(2021-12-23). 300 Doctors Implore Australia To Bring Assange Home. popularresistance.org The letter begins by commending Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce for his recent statements calling for the U.S. extradition request against Julian Assange to be dropped. It continues: | "We are concerned that Mr. Assange's apparent mini stroke [reported in the Daily Mail on 11 December] may be the tip of a medical iceberg. Indeed his symptoms suggest as much. It is therefore imperative that Mr. Assange be released from prison, where his health will otherwise continue to deteriorate and where his complex medical needs cannot be met." Continued incarceration, the doctors warn, will place Julian Assange's life at…
(2021-12-23). Voices of Concern: Aussies for Assange's Return. dissidentvoice.org With Julian Assange now fighting the next stage of efforts to extradite him to the United States to face 18 charges, 17 of which are based on the brutal, archaic Espionage Act, some Australian politicians have found their voice. It might be said that a few have even found their conscience. Australia's Deputy Prime Minister …
(2021-12-23). Voices demanding Assange's return grow. greenleft.org.au With Julian Assange now fighting the next stage of efforts to extradite him to the United States, some Australian politicians have found their voice. Binoy Kampmark reports.
(2021-12-23). If only Assange had been Navalny. zcomm.org The different treatment of these two heroes is a fine example of the flexibility of the concepts of 'human rights' and 'freedom of the press' which the western media trumpet at every opportunity…
(2021-12-23). D.C. Police Closely Watched Anti-Racist Groups for Years. splcenter.org The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's Intelligence Bureau (IB) closely watched Black-led organizations and anti-racist groups for years while ignoring the growing far-right threat, according to Hatewatch's review of leaked documents. Experts say this is in line with broader law enforcement attitudes toward such groups.
(2021-12-23). Pentagon Clamps Down on Extremism & White Supremacy After Dozens of Jan. 6 Rioters Had Military Ties. democracynow.org 
The Pentagon has announced new rules to slow the spread of extremism in the military, one of which will discipline soldiers for liking or resharing white nationalist and other extremist content on social media. The Pentagon announcement comes just two weeks before the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, where more than 80 of the 700 individuals charged with the attack had ties to the U.S. military. Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project Susan Corke says these rule changes are welcomed by her organization but don't go far enough to stop extremism in the armed forces. "It sh…
(2021-12-23). UK blocks Venezuela from accessing its international reserves. peoplesdispatch.org Britain's Supreme Court passed a ruling to continue blocking Venezuela from accessing 31 tons of Venezuelan gold valued at USD 2 billion. This gold is deposited at the Bank of England. The case went to court because the Bank has refused to release the gold reserves to the Bolivarian government stating that it recognizes the opposition activist Juan Guaidó as a legitimate authority.
(2021-12-23). Headlines for December 23, 2021. democracynow.org South Africa Says Omicron Coronavirus Surge Has Peaked, WHO Warns Blanket Booster Programs Divert Vaccine Supply, Prolonging Pandemic, FDA Approves COVID-19 Pill; Most Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Fail Against Omicron, New York Coronavirus Cases Surge to Record High; Supreme Court to Weigh Vaccine Mandates, Proud Boys Member Pleads Guilty to Capitol Riot Conspiracy, Will Cooperate with FBI, FBI Undercover Teams Infiltrated Portland Racial Justice Protests, U.S. Relaxes Limits on Aid as Afghanistan Faces Dire Humanitarian Crisis, U.N. Calls for Probe into Reports That Sudanese Security Forces Raped Anti-Coup Pro…
(2021-12-22). 'We have to reexamine the legality of US drone wars'. peoplesdispatch.org Newly declassified Pentagon documents revealed the scale of devastation caused by flawed US intelligence as US forces bombed across various countries in West Asia. An investigation by New York Times showed that "flawed intelligence" and "faulty targeting" resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 civilians over the last decade. Official numbers undercounted these deaths by several hundred at least.
(2021-12-22). Civilian Casualty Files Reveal U.S. Hid Thousands of Deaths in Middle East Air War. democracynow.org 
U.S. air power has been central in the country's wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, with officials promising that drones and other sophisticated weapons allow the U.S. military to carry out precision airstrikes that spare civilians caught in war zones. But a groundbreaking investigation by The New York Times reveals the U.S. military's air wars have been plagued by bad intelligence, imprecise targeting and a lack of accountability for thousands of civilian deaths, many of them children. The two-part series by reporter Azmat Khan is based on a trove of internal Pentagon documents, as well as on-the-gr…
(2021-12-22). A Pentagon Cover-Up: Azmat Khan on How U.S. Hid Thousands of Civilian Deaths in Middle East Air War. democracynow.org 
U.S. air power has been central in the country's wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, with officials promising that drones and other sophisticated weapons allow the U.S. military to carry out precision airstrikes that spare civilians caught in war zones. But a groundbreaking investigation by The New York Times reveals the U.S. military's air wars have been plagued by bad intelligence, imprecise targeting and a lack of accountability for thousands of civilian deaths, many of them children. The two-part series by reporter Azmat Khan is based on a trove of internal Pentagon documents, as well as on-the-gr…
(2021-12-22). Chris Hedges on the Persecution of Julian Assange (Video). scheerpost.com 
In July 2010, Wikileaks published Cablegate, one of the biggest leaks in the history of the US military, including evidence for war crimes and torture. Julian Assange, the founder and spokesman of Wikileaks, immediately found himself a target, accused of hacking, and later sexual assault. He spent the next seven years in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearful that he would be extradited to Sweden to face the accusations of assault and then sent to US. In 2019, Assange was handed over to the British police. On the same day, the US demanded his extradition. He faces up to 175 years in prison for…
(2021-12-22). VIDEO: Join emergency online meeting today to demand Julian Assange's immediate release. wsws.org "We need an independent movement of the working class, students and youth to free Assange."
(2021-12-22). Israel admits role in assassination of Qassem Soleimani. globalresearch.ca Israel was involved in the assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, the former head of Israel's military intelligence said yesterday. | Soleimani, who was considered the mastermind of the pro-Iran proxies in the region, was killed in …
(2021-12-22). COVID-19 death of student propels teachers' walkout. workers.org 
Philadelphia The Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a school mask mandate imposed by the Commonwealth at the beginning of the 2021 school year on Dec. 10. The court's ruling left it up to each school district to set policy. Three days later, Alayna Thach, a beloved 17-year-old student at Aspira . . . |
(2021-12-22). California to be an abortion sanctuary state. america.cgtn.com 
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on a landmark 1973 decision that has guaranteed a woman's right to an abortion for nearly 50 years. Many rights groups have called on California to prepare for the influx of millions of women from other states who may need assistance. …
(2021-12-22). Venezuela Denounces 'Irrational' Judgment of British Supreme Court (Venezuelan Gold Case). orinocotribune.com The government of Venezuela, through a statement issued on Monday, December 20, expressed its strong rejection of the illegal and biased verdict issued by the United Kingdom's Supreme Court of Justice preventing the Venezuelan government from recovering its international reserves deposited in the Bank of England (BoE). | The statement, which was posted on social media by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Félix Plasencia, states: "The Supreme Court of Justice of the United Kingdom has been subordinated to the mandate of the British Executive, leaving in evidence the absence of separation of branches of the g…