Democratic rights
Pamela Anderson defends Assange, challenges McCain’s daughter on US TV
By Oscar Grenfell, 9 September 2019
Anderson’s powerful refutation of the official smears against Assange demonstrated why the corporate media has instituted an almost universal blackout on the WikiLeaks founder.
Another police-state raid in Australia to protect spy agencies
By Mike Head, 7 September 2019
The Morrison government is stepping-up an offensive on democratic rights at the Trump administration’s behest.
Peter Greste’s panel discussion in Sydney: Support for censorship and throwing Assange to the wolves
By James Cogan, 7 September 2019
Greste advocates the anti-democratic conception that a “responsible journalist” censors information that is deemed too controversial for the population to know.
Pentagon begins second phase of diverting funds to Trump’s border wall
By Patrick Martin, 5 September 2019
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has selected $3.6 billion worth of military construction projects that will be deferred to help pay for the wall on the US-Mexico border.
Schools begin in Denver amid sweltering heat and ongoing protests
By Bill Knowles, 5 September 2019
Many Denver teachers, still reeling from the betrayal of their strike last February, have been forced to return to the classrooms in scorching heat.
Media blacks out Roger Waters’ performance in defence of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 September 2019
The media silence is an act of political censorship, carried out in order to assist the US and British governments persecute WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
Stop the deportation of the Biloela refugee family from Australia!
By the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), 4 September 2019
The fight to defend refugees can only advance through a struggle by the working class against the right-wing nationalist policies of the entire political establishment, including Labor and the Greens.
Roger Waters and John Pilger make powerful defence of Julian Assange in London
By our reporters, 3 September 2019
Pilger stated: “By defending Julian Assange, we defend our most sacred rights. Speak up now or wake up one morning to the silence of a new kind of tyranny.”
Australia: Whistleblower trials proceed despite outcry
By Mike Head, 3 September 2019
The Morrison government rejects calls to drop the prosecution of people who exposed the criminal activities of the country’s US-linked spy agencies and armed forces.
Roger Waters holds concert on Monday
Take forward the fight to free Julian Assange!
By Joseph Kishore, 2 September 2019
Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning are the victims of a monstrous criminal conspiracy, involving the most powerful governments in the world, the intelligence agencies and the corporate media.
Australian government moves to deport Tamil refugees despite mass opposition
By Oscar Grenfell, 2 September 2019
The family has been transferred to Christmas Island, where they have been placed in substandard accommodation and given expired food.
Former Fed official calls on central bank to end accommodation to Trump
By Nick Beams, 31 August 2019
An extraordinary intervention by former New York Federal Reserve president Bill Dudley reflects rising political tensions, fuelled by the growing prospect of a US recession.
Home video security systems increasingly linked to US police departments in violation of democratic rights
By Kevin Reed, 31 August 2019
More than 400 police department partnerships have been established by Amazon’s Ring home security system across the US over the past year.
New York Police Department collecting DNA from unsuspecting workers and youth
By Erik Schreiber, 31 August 2019
In violation of Fourth Amendment protection, the policy has targeted individuals who have not been accused of any crime.
Johnson’s proroguing of Parliament: The British ruling class declares war on democratic rights
By Chris Marsden, 30 August 2019
The move by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to prorogue the “Mother of Parliaments” and govern by executive fiat is part of a turn toward dictatorial forms of rule by the ruling classes throughout the world.
Trump promises pardons for crimes committed to build border wall
By Patrick Martin, 30 August 2019
The report in the Washington Post underscores the criminal character of the Trump administration.
Harvard student deported over friends’ social media posts
By Trévon Austin, 30 August 2019
Ismail Ajjawi’s deportation is part of a campaign against immigrants and international students over purported concerns over “national security.”
Australian government seeks to deport Tamil refugee family to Sri Lanka
By Oscar Grenfell, 30 August 2019
The outpouring of support for the family reflects the broad opposition of working people to the bipartisan assault on asylum-seekers.
060 Ring working with the police
30 August 2019
UK Home Office set up fake social media network to target young British Muslims
By Tania Kent, 30 August 2019
“This is Woke,” which describes itself as engaging “in critical discussions around Muslim identity, tradition and reform,” was created by a media company on behalf of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism at the Home Office.
Johnson to suspend UK parliament to push through Brexit in a major assault on democratic rule
By Chris Marsden, 29 August 2019
Johnson’s efforts to bypass parliament and govern by executive fiat are part of an international turn toward dictatorial forms of rule throughout the world.
