2019-10-04: News Headlines

John Kendall Hawkins (2019-10-04). Edward Snowden, You Legend! counterpunch.org "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster; when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." — Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil "Are you sure that you can skin griz? — line from film Jeremiah Johnson Edward Snowden's newly-released memoir, More

CounterSpin (2019-10-04). Dana Gold on Whistleblower Protections, Craig Aaron on Net Neutrality Setback. fair.org Media…

David Rosen (2019-10-04). How the U.S. Military Undermines the American Economy. counterpunch.org On January 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave his now-famous farewell address, warning the nation: In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let More

True Publica (2019-10-04). What Julian Assange Really Represents. globalresearch.ca Julian Assange is facing extradition to the United States after he was forcibly dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy in London by police mid-April this year. On the 1st May, he was imprisoned for breaching bail conditions. His sentence is now …

Fight Back (2019-10-04). Labor unions to join national civil rights conference with Angela Davis in November. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – Unions are on the march in defense of their members across the country, with the autoworker strike against GM and strike authorization votes by teachers and other city employees in Chicago. Unions are also defending their members when they leave work and find their lives in danger from the very people paid to protect them: the police. | Labor is joining a new effort to hold the police accountable for the killing, wrongful conviction, and even torture of young Blacks and Latinos. On November 22-24, veteran human rights activist Angela Davis will be in Chicago to re-establish the National Alliance Ag…

Stephen Lendman (2019-10-04). Torture and Killing of Palestinians in Israeli Prisons. globalresearch.ca B'Tselem published numerous reports on Israeli use of torture and other forms of abuse against Palestinian detainees — arrested and imprisoned for political reasons. | In November 2017, the organization said the following: | "The Israel Security Agency's (ISA) interrogation regime relies …

Staff (2019-10-04). Pelosi Wants to Prosecute Snowden But Protect Trump Whistleblower. truthout.org | | House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi was quick to condemn NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden when he revealed the U.S. government's vast surveillance programs. "I think that he should be prosecuted," Pelosi told reporters, just days after Snowden's name became public in June 2013. | Later that month, speaking about Snowden at a Netroots Nation conference, Pelosi rendered…

Staff (2019-10-04). Why Do Black Americans Always Have to Forgive? truthdig.com What follows is a conversation between Lisa Snowden-McCray and The Real News Network. Read a transcript of their conversation below or watch the video at the bottom of…

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts (2019-10-04). The Conspiracy Against Trump Is Now Out in the Open. globalresearch.ca I am beginning to wonder if fluoridation hasn't dropped the US IQ by much more than 5 points. | The reports, such as this one, which provide clear evidence that the alleged whistleblower spent a month arranging his complaint with …

Derek Royden (2019-10-04). Missed opportunities? Pros and cons of a 'focused' Trump impeachment inquiry. nationofchange.org For almost two weeks, American news has been filled with stories about the possibility and soon enough reality of an impeachment inquiry in the country's House of Representatives. The inquiry comes as a result of a whistleblower complaint filed by a still anonymous source now believed to have come forward in relation to a July 25th phone call that had taken place between the current occupant of the White House and the then newly elected president of the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. …

Staff (2019-10-04). Headlines for October 4, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Publicly Calls on Ukraine and China to Investigate the Bidens, Trump Discussed Campaign Rivals in June Call with China's Xi Jinping, FEC Chair: Illegal for Candidates to Solicit Foreign Help in U.S. Elections, Messages Detail How U.S. Officials Pressured Ukraine on Trump's Behalf, IRS Whistleblower: Treasury Official Tried to Interfere with Trump or Pence Tax Audit, Trump Administration to Collect DNA of All Immigrants Jailed in U.S., Iraq Death Toll at 44 as Violent Repression of Protests Continues, Honduran President Denies Narcotrafficking Ties as His Brother Faces U.S. Trial, Protests Rock Ecuador as IM…

