2020-09-25: News Headlines

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-25). Assange's Thirteenth Day at the Old Bailey: Mental Health, Managed Risk and Publication Chronologies. dissidentvoice.org September 24. Central Criminal Court, London. The lion's share of today's Old Bailey proceedings in Julian Assange's extradition trial was spent on battles over mental health and dire risk. The prosecution continued its attempt to minimise the dangers facing Assange were he to be extradited to the United States for 17 charges under the US …

W. T. Whitney (2020-09-25). Hitting at Venezuela: the Colombia/US Axis. counterpunch.org Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Colombian President Ivan Duque, meeting in Bogota on September 20, talked about "managing the COVID-19 response … narcotraffickers … and [President] Maduro's illegitimate regime," according to the State Department. A Cuban observer insists they explored "when to begin military actions and sabotage in Venezuela." Elliott Abrams, the White House

_____ (2020-09-24). The US Is Using The Guardian To Justify Jailing Assange For Life. popularresistance.org Julian Assange is not on trial simply for his liberty and his life. He is fighting for the right of every journalist to do hard-hitting investigative journalism without fear of arrest and extradition to the United States. Assange faces 175 years in a US super-max prison on the basis of claims by Donald Trump's administration that his exposure of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan amounts to "espionage". | The charges against Assange rewrite the meaning of "espionage" in unmistakably dangerous ways. Publishing evidence of state crimes, as Assange's Wikileaks organisation has done, is covered by both free speech…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-24). Assange's Twelfth Day at the Old Bailey: Autism, Suicide and Prisons. dissidentvoice.org September 23. Central Criminal Court, London. Following the script sheet of the previous day, the non sequitur, pop medical view of the prosecution was again in sharp evidence at the Old Bailey. In an effort to make the road for Julian Assange's extradition to the United States for 17 charges under the US Espionage Act …

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-24). Assange on Trial: Suicide, Hallucinations and Psychological Torture. counterpunch.org Day 11. Central Criminal Court, London. The prosecutors in the Julian Assange case did their show trial predecessors from other legal traditions proud. The ghosts of such figures as Soviet state prosecutor Andrey Vyshinsky, would have approved of the line of questioning taken by James Lewis QC: suggest that Assange, accused of 17 counts of

_____ (2020-09-24). Report, Wednesday, September 23: Julian Assange. popularresistance.org On Wednesday the trap sprang shut, as Judge Baraitser insisted the witnesses must finish next week, and that no time would be permitted for preparation of closing arguments, which must be heard the immediate following Monday. This brought the closest the defence have come to a protest, with the defence pointing out they have still not addressed the new superseding indictment, and that the judge refused their request for an adjournment before witness hearings started, to give them time to do so.

Craig Murray (2020-09-24). Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 15. globalresearch.ca When Daniel Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers, the US Government

sputniknews (2020-09-24). Assange is a 'Resilient Man' Who Isn't at Risk of Suicide If Extradited, Government Expert Says. sputniknews.com A psychiatrist testifying for the government says that whilst the WikiLeaks publisher is suffering from mild clinical depression he does not think he is a suicide risk if he is extradited to the United States to face espionage charges.

sputniknews (2020-09-24). #FreeAssange Campaign Targeted by Concerted Spambot Attack During Extradition Hearing. sputniknews.com WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, who faces up to 175 years in prison for his role in obtaining and publishing classified US diplomatic cables, is now at the centre of a series of extradition hearings at London's Central Criminal Court.

_____ (2020-09-24). 'We Demand The Immediate Release Of Julian Assange'. popularresistance.org We, members of the Progressive International Council, support the freedom of Julian Assange against the unlawful and dangerous extradition trial currently setagainst him in London. Julian Assange has been a world-defining journalist, editor, and intellectual whose work has been crucial in promoting global justice. The prosecution by the United States of an Australian citizen for his journalistic activities done in sovereign countries in Europe is a gross violation of human rights and international law.

