Daily Archives: September 11, 2020

2020-09-11: News Headlines

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-11). Assange's Fourth Day at the Old Bailey: COVID in the Courtroom. counterpunch.org As James Lewis QC for the prosecution, representing the US government, revealed, "I'm just saying about my charger. It's in court and I'm going to run out of battery." It was one of those moments that said much about the fourth day of proceedings at the Old Bailey regarding one Julian Assange, publisher, Australian national

T.J. Coles (2020-09-11). The War on You: How the Pentagon is Militarizing Social Control. counterpunch.org Neoliberalism benefits the few and makes life for the many increasingly impossible. Big data and blanket surveillance give state and corporate intelligence confidence that they can pre-empt and manage mass, social reactions to neoliberalism. This article is an excerpt from my new book, The War on You. TARGET: "EVERYONE" In 1997, the U.S. Space Command

yenisafak (2020-09-11). Qatar set to host Afghan government-Taliban talks again. yenisafak.com Qatar is set to host another round of talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban on Saturday to end the ongoing war in the country.In a statement, the Afghan Presidency said negotiations with the Taliban would begin in Qatar's capital Doha.The Afghan delegation, headed by former chief of the intelligence service Masoom Stanikzai, includes 21 members from various political parties and groups.President of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, acting Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar, Minister of State for Peace Affairs Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi and the president's Special Represent…

T.J. Coles (2020-09-11). The War on Your Mind: A Brief History of the U.S. Surveillance-Intelligence Complex. globalresearch.ca The recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vindicated the contractor-turned-whistleblower, Edward Snowden, by ruling that the National Security Agency's blanket data collection was unlawful and likely After Snowden alerted the world, t…

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-09-11). The 19th Anniversary of the Deep State Attack On America. thealtworld.com Most anniversaries of September 11, 2001, I have written an article presenting yet again the enormous evidence that the official story of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are so obviously false as to be unbelievable. Yet Americans believed the transparent lie. | The military/security complex was desperate for enemies. In 2001 Russia was under the US thumb. China's rise was predicted to be 50 years away. Where were the enemies to keep the military/security budget and power growing? | The neoconservitives who dominated the Cheney/Bush government identified the Arab Middle East as the enemy and…

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-09-10). Assange Trial Exposes False Partisan Narratives With Focus On Trump's War On Journalism. thealtworld.com scandalously opaque and A new article about the proceedings in The Evening Standard titled "

RT (2020-09-10). 'Nothing nefarious at all': Backlash as ex-NSA chief, involved in mass surveillance revealed by Snowden, joins Amazon board. rt.com General Keith Alexander, ex-director of the National Security Agency, who oversaw illegal mass spying on Americans, has been appointed to Amazon's board of directors, drawing the ire of privacy advocates, including Edward Snowden. | Amazon announced that Alexander, who served as NSA director from 2005 up to his retirement in March 2014, will join the company's board on Wednesday. | "We're thrilled to elect a new member to our Board of Directors this month. Welcome, General Keith Alexander!" the tech giant said in a statement on Twitter. | However, some, including the ex-CIA contractor Edward Snowden, were less…

_____ (2020-09-10). The Ongoing And Unjustifiable Persecution Of Julian Assange. popularresistance.org A hugely important struggle for press freedom is currently taking place in the Old Bailey in London, where, on Monday, three weeks of hearings began regarding the proposed extradition to the US of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. In 2010 and 2011, WikiLeaks published documents leaked by a serving member of the US military — Bradley, now Chelsea Manning — that exposed evidence of war crimes committed by the US and, in the case of my particular area of expertise, Guantánamo.

