Democratic rights
University of Michigan terminates provost amid unspecified sexual misconduct allegations
By James Brookfield, 18 March 2020
Statements from the university and reports in the press amalgamated Martin Philbert’s case with that of a university physician alleged to have committed multiple acts of sexual assault against athletes over the course of decades at UM.
Australian government to use “foreign interference” laws against China-linked targets
By Mike Head, 18 March 2020
Under US pressure, the Morrison government is making Chinese people the initial victims of the legislation, to help create the conditions to more broadly outlaw anti-war and anti-government political activity.
UK: NHS anticipates year-long coronavirus crisis and 8 million hospitalised
By Thomas Scripps, 17 March 2020
The UK, along with much of the rest of the world, faces a prolonged social emergency which will affect the lives of millions.
Fund drive to pay Chelsea Manning’s court fines raises $267,000 in two days
By Kevin Reed, 16 March 2020
Within two days of Manning’s release from jail, a GoFundMe campaign organized by her supporters raised more than enough to pay the punitive fines imposed on her for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Chelsea Manning released from jail after grand jury is dismissed by US federal court
By Kevin Reed, 13 March 2020
Manning, who had been in prison for a year for refusing to testify before a secret grand jury empaneled as part of the conspiracy against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, was released following her attempted suicide on Wednesday.
French female lawyers publish open letter defending filmmaker Roman Polanski and the presumption of innocence
By Will Morrow, 13 March 2020
In its defense of democratic rights, the letter is an indictment not only of the anti-Polanski witch-hunt, but the entire #MeToo campaign that began in the US two years ago.
Italy’s coronavirus epidemic surges as mass layoffs announced
By Allison Smith, 12 March 2020
Not a single European Union country has responded to Italy’s appeal for desperately-needed emergency medical supplies.
Riot police fire “pepper balls” at University of Dayton students ordered to evacuate campus housing within 24 hours
By Genevieve Leigh, 12 March 2020
Students have taken to social media to voice their outrage over the police crackdown after the university ordered an evacuation of student housing due to the coronavirus.
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison: “Obscene” culmination to a travesty of a trial
By David Walsh, 12 March 2020
Judge Burke handed out nearly the maximum possible sentence. Weinstein was found guilty February 24 on charges of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
House Democrats work overtime to renew US government surveillance law
By Kevin Reed, 12 March 2020
Leading Democrats forced a bipartisan bill onto the House floor that approves the continued spying on US citizens in violation of fundamental democratic rights.
International Bar Association condemns British attacks on Assange’s legal rights
By Oscar Grenfell, 12 March 2020
Michael Kirby, the co-chair of the IBA’s Human Rights Institute, branded Assange’s treatment as “shocking and excessive” and likened it to the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib.
As oil prices plunge and coronavirus spreads, Russian oligarchy seeks to keep Putin in power indefinitely
By Clara Weiss, 12 March 2020
The Russian ruling class is trying to prepare for massive social and political unrest.
Trump’s coronavirus address: Ignorance, xenophobia and helplessness
By James Cogan and Andre Damon, 12 March 2020
In remarks consisting largely of self-praise, Trump proposed no measures that would slow the spread of the disease and mitigate its effects.
Julian Assange’s mother, doctors warn he is at heightened risk due to coronavirus
By Oscar Grenfell, 11 March 2020
In comments to the WSWS, Dr Stephen Frost warned that “the UK government is effectively playing Russian roulette with Julian Assange’s life” and demanded that he be released from Belmarsh Prison immediately.
Australian government moves to boost data-swapping with US spy network
By Mike Head, 9 March 2020
These developments underscore the fear in ruling circles that working people worldwide use encrypted messages to discuss and organise free of government eaves-dropping.
Greek police shoot at refugees using live ammunition
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 9 March 2020
More than 10,000 people are trapped in the Greek-Turkey border area, unable to move backward or forward.
Spain’s PSOE-Podemos government sends police to Greece to attack migrants
By Alejandro López, 9 March 2020
The pseudo-left is complicit in the dispatching of police to Greece, where far right thugs are attacking refugees with the complicity of the government.
#MeToo campaign shows its ultra-right colors: Hachette Book Group suppresses Woody Allen’s memoir
By David Walsh, 9 March 2020
Hachette announced Friday it would not publish filmmaker-comic Woody Allen’s memoir at the behest of journalist Ronan Farrow and in the face of protests by its own employees.
German government incites racism with commemoration of right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau, refugee policy
By Peter Schwarz, 9 March 2020
The state has not “underestimated” the danger posed by the far-right, but rather systematically incited and encouraged it.
