Assange's Extradition Hearing Reveals Trump's War on Free Press Is Targeting WikiLeaks Publisher
Nozomi Hayase | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-26
On Monday, WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange's one-week extradition hearing began at Woolwich Crown Court in SouthEast London. The judge heard the opening arguments for the prosecution and defense. The prosecution began, accusing the journalist who exposed the US government's war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan of espionage charges that would carry 175 years in jail.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/26/assanges-extradition-hearing-reveals-trumps-war-on-free-press-is-targeting-wikileaks-publisher/
Assange detention illegal under English, European and international law, defense argues
rt.com | 2020-02-26
Day three of the Julian Assange extradition hearing is focusing on whether the allegations against Assange amount to "political offenses." If so, it would likely be outside of the judge's jurisdiction to approve extradition. | Kicking off proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday, defense counsel Edward Fitzgerald argued that 17 of the 18 counts with which the WikiLeaks founder has been charged fall under the US Espionage Act, which makes them political on face value. He added that the 18th count, of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, was in order to carry out the other alleged offenses. | Also on…
rt.com/news/481711-assange-protection-political-extradition-fundamental-right/
SEG (New Zealand) rally in Wellington demands freedom for Assange and Manning
wsws.org | 2020-02-26
Speakers denounced the persecution of the WikiLeaks founder and the whistleblower, Chelsea Manning, who are both in prison and being psychologically tortured for revealing US war crimes.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/26/sega-f26.html
Free Julian Assange!
Charles Glass | thenation.com | 2020-02-26
Free Julian Assange!
thenation.com/article/politics/assange-wikileaks-extradition-prison/
Fresno Police Department Officers Assault Homeless Man
Mike Rhodes | indybay.org | 2020-02-26
Fresno Police officers beat this homeless man, arrested him for resisting arrest and booked him into the Fresno County Jail.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/24/18831007.php
Assange Hearing: Judge Rejects Plea to Intervene Against Mistreatment of Assange by Prison Officials
sputniknews.com | 2020-02-26
Julian Assange's lawyers have repeatedly submitted unsuccessful requests to the Judge on his case, over the past few months, for her to intervene over his prison conditions, which have included denying Assange proper access to his case file.
sputniknews.com/uk/202002261078408817-assange-hearing-judge-rejects-plea-to-intervene-against-mistreatment-of-assange-by-prison-officials/
Draconian detention law spells nightmare for Kashmiris
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-26
A letter from a detainee addressed to his family in Indian-administered Kashmir says he remains "confined to four choked walls".The detainee, held under provisions of the 1978 Public Safety Act (PSA), with another 22 Kashmiri men in an Indian jail, asks his family and friends to pray for him.A copy of the letter available with Anadolu Agency says: "We are 23 Kashmiri brothers here and all of us are confined to solitary prison cells. Neither can we talk to each other nor can we shake hands but only remain confined to the four choked walls."Please pray for us as we are in helpless condition," the detainee, who did…
yenisafak.com/en/world/draconian-detention-law-spells-nightmare-for-kashmiris-3512827
Assange's Extradition Hearing Reveals Trump's War on Free Press Is Targeting WikiLeaks Publisher
Nozomi Hayase | commondreams.org | 2020-02-25
A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wears a sign reading 'Don't shoot the messenger' while she demonstrates outside Woolwich Crown Court prior to his extradition hearing on February 25, 2020 in London, England. Assange is wanted by the United States on charges related to the publication of classified US military documents and faces a possible maximum 175-year prison sentence. (Photo: Peter Summers/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/dont_shoot_the_messenger.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/25/assanges-extradition-hearing-reveals-trumps-war-free-press-targeting-wikileaks?cd-origin=rss
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Condemns Trump's Call for Supreme Court Recusals
commondreams.org | 2020-02-25
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/02/25/lawyers-committee-civil-rights-under-law-condemns-trumps-call-supreme-court?cd-origin=rss
Egypt's Former President Hosni Mubarak Has Passed Away
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-25
Egypt's government Tuesday announced that former President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled this African country from 1981 to 2011, passed away at the age of 91. | RELATED: | Egypt Upholds Detention of Researcher Patrick George Zaki, Denies Torture | Alaa Mubarak confirmed his father's death through social networks where he posted a video in which two images of Mubarak are presented, one as president and another as a young Army officer. | "With and against us, the homeland remains and peo…
telesurenglish.net/news/Egypts-Former-President-Hosni-Mubarak-Has-Passed-Away-20200225-0007.html
Voter suppression, anti-union labor laws make South Carolina a pivotal battleground
Chauncey K. Robinson, Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-25
