2020-03-08: News Headlines

Tom Coburg (2020-03-08). A note reveals exactly why the Julian Assange extradition case is based on lies. thecanary.co A handwritten note by

RT (2020-03-08). Spying or oppo research? Blackwater boogeyman Prince accused of helping Project Veritas infiltrate political campaigns & unions. rt.com The left is suddenly shocked to find 'opposition research' taken to a 'whole new level' amid claims that notorious Blackwater founder Erik Prince hired ex-spies to train Project Veritas agents to infiltrate liberal organizations. | Prince, the former head of Blackwater Worldwide and brother to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, recruited both ex-British and American spies to help in undercover operations run by Project Veritas, according to a

Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (2020-03-08). Humpback Whale Songs & the Search for Alien Intelligence. indybay.org San Francisco Zoo, Zoo Road at Sloat, San Francisco CA…

sputniknews (2020-03-08). Huawei Phone Sales May Drop 20% or More Due to US Sanctions, COVID-19 — Reports. sputniknews.com The US government slapped the Chinese tech giant with restrictions last May, and has accused the company of everything from technology theft to embedding spying tools inside its products. Huawei has vigorously denied these claims, and boasted 16.8 percent year-on-year growth in its smartphone division in 2019.

sputniknews (2020-03-08). Indian Police Arrests Two Daesh Operatives Instigating Anti-Citizenship Law Protests. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik) – Indian security and intelligence agencies have been monitoring the involvement of some subversive elements in triggering violence during the ongoing agitation against the controversial citizenship law. Earlier India's economic intelligence agency informed the government that an Islamist group was behind the protests.

WSWS (2020-03-07). Australian Labor MP feigns concern over US extradition of Julian Assange. wsws.org Penny Wong did not differ with government representatives, who explicitly endorsed the British judiciary's brutal attacks on Assange's legal and democratic rights.

WSWS (2020-03-07). Australia: "Teachers for Assange and Manning" campaign in Melbourne. wsws.org The active intervention of teachers and education support staff is just one indication of the growing concern among millions of people that Assange's persecution has immense implications.

teleSUR (2020-03-07). Chile: Pinochet's Agents Will Remain in Jail for up to 20 Years. telesurenglish.net Santiago de Chile's First Court of Appeals Friday sentenced 31 secret police officers to penalties of up to 20 years for their participation in the disappearance of two filmmakers on Nov. 29, 1974. | RELATED: | The ruling established the responsibility of members of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) in the kidnapping of Carmen Bueno and Jorge Muller, who were militants of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MI…

Vera Eidelman (2020-03-07). Will the US Supreme Court Protect the Right to Protest? commondreams.org "The one thing we know with certainty—and based on the officer's own allegations—is that the individual the officer sued is not the person who threw the object, but our client, DeRay Mckesson—an activist who was there to add his voice and to amplify others." (Photo: Jay Godwin/LBJ Library) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/deray.jpg

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-03-07). 'Chilling': Erik Prince Recruited Ex-Spies to Help Project Veritas Infiltrate Groups 'Hostile' to Trump Agenda. commondreams.org An explosive New York Times report revealed Saturday that notorious war profiteer Erik Prince recruited former American and British spies to work with the right-wing group Project Veritas to infiltrate at least one Democratic congressional campaign and organizations "considered hostile" to President Donald Trump's agenda. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/erik_prince_robert_mueller_0.png

The Canary (2020-03-06). Police raided innocent family's home because they got the time zone wrong. thecanary.co Police raided the home of an innocent family after recording the wrong time zone during a child abuse probe, according to a watchdog.The "serious error" occurred when officers confused Greenwich Mean Time with British Summer Time, as they tried to track who was uploading and sharing indecent images on public WiFi, a report from the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC) said.The mix-up put the information in the investigation out by one hour and led to the warrant mistakenly being carried out at the address.The body, set up in 2017 to scrutinise spying powers used by police, intelligence agencies and other publi…

Kevin Gosztola (2020-03-06). Espionage Act Reform Bill Would Protect Journalists Like Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Ro Khanna introduced a bill to reform the Espionage Act, the archaic piece of legislation used to prosecute Julian Assange and other Whistleblowers.

Daniel Warner (2020-03-06). Will COVID-19 Finally Bring Down Trump's Virtual Presidency? counterpunch.org The "pussy grab video" didn't do it. The Stormy Daniels's revelations didn't do it. The Mueller investigation didn't do it. The impeachment trial didn't do it. The cruel handling of children and the desperate at the border didn't do it. The unrevealed tax returns didn't do it. Will Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus epidemic

Staff (2020-03-06). "Supreme Inequality": Author Adam Cohen on the Supreme Court's 50-Year Battle Against Justice. democracynow.org The makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court has come under intense criticism in recent years after two Trump-nominated justices joined the bench. Senate Republicans confirmed Neil Gorsuch in 2017 after having refused to consider President Barack Obama's nominee in his final year in office, and they confirmed Brett Kavanaugh a year later despite multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against the judge. During the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, several candidates floated the idea of "packing the court" — appointing more than nine justices — in order to counter the court's rightward drift. But while t…

Mnar Muhawesh (2020-03-05). Podcast: Kevin Gosztola Discusses the Latest Developments in the Case Against Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com In this episode of MintCast, independent journalist and editor of ShadowProof Kevin Gosztola discusses the intricacies of the Assange hearings where the former editor of Wikileaks stands accused of 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act, an archaic law that has been used to target whistleblowers.