WSWS (2020-09-24). Assange's partner Stella Moris calls for Australian government to intervene in his defence. wsws.org "This is not something that the Australian government can just hide its head in the sand and say 'nothing to do with us.'"

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-09-24). The Murder of the First Amendment. thealtworld.com The illegal and unwarranted prosecution of Julian Assange by the US Government in a British court, if court it is and not a Star Chamber, is in fact the prosecution of the First Amendment. It will prevent journalists in the future from informing the public of criminal activity by government. This is already the case in a number of countries, and the US and UK are about to join them. Washington, working through a British judge and a British prosecutor, is murdering the First Amendment and, thereby, accountable government. | The US government's case for Assange's extradition to the US that is working its way throug…

Jonathan Cook (2020-09-24). The US is Using the Guardian to Justify Jailing Assange for Life. Why is the Paper So Silent? counterpunch.org Julian Assange is not on trial simply for his liberty and his life. He is fighting for the right of every journalist to do hard-hitting investigative journalism without fear of arrest and extradition to the United States. Assange faces 175 years in a US super-max prison on the basis of claims by Donald Trump's administration that his exposure of US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan amounts to "espionage".

A. Majumdar (2020-09-24). PDF of September 24 issue. workers.org Download the 12-page PDF. Whistleblower: ICE abuses detainees ALSO: Migrant caravan for residency; Defend BLM activist lawyers; Trump, Biden, and U.S. decline; 'Free Palestine' webinar; U.S. Cold War vs TikTok; Is Marxism still relevant? WORKERS ORGANIZE: Illinois; North Carolina. WORLD: Editorial: Ginsburg & SCOTUS. WORLD: Belarus; Bolivia. TEAR DOWN THE . . . |

Eds. (2020-09-24). U.S. & Guyana unveil joint Military patrols on oil-rich Venezuela border. mronline.org U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo completed a whirlwind tour of Surinam, Guyana, Brazil and Colombia to boost anti-Venezuela efforts.

Steven Hill (2020-09-24). Corona-fied: Employers Spying on Remote Workers in Their Homes. counterpunch.org Disturbing increases in the use of digital surveillance technologies by employers to monitor their remote workers are raising alarm bells. With the number of remote workers surging as a result of the pandemic—42 percent of U.S. workers are now doing their jobs from their kitchens, living rooms, and home offices—a number of employers have begun requiring their workers to download spying software to their laptops and smartphones.

RT (2020-09-24). 'Vote him out', 'Honor her wish': Protesters chant as Donald Trump pays respect to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. rt.com US President Donald Trump was loudly booed as he paid his respects to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as calls intensify for him to hold off on nominating a replacement until after the November election. | The president and his wife, Melania, silently paid their respects to Ginsburg on Thursday morning at the Supreme Court, where the recently-deceased judge is lying in state as part of a three-day event to honor her life. | As Trump and the First Lady appeared, a crowd that had gathered across the street began booing the pair and chanting "vote him out." They also chanted "honor her wish" [mdas…

teleSUR (2020-09-24). Riot Police Are Not Excessively Violent, Colombia's Govt. Says. telesurenglish.net Colombia's Defense Minister Carlos Trujillo Wednesday rejected the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) which concluded that the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) has systematically carried out violent and arbitrary actions against citizens. | RELATED: | On Sept. 22, the CSJ ordered Trujillo to apologize for the excesses his security forces committed in the demonstrations that thousands of citizens staged in Nov. 2019. | Neverthele…

teleSUR (2020-09-24). Trump Refuses To Commit To Peaceful Power Transfer If He Loses. telesurenglish.net U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose this year's presidential race, while suggesting that the election will be challenged in the Supreme Court. | RELATED: | "We're going to have to see what happens," Trump said during a press briefing at the White House when asked if he would make sure there is "a peaceful transferal of power" after the election in Nov…

Kenn Orphan (2020-09-24). RBG and America's Priestly Class. counterpunch.org "It would be naive to depend on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of poor people, women, people of color, dissenters of all kinds. Those rights only come alive when citizens organize, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice." — Howard Zinn The history of most ancient

Morgan Marietta (2020-09-24). 3 ways a 6-3 Supreme Court would be different. zcomm.org Perhaps the most important ramification of a 6-3 conservative court is that it will return many policies to local control.

