30 September 2020 — ColdType
Month: September 2020
Assange Trial: How US Government Is Likely Deceiving British Court To Win Extradition
29 September 2020 — The Dissenter
Attorney Lindsay Lewis, who represented Mostafa Kamel Mostafa in a high-profile extradition case, warns against the U.S. government’s past “unreliable assurances.”
ADX Florence in Colorado. (Photo: Bureau of Prisons)
Exclusive: Spanish judge seeks Sheldon Adelson security chief in Assange spying case
29 September 2020 — The Grayzone
A Spanish judge’s request to probe a Las Vegas Sands staffer’s apparent role in a criminal spying operation against Julian Assange indicates the investigation is homing in on US intelligence. Tellingly, the Department of Justice is stonewalling the application.
By Max Blumenthal
Gates Vaccine Spreads Polio Across Africa
28 September 2020 — Origin: New Eastern Outlook
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has made himself the global vaccine czar as his foundation spends billions on spreading new vaccines globally. While much attention has been given to the role of Gates behind the corrupt WHO in promoting radical untested coronavirus vaccines, the record of the Gates Foundation pushing an oral polio vaccine across Africa gives more sobering evidence that all Gates says and does is not genuine human charity. The UN has just recently admitted that new cases of infantile paralysis or polio have resulted in Africa from an oral polio vaccine developed with strong support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It mirrors what happened in the USA in the 1950s. This is worth a closer look.
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Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 20
30 September 2020 — Craig Murray
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 less as all acting in bad faith. To portray one witness as weak may appear justified if they can be shaken, but to attack a succession of patently well qualified witnesses, on no basis but aggression and unreasoning hostility, becomes quickly unconvincing.
NHS: Issues uncovered
29 September 2020 — The lowdown
Evidence-based journalism and research on the NHS to create change.
The NHS is being reorganized, but under the radar. Contracts signed, but without scrutiny and NHS staff are working hard to reduce delays, but plans to expand the number of staff could be buried because of the Chancellor’s postponed spending review. Some of the issues that must be uncovered, and are in this week’s analysis, news and explainers.
Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 19
29 September 2020 — Craig Murray
Today was the worst day for the defence since the start of the trial, as their expert witnesses failed to cope with the sheer aggression of cross-examination by the US Government and found themselves backing away from maintaining propositions they knew to be true. It was uncomfortable viewing.
Defense Witnesses In Assange’s Extradition Trial Counter Key Prosecution Lie About US Solitary Confinement
28 September 2020 — The Dissenter
“[It is] very difficult to talk through [cell] doors,” attorney Yancey Ellis shared. One almost has to “scream at the top of their lungs.”
William G. Truesdale Detention Center in Alexandria, Virginia (Image capture: Jul 2019 © 2020 Google)
Prosecutors in WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition trial have consistently maintained he would be able to talk through the doors or windows of his cell if he was held in solitary confinement—or what the Bureau of Prisons refers to as “administrative segregation.”
The antithesis of care
28 September, 2020 — Red Pepper
Hilary Aked writes about the insidious role of Prevent, the government’s counter- extremism programme, in compromising mental health services
“Hospital” by capturedbychelsea is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
For an NHS psychiatrist working with schizophrenic patients, it’s not unusual to witness people suffering from severe paranoia. Fear of being watched by the state and persecuted by the police may well feature in such patients’ delusions. What is rarer is for someone receiving mental health care to see their fears come to life because their psychiatry team has reported them to Prevent, leading police to question them as a suspected potential terrorist.
Video: Dr. Heiko Schöning Arrested for Speaking The Truth on Covid-19. Trafalgar Square London Protests
28 September 2020 — Global Research
By Dr. Heiko Schöning and Anna Brees
Dr. Heiko Schöning, one of the founders of Doctors for the Truth which is an association of thousands of medical doctors around the world, said that the measures of the governments regarding COVID-19 are absolutely inappropriate.
How Black Working-Class Youth are Criminalised and Excluded in the English School System
28 September 2020 — Institute of Race Relations
Today, the Institute of Race Relations publishes a major report, How Black Working-Class Youth are Criminalised and Excluded in the English School System: A London Case Study.