Aaron Maté (2020-03-05). Exclusive: OPCW whistleblowers confront leadership's attacks, cover-up of Douma deception. thegrayzone.com OPCW leadership tried to discredit two veteran officials who challenged a cover-up of its chemical weapons investigation in Douma, Syria. They…

Staff (2020-03-05). The New Poll Tax? Long Lines, Closed Polling Stations Hurt Black, Latinx & Student Voters in TX, CA. democracynow.org Long wait times plagued polling places in Texas throughout Super Tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of black and Latinx voters and college students. Many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot. At least 750 Texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013, when the Supreme Court slashed federal oversight of Texas and other Southern states under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were long lines, too, in Los Angeles, where many polling places reported problems with a brand-new $300 million voting system. The Sanders campaign sued to keep polling places open a…

Anya Parampil (2020-03-03). Inside the Assange courtroom: Kevin Gosztola explains the US-UK assault on press freedom. thegrayzone.com Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with journalist Kevin Gosztola about the trial of Julian Assange. Gosztola was inside the…

Ashoka Mukpo (2020-03-03). TRAP Laws are the Threat to Abortion Rights You Don't Know About. aclu.org This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case | that will have wide-reaching consequences for reproductive freedom and abortion | rights in America. It's the first time the Court has weighed those rights since | gaining a new conservative majority with the appointments of Justices Neil | Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And the stakes are high. | The case that the court will | hear, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, | is being argued by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CCR), and it involves a | law in Louisiana known as a "TRAP" — Targeted Restriction on Abortion | Providers. The detai…

Staff (2020-03-02). Julian Assange Lawyer: What's at Stake in Extradition Case Is Freedom of the Press. democracynow.org British Judge Vanessa Baraitser has suspended the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange until mid-May. This comes after four days of intense deliberations last week between Assange's legal team and attorneys representing the United States government. Assange faces 18 charges of attempted hacking and breaches of the Espionage Act for his role in publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. He could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison. Assange has been held in London's Belmarsh prison since last April, when he was removed from the embassy by British poli…

Staff (2020-03-02). Headlines for March 2, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Sees First 2 Coronavirus Deaths in Washington as Cases Worldwide Mount, U.S. and Taliban Sign Deal Aimed at Ending 18-Year War, Joe Biden Claims Decisive South Carolina Victory, Buttigieg & Steyer Drop Out Ahead of Super Tuesday, North Korea Fires Projectiles as It Carries Out Military Drill, Study Reveals No Fraud in 2019 Bolivian Election That Ousted Evo Morales, Voters in Israel Go to Polls for 3rd Time in Under a Year, Greece Attacks Refugees After Turkey Loosens Restrictions on Border, Assange Extradition Hearings Suspended Until May, Wet'suwet'en Chiefs in Talks with Canadian Ministers as Fight Against…

Marjorie Cohn (2020-03-02). Extradition of Assange Would Set a Dangerous Precedent. zcomm.org The Trump administration is seeking extradition of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to the United States for trial on charges carrying 175 years in prison…

Staff (2020-02-28). Headlines for February 28, 2020. democracynow.org California Monitoring 8,400 People for Coronavirus as Fears of Pandemic Grow, Syrian Airstrike Kills 33 Turkish Soldiers in Idlib, Escalating Tensions, New Justice Department Task Force Seeks to Strip Naturalized Immigrants of Citizenship, Joe Biden's Campaign Walks Back False Claims of Arrest in 1970s South Africa, Democratic Superdelegates Overwhelmingly Oppose Bernie Sanders Campaign, Mike Bloomberg Refuses to Apologize for Spying on Muslims, As NYC Mayor, Mike Bloomberg Called for Cuts to Social Security "Ponzi Scheme", ProPublica: Mike Bloomberg Advised Billionaire Sackler Family on Opioid Crisis, Emails Sho…

John Pilger (2020-02-27). John Pilger: Llegó el momento para que Julian Assange sea liberado, no traicionado. thegrayzone.com La verdad es que Australia podía haber rescatado a Julian Assange, y todavía puede. Los líderes de su tierra natal…

Eva Lopez (2020-02-27). Defending Immigrants' Rights and Reproductive Freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court. aclu.org The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a number of cases this term that will have a crucial impact on civil rights and civil liberties — from LGBTQ equality to reproductive freedom and immigrants' rights. Earlier in the term, the ACLU had two cases asking whether workers can be fired for being LGBTQ. On March 2, we will be arguing a case on immigrants' rights, and we have filed or will file friend-of-the-court briefs in major cases involving reproductive freedom, contraceptive access, and religious freedom. | We sat down with David | Cole, the ACLU's national legal director, to discuss what's in store for the…

Jason Ditz (2020-02-17). DOJ Investigating Former CIA Director's Role in Russiagate. theantimedia.com The Justice Department is investigating the role of John Brennan in the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

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