2020-10-03: News Headlines

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-10-02). Assange's Eighteenth Day at the Old Bailey: Abuse of Power, Breaching Attorney-Client Privilege and Adjournment. globalresearch.ca The Old Bailey has been the venue for a trial that should never have taken place. But during the course of these extradition proceedings against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder accused by the US Department of Justice for violating the …

Binoy Kampmark (2020-10-02). Assange on Trial: Abuse of Power, Breaching Attorney-Client Privilege and Adjournment. counterpunch.org October 1, 2020. Central Criminal Court, London. The Old Bailey has been the venue for a trial that should never have taken place. But during the course of these extradition proceedings against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder accused by the US Department of Justice for violating the US Espionage Act (17 charges) and one under

Craig Murray (2020-10-02). Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 21. globalresearch.ca I really do not know how to report Wednesday's events. Stunning evidence, of extreme quality and interest, was banged out in precis by the lawyers as unnoticed as bags of frozen chips coming off a production line. | The court that …

_____ (2020-10-02). Assange Trial: US And UK Militaries Back Key Prosecution Witness. popularresistance.org Dr Nigel Blackwood, a Reader in forensic psychiatry at King's College London (KCL), told the extradition hearing in London last week that Julian Assange was suffering only "moderate" depression. | Giving evidence as an expert witness for the US prosecution, Dr Blackwood rebutted other experts' findings on the seriousness of Assange's condition, adding his suicide risk was "manageable". He told the court: "Mr Assange has proved himself to be a very resilient and very resourceful man and he has underplayed that".

_____ (2020-10-02). Embassy Espionage, Contemplated Poisoning And Proposed Kidnapping. popularresistance.org Today will be remembered as a grand expose. It was a direct, pointed accusation at the intentions of the US imperium which long for the scalp of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. For WikiLeaks, it was a smouldering triumph, showing that the entire mission against Assange, from the start, has been a political one. The Australian publisher faces the incalculably dangerous prospect of 17 charges under the US Espionage Act and one under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Stripped to its elements, the indictment is merely violence kitted out in the vestment of sham legality. The rest is politics.

_____ (2020-10-02). U.S. Intelligence Sources Discussed Poisoning Julian Assange. strategic-culture.org Robert WENZEL | At Julian Assange's extradition hearing, bombshell allegations involving US private citizen Sheldon Adelson are being made in conjunction with activities of US intelligence agencies. | Plans to poison or kidnap Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy were discussed between sources in US intelligence and a private security firm that spied extensively on the WikiLeaks co-founder, a court has been told,

Timothy Erik Strom — John Pilger (2020-10-02). Eyewitness to the Agony of Julian Assange. counterpunch.org John Pilger has watched Julian Assange's extradition trial from the public gallery at London's Old Bailey. He spoke with Timothy Erik Strà∂m of Arena, Australia: Q: Having watched Julian Assange's trial firsthand, can you describe the prevailing atmosphere in the court? The prevailing atmosphere has been shocking. I say that without hesitation; I have sat in many

John Pilger (2020-10-02). John Pilger: Eyewitness to the Agony of Julian Assange. mintpressnews.com John Pilger has watched Julian Assange's extradition trial from the public gallery at London's Old Bailey. He spoke with Timothy Erik Strà∂m of Arena magazine, Australia: | Q: Having watched Julian Assange's trial firsthand, can you describe the prevailing atmosphere in the court? | The prevailing atmosphere has been shocking. I say that without hesitation; I have sat in many courts and seldom known such a corruption of due process; this is due revenge. Putting aside the ritual associated with 'British justice', at times it has been evocative of a Stalinist show trial. One difference is that in the show tria…

pip.hinman (2020-10-02). Andrew Wilkie on Julian Assange extradition trial: 'It should put all Australians on notice'. greenleft.org.au

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-10-02). With Focus on Assange, Belmarsh Tribunal Puts 'US War Crimes on Trial'. commondreams.org "It is time to take action," Progressive International activists say, "and it is time to demand justice" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/mosul2_2.jpg

John McEvoy (2020-10-02). Noam Chomsky tells court that Julian Assange has 'exposed power to sunlight'. thecanary.co On 30 September, distinguished academic and public intellectual Extraterritorial reach: | Chomsky had previously appeared on Democracy Now! to denounce: the extraterritorial reach of the United States, which is shocking. Why should the United States… have the power to control what others are doing elsewhere in the world?… It's [an] outlandish situation. It goes on all the time. | "We have to silence this voice" — Chomsky on the obvious, prima…

David Penner (2020-10-02). The Hysteria of Identity Politics is Devolving Into Violence. dissidentvoice.org If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. — Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Colonel Charles Yancey, January 6th, 1816 As the tech monopolies, the military industrial complex, the medical industrial complex, and other powerful corporate entities accumulate unprecedented …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-01). Extradition trial concludes, Assange to remain in prison until verdict in January. peoplesdispatch.org The trial concluded after 18 days of extensive submissions from experts and witnesses over a range of aspects concerning the persecution of Wikileaks in the US…

Stephen Lendman (2020-10-01). Lawyers, Politicians and Diplomats for Assange. globalresearch.ca Since brutally dragged from Ecuador's London embassy in April last year, confined to maximum security imprisonment, and subjected to guilt by accusation extradition hearings, establishment media have been largely silent about his state-sponsored crucifixion for the "crime" of truth-telling journalism….