Australian Labor MP feigns concern over US extradition of Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 7 March 2020
Penny Wong did not differ with government representatives, who explicitly endorsed the British judiciary’s brutal attacks on Assange’s legal and democratic rights.
As anger mounts over Assange’s persecution, former foreign minister Carr calls for moral appeals to Australian government
By Richard Phillips, 6 March 2020
Veteran Labor leader Bob Carr is attempting to divert the growing movement for the release of Assange into dead-end appeals to the Australian parliament.
Australian parliamentary parties endorse British show trial of Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 March 2020
As Assange faced a legal travesty, government ministers declared their faith in British “due process,” while the Labor Party maintained its silence.
Defender 2020: Largest mobilisation of NATO troops against Russia in 25 years
By Markus Salzmann, 4 March 2020
Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, the scale of NATO's provocative military exercise underscores how far advanced the preparations for war are.
Australian government revives plan for internal electronic surveillance
By Mike Head, 4 March 2020
Under the guise of combatting on-line paedophilia, the Australian Signals Directorate is to be handed domestic spying powers.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Anatomy of a cover-up—Part 1
By Alice Summers, 3 March 2020
The 900-page report largely ignores or minimises the criminality of cost-cutting companies and a complicit Conservative Party-run local authority.
Jeremy Corbyn’s criminal silence during Julian Assange’s extradition hearing
By Chris Marsden, 2 March 2020
Corbyn said nothing when he could have raised Assange’s fate in Parliament every single day, informing millions of the fundamental violation of his democratic rights.
Rally in defence of Julian Assange held in Zurich
By our correspondents, 2 March 2020
In Zurich, Marianne Arens spoke on behalf of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party—SGP) and called for the mobilisation of the working class in Assange’s defence.
Brisbane rally calls for freedom for Assange and Manning
By our correspondent, 2 March 2020
Participants applauded and cheered the speakers as they denounced the Australian government’s complicity in the abuses of Assange’s basic legal rights.
999 Court ruling on tech companies and First Amendment
29 February 2020
Judge rules Assange cannot sit with lawyers during extradition hearing
By Thomas Scripps and Laura Tiernan, 28 February 2020
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.
ABC News suspends veteran reporter who called himself a socialist, criticized network in secret recording
By Matthew Taylor, 28 February 2020
In the video ABC News reporter David Wright criticized the network for abandoning serious reporting in favor of sensationalism.
Australian spy chief reveals fascistic networks, but minister attacks “left-wing lunatics”
By Mike Head, 28 February 2020
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.
Interviews from SEP (UK) public rally
“The working class needs to demand that Assange is released, not that the ruling class do it on their behalf”
By our reporters, 28 February 2020
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.
Julian Assange’s father demands immediate bail for imprisoned son
By our reporters, 28 February 2020
John Shipton outlined his son’s decade-long history of arbitrary detention in the UK.
Julian Assange condemns court for preventing him from speaking to lawyers
By Thomas Scripps and Laura Tiernan, 27 February 2020
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.
“The fight for Assange’s freedom requires the political mobilisation of the working class”
By Oscar Grenfell, 27 February 2020
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.
Persecuted journalist Assange handcuffed, stripped naked on first day of extradition trial
By Thomas Scripps and Laura Tiernan, 26 February 2020
As proceedings were due to begin, a court official told WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson that he was barred from the public gallery.
EU police departments preparing massive international facial recognition database
By Kevin Reed, 25 February 2020
Leaked internal documents reveal that the EU and police organizations within its member nations are developing the technology and legislative framework for integrating facial recognition profiles into a massive biometric database to be shared between countries and with the US.
The show trial of Julian Assange begins
By James Cogan, 25 February 2020
The first day of the British court hearing yesterday to determine if WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange will be extradited to the United States left no doubt that what is taking place is a legal travesty that threatens both Assange’s life and fundamental democratic rights.
Assange extradition trial opens in London
By Thomas Scripps and Laura Tiernan, 25 February 2020
Amid growing popular outrage over the railroading of Assange to a US prison, lawyers for the Department of Justice sought to reframe the charges against him.
Hundreds protest outside Woolwich Crown Court to demand Assange’s freedom
By our reporters, 25 February 2020
Protesters were not allowed anywhere near the building, kept behind barricades and an imposing steel fence by security and police.
Socialist Equality Party (UK) holds London rally in defence of Assange and Manning
By our reporter, 24 February 2020
The meeting was attended by more than 130 workers, youth and students who came from all over the UK.
Don’t Extradite Assange campaign calls on Boris Johnson to intervene
By Robert Stevens, 24 February 2020
The struggle to free Julian Assange requires an implacable struggle by the working class against the Johnson and Trump governments now conspiring to silence him forever.
