On Wednesday, January 20, Julian Assanges mother expressed her disappointment at Donald Trump for not pardoning her son. However, she said that she is not surprised. I'm not shocked... Just disappointed that my private prediction was right Courage is not always contagious Many thanks to everyone who supported #PardonAssange, wrote Christine Assange on her official Twitter handle.

The prosecutors in the United States have charged Assange with 17 espionage charges along with one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks publication of the confidential US military documents nearly a decade ago. These charges, in totality, carry 175 years in prison. However, Assanges supporters and his defence team have argued that the profession of the 49-year-old is journalism and he is entitled to the First Amendment protections for publishing the leaked documents that exposed the wrongdoings committed by the American troops. According to Assanges team, the conditions he would face in the US prison would violate his human rights.

In his final acts in the Presidents office, Donald Trump has officially pardoned 73 people including his former senior advisor Steve Bannon, Lil Wayne amongst others. Contrary to what many speculated, the 74 year old did not pardon himself or his family or even his former ally Rudy Giuliani. However, experts have pointed out the grey area in the US constitution which allows the President to offer secret pardons without notifying the congress or the public.

Read:Julian Assange's Extradition Verdict Out Today; Partner Warns Of unthinkable Travesty'

Bannon was charged in 2020 with swindling Trump supporters over an effort to raise private funds to build the presidents wall on the US-Mexico border. He has pleaded not guilty. The 67-year-old had served as Trumps key advisor in 2016 presidential run. However, in 2017 he had left the Republican side only to get back to Trump later in 2020. According to reports, White House Officials had warned Trump against issuing him clemency.

Read:UK Court Denies Bail To WikiLeaks' Julian Assange After Blocking His Extradition Request

Amongst those issued clemency were rapper Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, both of whom were prosecuted on federal weapons offences. Another important figure in the list was Elliott Broidy, a former fundraiser for Trump who has admitted illegally lobbying the US government to drop its inquiry into the Malaysia 1MDB corruption scandal and to deport an exiled Chinese billionaire. In addendum, Jared Kushners friend Ken Kurson, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Anthony Levandowski, Sholam Weiss and others also benefited from the act of clemency.

Read:Nirav Modis Lawyers Rely On Julian Assange Extradition Block For His Final Hearings In UK

Also Read:Julian Assange's Degrading Mental Health Cited At Extradition Hearing In London Court

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Julian Assanges mother disappointed as Trump did not pardon her son - Republic World

The fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be decided on January 4, when the Old Bailey court will pronounce the judgement on whether he will be extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom.

The US has charged him with hacking government computers and espionage after he obtained and published hundreds of thousands of classified documents between 2010 and 2011, including the Afghanistan and Iraq war logs. The charges could lead to an unprecedented 175 years in jail for the Australian-born publisher.

He was arrested from the Ecuador embassy in London, in February 2019, where he had been given asylum seven years earlier.

Recently, calls to pardon him have grown louder, including from unlikely characters such as former US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, a Republican.

In September, 160 former and current world leaders and diplomats signed a letter demanding the UK government prevent his extradition.

Rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have called for his release.

Increasingly, prominent media outlets, such as The Guardian, are also voicing their concern about the charges levelled against the jailed publisher.

Yet some continue to back the USs attempt to punish Assange.

Here are some highlights from world leaders, diplomats, academics and celebrities:

The Argentinian president, who has been described as a leftist, was one of the signatories of the September letter, which described the allegations against Assange as troubling.

We call on you to act in accordance with national and international law, human rights and the rule of law by bringing an end to the ongoing extradition proceedings and granting Mr. Assange his long overdue freedom freedom from torture, arbitrary detention and deprivation of liberty, and political persecution, the letter said.

The former Labour Party leader and current UK MP, a veteran socialist, has said possible extradition to the US should be opposed, and called for the rights of whistle-blowers and journalists to be upheld for the good of all of us.

The ex-Brazilian president has consistently demanded Assange be released. In September, he wrote a column for the UKs Guardian newspaper saying Assanges possible extradition to the US would be an outrage.

Linguist and political critic Noam Chomsky, one of the worlds leading intellectuals, claims extraditing Assange would be catastrophic for press freedom.

