U.S., Taliban Set to Sign Afghanistan Peace Deal
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-29
The pact sets the stage for U.S. troop withdrawal more than 18 years after George W. Bush ordered bombing in response to the 9/11 attacks.
truthdig.com/articles/u-s-taliban-set-to-peace-deal-in-afghanistan/

Media Stoop to \'Russian Assistance\' to Explain Sanders\' Rise
Alan MacLeod | fair.org | 2020-02-29
For over three years, Russia has been an issue of great concern, if not panic, in our media. Back in 2018, FAIR ( 7/27/18) warned that if Bernie Sanders or another progressive movement picked up steam, corporate media would claim that \"any challenge to the establishment is likely a Kremlin-funded astroturf effort.\" For establishment Democrats, we wrote: Russiagate allows them to ignore calls for change and not scrutinize why they lost to the most unpopular presidential candidate in…
fair.org/home/media-stoop-to-russian-assistance-to-explain-sanders-rise/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=media-stoop-to-russian-assistance-to-explain-sanders-rise

Secretive military base outside Paris hit by coronavirus, French defense minister confirms
rt.com | 2020-02-29
Several people stationed at the 110 Creil air base outside Paris have fallen ill with coronavirus, the French military confirmed, with the base effectively being placed on lockdown. So far, 57 cases have been detected in France. | Defense Minister Florence Parly confirmed on Friday that a number of coronavirus cases have been registered at the military facility, located to the north of the French capital. While Parly did not provide the exact tally, earlier reports by local media suggested that at least four p…
rt.com/news/481965-french-air-base-coronavirus/

\'We\'ve seen no evidence\': Social networks blow up \'US officials\' claim of \'Russian coronavirus disinformation campaign\'
rt.com | 2020-02-29
Social media titans Twitter and Facebook have poured cold water on the State Department\'s latest conspiracy theory, insisting they\'d seen no sign \"Russian operatives\" were spreading falsehoods about COVID-19 on their platforms. | Weighing in after a number of senior State Department officials told AFP that thousands of \"Russian malign actors\" were hawking \"disinformation about coronavirus\" on social media, two of the largest networks have cast serious doubt on the assertion. | \"In general, our investigation hasn\'t substantiated th…
rt.com/news/481983-twitter-facebook-russia-coronavirus/

Immunity for Killings by Immigration Police
Jacob Hornberger | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-28
The American immigration police state continues to grow more tyrannical with each passing day. The latest example involves the U.S. Supreme Court, which has just issued a ruling in a case that effectively gives the Border Patrol a license to kill Mexican citizens. And guess which two magic words the Court used to justify its…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/28/immunity-for-killings-by-immigration-police/

No Way Out: Report Finds Central American Asylum Seekers Trapped in Mexico in Dangerous Conditions
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
A new report by Médecins Sans Frontières

Court Puts Breaks on Move to Make Asylum Seekers Wait in Mexico
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-28
While it may only be temporary, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling is a major setback for Donald Trump\'s anti-immigration policy.
truthdig.com/articles/court-puts-breaks-on-move-to-make-asylum-seekers-wait-in-mexico/

WATCH asylum-seekers march towards Europe after Turkey declares it will no longer hold them back
rt.com | 2020-02-28
Turkey has announced it will no longer hold back people who wish to go to Europe and seek asylum there amid an escalation in Syria. Some have been quick to rush towards coasts and borders before Ankara changes its mind. | Would-be irregular immigrants have started trickling closer to Europe after top Turkish officials said Ankara would deliver on its threat and open the floodgates of migrants on Europe. The hopefuls are gathering in the Edirne province, which borders Greece and Bulgaria, as well as on Turkey\'s Aegean coast close to the Greek island of Lesbos, AFP reported. | Anadolu Agency posted drone foot…
rt.com/news/481905-turkey-refugees-move-europe/

Syrian Refugees Rush Greece Border as Russia and Turkey Tangle
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-28
REYHANLI, Turkey

Greece tightens sea, land borders after Ankara\'s response to strike in Syria\'s Idlib
rt.com | 2020-02-28
Athens has tightened sea and land borders with Turkey after developments overnight in the Syrian region of Idlib, Reuters reported on Friday, citing government sources. A senior Turkish official said his country would no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe, as Ankara responded on Friday to the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces in Idlib. | The Greek sources said Athens was also in contact with the European Union and NATO on the matter. Greece was the main gateway for hundreds of thousands of refugees streaming out of Turkey in a mass exodus in 2015 a…
rt.com/newsline/481883-greece-borders-turkey-migrants/

Civil Rights Advocates Reject Trump\'s Denaturalization Office
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-28
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)and other NGOs defending the rights of migrants criticized the creation of a special office responsible for withdrawing citizenship because President Donald Trump administration could use it as a tool for his \"xenophobic and racist\" agenda. | RELATED: | Federal Judge Finds US in Contempt for Deporting Minors | \"The Trump Administration creates an office to try to abuse, frighten, and intimidate Latinos and all immigrants or refugees…
telesurenglish.net/news/Civil-Rights-Advocates-Reject-Trumps-Denaturalization-Office-20200228-0007.html

