2020-01-06: News Headlines

Juan Cole (2020-01-06). Iraqi Parliament Resolves to Kick Out US Troops, and Trump Threatens Mother of All Sanctions. commondreams.org Abdulmahdi's account makes nonsense of everything Trump and Pompeo and Esper are saying about the circumstances of the murder of Soleimani. (Photo Credit: Creative Commons) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/iraq_0_0.jpeg

Ramzy Baroud (2020-01-06). Israel's Fingerprint Are All Over the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani. mintpressnews.com The fingerprints of Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, are unmistakably present in the assassination. It is plausible that the attack at Soleimani's convoy was a joint CIA-Mossad operation.

Howard Lisnoff (2020-01-06). The Government is Torturing Chelsea Manning! Does Anyone Give a Damn? counterpunch.org Chelsea Manning is being tortured for her refusal to testify before a federal grand jury. She already has told a military court as a whistleblower while in the Army about documents pertaining to alleged war crimes that were committed in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has already been tortured and imprisoned for releasing that information once ("Collateral Murder" video, More

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-01-06). Ukranian Whistleblower Reveals MH-17 Tragedy Was Orchestrated by Poroshenko and British Secret Service. globalresearch.ca Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH-17), that was shot down on July 17, 2014 in the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine, killed all passengers onboard and was immediately blamed on pro-Russia Donbass volunteer militias fighting against henchmen of the Maidan civil …

Inder Comar (2020-01-06). The United States' Assassination of Iranian Military Leader Violates International Law. globalresearch.ca The killing of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander, by the United States marks a terrible escalation between the United States and Iran, which U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described as a "defensive action": | . | . ….

Craig Murray (2020-01-06). Lies, the Bethlehem Doctrine, and the Illegal Murder of Soleimani. globalresearch.ca In one of the series of blatant lies the USA has told to justify the assassination of Soleimani, Mike Pompeo said that Soleimani was killed because he was planning "Imminent attacks" on US citizens. It is a careful choice of …

Staff (2020-01-06). US "Plans" for the Afghan War Might Prove a Crime Against Humanity. truthout.org On February 4, 2002, a Predator drone circled over Afghanistan's Paktia province, near the city of Khost. Below was al-Qaeda's founder Osama bin Laden — or at least someone in the CIA thought so — and he was marked for death. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put it later, both awkwardly and passively: "A…

Staff (2020-01-06). Trump Threatens Armageddon in Afghanistan. truthdig.com On February 4, 2002, a Predator drone circled over Afghanistan's Paktia province, near the city of Khost. Below was al-Qaeda's founder Osama bin Laden — or at least someone in the CIA thought so — and he was marked for death. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put it later, both awkwardly and passively: "A decision was made to fire the Hellfire missile. It was fired." That air-to-ground, laser-guided missile —…

yenisafak (2020-01-06). Russia's defence minister discussed Mideast crisis with Turkish, Iranian officials. yenisafak.com Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held telephone talks with Turkish national intelligence chief and chief of Iran's general staff, local news agencies reported citing Russian defence ministry.Shoigu and Head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan discussed possible joint actions to reduce tensions in the Middle East after the United States killed a senior Iranian military commander in Iraq on Friday, Interfax reported Russian defence ministry as saying.

Ryan Costello (2020-01-05). Trump and His Team Are Lying Their Way to War With Iran. commondreams.org "This is an administration that has lied over matters big and small, and thinks it can get away with lying Americans into war while repeating the George W. Bush playbook that led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq," Costello writes. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/pompeo_iran_0.jpg

Eds. (2020-01-04). 'World War III' trends as Hawks rejoice at Trump decision to assassinate Iranian military leader. mronline.org "Hawks are celebrating Soleimani's assassination not because they believe it weakened Iran…But because they believe we have passed an irreversible point of escalation." | Source

Mostafa Afzalzadeh (2020-01-04). Soleimani's Assassination: An Act of Psychological Warfare. dissidentvoice.org Douglas Valentine believes that assassination of Iran's General Qassem Soleimani is an act of psychological warfare which allows Trump to deflect attention from the impeachment scandal and appease his American and Israeli followers. Douglas Valentine is the author of The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World. His rare access …

Whitney Webb (2020-01-04). Why a Shadowy Tech Firm With Ties to Israeli Intelligence Is Running Doomsday Election Simulations. mintpressnews.com A shadowy tech firm with deep ties to Israeli intelligence and newly inked contracts to protect Pentagon computers is partnering with Lockheed Martin to gain unprecedented access to the heart of America's democracy.