“The release of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning is up to us”
Australian and New Zealand demonstrations demand freedom for WikiLeaks founder and US whistleblower
By our reporters, 24 February 2020
The weekend rallies point to growing international support for Assange and Manning and a deeper political understanding and determination to fight by important layers of students, workers and youth.
999 JK video on Assange
24 February 2020
New conflict of interest evidence against UK judge in charge of Assange extradition process
By Kevin Reed, 22 February 2020
Fresh evidence has emerged that the chief magistrate overseeing the extradition trial of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has received financial benefits from organizations connected to the UK Foreign Office.
“This is the Dreyfus case of our age”
UK Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell visits Julian Assange in Belmarsh Prison
By Oscar Grenfell, 21 February 2020
McDonnell described the Assange case as “one of the most important and significant political trials of this generation,” but made clear that his party will do nothing to mobilise the immense popular support that exists for the WikiLeaks publisher.
Veteran “Four Corners” journalist Andrew Fowler denounces Australian government’s refusal to defend Assange
By Richard Phillips and James Cogan, 21 February 2020
“The persecution of Assange is an attack on anyone who speaks out against the power and authority of the United States. It is a warning to every journalist: ‘Pull your head in. Shut up. Don’t question.’”
Lawyers file new motion demanding release of Chelsea Manning
By Kevin Reed, 20 February 2020
Lawyers for Manning, the courageous whistleblower who has been in prison for eleven months for refusing to testify before a secret grand jury in the case of Julian Assange, have filed a new motion in federal court demanding her release.
Growing support for Julian Assange on eve of extradition hearings
By Oscar Grenfell, 20 February 2020
The fight for Assange’s freedom requires the mobilisation of the working class, not moral appeals to capitalist politicians.
FBI and Department of Justice reject Freedom of Information Act document request by SEP National Chairman David North
By the WSWS Editorial Board, 20 February 2020
The US government declares that the Socialist Equality Party and World Socialist Web Site chairman’s request for documents obtained through surveillance of his political activities threatens “national security and foreign intelligence.”
Assange defence team: “The empire calls it espionage. We call it journalism”
By Thomas Scripps, 19 February 2020
A packed press conference was addressed by WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, lawyer Jennifer Robinson and Australian MPs Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen.
Australian MPs visit Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison
By Oscar Grenfell, 19 February 2020
Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen said they agreed with UN official Nils Melzer’s assessment that Assange is the victim of psychological torture.
German politicians and cultural professionals demand release of Julian Assange
By Peter Schwarz, 19 February 2020
Some 130 prominent initial signatories, including nine former federal ministers, are demanding the “immediate release of Julian Assange, on medical grounds as well on the basis of the rule of law.”
Labour Party leadership candidates profess Zionism at Jewish Labour Movement hustings
By Robert Stevens, 18 February 2020
After Corbyn’s four years in office, the Blairites are on the verge of winning back the leadership amid the threat of mass expulsions of Corbyn supporters.
Australian media maintains an unconscionable blackout on the case of Julian Assange
By James Cogan, 17 February 2020
Meetings should be convened by the staff of every media organisation and resolutions adopted opposing Assange’s extradition and insisting that his case is accurately and honestly reported.
Alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Joshua Schulte on trial in New York
By Oscar Grenfell, 15 February 2020
The court hearings, over the Vault 7 leaks exposing mass CIA spying and hacking operations, have been subjected to a near total media blackout.
Chicago high school students hold sit-in in defense of students who refused to stand for national anthem
By Andy Thompson, 15 February 2020
The sit-in is an example of young peoples’ complete rejection of nationalism and racism promoted by the ruling class.
#MeToo collaborates with fascistic forces to block showing of Polanski’s film J’Accuse
By Alex Lantier, 15 February 2020
Allied with the reactionary Macron government, #MeToo demands the censorship of Polanski’s brilliant account of the anti-Semitic frame-up of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, which was a seminal event in modern French history.
UK government spearheads anti-migrant crackdown with deportation of Jamaican nationals
By Thomas Scripps, 14 February 2020
Under Britain’s deeply reactionary UK Borders Act 2007, any offence can serve as a pretext for deportation.
Spectre of the 1930s
Sound the alarm! Political conspiracy and the resurgence of fascism in Germany
By David North and Johannes Stern, 14 February 2020
Last week’s decision by the Christian Democratic Union in the federal state of Thuringia to elect a state premier together with the right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany exposes the filthy state of German politics.
US spied on governments for decades through secret ownership of Swiss encryption firm
By Kevin Reed, 13 February 2020
The revelations that the CIA and NSA have been spying on the diplomatic cables of governments around the world for the past five decades demonstrates that the American imperialism has long operated as a law unto itself in world affairs.