ERA Coalition (2020-09-24). Wednesday 9/23: Recording: Supreme Court Lying in Repose Ceremony for Justice Ginsburg (watch anytime). indybay.org Online recording…

_____ (2020-09-24). The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost. strategic-culture.org As ye sow, so shall ye reap, is another, Biblical way of expressing the common American adage from the title. The recent passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seems to have provoked The normal procedure, following long-standing pra…

Staff (2020-09-24). Crowd Boos, Chants "Vote Him Out" After Trump Appears at Ginsburg Memorial. truthout.org President Trump was booed by a crowd gathered at the Supreme Court building on Thursday while paying respects to late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. | Ginsburg's body is Trump arrived at the Supreme Court building on Thursday and appear…

teleSUR (2020-09-24). Supreme Court Orders Capture of Ecuador's Ex-President Correa. telesurenglish.net Ecuador's National Court of Justice (CNJ) Wednesday ordered the capture of former President Rafael Correa, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for his alleged participation in a bribery case. | RELATED: | This arrest warrant also affects former Vice President Jorge Glas and other former senior officials such as Alexis Mera, Maria de Los Angeles Duarte, and Viviana Bonilla. | After ratifying that the legal process…

yenisafak (2020-09-24). US to announce more Iran sanctions on Thursday, top envoy says. yenisafak.com The United States will slap new sanctions on a number of Iranian officials and entities including a judge who sentenced Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari to death, U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams told a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.Navid Afkari was executed earlier this month after being convicted of stabbing a security guard to death during anti-government protests in 2018, Iranian state media reported, in a case that has sparked international outcry. Iran's Supreme Court rejected a review of the case in late August.

yenisafak (2020-09-24). 2020 US ELECTION: What you need to know right now. yenisafak.com Court battles over how votes are tallied have now spread to almost every competitive state, as the effect of the pandemic has led the two sides to clash over seemingly mundane issues such as witness signatures, postmarks, and the use of drop boxes for ballots.- With speculation swirling over his pick for the Supreme Court, President Donald Trump heads to Florida on Thursday, hoping to shore up support in that hotly contested state. On Wednesday, the president, who has repeatedly attempted to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses.- Retired Gene…

Elie Mystal (2020-09-24). The Media Is Missing the Republicans' Supreme Court Power Grab—Again. thenation.com The Media Is Missing the Republicans' Supreme Court Power Grab—Again…

WSWS (2020-09-24). Further revelations about sterilizations and medical malpractice at ICE detention facility in Georgia. wsws.org The latest revelations, including the naming of the doctor who performed them, strengthens the account given in a recent whistleblower complaint, while giving lie to the US government's dismissals.

Alan Macleod (2020-09-23). Hoping to Force an Outcome, US Sanctions Opposition Parties in Venezuela Ahead of Elections. mintpressnews.com Sanctions on Venezuela are nothing new. But Secretary of State Pompeo recently took the unusual step of sanctioning leaders of local opposition parties in an attempt to pressure them to pull out of upcoming elections.

WSWS (2020-09-23). Assange faces "very high risk of suicide," medical expert tells court. wsws.org Kopelman's evidence confirms the warnings made since November 2019 by Doctors for Assange that Assange is suffering "psychological torture" and "could die in prison."