Right on the heels of the Nevada caucus, the South Carolina Democratic Primary will take place this Saturday, Feb. 29. Voters will have Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, Amy Klobuchar, and Tulsi Gabbard to choose from on the ballot, while all but Gabbard have qualified for the debate in South …
peoplesworld.org/article/voter-suppression-and-anti-union-labor-laws-make-south-carolina-a-pivotal-battleground/
'Not a real Democrat!' Florida lawsuit seeks to REMOVE Bernie Sanders from primary ballot
rt.com | 2020-02-25
A pair of Democrats in Florida have sued to strike 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders from the state's primary ballot, arguing the socialist stalwart is not a true member of their party and demanding votes in his favor be nullified. | The two Tallahassee men filed their lawsuit in a Leon County circuit court on Monday, calling for Sanders
Women Confront Ugly Harassment at Beauty Products Plant
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-25
At a lotion factory outside Chicago, workers endured years of sexual harassment, coercion, gender and racial discrimination, and unsafe working conditions. | Last year the women at Voyant Beauty came together to fight back. | The workers at Voyant are overwhelmingly female, and almost all long-term temps. They blend, bottle, pack, and ship beauty products for brands like Victoria's Secret, Johnson & Johnson, and Aveeno. | Black Workers Shut Out: | Before the organizing came a hiring discrimination lawsuit…
truthout.org/articles/women-confront-ugly-harassment-at-beauty-products-plant/
US Top Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over Shooting of Mexican Teen
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-25
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against a Border Patrol agent for fatally shooting a 15-year-old Mexican boy on Mexican soil from across the border in Texas. | RELATED: | California: New Task Force To Curb Gun-Related Home Violence | The court voted five to four to uphold the dismissal already exercised by a lower court in the lawsuit against the agent Jesus Mesa, who was standing on the U.S. side of the border when he shot Sergio Adrian Hernande…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-supreme-court-bars-lawsuit-over-shooting-of-mexican-teen-20200225-0021.html
What does it mean to be a Marxist?
Daniel Taylor | mronline.org | 2020-02-25
What's in a name? Being a Marxist means being a revolutionary anticapitalist, a fighter against all forms of oppression, an internationalist who wants to end capitalism around the whole world, and a believer in the power of the working class. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/25/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-marxist/
Updated: "Soldiers Abduct 28 Palestinians, Including Children, Former Political Prisoners, In West Bank"
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-02-25
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers abducted, Tuesday, twenty-eight Palestinians, including children, siblings, and a young woman, from their homes in several parts of the occupied West Bank. The PPS said the soldiers abducted sixteen Palestinians from their homes in Hebron governorate, in southern West Bank. …
imemc.org/article/israeli-soldiers-abduct-twenty-palestinians-in-west-bank-3/
Man arrested after trying to blow up a car in Pentagon parking lot
rt.com | 2020-02-25
An Arkansas man led Pentagon security on a wild chase after allegedly trying to blow up a car parked near the building. He was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery and faces charges that could land him in prison for 20 years. | …
rt.com/usa/481674-arkansas-man-pentagon-explode-car/
"It's a Beginning": Rosanna Arquette on Weinstein Rape Conviction & How He Assaulted, Spied on Her
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-25
A jury has found Harvey Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault, following a seven-week trial in Manhattan. The jurors convicted the disgraced Hollywood producer Monday of raping then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a hotel room in 2013 and of sexually assaulting production assistant Miriam Haley at his apartment in 2006 by forcibly performing oral sex on her. Weinstein was convicted of first-degree commission of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. But he was acquitted of two more serious charges of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape. He faces a total sentence of up to 29 years in prison…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/25/harvey_weinstein_tarana_burke_rosanna_arquette
From Being Tortured in Sri Lanka to the U.S. Supreme Court
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2020-02-24
On a frigid day in early February, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam | stands under an awning on a street corner in lower Manhattan along with one of | his attorneys, Celso Perez of the ACLU. Both are bundled in heavy winter | jackets. Perez is holding his phone up and squinting as he concentrates on the | tinny voice of a translator emanating from its speaker. | "I want them to be aware that you're traveling," Perez says | into the phone. | The voice on the other line translates what Perez said into | Tamil, the native language of Sri Lanka's largest ethnic minority. Thuraissigiam, | heavyset in his late 40s with a…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/from-being-tortured-in-sri-lanka-to-the-u-s-supreme-court
Honoring Black History Month Means Respecting the Foundation That it Stands On
Jeffery Robinson | aclu.org | 2020-02-24