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-10). Assange's Third Day at the Old Bailey: Bias, Politics and Wars on Journalism. counterpunch.org The third day of extradition proceedings against Julian Assange at the Old Bailey resumed on the point of politics. Assange as a figure of political beliefs; Assange as a target of the Trump administration precisely for having them. The man sketching the portrait was Paul Rogers, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University. It

Eds. (2020-09-10). Wikileaks helped end secret U.S. killings, Assange extradition hearing is told. mronline.org REVELATIONS published by Wikileaks helped to end a secret U.S. assassination programme and freed unlawfully detained prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, the Julian Assange extradition hearing was told today.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-10). Assange's trial postponed after suspected COVID-19 exposure. peoplesdispatch.org The brief halt in the trial proceedings was prompted after it was revealed that a member of the prosecution team may have been exposed to COVID-19, posing risks to everyone attending…

_____ (2020-09-10). Expert Tells Court, Charges Against Assange Are Unconstitutional. popularresistance.org It is immaterial whether one considers Julian Assange to be a reporter because he was engaged in "journalistic activity" when obtaining and publishing classified US documents, the director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation told the court on day three of the WikiLeaks publisher's extradition hearing. | The US indictment against WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange represents an "unconstitutional" threat to the First Amendment of the United States constitution and to press freedom more generally, Professor Trevor Timm told the Old Bailey on Wednesday.

Editor (2020-09-10). Assange Extradition and the War on Journalism. scheerpost.com Event starts at 5-minute point — drag cursor to start. A webinar/press conference organized by the late Kevin Zeese for PopularResistance.org streamed live today, Sept. 9, 2020. The attempt to extradite Julian Assange to the United States for prosecution is a war against freedom of the press and our right to know. If the prosecution of Assange under the Espionage Act occurs… |

WSWS (2020-09-10). Assange targeted for political views in "terrifying threat to First Amendment," expert witnesses tell hearing. wsws.org WikiLeaks' exposure of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan had played "possibly the most important role" in catalysing public opposition to both wars.

Craig Murray (2020-09-10). Your Man in the Public Gallery — Assange Hearing Day 8. globalresearch.ca The great question after yesterday's hearing was whether prosecution counsel James Lewis QC would continue to charge at defence witnesses like a deranged berserker (spoiler — he would), and more importantly, why? | QC's representing governments usually seek to radiate calm …

The Canary (2020-09-10). Fear of 'Covid in the courtroom' halts Julian Assange case. thecanary.co The extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been brought to a halt at the Old Bailey over fear of "Covid in the courtroom".District Judge Vanessa Baraitser stopped proceedings on the fourth day of hearings, as it emerged that a lawyer for the US Government may have been exposed to the virus and was being tested.Speaking in court, Edward Fitzgerald QC, for Assange, told the judge: "We respectfully submit we have to go with the assumption (the lawyer) has Covid."If that is the correct assumption it has consequences — firstly we should not be here today because Covid will be in the courtro…

Media Lens (2020-09-10). "Absolute And Arbitrary Power": Killing Extinction Rebellion And Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org The use and misuse of George Orwell's truth-telling is so widespread that we can easily miss his intended meaning. For example, with perfect (Orwellian) irony, the BBC has a statue of Orwell outside Broadcasting House, bearing the inscription: 'If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not …

Stephen Lendman (2020-09-10). Reprieve's Clive Stafford Smith on US Judicial Unfairness, Assange's Show Trial. globalresearch.ca British/American human rights lawyer Smith founded UK-based Reprieve in 1999 — "an organization of courageous and committed human rights defenders." | It provides pro bono legal and investigative work services for "some of the world's most vulnerable people." | They include individuals …

pip.hinman (2020-09-10). Amnesty calls on US, Britain to drop the charges against Assange. greenleft.org.au

Walter Smolarek (2020-09-10). In latest US move vs. China, Pompeo stirs up division in Southeast Asia. liberationnews.org Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used his platform at the annual foreign ministers' summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on September 10 to bash China and stir up trouble in a region 8,000 miles away from his office in Washington, D.C.