Assange is on trial for his journalism, for his principles, not his personality, he and writer Alice Walker said, in an op-ed for the UK-based paper The Independent.

The world-renowned artist has hailed the WikiLeaks founder, asserting that Assange represents a core value of why we are free a comment that referred to press freedom.

We need a lot of protesting, and it can take any form. Im an artist, if I cannot use my art, its very limited, then Id rather just be silent, he said at a pro-Assange rally in September.

The former Ecuador president has long been a supporter of the Australian, granting him asylum in 2012 at the countrys embassy in the UK.

After his successor and current President Lenin Moreno revoked Assanges asylum, leading to his arrest by UK authorities, Correa strongly condemned the decision.

Scoundrel and betrayal can be summarised in two words: Lenin Moreno, he said.

Earlier this month, former Republican vice presidential candidate Palin demanded Assange be pardoned.

I made a mistake some years ago, not supporting Julian Assange thinking that he was a bad guy, Palin said on social media. And Ive learned a lot since then He deserves a pardon.

Palin had previously been an ardent critic of Assange, who released private emails and photos of the former Alaska governor in 2008 during her election campaign.

The television and film actor took to social media in September and appealed to Trump to pardon Assange.

Anderson, who shot to stardom after starring in the popular 1990s TV series Baywatch, has long supported the WikiLeaks founder, visiting him in London before and after his arrest from the Ecuadorian embassy.

The Pink Floyd co-founder has been spotted in several protests over the years in support of Assanges release and against his extradition.

At a pro-Assange rally in September 2019, Waters sang the bands track Wish You Were Here in honour of the 49-year-old Australian. The song was originally written to pay tribute to another co-founder of Pink Floyd, the late Syd Barrett who died in 2006.

Democrat congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Gabbard has been one of the most vocal voices demanding Trump pardon Assange. She said the WikiLeaks founder acted in the public interest to expose lies and egregious abuses of power in our government.

Since youre giving pardons to people, please consider pardoning those who, at great personal sacrifice, exposed the deception and criminality of those in the deep state, Gabbard tweeted last month, in support of Assange and NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

The US whistle-blower Snowden has called on Trump to pardon Assange, tweeting on December 3: Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency during your time in office, please: free Julian Assange. You alone can save his life. @realDonaldTrump.

British rapper MIA has described Assange as an icon on a scale weve never had, and has previously visited him at Belmarsh, a high-security prison where he is currently being held.

In an interview with Al Jazeera last year, the Sri Lankan born musician said, Persecuting him [Assange] wont solve any of the problems we have as humanity going forwards.

A renowned American whistle-blower, Ellsberg has said Assanges release of the Afghanistan and Iraq war logs were comparable importance to the Pentagon Papers a study on the American war Vietnam, which he leaked in 1971.

The former military analyst made the comments at Assanges trial in September.

It was clear to me that these revelations, like the Pentagon Papers, have the capability of informing the public that they had seriously been misled about the nature of war, progress in war, the likelihood of it ending at all, he told the court.

The Ecuadorian president was responsible for revoking Assanges asylum at the countrys embassy in London leading to his arrest.

Moreno accused the WikiLeaks publisher of spying during his stay at the embassy.

We cannot allow our house, the house that opened its doors, to become a centre for spying. This activity violates asylum conditions. Our decision is not arbitrary but is based on international law, Morena said, according to The Guardian.

Upon his arrest, Clinton said Assange must answer for what he has done.

I think it is clear from the indictment that came out its not about punishing journalism, it is about assisting the hacking of a military computer to steal information from the United States government, she said.

During the 2016 US presidential campaign, Assange and WikiLeaks published a series of hacked Democratic National Committee emails that proved to be a big embarrassment and source of criticism for Clinton and the Democrats.

The current US Senate majority leader has in the past been highly critical of Assange, calling him a high-tech terrorist in 2010.

McConnell said Assange had done enormous damage to the US and its work with other nations.

Former national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, Bolton has previously said that US cyber-warfare people should use WikiLeaks for target practice.

The Republican politician was an ardent supporter of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq while serving in government during the George W Bush administration.