Doctors Without Borders: Cheap Coronavirus Diagnostic Kits Needed in War-Torn Areas & Refugee Camps
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
Across the U.S., officials report a severe shortage of test kits for coronavirus. New York officials say they\'re preparing their own kits, after kits distributed by the Centers for Disease Control failed validation tests. Meanwhile, new cases of coronavirus continue to spring up worldwide, with Nigeria reporting its first case and one of Iran\'s vice presidents testing positive. We discuss how MSF USA, or Doctors Without Borders USA, is responding to coronavirus, with the organization\'s executive director, Avril BenoàÆt.
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/avril_benoit_msf_usa_coronavirus

Cruel and unusual: Julian Assange\'s extradition hearing begins
Derek Royden | nationofchange.org | 2020-02-28
It\'s a slippery slope and in a world of so-called \'fake news\' could have negative consequences for journalists and whistle-blowers trying to speak truth to power far into the future.
nationofchange.org/2020/02/28/cruel-and-unusual-julian-assanges-extradition-hearing-begins/

Judge Orders Assange Held in Glass Box During Extradition Trial
Kevin Gosztola | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-28
In the United Kingdom, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces extradition to the U.S., a magistrate court judge decided he must remain isolated in a glass box at the back of the courtroom.
mintpressnews.com/judge-orders-julian-assange-glass-box-extradition-trial/265315/

Julian Assange, the Glass Cage and Heaven in a Rage: Day Four of Extradition Hearings
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-28
Thursday, February 27, Woolwich Crown Court. The first round of extradition hearings regarding Julian Assange\'s case concluded a day early, to recommence on May 18th. It ended on an insensible note very much in keeping with the woolly-headed reasoning of Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who is of the view that a WikiLeaks publisher in a cage …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/julian-assange-the-glass-cage-and-heaven-in-a-rage-day-four-of-extradition-hearings/

Julian Assange, the Glass Cage and Heaven in a Rage: Day Four of Extradition Hearings
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-28
Thursday, February 27, Woolwich Crown Court. The first round of extradition hearings regarding Julian Assange\'s case concluded a day early, to recommence on May 18th. It ended on an insensible note very much in keeping with the woolly-headed reasoning of Judge Vanessa Baraitser, who is of the view that a WikiLeaks publisher in a cage …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/julian-assange-the-glass-cage-and-heaven-in-a-rage-day-four-of-extradition-hearings/

Judge rules Assange cannot sit with lawyers during extradition hearing
wsws.org | 2020-02-28
The first week of the extradition hearing in USA v Julian Assange ended yesterday at Belmarsh Magistrates\' Court with Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejecting a submission from Assange\'s lawyers that he be allowed to sit with them in court.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/28/assa-f28.html

\"The working class needs to demand that Assange is released, not that the ruling class do it on their behalf\"
wsws.org | 2020-02-28
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to some of those attending the public rally held by the Socialist Equality Party (UK) in defence of Julian Assange on Sunday in London.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/28/ints-f28.html

Assange Extradition: Can a French Touch Pierce a Neo-Orwellian Farce?
Pepe Escobar | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-28
It\'s quite fitting that the

Cruel and unusual: Julian Assange\'s extradition hearing begins
Derek Royden | nationofchange.org | 2020-02-28
It\'s a slippery slope and in a world of so-called \'fake news\' could have negative consequences for journalists and whistle-blowers trying to speak truth to power far into the future.
nationofchange.org/2020/02/28/cruel-and-unusual-julian-assanges-extradition-hearing-begins/

Australia: Workers and youth call for intensification of Assange and Manning defence campaign
wsws.org | 2020-02-28
Queensland students and workers in Parramatta denounce the escalating government attacks on democratic rights.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/28/sepi-f28.html

Pentagon Papers Case Vindicates Julian Assange
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-28
On June 30, 1971, the US Supreme Court ruled that the NYT and Washington Post were legally permitted to publish what\'s known as the Pentagon Papers

Julian Assange, the Glass Cage and Heaven in a Rage: Day Four of Extradition Hearings
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-28
Thursday, February 27, Woolwich Crown Court. The first round of extradition hearings regarding Julian Assange\'s case concluded a day early, to recommence on May 18th. It ended on an insensible note very much in keeping with the …
globalresearch.ca/julian-assange-day-four-extradition-hearings/5704984

Punishing the Free Speech of Julian Assange
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-28
\"Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.\"

Julian Assange\'s father demands immediate bail for imprisoned son
wsws.org | 2020-02-28
John Shipton outlined his son\'s decade-long history of arbitrary detention in the UK.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/28/ship-f28.html

US and OAS lobby for Nicaraguan \'political prisoners\' who butcher their pregnant girlfriends
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-28
Ben Norton reports from Nicaragua, where the US embassy and OAS successfully lobbied for the release of violent criminals who…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/28/us-oas-nicaragua-political-prisoners-murder/