Craig Murray (2020-09-23). Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 14. globalresearch.ca Monday was a frustrating day as the Assange Hearing drifted deep into a fantasy land where nobody knows or is allowed to say that people were tortured in Guantanamo Bay and under extraordinary rendition. The willingness of Judge Baraitser to …

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-23). Assange's Eleventh Day at the Old Bailey: Suicide, Hallucinations and Psychological Torture. dissidentvoice.org September 22. Central Criminal Court, London. Today, the prosecutors in the Julian Assange case did their show trial predecessors from other legal traditions proud. The ghosts of such figures as Soviet state prosecutor Andrey Vyshinsky, would have approved of the line of questioning taken by James Lewis QC: suggest that Assange, accused of 17 counts …

Stefan Simanowitz (2020-09-23). Why Are Amnesty International Monitors Not Able to Observe the Assange Hearing? globalresearch.ca Earlier this month, the street outside the Old Bailey criminal court in London, where Julian Assange's extradition hearing has been taking place, was transformed into a carnival. | Inside the Old Bailey, the courtroom has turned into a circus. There have …

_____ (2020-09-23). Report, Tuesday, September 22: Julian Assange Hearing. popularresistance.org Julian is profoundly worried that his medical history will be used to discredit him and all that he has worked for, to paint the achievements of Wikileaks in promoting open government and citizen knowledge as the fantasy of a deranged mind. I have no doubt this will be tried, but fortunately there has been a real change in public understanding and acknowledgement of mental illness. I do not think Julian's periodic and infrequent episodes of very serious depression will be successfully portrayed in a bad light, despite the incredibly crass and insensitive attitude displayed today in court by the US Government, who…

Oscar Grenfell (2020-09-23). Former CIA Director Leon Panetta: We Are Prosecuting Assange to Intimidate Others. globalresearch.ca Leon Panetta, who served as director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2009 to 2011, and then as the Obama administration's secretary for defence, has let the cat out of the bag, telling interviewers that the US …

_____ (2020-09-23). As Assange Faces Extradition, the State of U.S. Prisons Grows Worse. strategic-culture.org John KIRIAKOU | The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is in a state of chaos. Leadership changes, Covid-19, and criminal activity on the part of BOP officers and staff members has plunged the Justice Department's largest and best-funded bureau into a scandal that, while it has not made the mainstream media, has harmed thousands of prisoners. | [The issue was raised last week in the hearing of Julian Assange in London as the state of mental health care for prisoners, cited in a BOP report, came up in witness testimony in the defense's argument against sending Assange to the U.S. to face time in a U.S. prison.] Micha…

Ben Norton (2020-09-23). Leaked docs expose massive Syria propaganda operation waged by Western govt contractors and media. thegrayzone.com Western government-funded intelligence cutouts trained Syrian opposition leaders, planted stories in media outlets from BBC to Al Jazeera, and ran a cadre of journalists. A trove of leaked documents exposes the propaganda network. By Ben Norton Leaked documents show how UK government contractors developed an advanced infrastructure of propaganda to stimulate support in the West for Syria's political and armed opposition. Virtually every aspect of the Syrian opposition was cultivated and marketed by Western government-backed public relations firms, from their …

Telesur (2020-09-23). Venezuela Denounces New Aggressions from the US. globalresearch.ca The Simon Bolivar Great Patriotic Pole (GPPSB) alerted that plans are being made to generate violence in the country, after the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to countries bordering Venezuela. | In a press conference held …

Staff (2020-09-23). People of Praise: Former Member of Group Tied to SCOTUS Front-Runner Amy Barrett Calls It a "Cult" democracynow.org As President Trump appears poised to announce a nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, we speak with a former member of the secretive Catholic group People of Praise, known for its rigid gender roles and lifelong loyalty oaths, which apparent front-runner Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a member of. "Many call it a community, but I describe it as a cult," says Coral Anika Theill, who was a member of People of Praise from 1979 to 1984 and is now speaking out against the organization.

