2021-02-03: News Headlines

Edward Curtin (2021-02-03). Indonesian Slaughter, Allen Dulles, and the Assassination of JFK. dissidentvoice.org Before I digress slightly, let me state from the outset that the book by Greg Poulgrain that I am about to review is extraordinary by any measure. The story he tells is one you will read nowhere else, especially in the way he links the assassination of President Kennedy to former CIA Director Allen Dulles …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-02-03). Philippines apex court kicks off hearings on anti-terror law. peoplesdispatch.org The Supreme Court has begun hearing oral arguments on over three dozen petitions filed against the Anti-Terror Act passed by the Rodrigo Duterte government in July 2020…

Melvin Goodman (2021-02-03). How to Question William Burns, Biden's Pick to Head the CIA. counterpunch.org In virtually all previous confirmation hearings, there were virtually no probing questions on CIA transgressions or the purpose, role, and even necessity of the CIA in…

RT (2021-02-03). Supreme Court pauses Trump immigration cases, as Biden plans to overturn Trump policies & orders a review of 'kids in cages'. rt.com The US Supreme Court has canceled arguments on two Trump-era immigration and border security cases, as President Joe Biden eases Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policies. However, the controversial detention of minors continues. | The cases related to Trump's use of military funding to build his long-promised wall on the US-Mexico border, and his "remain in Mexico" asylum policy that required Central American migrants to wait in Mexico while their US asylum claims were processed. Both cases had been challenged by lower courts, and the Supreme Court was preparing to hear oral arguments in their favor until the…

Cassandra Stubbs (2021-02-02). Atrocities of the Federal Death Penalty. aclu.org In just six months, the federal government conducted an unprecedented, unjust, and unlawful execution spree, taking the lives of 13 people. The record of injustice in those cases — the compelling claims for mercy and legal relief by those executed and the denial without fair consideration by the executive branch or by the Supreme Court — underscores the urgency for President Biden to grant row-wide clemency to the 49 people on the federal death row. | Although it was William Barr and Donald Trump who scheduled and pushed these executions amidst a deadly pandemic, it was the U.S. Supreme Court that fac…

Simon Davis-Cohen, Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin (2021-02-02). Biden's Executive Order on Climate Crisis Exposes Need for Constitutional Change. commondreams.org Demands to abolish the Electoral College and restructure the U.S. Supreme Court can be pegged to substantive constitutional change. It's the role of movements to demand and make changes to the "applicable law," and its interpretation. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/biden_drilling_fossil_fuels.jpg

Steph Black (2021-02-02). Reproductive Rights: The Nationwide State of Play. progressive.org Between a pro-choice President and a conservative-leaning Supreme Court, there are many factors that could change domestic and global abortion rights.

news.un (2021-02-02). The decision to designate the Houthis (Ansar Allah) a foreign terrorist organization, and how it's impacting the United Nations. news.un.org On 10 January, the former United States Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, announced the designation of the Houthis (Ansar Allah) as a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist entity. The designation entered into effect on 19 January.

Jon Skolnik (2021-02-02). Trump still has access to classified intelligence briefings. Biden's White House could cut him off. salon.com "It's something, obviously, that's under review," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of Trump's…

Grant Molen (2021-02-02). White or Wealth Supremacy? realprogressives.org The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 authorized the dissemination of US state department propaganda to foreign nations deemed a threat to American democracy. This act has been a useful tool for intelligence operatives who have repeatedly sought to stamp out populist revolutions in countries with access to valuable natural resources. Through the spread of propaganda and the arming of US aligned insurgency groups, the US has been able to foment confusion and discord in foreign populations resulting in unwinnable political battles, power struggles and weak leadership representing the working people's interests. In the pow…

Suadad al-Salhy (2021-02-01). REVEALED: How Kadhimi seized power by accusing Iraq's spymaster of foreign loyalties. middleeasteye.net REVEALED: How Kadhimi seized power by accusing Iraq's spymaster of foreign loyalties | The Falcons Cell is the most feared and respected intelligence unit in Iraq. By taking control, the prime minister now has access to information on all Shia armed factions | Mon, 02/01/2021 – 09: 30 | Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi gestures during a ceremony to mark the Iraqi armed forces century anniver…

Mustafa Abu Sneineh (2021-02-01). Chinese investment in Haifa port could compromise US-Israel intelligence sharing: Report. middleeasteye.net Chinese investment in Haifa port could compromise US-Israel intelligence sharing: Report | A pro-Israel think tank expressed concern over Chinese investment in Israel, including proximity of Chinese company to US Sixth Fleet in Haifa | Mon, 02/01/2021 – 14: 15 | A general view of the city of Haifa and an Israeli military ship sailing in the Mediterranean Sea on 17 July 2019 (AFP)…

Conor Monighan (2021-02-01). General Warrants to Hack Computers Unlawful: Privacy International v IPT. ukhumanrightsblog.com In Privacy International v Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the Divisional Court held that s.5 Intelligence Services Act 1994 does not permit the government to issue general warrants to engage in computer network exploitation ("CNE") — more commonly known as computer hacking. The court also offered valuable guidance on warrants and what is required to make them lawful. …

RT (2021-02-01). Top Navalny aide asked alleged British spy for millions in funding, intelligence video released by Russia's FSB claims to reveal. rt.com Surveillance footage, recorded in the early 2010s, appears to show a close associate of Alexey Navalny seeking cash and intelligence from an alleged British spy and suggesting his anti-corruption work may benefit firms in London. | The tape, which was first reported by RT television on Monday, is said to have been filmed by the Federal Security Service (FSB) sometime in 2012 and allegedly shows a meeting between Vladimir Ashurkov and an employee of the British Embassy in Moscow. Ashurkov is the executive director of the FBK, Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption organization. | The person he met at a Moscow cafe…

WSWS (2021-02-01). Emmy Butlin and Maxine Walker of the UK Committee to Defend Julian Assange oppose Facebook censorship of the Socialist Equality Party/IYSSE. wsws.org The WSWS has been sent letters from Emmy Butlin and Maxine Walker, of the Committee to Defend Julian Assange (JADC) in opposition to the censorship of the World Socialist Web Site and Socialist Equality Parties by Facebook.