War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza\'s Offshore Gas Fields
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-28
The issue of sovereignty over Gaza\'s gas fields is crucial…
globalresearch.ca/war-and-natural-gas-the-israeli-invasion-and-gaza-s-offshore-gas-fields/11680

A Real Super Tuesday Calls for a Strong Progressive Media
Sonali Kolhatkar, Norman Solomon | commondreams.org | 2020-02-28
\"Along with boosting financial support for media outlets that serve their interests instead of corporate America,\" write Kolhatkar and Solomon, \"progressives should help to promote those outlets by methodically sharing information about them with friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers and others.\" (Image: iStock / Getty Images Plus) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/super_tuesday_progressive_coverage.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/28/real-super-tuesday-calls-strong-progressive-media?cd-origin=rss

Julian Bond Was a Radical Long Before MLK
Robert Scheer | truthdig.com | 2020-02-28
A new book shows how the activist\'s positions on issues like the Vietnam War and environmental justice helped move civil rights leaders left.
truthdig.com/articles/julian-bond-was-a-radical-long-before-mlk/

Witnessing the hell that a migrant can face
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-02-28
The Saudi-UAE war on Yemen has been going on for five years. Despite recent peace talks leading to an improvement in aid distribution, the violence has escalated in certain key districts of Yemen over the past two weeks. Since January, 35,000 Yemenis have been displaced from their homes, an indicator of the dangerous situation in […] | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/28/witnessing-the-hell-that-a-migrant-can-face/

George Monbiot nails why trolls are hell bent on vilifying people like Greta Thunberg
Tracy Keeling | thecanary.co | 2020-02-28
Greta Thunberg joined climate strikers in Bristol on 28 February. The trolls came out in force on Twitter to complain about the ideas and actions of the well-known climate activist. | Reading tweets from boomers complaining about #GretaThunberg is exactly why this planet is fucked |

George Monbiot nails why trolls are hell bent on vilifying people like Greta Thunberg
Tracy Keeling | thecanary.co | 2020-02-28
Greta Thunberg joined climate strikers in Bristol on 28 February. The trolls came out in force on Twitter to complain about the ideas and actions of the well-known climate activist. | Reading tweets from boomers complaining about #GretaThunberg is exactly why this planet is fucked |

US sees \'significant reduction\' in Afghan violence, prepares to sign historic deal with Taliban
rt.com | 2020-02-28
The US has seen a significant reduction in violence in Afghanistan during the past six days, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday. The statement comes the day before Washington hopes to sign an American troops withdrawal deal with the Taliban. | \"We have seen just these last six days a significant reduction in violence in Afghanistan,\" Pompeo told lawmakers in Washington. | \"We are watching closely to see if the Islamic Republic of Iran begins to take even more active measures… that undermine our efforts at peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,\" he said. | Pompeo\'s remark suggested that if the dr…
rt.com/newsline/481943-taliban-us-deal-afghanistan/

Trump announces US-Taliban peace deal, \'path forward to end war\' in Afghanistan
rt.com | 2020-02-28
President Donald Trump says the US is about to sign agreements with the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan that could provide a way for withdrawal of troops from that country after almost 20 years of war. | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed to Qatar, where he will witness the signing of an agreement with the Taliban in Doha, while Defense Secretary Mark Esper will \"issue a joint declaration\" with the government in Kabul, Trump announced on Friday. | If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and…
rt.com/news/481967-us-taliban-peace-signing-trump/

Free the Freeway 9
Curt Wechsler | indybay.org | 2020-02-28
RefuseFascism.org defendants face three years in jail for peaceful political protest in the face of LAPD & prosecutorial harassment. We demand charges be dropped.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/27/18831107.php

Free the Freeway 9
Curt Wechsler | indybay.org | 2020-02-28
RefuseFascism.org defendants face three years in jail for peaceful political protest in the face of LAPD & prosecutorial harassment. We demand charges be dropped.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/27/18831107.php

Sanctions: The Weaponization of the Global Financial System
San Jose Peace & Justice Center | indybay.org | 2020-02-28
San José Peace and Justice Center | 48 South 7th Street | San José, CA 95112 | Bus routes: 22, 522, 23, 523, 55, 64, 66, 68, 72, 73, 168, 181, 500, Hwy 17 Express, MST 55, LRT…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/25/18831060.php

A Difficult Peace
Sean Reynolds | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-28
Nearly a thousand of us were gathered in Chicago beneath the alarming edifice of Chicago\'s \"Trump Tower.\" Iran\'s General Qassem Soleimani had been brutally murdered the day before in Iraq, with several of his associates; and the welcome surprise of Iran\'s relatively measured response was yet a few days off. A region-wide conflagration seemed just …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/a-difficult-peace/