Petition for Assange’s freedom tabled again in Australian parliament
By Mike Head, 13 February 2020
Despite the powerful public support and strongly expressed sentiments of the petition, its tabling received virtually no coverage in the corporate media.
Woman who killed UK teenager Harry Dunn was a CIA spy
By Thomas Scripps, 11 February 2020
The Dunn family’s legal spokesman, Radd Seiger, explained it is “high time that the nation can see with full transparency whether or not the government prioritised protecting the identity of the Sacoolas family over the welfare and rights of Harry’s family.”
“I fear for the future of democracy in Britain”
Protesters speak out at demonstration against Tory government deportation plans
By our reporters, 11 February 2020
WSWS reporters spoke with those attending Monday night’s demonstration outside Downing Street in London demanding an immediate halt to all deportation flights.
UK government carries out deportation of around 20 Jamaican nationals
By Robert Stevens, 11 February 2020
The men on board were among 700 immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers being held at two immigration detention removal centres near Heathrow Airport—Colnbrook and Harmondsworth.
Dr. Lissa Johnson calls for workers and young people to rally in defence of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning
11 February 2020
“Everyone who recognises the need, before it is too late, to take a stand against gross injustice and for fundamental democratic rights should attend the rallies.”
UK: Vigil remembers Errol Graham, pays tribute to family’s fight for justice
By our reporters, 10 February 2020
At the vigil, friends, family and local community members held placards bearing Errol’s photograph and condemning the Department for Work and Pensions welfare sanctions that have claimed hundreds of lives.
The Trump administration’s surveillance dragnet
By Niles Niemuth, 10 February 2020
The massive breach of the right to privacy, first justified by President Bush in the guise of the “war on terror,” then expanded under President Obama, is now being utilized in Trump’s fascistic war on immigrants.
Australian pseudo-left seeks to cover up its abandonment of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange
By Patrick O’Connor, 10 February 2020
Socialist Alternative’s article, “The betrayal of Julian Assange,” is a crude attempt to cover up its own role in the “betrayal” of the WikiLeaks publisher.
South Dakota House passes reactionary anti-transgender bill
By Noel Katsuki and George Gallanis, 8 February 2020
House Bill 1057 targets transgender youth by criminalizing the provision of gender transition care to minors by doctors.
UK: Johnson uses Trump’s playbook in attack on media
By Robert Stevens, 8 February 2020
The events on Monday were more reminiscent of a tin pot dictatorship than that of an elected government.
Far-right AfD plays role of kingmaker in German state election
By Christoph Vandreier, 7 February 2020
For the first time since the end of the Third Reich, a state premier was elected on Wednesday with the votes of a far-right, fascist party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Democratic governor gives right-wing response to Trump State of the Union address
By Joseph Lorenz, 7 February 2020
The Democratic Party rebuttal included hypocritical invocations of democracy, demagogic appeals to struggling workers and falsification of the party’s reactionary record.
Interview with international model Andreja Pejic: “I think standing behind Assange and Manning is where we should all be”
By Sue Phillips and Will Marshall, 7 February 2020
The WSWS spoke with Andreja Pejic about the campaign to free Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning and broader political issues.
999 south dakota
7 February 2020
Emergency legislation for terror law offenders in UK sets anti-democratic precedent
By Thomas Scripps, 6 February 2020
Whatever measures are used initially against terrorists will be deployed more widely against workers and youth who defy the class war offensive of the ruling elite.
UN rapporteur Nils Melzer exposes British government attempts to obstruct his defence of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 February 2020
That the British government is simultaneously stonewalling Melzer’s inquiries, and apparently conducting a behind-the-scenes campaign against him, underscores the flagrant illegality of the entire US-led vendetta against Assange.
New Jersey teenager fired from Five Guys for allegedly insulting police officers
By Erik Schreiber, 5 February 2020
Five Guys management aims to browbeat its employees into showing unquestioning respect and obedience to the police.
The Iowa caucuses debacle
By Patrick Martin, 5 February 2020
All the filth and corruption of capitalist politics is being poured into the 2020 elections to counter the shift to the left among youth and working people.
Renowned Harvard chemistry professor charged with lying about ties to China
By Kevin Reed, 3 February 2020
There can be no question that the arrest of Dr. Charles Lieber is meant to intimidate American scientists from engaging in any way with their Chinese colleagues on scientific projects.
Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly calls for Assange’s release, condemns threatened extradition
By Oscar Grenfell, 3 February 2020
Members of the assembly undoubtedly recognised that their report on media freedom would have no credibility if it remained silent on Europe’s most famous imprisoned journalist and publisher.