_____ (2021-02-01). Afghanistan War Exposed: An Imperial Conspiracy. popularresistance.org The perpetual occupation of Afghanistan has become so normalized and mostly serves as background noise to Americans -it's even jokingly referred to as the "forever war" – accepted as just a constant reality. A soldier dies now and again. A couple dozen civilians get killed in another bombing. It's never enough to stir the population to pressure Washington to stop it. The endless war drags on. | Abby Martin covers the whole truth about the Afghanistan War, from the CIA construct of the 80's through today's senseless stalemate. Two decades, three administrations, tens of thousands of lives; it's time to #EndTheFore…

_____ (2021-02-01). US and Colombian govts supported botched invasion of Venezuela: Bombshell testimony from coup-plotter. strategic-culture.org A key coup-plotter in the May 2020 botched invasion of Venezuela said she met with FBI and DEA officials. She admitted Colombia's intelligence services were aiding them and "knew everything," adding that President Iván Duque and far-right political kingpin àÅlvaro Uribe helped. | By Ben NORTON | Awitness at the heart of the botched invasion of Venezuela in May 2020 has stated that the US and Colombian governments were involved in the regime-change operation. Coup-plotter Yacsy àÅlvarez said she met with officials from the FBI and DEA in Florida and informed them of their plans. | àÅlvarez also r…

RT (2021-02-01). Putin orders officials to prepare plans for creation of Russian Court of Human Rights as possible alternative to pan-European ECHR. rt.com Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the country's Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice to assess the feasibility of creating a national court of human rights. He first expressed interest in the idea last year. | As things stand, Russia is a party to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), a body that is part of the Council of Europe. Membership of the court has been costly for Moscow, and in 2019 alone, the Ministry of Justice spent more than 1.1 billion rubles ($14 million) on 1,240 judgments. | An order published on the Kremlin website gives the Supreme Court, Russia's highest judicial bo…

sputniknews (2021-02-01). Biden Asks US Supreme Court to Suspend Trump Immigration Cases. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Biden administration has asked the US Supreme Court to cancel oral arguments scheduled in the coming weeks on Trump-era cases concerning border wall funding and the so-called "Remain in Mexico" asylum program, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), court documents revealed.

_____ (2021-02-01). Why We Must Do More To Recognize The Application Of Indigenous Law. popularresistance.org In the Supreme Court of Canada's 1996 decision in R v Van Der Peet, Justice Beverley McLachlin[1] famously made reference to a "golden thread": | The history of the interface of Europeans and the common law with aboriginal peoples is a long one. As might be expected of such a long history, the principles by which the interface has been governed have not always been consistently applied. Yet running through this history, from its earliest beginnings to the present time is a golden thread — the recognition by the common law of the ancestral laws and customs of the aboriginal peoples who occupied the land prio…

yenisafak (2021-02-01). Uganda's presidential election challenged in court. yenisafak.com Recent presidential elections in Uganda, won by President Yoweri Museveni, have been challenged in the country's top court by opposition leader Bobi Wine.Ugandan pop music star Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, Monday challenged the recent presidential elections in Supreme Court.The East African country's Electoral Commission on Jan. 16 announced Yoweri Museveni as the winner in the elections held on Jan. 14 followed by Bobi Wine, who refused to concede defeat.His legal team comprising over 10 lawyers is led by Medard Ssegona and Anthony Wameri.Briefly addressing the media outside the court, Medard…

Pepe Escobar (2021-02-01). Why the US Deep State Won't Forgive Russia and Iran. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | In a stunning interview to the Beirut-based al Mayadeen network, Hezbollah's …

WSWS (2021-02-01). Trump's acting secretary of defense disarmed D.C. National Guard 48 hours before the fascist assault. wsws.org Despite ample intelligence and public postings warning of far-right armed violence, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller forbade the use of weapons or riot control measures to safeguard the Capitol.

teleSUR (2021-01-31). Ecuador: A Court Admits Claim Against Pollution in the Amazon. telesurenglish.net The Sucumbios Supreme Court accepted an appeal filed by nine indigenous girls who demanded the elimination of over 400 gas flares linked to crude oil production in the Ecuadorean Amazon. | RELATED: | The plaintiffs demanded actions by the State to eliminate the oil industry burners in the Amazon, including the non-authorization of new installations of this kind. | Noting the State's negligence "by not providing or promoting the use of envi…

_____ (2021-01-31). Julian Assange Deserves A Nobel Peace Prize. popularresistance.org Julian Assange has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. We think he deserves to win. There is an incredibly long list of actions that Julian has taken toward a more peaceful world. As Julian has said, "If wars can be started by lies, peace can be started by truth." | More than one individual can nominate Assange; he's already been nominated this year by people including former Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire and French politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Maguire and four other Peace Prize winners wrote a letter to then-President Trump recounting Assange's contributions toward peace.