Amy Goodman, Denis Moynihan (2019-10-04). Snowden Knows Exactly Why No One Wants to Be a Whistleblower. commondreams.org "Don't we need, as a public, to understand what the government is doing … behind closed doors?" (Photo: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/snowden.png

RT (2019-10-03). Snowden rips MSM & US politicians for hypocrisy in 'supporting whistleblowers'. rt.com Surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden took a shot at US politicians, and the media outlets covering them, for failing to consistently support those who come forward with claims of official corruption or wrongdoing. | The famed ex-National Security Agency analyst sent out the criticism in a tweet on Wednesday, arguing that a deluge of recent statements from lawmakers on the virtues of whistleblowing rang hollow in the face of their poor records on the issue. He singled out the ongoing legal case of analyst-turned-leaker Daniel Hale. | "Unbelievable that in a moment where politicians are making daily media s…

Katharine Gun (2019-10-03). 'Is It a Crime to Expose Crimes Already Committed?'. thenation.com 'Is It a Crime to Expose Crimes Already Committed?'

teleSUR (2019-10-03). Demi Lovato Faces Backlash for Accepting 'Free Trip' to Israel. telesurenglish.net Popstar Demi Lovato came under fire for touring Israel as an image-building exercise and after widespread backlash, she apologized for the "free trip" to Israel. | RELATED: | 'Day of Rage' in Palestine over Shin Bet's Torture of Detainee | "I am an American singer. I was raised Christian and have Jewish ancestors. When I was offered an amazing opportunity…

Staff (2019-10-03). Why Do Black People Always Have to Forgive? therealnews.com As Botham Jean's brother makes headlines for "forgiving" Amber Guyger, Real News hosts Jacqueline Luqman and Lisa Snowden-McCray discuss what Christian forgiveness in the face of oppression means.

RT (2019-10-02). Trump triumphant as New York Times report reveals 'whistleblower' spoke to 'Shifty Schiff' before filing complaint. rt.com The CIA agent accusing President Donald Trump of a quid pro quo with Ukraine spoke to House intel chief Adam Schiff's staff before filing his whistleblower complaint, sources say — and Trump believes the collusion goes deeper. | The "whistleblower" spoke to a House Intelligence Committee staffer about his concerns, gleaned from secondhand knowledge of a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that the president was abusing his power — and that staffer shared the information with Schiff — before the still-anonymous CIA officer filed his complaint, according to the Ne…

Staff (2019-10-02). Headlines for October 2, 2019. democracynow.org Report: Trump Pushed for Shooting Migrants and Placing Alligators & Snakes Along Border, Trump Claims Impeachment Inquiry Is "Coup" as Pompeo Blocks Officials from Testifying, Sen. Grassley Breaks from Trump to Support Protection of Whistleblower, In "Victory for Black People in America," Dallas Officer Convicted of Murdering Black Man Inside His Own Home, Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Georgia Abortion Law, U.S.-N. Korea Talks to Resume as Pyongyang Carries Out New Missile Test, Hong Kong Protesters Stage Sit-in Outside School of Student Shot by Police, Pretrial Hearings Begin in Netanyahu Corruption Case, Per…

Binoy Kampmark (2019-10-01). Dangerous Detentions: Julian Assange and Remaining in Belmarsh. dissidentvoice.org Much ink has been spilled in textbooks describing situations where autocratic states can behave badly. They abuse rights; they ignore international law and they ride roughshod over conventions. Liberal democracies may boast that they follow matters to the letter of the law, and make sure that citizens are given their fair and just cause in …

Staff (2019-10-01). To Impeach or Not to Impeach? Chris Hedges & John Bonifaz Debate What Congress Should Do Next. democracynow.org House Democrats subpoenaed President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani Monday, seeking documents related to his work in Ukraine. Last week, Guliani admitted on television that he had urged the Ukrainian government to investigate Trump's political rival and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. This comes as House Democrats continue to build their case for impeaching the president, following a whistleblower complaint focused on a phone call in which Trump asked the Ukranian president to do him a "favor" investigating the actions of Democrats, including Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Meanwhile, Trump…