Read more here:

Julian Assange supporters outnumber his critics. Who are they? - Al Jazeera English

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By pardoning Paul Manafort and Roger Stone on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump concluded a four-year campaign to use his office to cover up his own wrongdoing in the Trump-Russia scandal. Trump aided and abetted Vladimir Putins attack on the 2016 electionwhich had the aim of helping Trump win the White Houseby denying this assault was real, while he simultaneously sought to exploit Moscows operation for his own political gain. Ever since, Trump has strived to keep this scandal from defining his presidential victory and his presidency, and he has endeavored to hide his own possible criminality. With these pardons, that effort, which has largely succeeded, is complete.

Stone and Manafort were among 26 pardons and three commutations Trump issued Wednesday, following a batch on Tuesday. This slew of pardons is collectively corrupt. While ignoring thousands of Americans who may deserve clemency but lack the political juice to win presidential assistance, Trump singled out for special dispensation war criminals, the powerful and the connected, friends of his allies, the father of his son-in-law, and corrupt former Republican congressmen. But Manafort and Stone are in a special category.

Their pardons are part of Trumps crusade to take revenge on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation that detailed the Russian attack that helped Trump win, that led to criminal convictions of Trump aides, and that provided evidence arguably showing that Trump had obstructed justice. But the pardons are more than that. They aim to help Trump himself.

Stone and Manafort were each involved in the Russia scandal as it proceeded in 2016, while reporting directly to Trump. Stone promoted the false story that Moscow was not behind the leaks targeting the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign, as Trump tried to use him to gather inside information on the WikiLeaks-Russia operation. And throughout the campaign, Manafort was in covert communication with a former business associate, Konstanin Kilimnik, who was labeled a Russian intelligence officer in a recent Senate Intelligence Committee report. That report noted Kilimnik may have been connected to the [Russian intelligences] hack and leak operation targeting the 2016 U.S. election and that information gathered by the committee raised the possibility that Manafort himself was connected to this operation.

So top Trump lieutenants were part of the Russia business. Yet they subsequently lied to or refused to cooperate with investigators. They hid information from prosecutors and the public. They covered for Trump. Now he has rewarded them.

In 2016, Stone was seen by the Trump campaign as its access point to WikiLeaks, according to former senior Trump aide Steve Bannon, who testified during Stones 2019 trial. During the election, Stone gave the Trump campaign advance notice as WikiLeaks prepared to dump emails that Russian agents had stolen from the Clinton campaign and Democrats and passed to the transparency group. He was regarded within the top echelons of the campaign as a Trump operative who could gather inside information from WikiLeaks that the Trump team could exploit.

Other testimony at the trial showed that Stone, a self-described dirty trickster, conferred regularly with Trump during the campaign. Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide, testified that on July 31, 2016nine days after WikiLeaks had dumped tens of thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committeehe witnessed Trump take a call from Stone. Gates said he couldnt hear what Stone told Trump but that after the call Trump indicated that more information would be coming. (Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, obstructing a congressional investigation, and witness tampering, and he was sentenced to 40 months in prison. Trump commuted that sentence before Stone started serving it.)

In 2018, Trump told Mueller in writing that he could not recall talking to Stone about WikiLeaks at all during the 2016 campaign. Gates testimony suggested that Trump lied to Muellerwhich could be a federal crime. Stone obviously could have cleared this up for investigators, but he refused to cooperate, and he lied to congressional investigators about his efforts to obtain information for Trump from WikiLeaks. He could have explained what Trump knew of his dealings with WikiLeaks and how the campaign sought to capitalize on the Russian attack. But he chose not to talk.

Manafort, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018 for obstruction of justice, tax and bank fraud and violating foreign lobbying laws, ran Trumps campaign from late June to mid-August 2016. In that role, he kept tabs on Stones interactions with WikiLeaks, according to Gates. At the same time, he was in steady communication with Kilimnik. For reasons that remain murky, Manafort gave Kilimnik polling data to pass on to Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs, including Oleg Deripaska, a Russian aluminum magnate close to Putin. Manaforts high-level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services, particularly Kilimnik and associates of Oleg Deripaska, represented a grave counterintelligence threat, the Senate Intelligence Committee report said.