Joe Bernick (2020-09-10). Education initiative helping mobilize voters against the right wing in Arizona. peoplesworld.org TUCSON—It took an Arizona Supreme Court decision to put the "Invest in Education" voter initiative back on the ballot after it was thrown off by a right-wing trial judge. The broad coalition of educators, parents, students, organized labor, and communities that came together after the 2018 teachers' strike has been organizing tirelessly ever since. The Chamber of …

_____ (2020-09-10). How Can the Deep State's Antifa Organization Be Stopped? strategic-culture.org Antifa has become a pseudo-fascist tool in the Color Revolution underway, as part of a coup against the executive branch's administration, and the massive geopolitical and economic shift that administration represents. The methods of the 2016 election would see Trump win by an even wider Electoral College margin in 2020. For these reasons, it was necessary for the deep state to introduce a whole array of 'extraordinary circumstances and new rules': staged riots and ballot harvesting in order to change the election outcome. | The threat of Antifa will always exist so long as the U.S. continues to produce a new-…

RT (2020-09-10). US sanctions Ukrainian lawmaker who published Biden-Poroshenko tapes for 'Russian influence' in presidential election. rt.com Ukrainian parliamentarian Andrii Derkach has been sanctioned by the US, and his publication of alleged phone calls between the Ukrainian president and the US vice president declared 'Russian interference' in the US election. | Derkach "has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services," the US Treasury Department

Staff (2020-09-10). Trump Names Anti-Abortion Senators to List of Potential Supreme Court Nominees. truthout.org President Trump on Wednesday released a list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court in the event of a vacancy, which included three current far right U.S. senators. | Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) Although not without precedent, it is rare for sitting members of the Senate to be nominated to the hig…

_____ (2020-09-10). US Sanctions Targeting International Criminal Court Are An Outrage. popularresistance.org On 2 September 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced the imposition of sanctions on Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and prosecution jurisdiction director for authorizing such an investigation, including war crimes committed by U.S. forces, for which U.S. officials bear responsibility. | These sanctions were based on a declaration by U.S. President Trump of a national emergency on this subject in June of 2020. | The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) rejects as outrageous these sanctions on senior prosecution officials of the International Criminal Court.

WSWS (2020-09-10). Australian intelligence agencies raided Chinese journalists in June. wsws.org Amid an escalating diplomatic conflict, it has emerged that the Australian intelligence agencies have been targeting Chinese journalists and academics.

_____ (2020-09-09). Roger Waters: If Julian Assange Is Guilty, So Am I. popularresistance.org Musician Roger Waters told NewsClick that , "In 2010 Julian Assange along with Chelsea Manning played a pivotal role in releasing classified documents on US military activity in Iraq and Iran. I displayed the video for three years. If Julian is guilty so am. I am ready to give my arrest and may be in the coming time they can arrest me too. "

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-09). Assange's Second Day at the Old Bailey. dissidentvoice.org The highlights of the second day of Julian Assange's extradition proceedings at the Central Criminal Court in London yielded an interesting bounty. The first was the broader public purpose behind the WikiLeaks disclosures, their utility in legal proceedings, and their importance in disclosing instances of US extrajudicial killings, torture and rendition. The second involved a …

WSWS (2020-09-09). Assange extradition hearing: WikiLeaks exposed US drone killings, torture and rendition, says Guantanamo Bay lawyer. wsws.org Clive Stafford Smith likened US torture tactics to those of the Spanish Inquisition.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-09). On Day 3 of Assange's trial, defense builds case to prove political nature of US indictment. peoplesdispatch.org The defense presented two witnesses to point out how politically motivated the ongoing prosecution against Assange is and the threat it poses on press freedoms.

