(2020-01-01). UN Expert Describes Detention of Chelsea Manning as "Amounting to Torture" truthout.org United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer shared on social media Tuesday a letter he sent to the United States government last month expressing concerns that the continued detention of whistleblower Chelsea Manning amounts to torture. | The Geneva-based expert tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday: | #USGovt of 1 Nov 2019 explaining why continued detention of (2020-01-01). Not the bees! Pentagon wants to use swarms of AI-powered drones for 'rescue' missions. rt.com 
The Pentagon is combing the AI developer community to try to build a self-starting swarm of AI-enabled drones capable of recognizing and tracking a target — ostensibly for search and rescue, but potentially for search and destroy. | The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) issued a request (RFI) late in December seeking the latest and greatest in AI and drone swarm tech — and looking for clever ideas on how to combine th…
(2019-12-31). Top 10 Events That Shaped North America in the 2010s. telesurenglish.net Over the course of the past decade, North America has experienced the rise of several social movements, such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, which have helped give voice to the voiceless and empower the oppressed. | While these movements helped bring necessary social change, the 2010s also witnessed the rise of the far-right under U.S. President Donald Trump, which has further divided people across the continent and world. | But as we look back at the 2010s, there are several events that have helped shape the present and the future of the continent. | 1) Whistleblowers (2010-Present) | Julian Assange and…
(2019-12-31). Australian teachers' defence of Julian Assange welcomed by WikiLeaks supporters. wsws.org US comedian Jimmy Dore discussed the initiative on the December 19 edition of his "Jimmy Dore Show Podcast."
(2019-12-31). "Then, I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as President." — "King" Donald Trump. counterpunch.org Against Donald J. Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted narrow impeachment charges, despite key House Committee Chairs' arguments for broadening the impeachment charges. These veteran lawmakers, led by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, urged Speaker Pelosi to include the ten obstructions of justice documented in the Mueller Report. These House Committee Chairs also wanted More
(2019-12-31). In 2020, Ukrainians Gain Whistleblower Rights Trump Has Forsaken Here. commondreams.org Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is surrounded by lawyers, aides, and journalists as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol October 11, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/yovanovitch.jpg …
(2019-12-31). US Interfered in Elections of at Least 85 Countries Worldwide Since 1945. globalresearch.ca This article was first published by Sott.net and Global Research in December 2016. | The simmering tit-for-tat has kept the issue of election meddling burning bright in the national spotlight, fueled even further by the belief among U.S. intelligence agencies that …
(2019-12-31). Israel's Top Court Hears Case on Netanyahu's Political Future. telesurenglish.net Israel's Supreme Court has convened Tuesday to hear a case on whether an indicted prime minister can form a government. | RELATED: | Netanyahu's Rival Announces Candidacy to Oust Israeli PM | The hearing – from which conclusions are not expected soon – is key for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it will determine if he can prolong his political career after next March's election, the country's third general election in less than one year. | If the court was to decide…
(2019-12-31). UN Expert Calls Detention of Chelsea Manning 'Open-Ended, Progressively Severe, Coercive Measure Amounting to Torture'. commondreams.org United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer shared on social media Tuesday a letter he sent to the United States government last month expressing concerns that the continued detention of whistleblower Chelsea Manning amounts to torture. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/chelsea_manning_0_0.jpg …
(2019-12-31). 'US is torturing Chelsea Manning': Top UN official says her treatment is 'cruel and degrading'. rt.com 
Chelsea Manning is being subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, constituting torture by the US government over her refusal to testify against whistleblower website WikiLeaks, a top United Nations official has said. | UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer accused the government of torturing Manning in a November letter, which was just released on Tuesday. In the letter, Melzer wrote that Manning is suffering "an open-ended, progressively severe measure of coercion…
(2019-12-31). Assange Said, "I'm slowly dying here" dissidentvoice.org WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims he's 'slowly dying' in a UK jail and is often tranquilized and kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. He made the disturbing revelations in a phone call to his friend Vaughan Smith on Christmas Eve. | Read more: on.rt.com/a85u
(2019-12-30). The spooks' choice: Coup plotters and CIA agents fill Pete Buttigieg's list of national security endorsers. thegrayzone.com Why are so many intelligence veterans throwing their weight behind a young Indiana mayor with such a thin foreign policy…