Washington invokes "domestic terrorism" to justify police state rule
By Eric London, 28 August 2019
Trump and the Democrats’ threats to create a new apparatus to combat “domestic terrorism” is part of renewed plans to violently strangle the class struggle.
Iowa college professor resigns under pressure after publicly supporting Antifa
By Kristina Betinis, 28 August 2019
Kirkwood President Sundberg affirmed Jeff Klinzman’s right to free speech while justifying the removal of the professor based on the claim that public safety is at risk due to his views.
Australian Labor Party accuses government of “losing control” of borders
By Mike Head, 28 August 2019
Shadow home affairs minister Kristina Keneally condemned the government for allowing asylum seekers to arrive by plane.
UK: Johnson considers suspending parliament to enforce no-deal Brexit
By Robert Stevens, 27 August 2019
The fact that the suspension of parliament to thwart opposition to government policy is being considered for the first time in more than 70 years is a testament to the crisis wracking British imperialism.
Australian PM calls for new internet censorship measures at G7
By Oscar Grenfell, 27 August 2019
Morrison is campaigning for an international crackdown on social media, while his government asserts the right to ban websites and domains domestically.
French government fires bus and rail workers accused of “radicalization”
By Anthony Torres, 27 August 2019
Under the cover of anti-terror laws introduced by the former Socialist Party government, the transport operators are empowered to fire workers based on government accusations.
Germany: A politically motivated verdict in Chemnitz refugee trial
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 26 August 2019
A 24-year-old refugee from Syria has been jailed for years, so that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the extremist mob, which rampaged in Chemnitz last summer, can claim their victim.
Germany: New higher education law in North Rhine-Westphalia allows military research
By Inti Gomez and Philipp Frisch, 26 August 2019
The focus of the law is the abolition of the Civil Clause, which proscribes research for military purposes.
Anti-China witch-hunt targets Australian universities
By Oscar Grenfell, 26 August 2019
The government and the security agencies convened a meeting with universities, threatening research involving Chinese academics.
Massive police mobilization in Biarritz, France as G7 summit opens
By Kumaran Ira, 24 August 2019
In preparation for this weekend’s G7 summit in Biarritz, the French authorities are carrying out a massive police mobilization to prepare to suppress any opposition.
Australian state Labor government’s lies about “protest violence” exposed
By Mike Head, 24 August 2019
Labor’s fabricated “booby trap” claims illustrate how governments concoct fear campaigns to attack basic democratic rights.
UK High Court rules in favour of spy agencies
By Trevor Johnson, 23 August 2019
It is now legal for state agents to hack into large numbers of electronic devices, without any grounds for suspicion, on the say-so of judges.
Trump orders indefinite jailing of detained immigrant families, attacks birthright citizenship
By Eric London, 22 August 2019
Democrats have largely backed Trump’s attacks on immigrants, with the New York Times describing his concentration camps as “family detention centers.”
Voices from Ferguson, Missouri five years after the police murder of Michael Brown
By Zac Corrigan, 22 August 2019
Residents spoke about life in a country where the police kill with impunity to defend a capitalist social order based on historic levels of inequality.
Socialist Equality Party wins support for Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning at Manchester Peterloo Massacre commemoration
By our reporters, 22 August 2019
SEP campaigners distributed WSWS’s call for a worldwide campaign to defend Assange and Manning.
UK government prepares for social unrest following no-deal Brexit
By Robert Stevens, 21 August 2019
The crisis wracking the ruling elite over Brexit is the most severe since the Second World War.
Julian Assange’s father warns WikiLeaks’ publisher’s health is “declining rapidly” in Belmarsh Prison
By Oscar Grenfell, 20 August 2019
”The government will willingly sacrifice Julian’s well-being to the demands of the US and the UK.”
Over 450 refugees stranded in the Mediterranean for weeks as EU bars entry
By Will Morrow, 20 August 2019
The EU governments have no substantial differences with the fascistic anti-immigrant policies of Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
Blairites and Zionists escalate witch-hunt of Labour MP Chris Williamson
By Robert Stevens, 20 August 2019
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to issue a single public word in defence of his former shadow cabinet minister.
Guardian columnist Owen Jones attacked by fascist thugs in London
By Robert Stevens, 19 August 2019
The attack is the latest on prominent left-wing figures and political organisations.