A Difficult Peace
Sean Reynolds | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-28
Nearly a thousand of us were gathered in Chicago beneath the alarming edifice of Chicago\'s \"Trump Tower.\" Iran\'s General Qassem Soleimani had been brutally murdered the day before in Iraq, with several of his associates; and the welcome surprise of Iran\'s relatively measured response was yet a few days off. A region-wide conflagration seemed just …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/a-difficult-peace/

Thousands Are Taking the Streets to Protest Suspension of Dominican Elections
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-28
Thousands in the Dominican Republic took to the streets of the capital Santo Domingo Thursday to protest the abrupt suspension of local elections earlier this month and to commemorate the country\'s Independence Day. Protests have been ongoing since February 16, after the government suspended the municipal elections four hours after voting began, alleging there were \"technical glitches\" in the electronic ballot machines used. The machines were previously used in October 2019, and they cost the D…
truthout.org/video/thousands-are-taking-the-streets-to-protest-suspension-of-dominican-elections/

Elementary School in NJ Latinx Community Fights Displacement by New Cancer Center & Gentrification
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
In New Jersey, hundreds rallied at the New Brunswick Board of Education meeting Tuesday night against plans to demolish a public school to make way for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and Rutgers University to build a new cancer center. Protesters included families and more than 30 children, who held signs reading \"Save our School!\" and \"Stop Gentrification.\" If approved, 760 third-through-eighth-graders at Lincoln Annex School would be moved to a former warehouse building on the outskirts of town as they await construction of a replacement school. Even worse, the proposed new school site is located on a \"brownfield…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/lincoln_annex_school_new_brunswick_nj

Elementary School in NJ Latinx Community Fights Displacement by Robert Wood Johnson Cancer Center
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
In New Jersey, hundreds rallied at the New Brunswick Board of Education meeting Tuesday night against plans to demolish a public school to make way for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and Rutgers University to build a new cancer center. Protesters included families and more than 30 children, who held signs reading \"Save our School!\" and \"Stop Gentrification.\" If approved, 760 third-through-eighth-graders at Lincoln Annex School would be moved to a former warehouse building on the outskirts of town as they await construction of a replacement school. Even worse, the proposed new school site is located on a \"brownfield…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/lincoln_annex_school_new_brunswick_nj

Israeli Soldiers Injure 70 Palestinians Near Nablus
IMEMC News | imemc.org | 2020-02-28
Israeli soldiers injured, Friday, at least seventy Palestinians, including a child who was shot with a live round in his back, in Jabal al-\'Arma Mountain, south of Nablus, in northern West Bank. The WAFA Palestinian News Agency has reported that dozens of residents went to the mountain to protest the …
imemc.org/article/113014/

In Dem Debates, Corporate Media Push a Militaristic Foreign Policy: An Interview with Sam Husseini
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-28
MintPress News recently spoke to Sam Husseini about how the media promotes militaristic and even xenophobic approaches to foreign policy during the primary debates.
mintpressnews.com/sam-husseini-media-promote-militaristic-foreign-policy-democratic-debates/265325/

In Dem Debates, Corporate Media Push a Militaristic Foreign Policy: An Interview with Sam Husseini
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-28
MintPress News recently spoke to Sam Husseini about how the media promotes militaristic and even xenophobic approaches to foreign policy during the primary debates.
mintpressnews.com/sam-husseini-media-promote-militaristic-foreign-policy-democratic-debates/265325/

Robert Reich: Bernie Sanders Is Not George McGovern
Robert Reich | truthdig.com | 2020-02-28
The day after Bernie Sanders\'s big win in Nevada, Joe Lockhart, Bill Clinton\'s former press secretary, expressed the fear gripping the Democratic establishment: \"I don\'t believe the country is prepared to support a Democratic socialist, and I agree with the theory that Sanders would lose in a matchup against Trump.\" | Lockart, like the rest of the Democratic establishment, is viewing American politics through obsolete lenses of left versus right, with Bernie on the extreme left and Trump on the far right. \"Moderates\" like Bloomberg and Buttigieg supposedly occupy the center, appealing to a broader swath of the…
truthdig.com/articles/robert-reich-bernie-sanders-is-not-george-mcgovern/

Turkey Mobilizes for War With Syria and Russia as Nearly 3 Dozen Turkish Troops Killed in Airstrike
Juan Cole | commondreams.org | 2020-02-28
More refugees from Syria are expected to enter Turkey as a result of the air strike in Syria yesterday that killed nearly 3 dozen Turkish soldiers. (Photo: Getty) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-02-28_at_12.00.02_pm.png …
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/28/turkey-mobilizes-war-syria-and-russia-nearly-3-dozen-turkish-troops-killed-0?cd-origin=rss

Kabul officials meet Taliban members in Qatar to discuss prisoner swap
rt.com | 2020-02-28
Afghan officials met Taliban members in Qatar on Friday to discuss a prisoner swap plan. The meeting in Doha was part of crucial confidence-building mechanism between the warring sides, two senior government officials in Kabul said. | The Taliban wants the release of over 5,000 detainees before launching direct negotiations with Kabul for a permanent ceasefire, a stumbling block in efforts to end the war. | The meeting came ahead of the US and Taliban deal that will set the timeline for the withdrawal of American troops who have been fighting in Afghanistan for 18 years. | A senior Taliban leader in Doha said…
rt.com/newsline/481933-afghan-taliban-swap-qatar/