Black History Month is meant to be a | celebration of the achievements of Black Americans, in spite of our country's | history of blatant, intentional racism. Despite that intention, the American | narrative surrounding the enslaving of Black Americans has always attempted to | rewrite our past, generating a kinder, gentler image of slavery. | President Trump and his appointees are | the embodiment of that attempt to rewrite Black history. Recently, President | Trump and his appointee, Philadelphia U. S. Attorney William McSwain, mocked | the history that serves as the foundation for Black History Month. Whil…
aclu.org/news/racial-justice/honoring-black-history-month-means-respecting-the-foundation-that-it-stands-on
Tampa students rally for justice for Jamee Johnson
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-24
Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally at the University of South Florida calling for justice and all victims of police brutality, highlighting Jamee Johnson, a Black man who was murdered by officers in Jacksonville. At the February 19 protest, about 15 students promoted the need for community control of the police through police accountability councils. They also demonstrated for their ongoing campaign to increase Black enrollment at USF. | With chants saying, "USF shame on you! Black lives matter too!" the students used the rally to reach out to the student body about the wa…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/24/tampa-students-rally-justice-jamee-johnson
"We want to show the DNC that the people have the power," says Milwaukee coalition
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-23
New York, NY – On February 22, a Wisconsin delegation invited a conference of nearly 60 organizations to join a major protest at the Democratic National Convention taking place in Milwaukee in July. | The members of the Coalition to March on the DNC made their announcement on the second day of the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) national conference. The UNAC conference is a major gathering of international solidarity and anti-oppression activists from across North America, taking place at the People's Forum in New York City. | The coalition is calling on all progressive, left, democratic and socialist or…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/2/23/we-want-show-dnc-people-have-power-says-milwaukee-coalition
Minnesota progressives say 'Don't vote for Amy Klobuchar'
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-22
Minneapolis, MN
Weekend Read: SPLC files civil rights complaints as asylum seekers wage hunger strikes
splcenter.org | 2020-02-21
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/22/weekend-read-splc-files-civil-rights-complaints-asylum-seekers-wage-hunger-strikes
Malcolm X's Daughter Ilyasah Shabazz on Her Father's Legacy & the New Series "Who Killed Malcolm X?"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-21
Fifty-five years ago today, Malcolm X was assassinated. The civil rights leader was shot to death on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. He was only 39 years old. Details of his assassination remain disputed to this day. Earlier this month, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said he was considering reopening the investigation, just days after a new documentary series about the assassination was released on Netflix called "Who Killed Malcolm X?" It makes the case that two of the three men who were convicted for Malcolm X's murder are actually innocent and that his uncaught killers wer…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/21/malcolm_xs_daughter_ilyasah_shabazz_on
Racist Drug Laws Lead to Racist Enforcement in Cities Across the Country
Ezekiel Edwards | aclu.org | 2020-02-21
The way which America enforces its drug laws has been racist since its inception. | Across racial and ethnic groups, Americans use and sell drugs at comparable | rates, but law enforcement has selectively | targeted Black and brown people for stops, arrests, prosecution, and | imprisonment at wildly disproportionate rates. | This race-…
aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/racist-drug-laws-lead-to-racist-enforcement-in-cities-across-the-country
The Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Asylum Seekers Receive Their Day in Court
Nicky Vogt | aclu.org | 2020-02-20
In March, we will be in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the right to a day in court for asylum seekers and other vulnerable noncitizens. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) vs. Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam considers whether immigrants are entitled to seek judicial review of their expedited removal orders in federal court. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with our argument that the Constitution guarantees that individuals deprived of their liberty have their day in federal court. | That decision w…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/the-supreme-court-will-decide-whether-asylum-seekers-receive-their-day-in-court
U.S. Resident Indefinitely Detained Without Charge Secures His Day In Court
Jonathan Hafetz | aclu.org | 2020-02-20
Adham Hassoun will | finally have his day in court. A federal judge has rejected the government's sweeping | claim that it can, on its own say-so, indefinitely imprison him without charge | and without a fair trial. | Adham is a long-time U.S. resident and a father of three. As we previously explained, Adham completed | his criminal sentence and was set to be released from prison almost three years | ago. But the government
Barrister says 'democracy at stake' in Assange trial
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
civil liberties Pip HinmanIssue 1254 Australia WhistleblowersFebruary 20, 2020February 24 is the first day of Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange's extradition hearing at Belmarsh Prison in London. The United States government will argue for his extradition to the US.