And there were other curious aspects to Manaforts relationship with Kilimnik. In a secret meeting in Manhattan on August 2, 2016, and in subsequent contacts that stretched into the following year, Kilimnik pressed Manafort to convince Trump to back a plan that would have handed Putin effective control of much of Eastern Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2014. According to Muellers 2019 report, Kilimnik told Manafort in an email that the plan need only avery minor wink (or slight push) from [Donald Trump] to succeed.

Muellers investigators believed Russia hoped to obtain Trumps support for this so-called Ukraine peace plan as a payback for helping Trump in the election. In a book published this year, Andrew Weissmann, a top Mueller aid who oversaw the Manafort prosecution, called Trumps possible backing of the Ukraine plan a quo for all the elaborate quid that Russia had provided Trump in 2016.

Manafort may never have told Trump about this phony peace plan. Mueller discovered no evidence he did. But Mueller found that Manafort, even after he agreed to cooperate with his probe, had lied excessively to prosecutors about the peace plan and other topics. Mueller terminated Manaforts cooperation deal as a result. According to Weissmann, prosecutors believed Manafort had decided to lie to prosecutors based on the hope that Trump would pardon him if he did not implicate the president in any wrongdoing.

Trump gave Manafort ample reason to believe this. During Manaforts 2018 trial, Trump praised him and Stone for their refusal to flip and cooperate with Mueller. This pardon dangling provided Manafort, Stone, and others incentive to adhere to a code of silence. What exactly Manafort was up to with Kilimnik and what Stone did with WikiLeaks remain mysteries. As does Trumps full knowledge of their activities related to Russias scheming.

Trump and his enablers will continue to claim falsely that the Russia scandal was a hoax. But the reports from Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee show this was a profoundly serious matter that included what appears to be significant wrongdoing on the part of Trumps campaign, his aides, and Trump himself. With these pardons, Trump made sure the public would not learn the full story about their recipientsor about his own suspicious actions. With this useor abuseof presidential power, Trump is not only protecting his henchmen; he is protecting himself. These pardons dont end the scandal; they are part of it.

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With His Pardons of Stone and Manafort, Trump Completes His Cover-Up - Mother Jones

Ugandan dictator Museveni betrayed Qadhafi and Mugabe to the U.S. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

[Speaking Truth To Power]

Uganda's dictator of 35 years in power Gen. Yoweri Museveni likes accusing leading presidential challenger Bobi Wine of being a Western tool yet Wikileaks documents show that he's always been so close to the U.S. that he even betrayed Libya's Qadhafi and Zimbabwes Robert Mugabe to the Americans.

The documents also undermine Musevenis public claims that hes a Pan-African nationalistin private he has behaved like an African turncoat in the mode of Mobutu, andMoise Tshombe , both of whom famously betrayed Patrice Lumumba and had him murdered in 1961.

Three years after Museveni told U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Jendayi Frazer thatQadhafi was a "problem" for Africa because he wanted to unite the continent under one president, the U.S. and NATO eliminated the problem by invading Libya and killing Qadhafi in 2011.In addition to betraying Qadhafi to the U.S.even though the Libyan had provided hundreds of millions of dollars to his regime and even supplied him with weapons while he was fighting for power in UgandaMuseveni also told the Americans the best way to undermine Mugabe was to attack him on his countrys economic performance.

The Wikileaks documents are the strongest indication that Gen. Museveni was possibly a CIA agent who ratted on other African leaders, much like Congolese dictator Mobutu did from 1960 to 1997 when he was deposed. Mobutu became a CIA agent in 1959, one year before Congo's independence from Belgium. The U.S. backed him for 37 years.

Museveni also asked the United States to provide him with international airspace protection during his overseas travels to prevent Qadhafi from having his plane shot down, the documents show."President Museveni said Libyan President Qadhafi is a problem for the continent and is pushing for the creation of a United States of Africa to be governed by one president. Museveni thought Qadhafi's plan is neither feasible nor desirable, given cultural and linguistic differences across the continent. Rather than the development of a unitary African state, Museveni said he is pushing Qadhafi and otherAfrican leaders to develop regional political federations and markets that support common objectives, the Wikileaks documents state.

