2019-09-04: News Headlines

Stephen Lendman (2019-09-04). We're All Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca Forcefully dragged from Ecuador's London embassy by UK police and imprisoned at the behest of Trump regime hardliners, Julian Assange is being slowly killed for the "crime" of truth-telling journalism. | Ruling authorities of both nations want it suppressed, operating in …

Kurt Nimmo (2019-09-04). Freedom of Speech: Federal Election Commission (FEC), Social Media Giants Powwow on Circumventing First Amendment. globalresearch.ca It's hardly surprising The New York Times and The Washington Post didn't bother to report on the rally at the British Home Office in support of Julian Assange. | A quick search of the news reveals AOL and Reuters reported …

WSWS (2019-09-04). Imprisoned activist Jeremy Hammond called to testify before US grand jury, most likely against Julian Assange. wsws.org WikiLeaks published information obtained by Hammond that exposed corporate collaboration in sweeping government surveillance of domestic political activity .

Chris Cole (2019-09-04). UK Rapidly Developing New Drone Programmes: "Mosquito" and "Swarming" globalresearch.ca While the primary focus for UK military drone operations has been around larger systems like Reaper, the forthcoming 'Protector' and Watchkeeper; the UK is increasingly funding the development of smaller drones to engage in war-fighting roles. | Mosquito | At the International …

Eds. (2019-09-03). Film 'Official Secrets' is the tip of a mammoth iceberg. mronline.org A new film depicting the whistleblower Katherine Gun, who tried to stop the Iraq invasion, is largely accurate, but the story is not over, says Sam Husseini. | Source

WSWS (2019-09-03). Courts back Trump administration as ICE continues to force-feed immigrants. wsws.org Force-feeding typically can causes excruciating pain, is dangerous when performed on unwilling participants, and is recognized by international doctors' associations as a form of torture.

Ben Norton (2019-09-03). 'Free Julian Assange!' say Roger Waters, John Pilger, and British MP Chris Williamson. thegrayzone.com Legendary musician Roger Waters sang "Wish You Were Here" in honor of Julian Assange, at a public concert outside the…

WSWS (2019-09-03). Roger Waters and John Pilger make powerful defence of Julian Assange in London. wsws.org Pilger stated: "By defending Julian Assange, we defend our most sacred rights. Speak up now or wake up one morning to the silence of a new kind of tyranny."

United Nations (2019-09-03). UN experts decry torture of Rakhine men and boys held incommunicado by Myanmar's military. un.org Allegations of torture and ill-treatment leading to the death of ethnic Rakhine men and boys being held in incommunicado detention by Myanmar's military, has prompted three independent UN rights experts to call for an end to the practice and for "credible, independent" investigations.

WSWS (2019-09-03). Australia: Whistleblower trials proceed despite outcry. wsws.org The Morrison government rejects calls to drop the prosecution of people who exposed the criminal activities of the country's US-linked spy agencies and armed forces.

Staff (2019-09-01). Refugees Returned to Mexico Face Physical & Psychological Torture in US, Danger in Mexico. therealnews.com Laura Carlsen spoke to asylum seekers in Tijuana, Mexico, who were turned back at the US-Mexico border. They tell about harrowing experiences with US border patrol and the dangers they face in Mexico…

Alex Emmons (2019-08-30). Draconian Rules at Guantánamo Bay Violate Media's First Amendment Rights, News Outlets Say. theintercept.com Military officials at Guantánamo Bay have drafted restrictive new rules for journalists visiting the naval base that require journalists to agree to have all their interviews vetted and supervised by public affairs officers. | The policy was handed out this week to journalists, including one from The Intercept, who were asked to sign and return it within as little as 26 hours if they wanted to attend military commission proceedings in the coming weeks. | "[Journalists] may not participate in any activity related to their work, including any news or information gathering activity, if they are not accompanied by a…

José Olivares (2019-08-29). How Solitary Confinement Kills: Torture and Stunning Neglect End in Suicide at Privately Run ICE Prison. theintercept.com Guards at an ICE jail put Efraín Romero de la Rosa in solitary confinement despite a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He killed himself after 21 days.

Fight Back (2019-08-28). Israeli drone attack on Beirut suburb. fightbacknews.org Washington, DC – Israel launched a drone attack in Beirut's southern suburb, Dahiyeh, August 24, targeting the media offices of the national democratic political party Hezbollah. Lebanese politicians denounced the attacks as "acts of war," and Hezbollah stated it will respond. | Hezbollah reports that one of the Israelis drones exploded and the other did not – due to a technical failure. Of the drone that failed to blow up, Hezbollah stated "it was laden with a bomb which was professionally wrapped and isolated," made up of C4 explosives. | In recent days, Israel has launched attacks on Syria, Iraq, Gaza, and ea…

Staff (2019-08-28). Airstrikes in Lebanon, Syria & Iraq Mark Dangerous Escalation in Decades-Long Israeli Aggression. democracynow.org Tensions are mounting across the Middle East following a series of Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Lebanese President Michel Aoun likened the recent Israeli attacks to a "declaration of war." Israeli drones bombed targets in Lebanon on both Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, some Iraqi lawmakers are calling on the United States to fully withdraw its troops following a series of Israeli air raids conducted by Israel. Israel has only claimed responsibility for an attack on Syria Saturday, which they said targeted an Iranian-operated base that was preparing to launch a drone assault on Israel. We speak wi…

ACLU (2019-08-27). New Resource Tool Sheds Light on Government's Prepublication Review System. aclu.org Millions of current and former government employees are subjected to this far-reaching censorship system. | This piece was originally published in Just Security. | For more than three years, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University have been litigating a series of Freedom of Information Act requests relating to "prepublication review." Under this far-reaching censorship system, millions of current and former government employees, con…

Mnar Muhawesh (2019-08-26). Breaking The Media Blackout on the Imprisonment of Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com The same media that has spent years dragging Assange's name through the mud is now engaging in a blackout on his treatment. If you are waiting for corporate media pundits to defend freedom of the press, you're going to be disappointed.

Will Parrish (2019-08-25). The U.S. Border Patrol and an Israeli Military Contractor Are Putting a Native American Reservation Under "Persistent Surveillance" theintercept.com Elbit Systems, which touts its products as "field-proven" on Palestinians, was contracted to build a high-tech surveillance system on Tohono O'odham land.