Australian spy chief reveals fascistic networks, but minister attacks \"left-wing lunatics\"
wsws.org | 2020-02-28
Dutton\'s response shows that the real target of the government and the state apparatus is left-wing and socialist organisations, not violent, far-right groups.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/28/asio-f28.html

Sonia Sotomayor Just Issued a Serious Warning About the Supreme Court
Elie Mystal | thenation.com | 2020-02-28
Sonia Sotomayor Just Issued a Serious Warning About the Supreme Court…
thenation.com/article/politics/sotomayor-court-bias/

WATCH protesters hurl stones at police during second night of riots against migrant camps in Lesbos
rt.com | 2020-02-27
Scores of angry Greeks clashed with police on Wednesday night as violent protests continued over plans to build a new detention center for irregular migrants on the island of Lesbos, with dozens reported injured. | The Greek government plans to build new camps for refugees in response to overcrowding on Lesbos and four neighboring islands, Samos, Chios, Leros and Kos. Local residents were enraged with the news and used stones, sticks and fire to express their anger. The Greek police used tear gas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators on Wednesday night as rioting entered its third consecutive night. | T…
rt.com/news/481786-lesbos-migrants-night-protest/

Julian Assange, Political Offences and Legal Restraints: Day Three of Extradition Hearings
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-27
Wednesday, February 26, Woolwich Crown Court. Today, the focus shifted to the protagonist himself and the nature of the US-UK Extradition Treaty of 2003, a contentious document that shines all too favourably for US citizens. | Julian Assange, whose …
globalresearch.ca/julian-assange-political-offences-legal-restraints-day-three-extradition-hearings/5704876

Julian Assange Against the Imperium
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
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.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/julian-assange-against-the-imperium/

Free Assange and Manning! SEP and IYSSE to hold demonstration in Colombo
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
Assange and Manning are being persecuted because they dared to expose US war crimes and government corruption.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/sril-f27.html

Should Journalists Be Punished For Exposing War Crimes?
Caitlin Johnstone | zcomm.org | 2020-02-27
Source: Caitlinjohnstone.com This is a speech I gave yesterday at a demonstration for Assange with the Socialist Equality Party Australia. Tomorrow in the UK a judge will start the process of answering a very important question. It\'s a question that many of us knew was the heart of this debate back in 2010, ten years ago, Read…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/should-journalists-be-punished-for-exposing-war-crimes/

Julian Assange, Political Offences and Legal Restraints: Day Three of Extradition Hearings
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-27
Wednesday, February 26, Woolwich Crown Court. Today, the focus shifted to the protagonist himself and the nature of the US-UK Extradition Treaty of 2003, a contentious document that shines all too favourably for US citizens. Julian Assange, whose deteriorating condition has been noted for months by psychologists, doctors and UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Nils …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/julian-assange-political-offences-and-legal-restraints-day-three-of-extradition-hearings/

Julian Assange condemns court for preventing him from speaking to lawyers
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange issued a defiant protest in court yesterday, opposing the flagrant abuse of his legal rights in extradition proceedings brought against him by the United States government.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/assa-f27.html

\"The fight for Assange\'s freedom requires the political mobilisation of the working class\"
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
This speech was delivered by Oscar Grenfell, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) to a public rally in defence of Julian Assange, held in London on Sunday.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/osca-f27.html

John Pilger: Llegó el momento para que Julian Assange sea liberado, no traicionado
John Pilger | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-27
La verdad es que Australia podía haber rescatado a Julian Assange, y todavía puede. Los líderes de su tierra natal…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/26/john-pilger-julian-assange-liberado-traicionado/

Montreal: Demonstration outside US consulate demands freedom for Julian Assange
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
Speakers denounced the persecution of Assange as a major threat to democratic rights, exposed the complicity of Canada\'s ruling elite and stressed the importance of a global mobilization of the working class to secure his freedom.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/mont-f27.html

SF Demands Free Julian Assange & Goes Into UK Consulate Building Lobby
BACFJA | indybay.org | 2020-02-27
As part of world day of action to Free Julian Assange activists rallied in San Francisco and then briefly occupied the UK building lobby.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/24/18831024.php

A Difficult Peace‚Ä®
Sean Reynolds | zcomm.org | 2020-02-27
Nearly a thousand of us were gathered in Chicago beneath the alarming edifice of Chicago\'s \"Trump Tower.\" Iran\'s General Qassem Soleimani had been brutally murdered the day before in Iraq, with several of his associates; and the welcome surprise of Iran\'s relatively measured response was yet a few days off. A region-wide conflagration seemed just Read…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/a-difficult-peace%e2%80%a8/