Staff (2019-10-01). Headlines for October 1, 2019. democracynow.org House Democrats Subpoena Giuliani over Ukraine Work, Report: Trump Pressured Australia, Italy & U.K. to Help with Political Probes, Trump Renews Threats Against Schiff and Intelligence Whistleblower, Hong Kong Protests Escalate as Beijing Marks 70th Anniversary of People's Republic of China, Four Die in Ongoing Anti-Government Protests in Haiti, Somali Militants Attack U.S. Drone Base & Italian Military Convoy, Nigerian Journalist Omoyele Sowore Pleads Not Guilty, Remains Locked Up, U.S. Blocks Cuban Health Minister from Attending Regional WHO Meeting in D.C., GOP Congressmember Chris Collins Resigns over Insider…

Jimmysllama (2019-09-30). How the Trump Admin Used a Secret Livestream to Spy on Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com Working directly with Ecuador's corrupt government, the U.S. government abandoned all sense of legality and moral decency by spying on Assange twenty-four hours a day via an illegal livestream surveillance operation set up by a private security firm and approved by Ecuador's president.

Staff (2019-09-30). Snowden Reveals How He Secretly Exposed NSA Criminal Wrongdoing Without Getting Arrested. democracynow.org Edward Snowden talks about his decision to leak documents to journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras rather than WikiLeaks, and the issues with the U.S. government's response to whistleblower disclosures. His recently published memoir, "Permanent Record," tells the story of his decision to expose the system of mass surveillance. "I think it's so obvious that no harm to national security has resulted from this process of disclosure. And yet, the same criticisms, the same allegations are made to me as have been every other whistleblower," Snowden says. "What we need to understand here is not my model of publi…

Staff (2019-09-30). Whistleblower Edward Snowden on Trump, Obama & How He Ended Up in Russia to Avoid U.S. Extradition. democracynow.org We conclude our interview with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has just published his memoir titled "Permanent Record." In 2013, after quitting his job at the NSA, Snowden attempted to fly from Hong Kong to Latin America in order to avoid being extradited to the United States. But the U.S. revoked his passport when he stopped through Russia, effectively stranding him there. Snowden has lived as an exile in Moscow ever since. He tells us his story.

Staff (2019-09-30). Edward Snowden: Private Contractors Play Key Role in U.S. Intelligence's "Creeping Authoritarianism" democracynow.org As a whistleblower complaint against President Trump rocks Washington, Democrats begin an impeachment inquiry and Trump threatens "big consequences" for the person who came forward, we continue our conversation with one of the world's most famous whistleblowers: Edward Snowden, now in exile in Russia. Six years ago, he shocked the world when he leaked a trove of secret documents about how the United States had built a massive surveillance apparatus to collect every single phone call, text message and email, and pry into the private lives of every person on Earth. He has just published a memoir titled "Permanent R…

Staff (2019-09-30). Headlines for September 30, 2019. democracynow.org Facing Threats from Trump, Anonymous Whistleblower to Testify on Capitol Hill, Trump Warns Impeachment Could Lead to Civil War, Calls Critics "Savages", Pompeo Subpoenaed over Ukraine; Trump Envoy for Ukraine Resigns, More Than 2 Million Take Part in Global Climate Strike, Nearly 70 Arrested at New Hampshire Coal Plant Protest, Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Effort to Indefinitely Detain Migrant Children, Low Turnout Reported on Election Day in Afghanistan, Egyptian Dissident Alaa Abd El-Fattah Arrested Amid Growing Crackdown, Houthis Claim to Have Killed 500 Saudi Soldiers in August Attack, El País: S…