Staff (2020-09-23). Who Is Amy Barrett? Front-Runner to Replace RBG Is Anti-Abortion Member of Patriarchal Catholic Group. democracynow.org We look at President Trump's top pick for a woman to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who is a devout Catholic who has taken conservative stances on abortion, gun rights, immigration and LGBTQ rights. Barrett's involvement with the conservative Catholic group People of Praise, whose members pledge a lifelong loyalty oath to the group, has also raised questions about her ability to rule independently. "There's some real concerns about whether her involvement in there will affect her ability to be impartial a…

Staff (2020-09-23). No Más Bebés: ICE Hysterectomy Scandal Recalls 1970s LA, When a Hospital Sterilized Chicana Patients. democracynow.org As immigration authorities say they have stopped sending women to a Georgia gynecologist accused of sterilizing female prisoners without their consent, we continue our look at United States' disturbing history of forced sterilization with the producer and historian behind the 2016 documentary called "No Más Bebés," which tells the story of how a whistleblower doctor spoke out about a large number of tubal ligations performed on mostly Latinx patients at the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center some 46 years ago. "Quite often they did not understand the terminology. They did not, in some cases, understand the lan…

Staff (2020-09-23). Headlines for September 23, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 200,000, On Track to Double by Year's End, FDA Reportedly Planning Stricter Guidelines for Release of COVID-19 Vaccine, Pentagon Spent $1 Billion of Coronavirus Funds on Military Supplies, Trump Says Coronavirus "Affects Virtually Nobody" as U.S. Death Toll Tops 200,000, U.N. Secretary-General Warns of New Cold War as Trump Attacks China over Coronavirus, Sen. Mitt Romney Backs Rapid Vote on Trump's Supreme Court Nominee, Officer Involved in Breonna Taylor's Killing Defends Actions, Calls Protesters "Thugs", Federal Agents Tapped Cellphones of Portland Protesters, President Trump…

Dr. Jack Rasmus (2020-09-23). A Most Dire Warning. The 2020 November Elections. Chaos in America… globalresearch.ca The rumor today is that Romney will reportedly say he'll support Trump's 3rd SCOTUS vote. So there you have it! 2020 election Game Over! | Trump will now get his 3rd Supreme Court nominee accepted by McConnell's Senate—either before Nov. 3 …

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-09-23). US-Guyana Maritime Patrols Near Venezuela Border Denounced as Latest American Imperialism. commondreams.org Pompeo says the joint naval and air patrols in the disputed, oil-rich region are meant to fight drug trafficking, but critics see them as the latest U.S. aggression toward Maduro. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/guyana.jpg

Prof. Marjorie Cohn (2020-09-23). Ginsburg's Legacy Is Vast, But a Trump Appointee Could Overturn Her Best Rulings. globalresearch.ca When I was sworn in to practice before the Supreme Court in 2007, I sat near the front of the gallery. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the five-foot-tall justice, was barely visible over the bench behind which she sat. On two …

Staff (2020-09-23). A 6-3 court could cement minority Republican rule for decades. therealnews.com The Appeal's Daniel Nichanian discusses the consequences of Trump filling the seat of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-09-23). Much at stake for workers in federal appeals courts. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON —If there ever were six months which proved the importance of federal appeals courts to workers, the first half of 2020 was it. Both for, and often against, those judges, especially on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, determined workers' fate, even more so than the U.S. Supreme Court or …

Dianne Mathiowetz (2020-09-23). Whistleblower exposes: ICE abuses detainees. workers.org EDITOR'S NOTES: As we go to press, a Sept. 21 press release from Georgia Detention Watch announced that Cipriano Chavez-Alvarez, 61, is the third detainee at the Stewart Detention Center located in Lumpkin, Georgia to die of COVID-19. Press conference on ICE abuse, Ocilla, Ga., Sept. 15. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten . . . |

Jamal Rich (2020-09-23). Poor People's Campaign and progressive allies take fight to Mitch McConnell's doorstep. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—On Monday, Sept. 21, just days after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death, organizers from the D.C. Poor People's Campaign and other major local organizations demonstrated by foot and car caravan outside of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's house to demand that he not appoint yet another extreme right Supreme Court justice, that …