Stephen Lendman (2020-09-09). Assange's Guilt by Accusation Extradition Show Trial Resumes. globalresearch.ca Powerful forces in the US and UK want Assange crucified for the unforgivable "crime" of truth-telling investigative journalism the way it should be on vital for everyone to know geopolitical issues. | That's what his slow-motion extradition to the US trial …

John Pilger (2020-09-09). Video: Outside the London Show-trial of Julian Assange: John Pilger's Speech. globalresearch.ca Veteran investigative journalist and filmmaker John Pilger delivered the following speech outside London's Old Bailey Central Criminal Court on Monday, the first day of resumed show-trial proceedings for the extradition of Julian Assange to the US. Pilger, along with a …

_____ (2020-09-09). Julian Assange Hearing: Day Three. popularresistance.org Paul Rogers, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University, took the stand by video link to testify about Julian Assange's political views and how they factor into the Trump administration's prosecution of Assange for publishing. | Rogers reviewed Assange's speeches, including an anti-war speech in 2011 in London and a speech to the UN following the release of Iraq and Afghan war logs, as well as Mairead Maguire's nomination of Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. LINKs. Rogers concluded that Assange's views don't fall into traditional liberal or conservative belief systems but are rather more…

Staff (2020-09-09). 175 Years in a U.S. Prison? Extradition Trial of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Begins in London. democracynow.org As the long-awaited extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gets underway in London, his legal adviser, Jennifer Robinson, says the case could set a chilling precedent for press freedoms around the world. "He faces 175 years in prison for doing his job as a journalist and a publisher. That's why this case is so dangerous," says Robinson. Assange faces numerous charges, including under the U.S. Espionage Act, related to the release of diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks that revealed war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He faces a possible life sentence if he is extrad…

_____ (2020-09-09). Julian Assange, Prometheus Bound. strategic-culture.org He is being punished not for stealing fire — but for exposing power under the light of truth and provoking the god of Exceptionalism. | Pepe ESCOBAR | This is the tale of an Ancient Greek tragedy reenacted in AngloAmerica. | Amid thundering silence and nearly universal indifference, chained, immobile, invisible, a squalid Prometheus was transferred from the gallows for a show trial in a faux Gothic court built on the site of a medieval prison. | Kratos, impersonating Strength, and Bia, impersonating Violence, had duly chained Prometheus, not to a mountain in the Caucasus, but to solitary confinement in a h…

sputniknews (2020-09-09). Assange Extradition Hearing Seems to Focus on His Political Motivations, Not Legality of His Actions. sputniknews.com On this edition of The Critical Hour, co-hosts Dr. Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon talk to Steve Poikonen about day three of the resumption of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange's extradition hearing in London.

Staff (2020-09-09). WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange May Face Up to 175 Years in Prison. truthout.org Image Credit: Julia Quenzler | As the long-awaited extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gets underway in London, his legal adviser, Jennifer Robinson, says the case could set a chilling precedent for press freedoms around the world. "He faces 175 years in prison for doing his job as a journalist and a publisher. That's why this case is so dangerous," says Robinson. Assange faces numerous charges, including under the U.S. Espionage Act, related to the release of diplomatic cables pu…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-09-09). Assange on Trial: A Stunning Lack of Transparency and Fairness. counterpunch.org The fine circus that is British justice resumed at London's Central Criminal Court on September 7, with the continued extradition proceedings against Julian Assange. Judge Vanessa Baraitser was concerned that approximately 40 individuals had received remote video access they apparently should not have. "In error, the court sent out orders to others who had sought

Craig Murray (2020-09-09). Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 7. globalresearch.ca This morning we went straight in to the evidence of Clive Stafford Smith, a dual national British/American lawyer licensed to practice in the UK. He had founded Reprieve in 1999 originally to oppose the death penalty, but after 2001 …

Global Research News (2020-09-09). Selected Articles: Extradition Trial of Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca By Amid thundering silence and nearly universal indifference, chained, immobile, invisible, a squalid Prometheus was transferred from the gallows for a show trial in a faux Gothic court built on …

_____ (2020-09-09). Remembering Kevin Zeese, Tireless Fighter For Our Democracy. popularresistance.org Defending Rights & Dissent was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Zeese over the weekend. Over his life, he was on the frontlines of many causes—whistleblower protections, election integrity, single payer healthcare, net neutrality, reforming our criminal justice system, environmental justice, and peace. He was the press secretary for Ralph Nader's 2004 presidential campaign and in 2006 ran for Senate in Maryland with the backing of both the Green and Libertarian Parties.