Museveni, who is notorious for traveling around Uganda with brown bags stuffed with cash to buy votes and political and religious leaders, also complained to Frazer that Qadhafi continues to intimidate small African countries through bribes and other pressure. As a result of Libya's actions, small West African countries havebeen afraid to participate fully or speak out during international meetings at the United Nations, African Union, and other forums.

Museveni noted that tensions with Qadhafi are growing and as a result, and he worries that Qadhafi will attack his plane while flying over international airspace, the Wikileaks documents add. Museveni requested that the USG and GOU coordinate to provide additional air radar information when he flies over international waters.

Museveni also told Assistant Secretary Frazer that hed spoken with Mugabe by phone after the 2008 election when challenger Morgan Tsvangirai won 47.8% to Mugabes 43.2%, forcing him into a runoff, which the challenger abandoned, citing regime violence. During his call, Mugabe told Museveni he was confident he would win in the second round of elections. Mugabe told Museveni he did not want election monitors from countries that were hostile to Zimbabwe, but wouldn't mind observers from other countries, the Wikileaks documents continue. Frazer told Museveni that she believed thousands of monitors were necessary, especially in rural areas, to encourage people to vote, in Zimbabwe.

So the Ugandan dictator was discussing the possibility of sending thousands of monitors to Zimbabwe while he himself continues to oppose them in Uganda, including for the Jan. 14, 2021 vote when many political observers predict he will likely lose in a landslide to challenger Bobi Wine.

Museveni also had another suggestion for the U.S. about how to undermine Mugabes government. Museveni thought Zimbabwe's faltering economy andMugabe's poor understanding of the private sector were at the root of Zimbabwe's political problems, the Wikileaks documents said. He said a discussionof the economy would provide an entry point to tell Mugabe that he has failed and is embarrassing liberation leaders. He noted that Mugabe is unwilling to take calls from most African leaders saying they are not his age-mates.

The meeting between the Ugandan dictator and Assistant Secretary of State Frazer occurred on June 13, 2008 in Fort. Leavenworth, Kansas. Museveni had gone there to attend the graduation of his son Muhoozi Kaenerugaba from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Kaenerugaba is today the regimes leading human rights abuser, commanding the notorious Special Forces Command (SFC). The SFC has been responsible for attacks on, and killings of unarmed Uganda civilians. It was also involved in a 2018 attack that led to the brutal beating and torture of Bobi Wine.

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CIA? How Dictator Museveni Betrayed Libya's Quadafi and Zimbabwe's Mugabe to the United States - Black Star News

Edward Larson, Austin Sarat, and Dennis Aftergut, Opinion contributors Published 8:00 a.m. ET Dec. 28, 2020 | Updated 8:35 a.m. ET Dec. 28, 2020

As Trump enters his final days, he spent the past week pardoning, vetoing, and pointing fingers as he tries to leave chaos behind him.

When history looks back for a signature week of the Trump presidency, Christmas 2020 may win the prize.

There was a pattern, and likely foreshadowing of a chaotic month to come: Political disorder, norm demolition and unrelenting indifference to others from a truth-negating president.

Just look at the weeks five major events and Trumps responses:

1. Russias Cyber-Attack:

On December 19, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Russians were behind a massive cyber-attack on American government and business.

Trump promptly disagreed, saying without evidence, that the culprit might be China. This familiar dodgeprovided cover for the presidents refusal to retaliate against Putin.

What explains this stunning failure to defend America from Russias virtual declaration of war?"

Its the same reason Trump sided with Putin and against his own intelligence community at the July 2018 Helsinki summit, asserting that Russia was not responsible for 2016s presidential election interference: Naked self-interest.

Whether or not Putin has damaging information on Trump, a Moscow hotel has long been his dream. Today it surely plays an outsized role in his thinking about life after 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Indeed, in October 2015, while running for president, he secretly signed a letter of intentto develop Trump Tower Moscow, to be the tallest building in Europe.

The deal never went through. Ultimately, Putin knew the value of keeping the carrot in front of the donkey.

If your lifelong ambition were to build a Moscow skyscraper with your name atop, would you attack the Russian president who controlled the permit?