Sanctions: The Weaponization of the Global Financial System
San Jose Peace & Justice Center | indybay.org | 2020-02-27
San José Peace and Justice Center | 48 South 7th Street | San José, CA 95112 | Bus routes: 22, 522, 23, 523, 55, 64, 66, 68, 72, 73, 168, 181, 500, Hwy 17 Express, MST 55, LRT…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/25/18831060.php

Campaigners win Court of Appeal ruling over Heathrow third runway
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-27
Campaigners trying to block Heathrow expansion have won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway.A group of councils in London affected by the expansion, environmental charities including Greenpeace, Friends Of The Earth and Plan B, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, brought legal action over the government\'s approval of the plans.Giving their ruling on 27 February, Lords Justice Lindblom, Singh and Haddon-Cave said the government failed to take account of its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change when setting out its support for the airport expansion in its National Poli…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/02/27/campaigners-win-court-of-appeal-ruling-over-heathrow-third-runway/

Return to Bahrain: Nine Years After the Uprisings, the Nation\'s Human Rights Record Has Worsened
Aya Majzoub | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
It\'s been nine years since Bahrain\'s February 2011 uprising. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in cities and towns across the country to protest the ruling Al Khalifa family\'s tight grip on power, discrimination against the country\'s majority Shia population, and arrests of political critics. The 2011 uprising itself came 10 years after the 2001…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/return-to-bahrain-nine-years-after-the-uprisings-the-nations-human-rights-record-has-worsened/

Trump in Modi\'s India
Kenneth Surin | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
I\'ve been in New Delhi for over a week, attending a conference organized by the Muslim-majority Jamia Millia Islamia University. Jamia has been a focal-point of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which came into law in December last year. The CAA provides a fast-track to citizenship for refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who sought refuge in India prior to 2015. The CAA does not however include Muslims, while including Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi refugees.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/trump-in-modis-india/

Indigenous Rights Are Trudeau\'s Last Priority
Robert Jago | thenation.com | 2020-02-27
Indigenous Rights Are Trudeau\'s Last Priority…
thenation.com/article/activism/wetsuweten-canada-pipeline-protests/

Bernie Finally Puts a Number on Cutting Military Spending
David Swanson | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
Bernie Sanders\' campaign has published a fact sheet on how everything he proposes can be paid for. On that fact sheet we find this line in a list of items that collectively will pay for a Green New Deal:…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/bernie-finally-puts-a-number-on-cutting-military-spending/

Toxic Agriculture and the Gates Foundation
Colin Todhunter | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-27
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was launched in 2000 and has $46.8 billion in assets (December 2018). It is the largest charitable foundation in the world and distributes more aid for global health than any government. One of the …
globalresearch.ca/toxic-agriculture-gates-foundation/5704895

32nd Sacramento Black Expo
Black Ag | indybay.org | 2020-02-27
The California Black Agriculture Working Group will co-host workshops, tours and information about participating throughout the $333 billion dollar California Working Landscape.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/26/18831069.php

The NYT\'s Analysis of Democratic Tax Plans: a Really Big Number Orgy
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
I have often gone after the media on printing large numbers that are meaningless to almost all their readers. The point is that when you throw out numbers in the millions, billions, and trillions, very few readers have any idea what these numbers mean. It is possible to make them meaningful by simply adding some…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/the-nyts-analysis-of-democratic-tax-plans-a-really-big-number-orgy/

Syria: \"Moderate Rebels\" or \"Intelligence Assets\"?
Mark Taliano | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-27
\"Moderates\" never existed except as an \"intelligence\" agency narrative to protect and arm all the terrorists. \"Rebels\" never existed except as an \"intelligence\" agency ploy to falsely portray a Regime Change war as a \"revolution\" or a \"civil war\". | Prof. | …
globalresearch.ca/democracy-infidels/5704649

Jammu and Kashmir Cannot be Reduced to Rubble
Nyla Ali Khan | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
While I have been highly critical of the extended detentions of former heads of government, former legislators, and a former civil services officer under the Public Safety Act (PSC), I cannot forget the 200 Kashmiri men being held in jails outside the Valley. These incarcerated Kashmiris have been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSC)…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/jammu-and-kashmir-cannot-be-reduced-to-rubble/

Trump Betrays His Promise to Protect and Fight for American Workers
Lawrence Wittner | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
Campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump promised that, if he was elected, \"American worker[s] will finally have a president who will protect them and fight for them.\" Has he kept this promise? When it comes to protecting workers\' health and safety, his administration has been a disaster. Once in office, Trump packed the leadership of U.S. regulatory agencies…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/trump-betrays-his-promise-to-protect-and-fight-for-american-workers/

Dancing Bears Weren\'t Having Fun
Brian Horejsi | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
People send me all sorts of wildlife related videos. Most recent was a series of bears dealing with an itch by rubbing parts of their body against a tree. When people watch a YouTube video, complete with music and voice over, of a bear \"dancing\", I get it that some people think this is \"cool\"
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/dancing-bears-werent-having-fun/