Trump administration calls for permanent restoration of bulk phone communications surveillance
By Kevin Reed, 19 August 2019
The outgoing director of National Intelligence appealed to Congress for the restoration of the surveillance program that was exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
As Australian government threatens to jail journalists, media chiefs denounce Julian Assange
By Mike Head, 19 August 2019
While claiming to champion the “right to know,” media executives condemned the WikiLeaks founder for exposing the crimes of the US spy and military apparatuses.
German daily defends right-wing extremist professor Jörg Baberowski
By Johannes Stern, 19 August 2019
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is outraged because students at Humboldt University in Berlin blocked plans to establish a centre for research into dictatorships.
Facial recognition technology and identity politics
By Kevin Reed, 17 August 2019
The Democrats are seeking to channel mass opposition to the wholesale invasion of privacy into a campaign to regulate and “equalize” facial recognition technology.
Protesters pepper-sprayed outside Rhode Island ICE facility after officer drives truck into crowd
By Trévon Austin, 16 August 2019
At least one demonstrator was seriously injured in the attack, suffering a broken leg, internal bleeding, and a back injury.
Australian government boosts Special Forces despite war crimes charges
By Mike Head, 16 August 2019
The move is part of the preparation for war, as well as for the suppression of domestic dissent.
Australia: Pro-US ideologue brands student groups as China’s “useful idiots”
By Oscar Grenfell, 15 August 2019
Clive Hamilton’s comments are a warning that Australia’s involvement in the US drive to war with China will be accompanied by political repression domestically.
San Francisco school board proposes “compromise” in move to suppress historic Depression-era murals
By Toby Reese, 15 August 2019
School board officials in San Francisco continue their attempt to censor the left-wing murals painted by Victor Arnautoff at George Washington High School despite broad popular opposition.
“Voyage of the Damned:” Hundreds of refugees stranded in the Mediterranean
By Bill Van Auken, 14 August 2019
Europe’s governments have shut their doors to refugees rescued from the sea after fleeing death and torture.
Stop the suppression of the San Francisco murals! Defend the right to history, art and culture!
the Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 14 August 2019
The SEP and the IYSSE condemn the suppression of the left-wing murals painted by Victor Arnautoff at George Washington High School in San Francisco and call on students, teachers and workers to unite in their defense.
Trump imposes new class-based immigration restrictions
By Eric London, 13 August 2019
The draconian regulation change means immigrants will be denied permanent residency if they have a low credit score, for example.
“Some kids are hiding in their house, Anne Frank-style”
Residents compare trauma of Mississippi ICE Raid to Hurricane Katrina
By Norisa Diaz, 13 August 2019
Children are afraid to attend school or leave their parents’ side. Families are hiding in their homes.
The German media and Julian Assange: Silence and slander
By Gregor Link and Johannes Stern, 13 August 2019
Over a week after a US federal court threw out a civil case brought by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) against Julian Assange, the German media has been dominated by an embarrassed silence.
Establishment figures welcome renewed anti-China hysteria in Australia
By James Cogan, 13 August 2019
The ruling elite requires Australia’s incorporation into US war preparations to be accompanied by slandering any public opposition as the product of “Chinese interference.”
Australian actor John Jarratt sues Daily Telegraph after jury throws out rape charge
By Richard Phillips, 13 August 2019
The jury of five men and seven women took just over 15 minutes to unanimously reject the #MeToo-inspired rape allegation against the veteran actor.
FBI presses for social media surveillance “early alerting tool” in aftermath of mass shootings
By Kevin Reed, 12 August 2019
The FBI is stepping up its campaign for a real-time social media alert tool to allow continuous surveillance of all social media activity across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Australia: Mentally-ill man shot dead by police at his home
By Martin Scott, 12 August 2019
“If there was no danger to the public, and if he was contained in his own house and not doing anything, one would have to ask ‘why in the hell is he gone?’”
Australian investigative journalist exposes Guardian/New York Times betrayal of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 10 August 2019
Mark Davis made clear that the corporate media cynically exploited WikiLeaks, before ruthlessly turning on its founder Julian Assange and joining the state campaign against him.
New York judge orders Fordham University to recognize Students for Justice in Palestine club
By Fred Mazelis, 10 August 2019
The decision is a small but significant blow against the campaign to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
The Mississippi raid: Trump’s attack on immigrants and his Democratic enablers
By Patrick Martin, 9 August 2019
Hundreds of children have been traumatized by having their parents ripped away from them and, in many cases, shipped to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison 150 miles away.
Chelsea Manning faces $441,000 in fines and another year in jail for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks
By Niles Niemuth, 9 August 2019
A federal judge rejected Manning’s motion to reconsider daily fines, which will bankrupt her as she refuses to testify before a grand jury impaneled to bring frame-up charges against WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange.