No way.

2. The White House cabal.

On Dec. 22, Trump met in the White House with a cast of fringe characters including confessed criminal Michael Flynn, his lawyer, Sidney Powell, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.

President Donald Trump on Dec. 12, 2020, in Washington, D.C.(Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP)

Powell has distinguished herself by floating conspiracy theories so wild in Novembershe got droppedfrom Trumps legal team.

Byrne admitted in 2019 to an affair with Russian intelligence asset, Maria Butina, now expatriated to her homeland after serving federal time.

Flynn, freshly pardoned for lying and protecting Trump, advocates martial law like its commonplace. Martial law has been declared 64 times, he told Newsmax mid-December.

The still-tethered Mark Meadows and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone ended the meeting when it started heading in an alarming direction. Their concerns reverberated across an already shaken nation.

Waiting for Joe Biden: How to make it through the final, awful days of Donald Trump

3. COVIDrelief.

On Dec.22, Congress finally adopted a $908 billion COVIDstimulus package, including $600 payments to individuals earning under $75,000 per year. The White House signaled that the president would sign the bill.

Hours later, Trump pulled the rug out, tweeting that relief checks were too small. But any president who cared would have spoken up when it mattered while the bill was being debated.

Trump promptly flew to Mar-a-Lago, leaving a hot mess on a hurting nations porch until he finally signed it late Dec. 27th.

Why the unnecessary drama? Explanations center on revenge for Mitch McConnells telling Republicans not to contest President-elect Bidens win.

Same presidential character: Personal pique and pleasure watching those he felt had crossed him along with suffering citizens hang in the wind.

4. The $740 million Defense Authorization Act.

On Dec.23, Trump stirred more turmoil, vetoing the massive defense bill. Republican Senate Arms Services Committee Chair Jim Inhofe protested: The NDAA has become law every year for 59 years straight because its absolutely vital to our national security and our troops.

No matter to the president as he headed south to golf. As George Conway tweeted, He just wants to break stuff on the way out.

What better things to break than troops pay hikes and national security?

5. Christmas Pardon Giveaway.

On Dec. 22 and 23, Trump doled out 49 pardons and commutations. Per Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith, Trump has upended the traditional criteria for clemency involving good conduct and remorse.

Economy: What the economy needs after COVID-19 (and what it won't get from Joe Biden)

Instead, Trump has rewarded the corrupt, the complicitand the cold-blooded. Trump granted mercy to:

Jared Kushners convicted father, who to blackmail his sister and her husband before their planned testimony against him hired a prostitute to seduce the husband, then sent the sex video-tape to the sister;

The Blackwater mercenaries who machine-gunned 17 Iraqi innocent civilians, including a 9-year-old boy in the back seat of his fathers car;

Roger Stone, who lied to Congress to cover up his 2016 campaign role as go-between for Trump and Wikileaks;

Former Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, following their 2019 convictions for spending campaign funds on family vacations and bar tabs.

As Professor Goldsmith put itin a tweet, Its the pardon power unleashed to serve private gratification, score-settlingand eye-poking.

That tweet perfectly summarizes the presidential week that was. In the days before Joe Bidens Jan.20 inauguration, expect arson from Americas nihilist-in-chief, thrilled to be watching the flames.

Edward Larson, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author of "The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States 1783-1789," is University Professor at Pepperdine University; Austin Sarat (@ljstprof)is associate dean of the faculty and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College; Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor and Supreme Court advocate who writes on national affairs.

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Donald Trump delivers an historic week of disarray from Americas Nihilist-in-Chief - USA TODAY

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry secure Spotify podcast deal

Sarah Ferguson, affectionately known as Fergie, is the ex-wife of Prince Andrew. Upon their divorce in 1996, she was allowed to keep the title of Duchess of York but was prevented from officially representing the Royal Family. The former couple are still amicable and live together at Royal Lodge, in Windsor Fergie is believed to have supported Andrew over the last year after he took early retirement from public life.

Fergie is now a private citizen, very much like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who chose to leave working royal life earlier this year.

Fergie chose to move into the entertainment industry and co-produced a documentary for the BBC called In Search of the Spirit, as well as a handful of other programmes.