WSWS (2020-01-04). Mexican president calls for Julian Assange's freedom. wsws.org In response to a question from a reporter, Lopez Obrador said the WikiLeaks founder should be pardoned and his torture should be ended.

WSWS (2020-01-04). Ex-Australian foreign minister calls for release of Julian Assange to halt damage to US alliance. wsws.org Carr's statement is, first of all, a symptom of the alarm within the ruling class about the mounting popular demand for the freedom of the WikiLeaks founder.

Eds. (2020-01-04). The spooks' choice: Coup plotters and CIA agents fill Pete Buttigieg's list of national security endorsers. mronline.org Why are so many intelligence veterans throwing their weight behind a young Indiana mayor with such a thin foreign policy resume? | Source

teleSUR (2020-01-03). Evo Morales: Bolivia's Top Judge Must Take Charge, Call Elections. telesurenglish.net Evo Morales, who was forced to resign by the military and the opposition in November after winning the elections, said on Thursday that the chief of the Bolivian Supreme Court should step in as acting head of state and organize fresh elections in the Andean nation. | RELATED: | Evo Introduces Legal Team to Fight Coup Government Accusations | Under Bolivia's constitution, Morales said, the chief judge is supposed to assume the presidency in the event of a vacancy following the end…

Staff (2020-01-03). "Right-Wing Populists Will Sweep the Elections": U.S. Killing of Soleimani Helps Hard-Liners in Iran. democracynow.org We host a roundtable discussion on the U.S. assassination of Iranian commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, who has long been one of the most powerful figures in Iran. He was the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force — Iran's powerful foreign military force, similar to a combination of the CIA and U.S. Special Forces. Iran called Soleimani's assassination an act of "international terrorism." "It was probably the best, the fastest, the quickest way to have a unifying rallying cry for the Iranian political establishment," notes Iranian journalist Negar Mortazavi. We are also joined by…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-01-02). Federal appeals courts give workers some wins. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court hasn't taken, much less tackled, workers' rights cases in the last six months, but the federal appeals courts have—and they've given workers some wins. That's not to say the appellate victories would immediately set precedents and lay down the law, so to speak, for workers nationwide. That's what the U.S. Supreme …

Lillian House (2019-12-26). Supreme Court allows Kentucky anti-abortion law to stand. liberationnews.org The Kentucky law was among a set of anti-abortion laws that have reached the Supreme Court this term.

Leila Rafei (2019-12-20). Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year. aclu.org It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories—from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead—what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…

The Canary (2019-12-19). Julian Assange lawyers will challenge the 'political' framing of charges against him. thecanary.co WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's legal team will argue he should not be extradited to the US because his alleged offences are being framed as "political" in nature, a court heard. | His lawyers believe that a 2007 extradition treaty agreed between the UK and US offers the 48-year-old protection. | Assange appeared via video-link at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 19 November for a case management hearing to set the timetable leading up to a full extradition hearing in February. | He's being…

The Canary (2019-12-19). Queen's Speech unveils Boris Johnson's hardline plans to curtail Britain's democracy. thecanary.co Boris Johnson has unveiled a Queen's Speech with measures to toughen up criminal justice, limit parliamentary democracy and potentially weaken the scrutiny of government. | The government will look at whether the Official Secrets Act needs overhauling, which determines what protections and punishments whistleblowers are given. Whistleblowers are a critical check on power. It will also consider whether there is a case for updating the treason laws. | Work will be taken forward to repeal the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act — a move which would enable the prime minister to call an election without the consent of pa…

Ryan Cristián (2019-12-15). US Threatens To Attack Iran Over Rockets Fired In Iraq & Assange Blocked From Seeing Key Evidence. 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 (12/14/19). 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 …

Lucas Koerner (2019-12-04). TIAR Countries Blacklist Top Venezuelan Officials as US Slaps New Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Venezuela of "hijacking" mass anti-neoliberal protests in "our own backyard."

Marjorie Cohn (2019-12-02). Civil Rights Are on the Chopping Block in New Supreme Court Term. zcomm.org Hello, A very small proportion of ZNet content is available only to Sustainers. You can become a sustainer for a small repeating donation – monthly or yearly via the links for Sustaining, or Donating, available on the top page of ZNet.

Christine Harrison (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."

John Pilger (2019-10-24). Julian Assange's Extradition Case is a Show Trial. zcomm.org Interview on the lack of mainstream media coverage of Julian's persecution, his health and conditions in Belmarsh prison, CIA spying on Julian Assange and more…