Alexander Mercouris (2020-10-01). Letter from London: The Surreal US Case Against Assange. globalresearch.ca The fox is guarding the henhouse and Washington is prosecuting a publisher for exposing its own war crimes. Alexander Mercouris diagnoses the incoherence of the U.S. case for extradition. | *** | Following the Julian Assange case as it has progressed through …

Binoy Kampmark (2020-10-01). Assange's Seventeenth Day at the Old Bailey: Embassy Espionage, Contemplated Poisoning and Proposed Kidnapping. dissidentvoice.org September 30. Central Criminal Court, London. Today will be remembered as a grand expose. It was a direct, pointed accusation at the intentions of the US imperium which long for the scalp of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. For WikiLeaks, it was a smouldering triumph, showing that the entire mission against Assange, from the start, …

WSWS (2020-10-01). Evidence of war crimes, torture, surveillance and assassination plots: Assange hearing nears final day. wsws.org The CIA's surveillance was targeted against Assange's communication with his legal representatives, considered "priority targets."

Binoy Kampmark (2020-10-01). Assange on Trial: Embassy Espionage, Contemplated Poisoning and Proposed Kidnapping. counterpunch.org September 30. Central Criminal Court, London. Today will be remembered as a grand expose. It was a direct, pointed accusation at the intentions of the US imperium which long for the scalp of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. For WikiLeaks, it was a smouldering triumph, showing that the entire mission against Assange, from the start,

_____ (2020-10-01). UC Global Employee Thwarted Plan To Spy On Assange. popularresistance.org An IT expert who worked for UC Global, the Spanish security company which engaged in an espionage operation against Julian Assange while he was in the Ecuador embassy, refused to install numerous microphones and camera systems with "streaming capabilities" because they believed it was illegal. | UC Global director David Morales was told Assange would discover the cameras were streaming in order to "restrain Morales." | "I did not want to collaborate in an illegal act of this magnitude," the IT expert referred to as "Witness #2" told a British magistrates' court during Assange's extradition trial.

_____ (2020-10-01). National Security Journalism Is On Trial. popularresistance.org Few American media organizations seem to have noticed, but the U.S. Justice Department has spent the past few weeks trying to persuade the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales to extradite Julian Assange to the United States to face charges under the 1917 Espionage Act. The hearing is scheduled to wind down at the end of this week. At this point Assange has alienated pretty much everyone, including many erstwhile supporters, and few people on this side of the Atlantic seem troubled by his indictment or by the possibility that he will be extradited, tried, convicted, and imprisoned.

_____ (2020-10-01). Reportback: Julian Assange Hearing On Tuesday September 29. popularresistance.org Tuesday has been another day on which the testimony focused on the extreme inhumane conditions in which Julian Assange would be kept imprisoned in the USA if extradited. The prosecution's continued tactic of extraordinary aggression towards witnesses who are patently well informed played less well, and there were distinct signs that Judge Baraitser was becoming irritated by this approach. The totality of defence witnesses and the sheer extent of mutual corroboration they provided could not simply be dismissed by the prosecution attempting to characterise all of them as uninformed on a particular detail, still les…

sputniknews (2020-10-01). Assange Update; California Wildfires Rage On. sputniknews.com Does America need a civility check-up?

teleSUR (2020-10-01). Judge To Rule on January Whether Assange Should Be Extradited. telesurenglish.net British judge Vanessa Baraitser will rule on January 4, 2021, whether she authorizes the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States, where the Australian journalist is accused of 18 crimes of espionage that could sentence him up to 175 years in prison. | RELATED: | The magistrate set the date for her ruling at the end of a four-week trial in the London Old Bailey court, in which numerous witnesses for the Wik…

RT (2020-10-01). Nagorno-Karabakh fighting spreads: Yerevan says it shot down Azeri drone near CAPITAL after airstrike kills man in Armenia. rt.com Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia spilled over from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as the government in Yerevan claimed to have shot down four Azeri drones after an airstrike killed a man inside Armenia proper. | Armenian authorities said that four drones operated by Azerbaijan appeared on Thursday in the sky over the Kotayk province bordering the nation's capital city, as well as the Gegharkunik province across the border from Nagorno-Karabakh. | Three of them had been destroyed earlier in the day, and the fourth was shot down near Yerevan later in the evening, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan a…