Harry and Meghan have recently announced they have similar plans, and have unveiled two historic multi-year deals with streaming giants, Netflix and Spotify.

Yet, they should heed the lessons from Harrys aunt, Fergie, after she found herself in hot water following the release of her particularly divisive documentary, Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission.

It was released on ITV in 2008, and included footage of Fergie disguised in a black wig and headscarf.

She secretly filmed inside state-run orphanage institutions in Turkey, leaving the nations government to accuse her of a politically-motivated smear campaign to deter its attempts to join the EU when the programme aired.

WikiLeaks from 2011 revealed that then Foreign Secretary David Miliband had to step in to placate Turkeys foreign minister, Ali Babacan.

According to WikiLeaks, a diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Ankara, Turkey, in 2008 read: Duchess of York Sarah Fergusons undercover expose of Turkish orphanages dominated bilateral relations discussions.

Miliband underscored to Babacan that Ferguson was no longer a member of the Royal Family, and as a private citizen, her activities could not be controlled.

Babacan promised that the (Turkish government) would investigate the accusations, but chided the public invasion of the childrens privacy.

Fergie later apologised for any embarrassment she had caused the Turks.

However, she added: I stand by my words.

READ MORE:Sussexes bid for low-key security dismantled by Jeremy Clarkson

The WikiLeaks findings were reported by The Daily Telegraph in 2011.

It should be noted that Harry and Meghan are yet to release any programmes they have produced on either Spotify or Netflix.

They have explained that they intend to release animated series, documentaries, docu-series, feature films, scripted shows and childrens programming.

In a statement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives home.

As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us.

They added that Netflixs unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action the platform has 193 million subscribers across the world.

DON'T MISSMeghan 'loved' her first royal Christmas: 'Family she never had'[INSIGHT]Kate and William move into Meghan and Harrys territory with TV bid[EXPLAINED]Meghan and Harry copying Kate with Spotify podcast move[EXPOSED]

The couple released a trailer for their Spotify podcast called Archewell Audio, and have promised that they will interview amazing people with different perspectives to find our common ground.

The couples focus is likely to be on womens empowerment and climate activism, as the pair are intensely passionate about these topics.

However, they were accused of interfering with international relations earlier this year when they spoke up in the lead-up to the US election.

Meghan is a US citizen who grew up in the States, and showed her interest in politics prior to becoming a working royal in 2018.

Although she and Harry no longer represent the Queen after their royal exit, there was a public uproar when they paired up to encourage the US public to vote.

They did not advocate for any particular candidate or party, but just by speaking out and pushing for change, critics saw the pair as pushing for the electorate to vote in President Donald Trumps opposition now president elect, Joe Biden.

As Harry is not a US citizen he could not vote in the presidential election, but Meghan could and did, making royal history.

Harry did urge the US electorate to reject hate speech before the election, which many took as a suggestion to vote against Mr Trump.

Buckingham Palace spoke out and distanced itself from his comments, noting that just as Mr Miliband did with Fergie that he is a private citizen now.

A Palace spokesman said: We would not comment. The Duke [of Sussex] is not a working member of the Royal Family and any comments he makes are made in a personal capacity.

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Harry warning: Fergies TV venture caused Westminster panic over 'uncontrollable' ex-royal - Daily Express

There is a claim on social media platform Twitter which says that Wikileaks has leaked all their files and dumped thousands of files on its website. The leaked files are claimed to contain explosive revelations about Steve Jobs, PedoPodesta (likely refers to close Clinton aide John Podesta), Afghanistan, Syria and other fiery issues. However, the files contained in the leak are nothing new and there has been no such leak as of now.

There is no announcement on the official Twitter handle of Wikileaks confirming any of these claims. Usually, after any new data dump, the website makes an announcement on social media. There has been none so far. Its recent social media activity has concerned the health and well-being of its currently imprisoned founder, Julian Assange, who is being punished for embarrassing western governments.

Furthermore, a quick search on Twitter revealed that the same claims with the exact same language has surfaced again and again on social media during the course of this year in various months.