greenleft.org.au/content/barrister-says-democracy-stake-assange-trial
Reza Berati's struggle remembered
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
refugee rights Alex SalmonIssue 1254 Australia Nauru and Christmas Island detention centresFebruary 20, 2020The Refugee Rights Action Network WA (RRAN) organised a commemoration on February 17, the 6th anniversary of the death of Kurdish-…
greenleft.org.au/content/reza-beratis-struggle-remembered
Venezuela files ICC lawsuit over US sanctions
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
international solidarity Paul DobsonIssue 1254 Venezuela ICC International Court of Justice US blockadeFebruary 20, 202…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-files-icc-lawsuit-over-us-sanctions
Uphold rainbow rights and kill the religious privilege bill
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-19
LGBTI rights Paul GregoireIssue 1254 Australia homophobia Anti-Discrimination lawsFebruary 19, 2020Mardi Gras season is upon us, a good time to reflect on the government that is about to table…
greenleft.org.au/content/uphold-rainbow-rights-and-kill-religious-privilege-bill
No to religious discrimination
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-19
LGBTI rights Chris JenkinsIssue 1254 Australia anti-discrimination law LGBTI communityFebruary 19, 2020As people were fleeing their burning homes and volunteer firefighters were crowdfundi…
greenleft.org.au/content/no-religious-discrimination
ICE's Destruction of Records Must Be Stopped
Kate Oh | aclu.org | 2020-02-18
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is | notorious for committing rampant unconstitutional and inhumane abuses in its | detention system
Our Vision to Transform What it Means to Be a Prosecutor
aclu.org | 2020-02-18
It's a long-established fact that the United States is the largest incarcerator in the world. Over two million people are behind bars, roughly a quarter of whom are simply awaiting trial. Millions more are under some form of state supervision, such as parole or probation. | Many players have a hand in our mass incarceration crisis, but there's one actor with almost unlimited power to determine who ends up locked up and who goes free
Journalist: Harvey Weinstein's Defense Team Is Waging a War Against the #MeToo Movement
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-18
A jury of seven men and five women meet today in New York Supreme Court to begin deliberations on whether to find disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein guilty of sexual assault. The case has drawn international attention amid the #MeToo movement. If the jurors find Weinstein guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 100 women but in this case faces five charges based on evidence relating to two main accusers. One woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, alleges she was raped by Weinstein in a New York hotel, for which he has been charged wit…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/18/irin_carmon_harvey_weinstein_trial_nyc
There is a Coordinated Attack Against Trans Youth in State Legislatures
Rose Saxe | aclu.org | 2020-02-18
Less than a | month and a half into 2020, this state legislative session has seen unprecedented attacks on LGBTQ people, and an alarming focus | on bills that would harm trans youth. | Also | alarming: These bills, and the terminology used in them, use similar language and clearly come from a common | playbook. | Right now, | bills are pending in 10 states that | would criminalize l…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/there-is-a-coordinated-attack-against-trans-youth-in-state-legislatures
Weekend Read: Department of Justice may force Mississippi to fix deadly prison system
splcenter.org | 2020-02-14
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/14/weekend-read-department-justice-may-force-mississippi-fix-deadly-prison-system
Bill Barr Wants Sheriffs to Join His Attacks on State and Local Governments
Brian Tashman | aclu.org | 2020-02-13
Attorney General Bill Barr, speaking at the National Sheriffs' Association conference in Washington, D.C., encouraged sheriffs to join the Trump administration as it launches a "significant escalation" in the federal government's efforts to retaliate against cities and states with policies designed to protect immigrant communities. | For | Barr's Department of Justice, that escalation includes new lawsuits against | states and municipalities with immigrant-protective policies.
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/the-attorney-general-wants-sheriffs-to-join-his-attacks-on-state-and-local-governments
Desperate asylum seekers 'starving for justice' in immigrant prison hunger strikes across Louisiana
splcenter.org | 2020-02-11
Guards shackled Sai Mahad to a chair, placed a mask over his mouth and snaked a long tube through one of his nostrils.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/12/desperate-asylum-seekers-starving-justice-immigrant-prison-hunger-strikes-across-louisiana
Biden Threatens Lawsuit to Halt Release of Real Iowa Caucus Results
Tyler Durden | theantimedia.com | 2020-02-04
American democracy–ain't it grand?>…
theantimedia.com/biden-threatens-lawsuit-to-halt-release-of-real-iowa-caucus-results/
SPLC and the SPLC Action Fund Hire Internationally Renowned Human and Civil Rights Leader as New President and CEO
splcenter.org | 2020-02-02
Margaret Huang brings 25 years of experience advocating against discrimination and oppression around the world.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/03/splc-and-splc-action-fund-hire-internationally-renowned-human-and-civil-rights-leader-new