26 February 2020 — Defend Wikileaks
Assange on lack of access: “I am as much a participant in these proceedings as I am watching Wimbledon”
In day three of Julian Assange’s extradition hearing in London, the defense argued that the WikiLeaks publisher must not be sent to the United States because the US-UK Extradition Treaty precludes extradition for a “political offense.”
26 February 2020 — Moon of Alabama
Britain is currently holding an obscene show trial against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The hearing is designed to end with the extradition of Assange to the United States or with his death. In the U.S. he would be accused of a conspiracy to reveal secrets and put into jail for the rest of his life.
26 February 2020 • 18:30 — The New Dark Age
There may be some duplication due to cross-posting and may be updated throughout the day, so please check back
Highlights from the Assange Trial Thus Far 26 February 2020
Assange blasts court for preventing communication with lawyers, alleges legal team is being SPIED on
https://on.rt.com/abp2
Assange detention illegal under English, European and international law, defense argues
https://www.rt.com/news/481711-assange-protection-political-extradition-fundamental-right/
26 February 2020 — Global Research
The second day of extradition hearings against Julian Assange and by virtue of that, WikiLeaks, saw Mark Summers QC deliver a formidable serve for the defence at Woolwich Crown Court. “It’s difficult to conceive of a clearer example of an extradition request that boldly and blatantly misstates the facts as they are known to be to the US government.” The targets were, respectively, allegations by the US Department of Justice that Assange attempted to conceal Chelsea Manning’s identity for nefarious purposes and second, that WikiLeaks was reckless as to the potential consequences of harm in releasing unredacted State Department cables in 2011.
26 February 2020 — New Eastern Outlook
If Turkey’s Erdogan had some ‘neo-Ottoman’ dreams, they seem to have been almost fully shattered by the fast-pace Russia-Syria offensive in norther Syria and recovery of the territory hitherto being controlled by the so-called ‘rebel’ forces, including those being funded by Turkey ever since the beginning of the ‘civil-war’ in Syria. An analysis of the evolution of Turkey’s policies in Syria shows that it has been a massive failure. Starting with the objective of ‘sending Assad home’, which ultimately meant to allow Turkey to extend its influence in Syria and thereby impose a ‘permanent solution’ on its Kurdish problem, to collaborating with Russia, Iran and Syria in Sochi and Astana processes, Turkey’s primary motivation has always been to raise its regional strategic profile in a way that allows it to become a new regional hegemon. It has been trying to maintain a calculated distance from the US/NATO, considering that the US support for the Kurds remains the key element of its Middle Eastern policy, and it has been maintaining a calculated relationship with Russia—Syria in the hopes of finding the same ‘permanent solution’ to its Kurdish question through a direct control of large swaths of Syrian territory.
26 February 2020 — Statewatch
e-mail: office@statewatch.org
Also available as a pdf file: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2020/feb/email-26-2-20.pdf
STATEWATCH ANALYSES & VIEWPOINT
1. Analysis: Spain: Will the new ‘progressive’ government uphold freedom of expression?
2. Analysis: Fort Vert: Nature conservation as border regime in Calais by Hanna Rullman:
3. Viewpoint: The shadowy business of fear-mongers by Ana González-Páramo
STATEWATCH NEWS
1. Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (4-24.2.20)
2. EU: EEAS changes to Operation Sophia so “chances to conduct rescue operations are lower”
3. ECHR-SPAIN: European court under fire for backing Spain’s express deportations
4. EU: “Data lakes”, broken silos, changing the law: Counter-Terrorism Coordinator enthusiastic
5. EU: Internal Council report on the implementation of the EU Internal Security Strategy
6. EU Council “strategic guidelines” frame the next five years of EU justice and home affairs policy
7. Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (21.1-3.2.20)
25 February 2020 — Climate & Capitalism
Robbery of nature; Choosing a future; Neoliberal lives; Indigenous resistance; Canadian oil vs the climate; Environmental justice in danger; Agrobiodiversity; Cars and capitalismEcosocialist Bookshelf is an occasional feature. We can’t review every book we receive, but we will list and link to any that seem relevant to Climate & Capitalism’s mission, along with brief descriptions. Titles listed here may be reviewed in future. Inclusion of a book does not imply endorsement, or that we agree with everything (or even anything!) these books say.
26 February 2020 — Craig Murray
This afternoon Julian’s Spanish lawyer, Baltasar Garzon, left court to return to Madrid. On the way out he naturally stopped to shake hands with his client, proffering his fingers through the narrow slit in the bulletproof glass cage. Assange half stood to take his lawyer’s hand. The two security guards in the cage with Assange immediately sprang up, putting hands on Julian and forcing him to sit down, preventing the handshake.
Recently, Ankara has crossed the line by transforming its supposed anti-terrorist operation in Syria into a full-fledged invasion. Essentially, it wouldn’t stop in spite of Moscow’s repeated attempts to talk some sense into its partner and the repeated warnings voiced by Damascus. In fact, Ankara has been answering attempts at pursuing deescalation in Syria by making provocative statements. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan described the events unraveling in Idlib as “a war”, while his Defense Minister Hulusi Akar demanded Russia to “step aside” and allow Turkish Armed forces to deal with Bashar al-Assad’s troops.
We bring to the attention of Global Research readers, excerpts from an important study entitled “An International Collaborative Genetic Research Project Conducted in China” which has a bearing on our understanding of China’s coronavirus epidemic.
The New Dark Age 