Patrick Anderson (2019-09-27). Edward Snowden's Julian Assange is an Unfamiliar Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks' former editor Julian Assange have a complicated relationship. On the one hand, they share important similarities: both are perceived as dangerous enemies by the United States government, and both have been documentary subjects of filmmaker Laura Poitras. On the other hand, they clearly disagree when it comes to the means of achieving government transparency and accountability. After all, if Snowden had agreed with Assange a…

Staff (2019-09-27). James Risen: Whistleblower Complaint Shows "Trump Is a Habitual Criminal" Abusing His Office. democracynow.org Democrats are ramping up efforts to impeach President Trump for pressing the president of Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Nearly 90% of House Democrats now support impeachment. On Thursday, a declassified version of a complaint by an anonymous whistleblower was released, detailing his concerns about Trump's July phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky. In the complaint, the unnamed whistleblower — who has been identified as a CIA official — accused the president of "using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 202…

Staff (2019-09-27). Headlines for September 27, 2019. democracynow.org Whistleblower Warned White House Tried to "Lock Down" Ukraine Call Details, Acting DNI Maguire Says Whistleblower "Acted in Good Faith", Trump Suggests Whistleblower Should Get Death Sentence for Treason, Global Youth-Led Strikes Demand Action on Climate Crisis, Study Finds Climate Crisis May Threaten 60% of World's Wheat Crop by 2100, States Challenge Trump's Rollback of Endangered Species Act, Senate Advances Confirmation of Ex-Monsanto Executive to Lead Wildlife Agency, EPA Chief Blames California's Homeless Population for Poor Water Quality, Protesters Defy Security Crackdown in Egypt, Demanding Ouster of Pre…

Staff (2019-09-26). Edward Snowden Condemns Trump's Mistreatment of Whistleblower Who Exposed Ukraine Scandal. democracynow.org Responding to news of a whistleblower's complaint at the center of an impeachment inquiry filed against President Trump this week, famed whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks about his own decision to leak classified documents in 2013. The House Intelligence Committee has released the declassified whistleblower complaint, which details a July phone call between President Trump and the Ukrainian president. The White House is trying "to make the conversation not about the allegations," Snowden told Democracy Now! "They want to talk about the whistleblower rather than the government's own wrongdoing."

Staff (2019-09-26). Permanent Record: Why NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Risked His Life to Expose Surveillance State. democracynow.org Six years ago, Edward Snowden leaked a trove of secret documents about how the United States had built a massive surveillance apparatus to spy on Americans and people across the globe. Snowden was then charged in the U.S. for violating the Espionage Act and other laws. As he attempted to flee to Latin America, Snowden became stranded in Russia after the U.S. revoked his passport. He has lived in Moscow ever since. Snowden just published his memoir, "Permanent Record," in which he writes about what led him to risk his life to expose the U.S. government's system of mass surveillance. From Moscow, he speaks to Democ…

Staff (2019-09-26). "Financial Censorship Is Still Censorship": Edward Snowden Slams Justice Dept. Lawsuit Against Him. democracynow.org As a whistleblower complaint filed against President Trump rocks Washington and threatens Trump's presidency, one of the world's most famous whistleblowers, Edward Snowden, joins us from Moscow, Russia. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Snowden alleging that his newly released memoir, "Permanent Record," violates the nondisclosure agreements he signed with the federal government when he was a National Security Agency employee. The Justice Department also argued that they are entitled to all of Snowden's book profits. Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman and Juan González speak with Sno…

Finian Cunningham (2019-09-25). They're Murdering My Son: Father of Julian Assange Tells of Pain and Anguish. mintpressnews.com John Shipton, the father of imprisoned whistleblower Julian Assange, says that if his son is extradited to the US, "They will murder Julian one way or the other."

susan_p (2019-09-25). Sri Lanka: Torture continues, perpetrators promoted. greenleft.org.au human rights Chris SleeIssue 1239 Sri Lanka Tamil TortureSeptember 25, 2019″The indifference to repeated allegations of police torture is shocking and makes a mockery of Sri Lanka's stated commitment to security secto…