The Important Word in \"Democratic Socialism\" is Democratic
Jesse Jackson | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
fter the Nevada caucuses, Bernie Sanders is now the front-runner in the Democratic presidential race. In South Carolina, the next primary, former Vice President Joe Biden is the favorite, buoyed by his support among African American voters. But Sanders will come into the state with real momentum, having won the popular vote in each of…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/the-important-word-in-democratic-socialism-is-democratic/

Democratic Socialism: From Fromm to Sanders
John Stanton | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/democratic-socialism-from-fromm-to-sanders/

Wilderness Preservation is Our Best Protection Against Wildfires
George Wuerthner | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
In recent weeks, misinformed Douglas County, Oregon politicians have expressed opposition to the 500,000 acre Crater Lake Wilderness proposal based on the misguided belief that wilderness designation poses a wildfire threat. They argue that \"active management,\" meaning logging, can preclude or prevent such blazes. But this demonstrates a fundamental failure to understand fire ecology. Just…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/wilderness-preservation-is-our-best-protection-against-wildfires/

How We Stay Blind to the Story of Power
Jonathan Cook | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-27
If one thing drives me to write, especially these posts, it is the urgent need for us to start understanding power. Power is the force that shapes almost everything about our lives and our deaths. There is no more important issue. Understanding power and overcoming it through that understanding is the only path to liberation we can…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/27/how-we-stay-blind-to-the-story-of-power/

California confirms first possible \'community transmission\' of coronavirus as China reports fewest new fatalities in a month
rt.com | 2020-02-27
California health officials have detected what may be the first local transmission of the deadly COVID-19 virus in the US

Trump appoints VP Pence to lead coronavirus response, says US \'totally prepared\'
rt.com | 2020-02-27
US President Donald Trump brushed off concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus spreading in the US, saying containment measures so far have been very effective but that his government is also fully prepared if they fail. | Holding a press conference at the White House on Wednesday evening, shortly after returning from India, Trump told Americans not to panic and argued that the measures he ordered

The coronavirus pandemic and the need for global socialized medicine
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
A planned, rational deployment of worldwide medical and industrial resources is essential to keep the disease from potentially claiming millions of lives.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/pers-f27.html

No escape from low growth
C.P. Chandrasekhar | mronline.org | 2020-02-27
Discussions on the state of the world economy centre around the likely negative impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic and the potential positive effect of the truce reflected in the \"phase 1\" trade deal between China and India. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/27/no-escape-from-low-growth/

Save lives, earn money! Chinese city offers $1,000+ REWARD for self-reporting coronavirus symptoms in bid to quell outbreak
rt.com | 2020-02-27
A city in China decided that a money giveaway would be the best motivation for people to report coronavirus symptoms to authorities as the death toll from the infection continues to grow. | The new measure is set to \"incentivize\" residents to report their symptoms to authorities, the disease prevention taskforce of the city of Qianjiang in central Hubei Province said in a notice on Thursday. | According to the scheme, those whose diagnosis is confirmed will be paid 10,000 yuan ($1,426). Likewise, people who cannot be immediately ruled out as having contracted the disease will be given 1,000 yuan ($142.50), whi…
rt.com/news/481790-china-coronavirus-symptoms-reward/

Major bank sees abysmal demand growth for oil
rt.com | 2020-02-27
Oil prices could bounce around between $50 and $70 through 2025, with both demand growth and supply growth slowing, according to a new report. | The oil market faces a steep supply surplus in the near-term due to the coronavirus and the prospect of demand destruction and economic deceleration. But the US shale industry likely won\'t rebound from its current slump, at least not to the explosive growth rates of recent years, keeping supply in check. | \"Shale production economics in the US continue to point to a Brent price floor around $50/bbl or a WTI price floor of $45/bbl,\" Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote…
rt.com/business/481798-bank-sees-low-oil-demand/

Is the World about to witness the end of the war in Afghanistan?
M.K. Bhadrakumar | mronline.org | 2020-02-27
Neither the Indian political leadership nor the \"deep state\" seems to grasp that the geopolitics of the South Asian region is transforming with far-reaching consequences. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/26/is-the-world-about-to-witness-the-end-of-the-war-in-afghanistan/

Attacks against Sanders intensify ahead of South Carolina primary
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
Sanders\' opponents are warning that he may take an insurmountable lead in delegates in the 14 states voting next Tuesday.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/dems-f27.html

China\'s Foreign Ministry summons US embassy official over Pompeo\'s threat to eject Chinese reporters, promises response
rt.com | 2020-02-27
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has called for a meeting with a US embassy official after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened to expel Chinese reporters working in the US, as the two sides become embroiled in a \"press war.\" | \"In recent years, the US government has adopted various restrictions on Chinese news organizations in the United States,\" said Hua Chunying, head of the Foreign Ministry\'s news department. | \"If the US takes further harassment and restriction measures against Chinese news organizations in the US, the Chinese side will certainly respond further.\" | The stern statement comes after the T…
rt.com/news/481771-china-reporters-summons-ambassador/