Capital One hack compromises personal data of 106 million credit card applicants
By Kevin Reed, 9 August 2019
The hack of customer information at Capital One revealed on July 29 has exposed millions to identity theft and added a further pretext for corporate and state attacks on democratic rights under the guise of fighting cyber-crime.
Jennifer Robinson, a leading member of Assange’s legal team, speaks with the WSWS
By our reporters, 9 August 2019
“It speaks volumes about Australia’s position in the world that it’s not willing to take a stand against the United States and protect an Australian citizen.”
Australian spy and police chiefs say raids on journalists must continue
By Mike Head, 8 August 2019
In a blunt intervention, Director-General of National Intelligence Nick Warner used the language of war to defend the targeting of journalists.
US military testing domestic wide-area surveillance with high-altitude balloons
By Kevin Reed, 8 August 2019
The balloons also have high-resolution cameras capable of recording panoramic images that are then stitched together to provide a wide-area view of entire cities.
Protests in Australia continue to break official silence on Julian Assange
By our reporters, 7 August 2019
The sentiments of ordinary people stand in stark contrast to the refusal of all of the official parties to take any action in defence of the WikiLeaks founder.
Labour-controlled Tower Hamlets council refused to host Palestinian charity event, citing “anti-Semitism” fears
By Jean Shaoul, 6 August 2019
The decision is a blatant attack on free speech and confirms that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism provides a mechanism for censoring, silencing and even criminalising individuals and organisations that oppose Israel’s brutal suppression of the Palestinians, while slandering the entire left as “anti-Semitic.”
Trump: The political enabler of fascist violence
By Patrick Martin, 5 August 2019
The president is the moral and political author of the bloody violence in El Paso, Gilroy and Dayton.
Despite briefing by Julian Assange’s lawyer, Australian politicians still refuse to defend him
By Mike Head, 3 August 2019
Intensive lobbying in Canberra this week failed to convince any parliamentarian to oppose the Trump administration’s bid to extradite the WikiLeaks founder.
French government bans protests against police killing of Steve Caniço
By Will Morrow, 3 August 2019
President Emmanuel Macron’s imposition of a ban on protests against deadly police violence makes clear that a police state rules France.
UK: Over 1,300 homeless people penalised last year under the 1824 Vagrancy Act
By Joe Mount, 2 August 2019
The Act was used to prosecute 1,320 people during 2018 and is most commonly employed by police as a threat to force rough sleepers to relocate.
Berlin’s Jewish Museum director Peter Schäfer forced to resign
By Verena Nees, 2 August 2019
The campaign against alleged “left” anti-Semitism and the BDS boycott movement serves to suppress leftist movements and fuel genuine anti-Semitism.
Media silent on dismissal of DNC suit against Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 2 August 2019
Having trumpeted the slander that Assange is a “Russian agent” for the past three years, the New York Times, the Washington Post and other corporate outlets have blacked out a court decision refuting their lies.
Julian Assange’s lawyer briefs Australian parliamentarians on his persecution
By Oscar Grenfell, 1 August 2019
The event reflected concerns within the ruling elite over popular opposition to the Trump administration’s bid to prosecute the WikiLeaks founder.
Video shows Dallas, Texas police joking as a 32-year-old man dies in their custody
By Benjamin Mateus, 1 August 2019
Disturbing body camera footage was only released after all charges were dropped and the three officers who killed Tony Timpa in 2016 returned to active duty earlier this year.
More than 900 children taken from their families in the last year
Trump administration continuing family separations at US-Mexico border despite court order
By Julian James, 1 August 2019
Just over a year after a district court ordered Customs and Border Protection to cease its policy of family separations at the Mexico-US border, the ACLU reports that children continue to be wrenched from their families.
Body of Steve Caniço, killed in police raid, found in France’s Loire River
By Alex Lantier, 1 August 2019
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe shamelessly declared that “no link” could be established between the police raid and Caniço’s death.
The fascist attack in Gilroy and the US epidemic of mass shootings
By Patrick Martin, 31 July 2019
Two processes are intersecting in the explosion of violence in America: the long-term impact of social decay and militarism, and the deliberate incitement of fascistic sentiments by President Trump.
Judge dismisses DNC lawsuit
US federal court exposes Democratic Party conspiracy against Assange and WikiLeaks
By Eric London, 31 July 2019
The decision exposes the Democratic Party in a conspiracy to attack free speech and cover up the crimes of US imperialism and the two parties of Wall Street.
