2020-02-02: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-02). 'Complete contentment and happiness': Groundbreaking study finds death is a EUPHORIC experience. rt.com It may be many people's greatest fear, but a revolutionary new study has found that dying is actually a blissful and euphoric experience that makes people not want to come back to life. | People who momentarily depart their mortal coil before being revived are left with positive perceptions of what it's like to pass away, according to a groundbreaking new study. | The researchers used artificial intelligence to mine a treasure trove of 158 written testimonies from people who had near-death experiences and found that positive words like 'see' and 'light' are used far more frequently than negative ones like 'fea…

Jordan Smith (2020-02-02). Texas Gets Green Light to Limit Family Planning Services for Poor Women. zcomm.org Source: The Intercept In late January, on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision marked its 47th anniversary, Texas got news from the federal government that it would be allowed to receive millions in Medicaid funding to support a family planning program that discriminates among providers — the same

WSWS (2020-02-01). Assange would be held in "darkest corner of the prison system" if extradited to the US. wsws.org If dispatched to the US, the WikiLeaks founder will be held in extreme isolation—conditions usually inflicted on individuals convicted of terrorism offences.

WSWS (2020-02-01). Montreal meeting this Sunday to demand freedom for Julian Assange. wsws.org The Socialist Equality Party (Canada) is holding a public meeting in Montreal this Sunday, to fight for the freedom of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, oppose war, and defend democratic rights.

Derek Royden (2020-02-01). First Assange, now Greenwald: The growing attacks on adversarial journalism. nationofchange.org It's unlikely that Greenwald, who at least has the benefit of widespread fame and international support, will be the last journalist to be targeted.

Staff (2020-01-31). 2nd CIA Contractor Testifies in 9/11 Case at Guantanamo. truthdig.com John Bruce Jessen tells a military court that such techniques as waterboarding and sleep deprivation were shown to have no lasting effects.

Whitney Webb (2020-01-31). How government and media are prepping America for a failed 2020 election. mronline.org Russia, China and Iran are already being blamed for using tech to undermine the 2020 election. Yet, the very technologies they are allegedly using were created by a web of companies with deep ties to Israeli intelligence. |

RT (2020-01-31). Trump to expand travel ban, targeting immigrants from 6 more countries. rt.com US President Donald Trump will issue an updated version of his controversial travel ban, acting Homeland Security head Chad Wolf said Friday. The existing ban will remain in place, having been okayed by the Supreme Court in 2018. | Speaking to reporters by phone, Wolf said that the updated ban will suspend immigrant visas for nationals of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria. Non-immigrant visas from these countries will not be affected. | 'Diversity Visas' — handed out by lottery to boost immigration from countries with low rates of immigration to the US — for nationals of Sudan and Tanzania wil…

teleSUR (2020-01-31). Venezuela's Supreme Court Rejects Attempted Takeover of Telesur. telesurenglish.net The Supreme Tribunal of Justice declared null and voided the decree on the reorganization of Telesur, following an appeal by RELATED: | The court declared the 'Decree on the Creation of a Commission for the Reorganization of Telesur Venezuela and its subsidiaries,' presented by opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido and approved by…

Staff (2020-01-30). "Coded Bias": New Film Looks at Fight Against Racial Bias in Facial Recognition & AI Technology. democracynow.org A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-American and Asian faces incorrectly 10 to 100 times more than white faces. The film "Coded Bias" begins with Joy B…

RT (2020-01-30). Why was Rand banned? Sen. Paul reveals his CENSORED question at Trump impeachment trial. rt.com As Senators gathered for the last day of questioning in President Trump's impeachment trial, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul found his question censored in a way that may have revealed the identity of the mysterious whistleblower. | With the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump nearing its final stages, senators gathered on Capitol Hill on Thursday to question the Democratic prosecution team, and Trump's defense attorneys. However, Paul (R-Kentucky) found his question shot down by presiding Chief Justice John Roberts, who declined "to read the question as submitted." | Paul left the chamber after Roberts' de…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-01-30). Weingarten: Right wants states to use public dollars for religious schools. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON — The religious right wants the U.S. Supreme Court to force states to use public dollars for religious schools, Teachers President Randi Weingarten warns. In a message to her union's 1.6 million members late last month, the AFT leader, a civics and government teacher from New York City, adds the religious rightists are counting …

Staff (2020-01-29). Headlines for January 29, 2020. democracynow.org McConnell Tries to Secure Votes to Block Impeachment Witnesses, "Our Rights Are Not for Sale": Palestinians Reject Trump's Middle East Plan, Trump Praises Pompeo for Shouting and Cursing at NPR Reporter, WaPo Reinstates Reporter Suspended for Tweeting About Kobe Rape Case, Death Toll from Coronavirus Virus Hits 132, with 6,000 Infected, Over 100,000 Syrian Civilians Flee Regime Offensive in Idlib, Floods Kill 30, Displace 16,000 in Madagascar, Mississippi to Shut Down Unit of Parchman Prison After Deaths of 9 Prisoners, Maryland Cop Charged with Murder for Killing Handcuffed Man in Police Car…

Staff (2020-01-28). Headlines for January 28, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Lawyers Says He Did No Wrong as Calls Mount for Bolton and Other Witnesses to Testify | , Trump to Unveil Middle East "Peace Plan" as Netanyahu Indicted over Corruption, SCOTUS Allows Trump's "Public Charge" Rule Targeting Low-Income Immigrants to Take Effect, State Dept. Bars NPR Reporter from Upcoming Pompeo Trip, Washington Post Suspends Reporter for Tweet About Kobe Bryant Rape Allegation, Mixed Accounts After U.S. Military Plane Crashes in Afghanistan, Torrential Rains and Landslides Kill At Least 46 People in Brazil, Nigerian Journalist Maxwell Nashan Killed, 2nd Accuser Testifies in Weinstein Trial a…

Staff (2020-01-27). Under Pressure in Impeachment Trial, Trump Steps Up Attacks on Reproductive Rights. democracynow.org Donald Trump on Friday became the first sitting president in U.S. history to attend the so-called March for Life, the annual anti-abortion rally held in Washington, D.C., that draws thousands of participants. President Trump — who once described himself as "pro-choice in every respect" — accused Democrats of infanticide and falsely stated that Virginia Governor Ralph Northam supports an abortion bill that would "execute a baby after birth." The March for Life began in 1974 in response to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion. Past…

Jessica Arons (2020-01-22). 47 Years Later, We're Fighting to Make Roe a Reality Everywhere. aclu.org Today we commemorate the 47th | anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the | landmark Supreme Court case that recognized a constitutional right to abortion. | In the nearly five decades since, the decision has weathered numerous storms | and faced plenty of erosion, leaving too many without meaningful access to | abortion care. But 2020 could be its most consequential year yet. | This spring, the Supreme Court will hear | arguments in June Medical | Services v. Gee and could uphold state abortion re…

CounterSpin (2020-01-17). Chip Gibbons on FBI vs. 1st Amendment. fair.org Media…

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.