukraine in an attempt to pressure the country to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company. We play highlights from the hearing.
(2019-11-12). Pompeo's Iran Nuclear Lies Exposed Using Clear Evidence & The JCPOA Document Itself. thelastamericanvagabond.com Mike Pompeo continues to lead the propaganda push to get the public panicking about an Iran "nuclear breakout" even when all evidence shows that Iran is nowhere near capable of being a nuclear threat. Of course many other countries have far more robust nuclear programs, but because it's Iran we have to come together as …
(2019-11-12). The whistleblower who vindicated the anti-war movement. greenleft.org.au 
films anti-war Alex SalmonIssue 1247 BritainNovember 12, 2019Official Secrets
| Directed by Gavin Hood
| Starring Keira Knightly, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes & Adam Bakri
| Screening from November 21 at selected cinemas. | "I work for the British people, I d…
(2019-11-09). Possible False Flag In Iraq, US Votes Against Anti-Nazi Res. & Pompeo's Iran Nuclear Lies Debunked. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (11/6/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
(2019-10-26). More Troops/Tanks To Syria Confirmed, OPCW Whistleblower, Barr's PreCrime & Mossad Clinton Blackmail. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (10/25/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
(2019-10-21). Turkey Breaks Ceasefire, US "Secures Syria's Oil" & Assange's Torture & Violation Of Rights Exposed. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (10/19/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
(2019-10-04). Dana Gold on Whistleblower Protections, Craig Aaron on Net Neutrality Setback. fair.org 
Media…