Western Metrics No Longer Matter for Russians
25 September 2020 — Origin: New Eastern Outlook
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in meetings recently with the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Workneh Gebeyehu. In a followup to the Russia-Africa summit held back in October 2019 in Sochi, the two discussed the decisions of the first Russia-Africa summit, with an added focus on expanded cooperation with African integration organizations. TASS cited Mr. Lavrov so:Russia has key role to play in Iran issue
28 September 2020 — Indian Punchline
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and delegation (L) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow, Sept 24, 2020
In what must be one of his sharpest rhetorical outbursts against the Trump administration, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States on Saturday of “savagery” for inflicting $150 billion of damage on Iran due to sanctions.
UK: Watch: What you need to know about the Coronavirus Act
28 September 2020 — True Publica
Let’s make sure we don’t blame the wrong people here. The police are not the enemy, nor are many government agencies that are operating under difficult circumstances. Both have been given rules, areas of guidance and laws to manage that conflict with our understanding of civil society. But these are not normal times and because a global pandemic is not normal, it is imperative that for the sake of public health and the economy, the government has a plan that defends both. The problem is – they don’t. So they’ve given themselves sweeping powers to do as they please. This has led to the public getting frustrated and angry, with some taking to the streets – leaving the police to be the fall guys for what is essentially failed politics. And as Britain has one of the worst death rates from Covid-19 and its economy is one of the worst affected, it is little wonder that the public have lost faith in the government and started taking action.
Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 18
28 September 2020 — Craig Murray
It is hard to believe, but Judge Baraitser on Friday ruled that there will be no closing speeches in the Assange extradition hearing. She accepted the proposal initially put forward by counsel for the US government, that closing arguments should simply be submitted in writing and without an oral hearing. This was accepted by the defence, as they need time to address the new superseding indictment in the closing arguments, and Baraitser was not willing for oral argument to take place later than 8 October. By agreeing to written arguments only, the defence gained a further three weeks to put together the closing of their case.
Prosecutors’ Password-Cracking Conspiracy Theory Against Assange Unravels At Extradition Trial
26 September 2020 — The Dissenter
“At the time, it would not have been possible to crack an encrypted password hash, such as the one Manning obtained,” testified Patrick Eller, a digital forensic expert
When the first indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was disclosed by the United States Justice Department, the response from some attorneys and advocates was mixed. It was viewed as “narrowly tailored” to avoid “broader legal and policy implications.”
Why is the world going to hell? Netflix’s The Social Dilemma tells only half the story
25 September 2020 — Jonathan Cook
If you find yourself wondering what the hell is going on right now – the “Why is the world turning to shit?” thought – you may find Netflix’s new documentary The Social Dilemma a good starting point for clarifying your thinking. I say “starting point” because, as we shall see, the film suffers from two major limitations: one in its analysis and the other in its conclusion. Nonetheless, the film is good at exploring the contours of the major social crises we currently face – epitomised both by our addiction to the mobile phone and by its ability to rewire our consciousness and our personalities.
The Guardian’s deceit-riddled new statement betrays both Julian Assange and journalism
26 September 2020 — Jonathan Cook
In my recent post on the current hearings at the Old Bailey over Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States, where he would almost certainly be locked away for the rest of his life for the crime of doing journalism, I made two main criticisms of the Guardian.
Judge Acknowledges Political Nature of Case against Julian!
25 September 2020 — Assange Defense
It was an important day in Julian’s extradition hearing, with key testimony and some surprises from the judge.
The judge acknowledged the political nature of the case, which was surprising to observers. She also said that a ruling would not be issued until after the election, most likely in 2021.
Watch: ‘Boris Now Drifting Into COVID No Man’s Land’
24 September 2020 — 21st Century Wire
This week Boris Johnson and the British government doubled-down on their deteriorating COVID lockdown narrative, now claiming that the nation will have to endure ‘great sacrifices’ for another 6 months in order to supposedly ‘defeat the virus’ – even though hospital admissions have been at near zero for months now. Has the government pushed the gag too far now?
Co-hosts Brian Gerrish, Mike Robinson and Alex Thomson with the midweek news round-up.
The New Dark Age 