(2019-12-30). This Court Case Could Be a Turning Point in Tackling Gun Violence. truthout.org The decision by the Supreme Court last month to allow a major case against the gun industry to go forward is setting the stage for what could finally be a turning point in the fight to hold gun manufacturers accountable for gun violence. The case was brought by family members of people who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. | At issue in the case, called Remington Arms Co. v. Soto, is whether a law passed…
(2019-12-30). 'Strikes successful, other options discussed': Esper & Pompeo brief Trump on 'anti-Iran' raids in Iraq & Syria. rt.com 
Top national security advisers told President Donald Trump that the air raids against Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria were a total success — and briefed him on 'other' ways to punish Iran for the alleged attacks on US interests. | "We will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared, standing beside Defense Secretary Mark Esper at a press event at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. | Also on rt.com | | US strikes Kataib Hezbollah HQ in Iraq, Syria | The…
(2019-12-27). Wikileaks Still Holding Powerful to Account as Founder Julian Assange "Slowly Dies" in Prison. mintpressnews.com Julian Assange is dying inside Belmarsh Prison in London. Those are his own words, relayed through English journalist Vaughan Smith, who revealed that the Wikileaks founder called him on Christmas Eve to share his greetings. Smith also divulged that Assange told him he is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours per day and is often sedated. | His treatment has elicited protests around the world, from journalists, news organizations, human rights groups and celebrities. Last week a group of Australian doctors asked Foreign Minister Marise Pay…
(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.
(2019-12-24). Commentary: 'Ukrainegate' and impeachment. fightbacknews.org Milwaukee, WI – Near the end of August, a whistleblower released a document uncovering a private conversation between U.S. president Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The fact that the two of them were talking is not newsworthy; what was revealed and is of some import, however, was the specific content of their exchange. | The whistleblower's report lays out how Trump attempted to strongarm Zelensky and the Ukrainian government into reopening an investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The younger Biden was involved in a number of questionable…
(2019-12-21). Corporate Media Find All the Wrong Lessons for US Left in Corbyn's Defeat. fair.org 
Conservative leader Boris Johnson swept to power in the UK's December 12 elections, winning 365 of a possible 650 seats. Labour's socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn announced his resignation, after a bitterly disappointing night for his party. | Across the spectrum, corporate media all came to the same conclusion regarding the election: Corbyn's loss spells the end for the US left and a "crushing defeat" (New York, 12/13/19) of the discredited policie…
(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…
(2019-12-19). FBI Surveillance of Trump Aide Reflects Flaws in Secretive FISA System That Mostly Targets Muslims. democracynow.org 
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Wednesday the FBI should have considered halting its surveillance of Trump's campaign aide Carter Page months before it did, after it was revealed that accusations against him may not be credible. Horowitz made the comments while testifying to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, saying the FBI used false information to obtain approval to wiretap Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and raising wider concerns about the agency's use of surveillance. He testified a day after the highly secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Co…
(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…
(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…
(2019-12-19). 10 LGBTQ Moments that Defined 2019. aclu.org 
1. Aimee Stephens goes to the Supreme Court: | In October, the Supreme Court heard its first trans civil rights case ever. The case was brought by our client Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home solely for being transgender. That's sex discrimination and it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. | We have yet to see whether the Supreme Court will uphold the civil rights of trans people. But no matter what, history has already been made. | "I'll never forget the feeling of coming out of the Supreme Court and seeing a crowd of trans people and allies chanting to Aim…
(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 …
(2019-12-07). US Claims "Fresh Intelligence" Of Iran Attacks Yet Provides Zero Evidence — MSM Blindly Regurgitates. thelastamericanvagabond.com Here we go again with "fresh intelligence" to justify the continued sanctions and destabilization of Iran. It's a plan that has been well documented even by their own writings (See Which Path to Persia? — 2009). Of course, complicating U.S. foreign policy is the involvement of Israel. The Last American Vagabond covers the latest political posturing, distortion, and general …
(2019-12-05). CNN Says US Has "Fresh Intelligence" Of Iran Prepping Attack But Can't Show It & More NYT Propaganda. 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 (12/4/19). 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 …
(2019-12-04). 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."
(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.
(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."
(2019-10-24). 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…