Matthew J.L. Ehret (2020-09-09). Rhodes Scholar Talbott's Hand Revealed in Russia Gate. dissidentvoice.org It has recently come to light that the primary source of the Steele Dossier and Mueller Investigation is none other than Igor Danchenko — a veteran Brookings Institute employee from Ukraine who not only hadn't been to Russia for decades but who admitted to the FBI in January 2017 that the entire Steele dossier was …

Yanis Iqbal (2020-09-09). USA's Strangulation of the International Criminal Court. dissidentvoice.org On 2 September, 2020, the US sanctioned two officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigating into alleged war crimes by US forces and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan since 2003.The officials are ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and the ICC's head of Jurisdiction, Complementary, and Cooperation Division, Phakiso Mochochok (sanctioned for having …

WSWS (2020-09-09). Supreme Court refuses to hear SEP challenge to Michigan ballot access denial. wsws.org The SEP's three-month legal campaign for ballot access in Michigan came to an end on Friday with the state proceeding to the production of the ballots with the names of Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz excluded.

Ameenat Lola Solebo, Tasanee Braithwaite (2020-09-09). [Commentary] Implications of the artificial intelligence extensions to the guidelines for consolidated standards of reporting trials and for standard protocol item recommendations for interventional trials (the CONSORT-AI and SPIRIT-AI extensions). thelancet.com Artificial intelligence (AI), the theory and development of computer systems able of performing tasks which normally need the application of human intelligence, holds great promise for improving health outcomes and experiences [1,2]. However, there is some anxiety around the safety and transparency (or 'black box') of AI systems which may impede their integration into healthcare and society more widely. The timely release of the CONSORT and SPIRIT extensions for interventions involving artificial intelligence is welcome, and promises to improve the quality of RCTs involving AI [3,4].

sputniknews (2020-09-09). Pompeo: 'Substantial' Chance Alleged Navalny 'Poisoning' Ordered by 'Senior Russian Officials'. sputniknews.com Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny fell ill on 20 August, flying from Tomsk to Moscow. After receiving initial treatment in the Russian city of Omsk, he was transferred to the Charite hospital in Berlin. Later, Germany announced that Navalny had been "poisoned" with a Novichok group nerve agent, without providing medical data.

Staff (2020-09-09). DHS Whistleblower Says He Was Pushed to Alter Intel to Fit Trump's Antifa Views. truthout.org A whistleblower within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is alleging that at least two of the agency's politically-appointed officials instructed employees within the department to revise intelligence assessments to better fit statements and narratives made by President Donald Trump. | Specifically, higher-ups at the department

Newsclick (2020-09-08). If Julian Is Guilty So Am I: Roger Waters. peoplesdispatch.org Musician Roger Waters told NewsClick that , "In 2010 Julian Assange along with Chelsea Manning played a pivotal role in releasing classified documents on US military activity in Iraq and Iran. I displayed the video for three years. If Julian is guilty so am. I am ready to give my arrest and may be in the coming time they can arrest me too. "

Nauman Sadiq (2020-09-08). Will Trump Pardon Snowden and Assange if Re-elected? globalresearch.ca Speculations about a presidential pardon for the whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked National Security Agency's classified information to the press in 2013, have grown since last month after Donald Trump commented on the case in

Craig Murray (2020-09-08). Your Man in the Public Gallery: the Assange Hearing Day 6. globalresearch.ca I went to the Old Bailey today expecting to be awed by the majesty of the law, and left revolted by the sordid administration of injustice. | There is a romance which attaches to the Old Bailey. The name of course …