RT (2020-10-01). Nagorno-Karabakh fighting spreads: Yerevan says it shot down Azeri drone near CAPITAL as airstrike kills man inside Armenia. rt.com Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia has spilled over from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as the government in Yerevan claimed to have shot down four Azeri drones after an airstrike killed a man inside Armenia proper. | Armenian authorities said that four drones operated by Azerbaijan appeared on Thursday in the sky over the Kotayk province bordering the nation's capital city, as well as the Gegharkunik province across the border from Nagorno-Karabakh. | Three of them had been destroyed earlier in the day, and the fourth was shot down near Yerevan later in the evening, Prime Minister Nikol Pashiny…

MEE and agencies (2020-10-01). UAE police chief accused of torture 'frontrunner for top Interpol job'. middleeasteye.net UAE police chief accused of torture 'frontrunner for top Interpol job' | Nasser Ahmed al-Raisi, accused of serious human rights abuses, could be named Interpol president in December | Thu, 10/01/2020 – 14: 26 | UAE police chief Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi (L), pictured in 2018 (Wikicommons) | A United Arab Emirates security chief accused of presiding over the "torture" of a British student is at…

_____ (2020-10-01). Fortress On A Hill: Understanding The War Industry. popularresistance.org Christian Sorenson stops by the podcast to discuss his new book "Understanding the War Industry", a detailed look at contracting within the U.S. military industrial complex and how its giant war chest gets funneled to an endless list of contractors, without question to its necessity or what could have been purchased in its place. | Everyone from libertarians to mainstream liberals to anarchists utters the words "military-industrial complex," often as a catchall for murky forces that press the U.S. government into war. But what is this complex?

sputniknews (2020-10-01). Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan Says Four Drones Shot Down Near Yerevan. sputniknews.com Earlier in the day, Yerevan said it had destroyed three drones the area close the country's capital and was trying to locate the fourth one.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-30). Witnesses in Assange trial say complete isolation very likely in US. peoplesdispatch.org As the final week of the extradition trial of Julian Assange continues, expert witnesses presented by the witness have focused on the treatment Assange is likely to get once extradited. Maureen Baird, who worked in the US Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for two decades, and Lindsay Lewis, a lawyer who represented Abu Hamza, told the court on September 29, that Assange is very likely to be put under effective solitary confinement, once he is extradited. | Baird's and Lewis' testimonies challenge the claims made by the prosecution witness, US attorney Gordon Kromberg. In a submission made to the court yesterday, Kromberg a…

Craig Murray (2020-09-30). Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 20. globalresearch.ca Tuesday has been another day on which the testimony focused on the extreme inhumane conditions in which Julian Assange would be kept imprisoned in the USA if extradited. The prosecution's continued tactic of extraordinary aggression towards witnesses who are patently …

sputniknews (2020-09-30). Assange Performed Enormous Service to World by Revealing US Government Secrets, Witness Says. sputniknews.com LONDON (Sputnik) – US linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky on Wednesday told the UK court deciding on the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States that the whistleblower has performed an enormous service to the people by revealing information the US government wanted to keep secret.

Steve Topple (2020-09-30). A damning fact about the BBC's Assange coverage just emerged. thecanary.co If you regularly rely on BBC News, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the extradition hearing of publisher Julian Assange wasn't happening. Because the public service broadcaster has been doing a distinctly unpublic service by But a revelation by another journalist has exposed a damning fact about the BBC's lack of stories on Assange. And moreover, it's home affairs correspondent has also admitted why he thinks his employer is ignoring the case. | Assange: the trial of the century?:…

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2020-09-30). Life in Supermax for the Crime of 'Merely Doing Journalism'? UK Court Told Assange Likely to Be Sent to Notorious US Prison. commondreams.org A former warden at ADX Florence has described doing time in the Colorado prison as "a fate worse than death." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/getty-assange_protestors_0.jpg

_____ (2020-09-30). Azerbaijani-Armenian War: Turkish F-16S Enter the Game. Armenia Threatens to Use Iskander Missiles. strategic-culture.org The Armenian-Azerbaijani war continues raging in the South Caucasus. | As of September 29, the Azerbaijani advance in the Nagorno-Karabakh region struck the Armenian defense and Azerbaijani forces were not able to achieve any military breakthroughs. Armenian troops withdrew from several positions in the Talish area and east of Fuzuli. | The Azerbaijani military has been successfully employing combat drones and artillery to destroy positions and military equipment of Armenia, but Azerbaijani mechanized infantry was unable to develop its momentum any further. | While both sides claim that they eliminated multiple e…

yenisafak (2020-09-30). Outrage over Indian rape victims' cremation by police. yenisafak.com The covert cremation by police of the body of a 19-year-old gang-rape victim early Wednesday triggered protests and condemnations by citizens and activists in India.The Dalit (lower caste) woman was tortured and gang-raped by four men from an upper caste at her village in Hathras in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sept. 14. She battled for her life for two weeks before succumbing to her injuries on Tuesday.In a video going viral on social media, the victim's mother is seen pleading with police to allow her to see her daughter one last time, and bring her body home, as the police cremated the body amid tigh…