Die Zeit editor Jochen Bittner condemns “German pacifism”
By Johannes Stern, 31 July 2019
An op-ed by Bittner in the New York Times treats the German population’s aversion to war as a problem to be overcome.
Greece’s New Democracy party seeks to overturn law protecting students from police repression
By George Gallanis, 30 July 2019
The Greek ruling class is preparing the grounds for a dictatorial state reminiscent of Greece’s 1967-1974 junta, from whose bloody legacy the law was born.
30 July 2019
Trump threatens to declare Antifa a terrorist group
By Patrick Martin, 29 July 2019
The action would set a precedent for criminalizing left-wing opposition to attacks on immigrants and the policies of the Trump administration more generally.
1,300 arrested in police crackdown on liberal opposition in Russia
By Clara Weiss, 29 July 2019
The crackdown testifies to the extreme nervousness of the Kremlin and was meant as a show of force and a demonstration of the state’s readiness to violently repress any opposition, above all opposition coming from the working class.
US, Sweden and Britain dismiss UN finding that they tortured Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 29 July 2019
The responses to the detailed indictment issued by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer are the latest demonstration of the illegal character of the campaign against the WikiLeaks founder.
German government uses 75th anniversary of plot to kill Hitler to promote rearmament and war
By Johannes Stern, 27 July 2019
It is only logical that the German ruling class hails the assassins of July 20, who were extreme nationalists and deeply involved in Nazi crimes.
FTC imposes $5 billion fine on Facebook for “deceiving users” about data privacy
By Kevin Reed, 27 July 2019
The settlement is part of a concerted effort by the US government to implement regulations and control over social media platforms.
UK: Boris Johnson selects extreme right cabinet
By Chris Marsden and Robert Stevens, 26 July 2019
Johnson’s is a class war government, with all the main positions filled by representatives of the extreme right of a very right-wing party.
Stop the right-wing conspiracy! Defend the SGP against the Verfassungsschutz secret service!
Socialist Equality Party (Germany), 26 July 2019
The German Verfassungsschutz has produced a 56-page response to the lawsuit filed by the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party—SGP) challenging its official designation as a “left-wing extremist” organisation subject to state surveillance. The government’s response is an angry diatribe against Marxism and every form of socialist and progressive thought.
Australian government demands police-state powers over protests and exclusions of citizens
By Mike Head, 24 July 2019
The bills would hand governments the most authoritarian powers since the two world wars.
Florida police officer charged with planting drugs during traffic stops
By Matthew Taylor, 23 July 2019
Eight Floridians serving prison sentences have been released and had their cases dismissed due to the charges against a Jackson County, Florida sheriff’s deputy.
UK: Strong support for Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning at Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival
By our reporters, 23 July 2019
One section of marchers cheered when they saw the SEP’s stall with posters of Assange and Manning, and many others stopped to voice their support.
Consortium News website taken down by a malware attack after streaming program defending Julian Assange
By Kevin Reed, 20 July 2019
The independent investigative journalism website Consortium News was brought down on Monday by a malware attack following the inaugural episode of CN Live!
Publico reports Spanish intelligence facilitated 2017 Barcelona terror attack
By Alex Lantier, 20 July 2019
The report is prima facie evidence of criminal behavior by the Spanish state, abetted by other NATO powers, to create the climate to build a fascistic police-state regime.
After three-month cover-up, investigation into police assault of “yellow vest” Geneviève Legay transferred to Lyon
By Francis Dubois, 19 July 2019
The police assault on the septuagenarian in Nice is part of the erection of a police state by the government of the financial aristocracy headed by Macron.
US Justice Department will not bring charges in 2014 police murder of Eric Garner
By Erik Schreiber and Fred Mazelis, 18 July 2019
The failure to charge Daniel Pantaleo in Garner’s death is an endorsement of lethal police violence against the working class, under conditions of growing social unrest.
Hundreds protest over drowning of refugee schoolgirl in UK
By Liz Smith, 17 July 2019
In the area surrounding the school just outside Manchester, one-third of all children live in poverty, that is in families whose income is less than 60 percent of the national median income.
Donald Trump’s fascist strategy
By Eric London, 17 July 2019
Trump is proceeding according to a deliberate political strategy worked out with the White House’s fascist brain trust.
Trump abolishes right to asylum on US southern border
By Bill Van Auken, 16 July 2019
The White House order condemns many thousands of Central American men, women and children to be summarily returned to conditions of murderous violence.
Follow the WSWS