Pants on fire! Joe Biden\'s campaign says he was never \'arrested\' trying to visit Nelson Mandela
rt.com | 2020-02-27
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden claimed he was arrested in the 1970s while trying to visit jailed South African civil rights campaigner Nelson Mandela. After critics called him out, his campaign now denies the claim. | Courting the black vote in South Carolina and Nevada this month, Biden brought up his 1970s visit to South Africa when he was a senator for Delaware. He told a South Carolina crowd that he \"had the great honor of being arrested with our UN ambassador on the streets of Soweto trying to get to see [Mandela] on Robben Island.\" At a black history awards event in Las Vegas last week, he cla…
rt.com/news/481767-biden-not-arrested-mandela/

Nude Monthly Freedom Walk
Gypsy Taub | indybay.org | 2020-02-27
Nude Monthly Freedom Walk – Sunday, March 1st at 12 Noon at Jane Warner Plaza…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/25/18831038.php

The Chicago Police Department\'s History of Torture
Edward Burmila | thenation.com | 2020-02-27
The Chicago Police Department\'s History of Torture…
thenation.com/article/culture/lawrence-ralph-torture-letters-review/

Mohawks urge Tohono O\'odham to blockade border wall and offer help
Brenda Norrell | indybay.org | 2020-02-27
Mark Maracle of the Mohawk Warrior Society said Tohono O\'odham should shut down construction of the border wall. Maracle said Mohawks stand ready to help them and fear should not control their minds.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/26/18831063.php

Smoking and drinking link to recreational drug use by young people: UN-backed report
news.un.org | 2020-02-27
The use of alcohol and tobacco by young people and children is closely linked to the use of illicit drugs, a UN-backed narcotics control body warned on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1058151

Report Back from Lockdown at Chase Corporate Offices in Solidarity with Wet\'suwet\'en
It\'s Going Down | indybay.org | 2020-02-27
The following is an account from the Indigenous group who participated in the Chase corporate office lockdown in so-called San Francisco, California, in solidarity with the Wet\'suwet\'en.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/24/18831031.php

MSM\'s insatiable anti-Sanders venom forces them to dig through archives & smear veteran American reporter (because Russia!)
rt.com | 2020-02-27
Mainstream outlets are so determined to derail Bernie Sanders\' campaign, they\'ve dug up a 2016 interview of his wife with RT\'s late host Ed Schultz

They dive from the sky & gun down panicked enemy: Russian special forces day celebrated with action-packed VIDEO
rt.com | 2020-02-27
Russia\'s highly secretive Special Operations Forces, which get the most demanding and sensitive tasks and may go deep into enemy territory, are marking their professional day. Here is how the commandos look in action. | The SpecOp branch of the Russian military fields highly trained fighters, who know how to infiltrate behind enemy lines and wreak havoc with sabotage, organizing guerilla forces and other forms of clandestine action. | It was created over a decade ago as a distinct command, directly answering to the General Staff, but it only got a professional holiday in 2015. A video showcasing skills and equ…
rt.com/russia/481805-russian-special-operations-forces/

Putin\'s here, there & everywhere? Russian President says idea of using lookalike once floated
rt.com | 2020-02-27
For a long time, rumors persisted in Russia that Vladimir Putin was using a double or two. Now the Russian President has revealed the idea was once considered, but rejected. | The notion that the original Putin, who became Russian prime minister in 1999, is long dead is among the more popular conspiracy theories doing the rounds. Believers have come up with diagrams showing purported lookalikes of the Russian president, each alleged to have a specific purpose. | –ì–¥–µ –Ω–∞–Å–Ç–æ–è–â–&…
rt.com/russia/481793-putin-double-idea-considered/

Centrist Candidates Are Losing the Plot
Bill Boyarsky | truthdig.com | 2020-02-27
I thought I might end up watching an Iowa-style meltdown when my cousin, a precinct chair in Nevada, invited me to Reno to watch the complicated vote counting at the Nevada Democratic caucuses on Feb. 24, less than three weeks after Iowa\'s disaster. | I hate to admit it, being a cynical correspondent for a skeptical progressive website, but things went pretty well. Those tallying up the votes appeared to be honest and dedicated to doing a good job. | The participants gathered at Swope Middle School on a Sunday morning were in a good mood. Under the direction of chairs like my cousin, they divided up quickly, as t…
truthdig.com/articles/centrist-candidates-are-losing-the-plot/

Germany: Nazi terrorist group planned mass murder of Muslims
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
German police arrested 12 right-wing extremists who were actively preparing mass murder against refugees, Muslims and political opponents.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/nazi-f27.html

In alliance with Workers\' Party, Bolsonaro sends Brazilian army to contain police strike
wsws.org | 2020-02-27
Bolsonaro\'s use of the army for domestic repression and his granting troops a license to kill with impunity are in continuity with policies pursued by the PT when it was in power.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/27/braz-f27.html