Assange would be held in “darkest corner of the prison system” if extradited to the US
By Oscar Grenfell, 1 February 2020
If dispatched to the US, the WikiLeaks founder will be held in extreme isolation—conditions usually inflicted on individuals convicted of terrorism offences.
Elizabeth Warren issues call for internet censorship
By Patrick Martin, 31 January 2020
While nominally directed against Russia and right-wing “trolls,” the proposal would open the way to a sweeping attack on the democratic rights of the American people.
Australia: Alice Springs group condemns silence of “Bring Assange Home” parliamentary group
By our reporters, 31 January 2020
“It is now more than three months since your group was established but it has done nothing of substance in this time.”
999 Maryland police killing
31 January 2020
Australian government calls for national emergency powers
By Mike Head, 30 January 2020
Under the guise of dealing with bushfires and other disasters, Prime Minister Morrison is seeking to boost the powers of the state apparatus to suppress unrest.
“This ain’t a nice place to be: This ain’t Belmarsh, it’s Hellmarsh”
ITV documentary reveals conditions in prison holding WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange
By Paul Bond, 30 January 2020
Despite going unmentioned, Assange’s deteriorating health and the concerns of independent medical professionals about his effective solitary confinement in the health care unit hung silently over the programme.
Edward Snowden warns that Assange and Greenwald prosecutions mark new stage in assault on press freedom
By Oscar Grenfell, 30 January 2020
The NSA whistleblower wrote: “The most essential journalism of every era is precisely that which a government attempts to silence. These prosecutions demonstrate that they are ready to stop the presses—if they can.”
How Canada’s corporate media smeared WikiLeaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange
By Roger Jordan, 30 January 2020
Canada’s leading media outlets have vilified Assange, while bemoaning the impact of WikiLeaks’ exposures on the global interests of American and Canadian imperialism.
Democrats embrace war hawk Bolton in Trump impeachment trial
By Patrick Martin, 28 January 2020
The carefully timed leak of Bolton’s White House revelations has overshadowed the defense mounted by Trump’s attorneys in the Senate impeachment trial.
German government bans neo-Nazi group “Combat 18 Deutschland”
By Peter Schwarz, 28 January 2020
It was above all the fact that the close links between the militant neo-Nazi scene, the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) and the secret service could not be so easily covered up after the murder of leading Christian Democrat Walter Lübcke that persuaded Seehofer to take action.
Australian Labor parliamentarian demands nationalist “pledge of allegiance” for school children
By Patrick O’Connor, 28 January 2020
Aspiring Labor leader Tanya Plibersek delivered a jingoistic speech demanding that children recite a pledge of allegiance to the country.
US Supreme Court considers ending ban on public funding for religious schools
By Nancy Hanover, 28 January 2020
On January 22, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a deeply reactionary case which takes aim at both the democratic principle of separation of church and state and the right to free, universal public education.
French “Yellow Vests” rally for Julian Assange outside London’s Belmarsh Prison
By our reporters, 27 January 2020
The protest testified to the global scope of the support for Assange, despite the relentless lies and slanders that have been directed against him by the corporate media.
“People are waking up and if we ‘yellow vests’ succeed, and if Julian Assange gets out, something huge will have happened which could prevent many wars”
An interview with a “yellow vest” protester on the fight to free Julian Assange
By Alice Summer, 27 January 2020
Corinne was one of around 100 protesters who came from France to take part in Saturday’s rally in support of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange outside Belmarsh prison.
Murder of Slovakian journalist Ján Kuciak reveals close ties between political establishment, corporate elite and criminal underworld
By Markus Salzmann, 27 January 2020
The reintroduction of capitalism did not bring democracy, freedom, and prosperity, but the opposite.
“We hope this protest will inspire others”
French “yellow vests” protest for Assange outside Belmarsh prison in London
By Alex Lantier, 25 January 2020
The protests point to the deeply-rooted opposition among workers internationally to US and European governments’ relentless campaign to destroy Assange.
As extradition hearing dates are set, US Department of Justice argues Assange has no First Amendment rights
By Laura Tiernan, 24 January 2020
The latest evidence submitted by the US government underscores the fundamental democratic issues at stake in the decade-long illegal persecution and witch-hunting of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
Consortium News sues for libel over claims it aided “Russian disinformation” campaign against Canada
By Kevin Reed, 24 January 2020
Consortium News has filed libel lawsuits against a Canadian state security agency and a television network over their false claims that the Virginia-based independent news organization spearheaded a pro-Russian disinformation campaign in Canada.
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