Thus, we have tweets with the same text being circulated in April, June, November and now December. Additionally, there has been no confirmation from Wikileaks recently that they have dumped any files online.

Furthermore, the link has been available all this time as well and users could browse through the files earlier as well. Thus, it appears to be a false alarm. Nonetheless, there are thousands of files available for browsing and there are sure to be some pretty interesting information available in them.

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Fact Check: Did Wikileaks really dump all their files online as being claimed on social media? Here are the facts - OpIndia

T

he fiance of Julian Assange has renewed her pleas for a pardon from President Donald Trump to stop the Wikileaks founder falling into the hands of the Deep State.

Stella Moris used an appearance on the right-wing Fox News channel last night to ask President Trump show mercy and drop the case against Assange before he leaves the White House.

Assange is currently being held in HMP Belmarsh, with a judge set to rule on January 4 next year whether he should be sent to the US to face trial over the leak of classified military cables relating to the Iraq and Afghan wars.

Ms Moris told Fox host Tucker Carlson she believes Assange will not get a fair trial if he is extradited.

Everyone agrees this is a terrble case, she said. It is the end of the First Amendment if it comes to pass.

Julian doesnt face a fair trial in the US. He will be tried in Alexandria, Virginia where the jury pool will be composed of the people who live in Virginia who have a preponderance of people who work for security contractors and the Deep State.

Stella Moris was interviewed by Fox host Tucker Carlson

Essentially once he gets to the US he will be in the hands of the Deep State. Thats why I pleaded with the President to show the mercy the Deep State will not show Julian if he is extradited.

US Presidents traditionally issue a series of pardons as they depart office, with speculation rife as to who Trump will select before his term ends in January.

In his extradition hearing at the Old Bailey this year, part of Assanges case was that his prosecution was politically motivated, driven by President Trump and his aides after he refused to cooperate with them.

Assange also insists the 2010 leak of documents was done in the name of journalism, and the case mounted against him is an assault on free speech.

Carlson, an influential figure at Fox who has been touted as a possible political successor to Trump, repeated Assanges case during the TV segment, calling him effectively a journalist and saying Ms Moris had made a powerful case.

For what its worth I think the President probably does want to pardon him, he said, adding: I think there are a lot of sinister people who dont want the pardon to happen. We will see what happens.

However Trumps affinity with Fox has disintegrated since the election due to the channels decision to call the result for Joe Biden, with the outgoing President launching a fresh broadside yesterday saying: Fox News is dead.

Ms Moris also told the programme she believe a trial of Assange could threatened the US Constitutions right to free speech enshrined in the First Amendment.

The only people who are pushing for this are the worse elements of the Deep State, she said, with Carlson commenting: Its true.

Julian Assange

Not just because they want to silence Julian but because they want to end the First Amendment, because they see the First Amendment as a threat to their malfeasance, their abuse being exposed. Thats what this case is about. "

She added: Basically this case is about revenge against Julian.

The President has to think about what his legacy will be. Julian is perhaps the foremost free speech campaigner alive in the West and he is imprisoned.

Does the President want that to be his legacy or does he want to ensure that the First Amendment survives this trial - survives by pardoning him and not have his trial.

Assange is due to appear in court on January 4 next year for the ruling on his extradition to the US.

See the original post:
President Donald Trump urged to pardon Julian Assange to keep him out of the hands of the Deep State - Evening Standard

from the then-and-now dept

Five Years Ago

This week in 2015, the clueless press was still letting itself get played and suggesting that encryption played a role in the San Bernardino attacks, while congress was dropping all pretense and turning CISA into a full-on surveillance bill, which they then crammed into the must-pass government funding bill (which also included some other nonsense). It got support of confused congressmen and a promise-breaking White House then despite being terrible for privacy it predictably passed.

Ten Years Ago

This week in 2010, the clueless press was playing the mark for a different scam and continuing to rely on bogus research about file sharing, but the main source of panic and confusion on the scene was still Wikileaks, and we argued America's reaction was doing far more harm than the leaks themselves and was probably just about overhyping online threats to pass new laws. The Congressional Research Service was pointing out the obstacles to criminally charging Assange and complaining about being blocked from accessing Wikileaks itself by the panicked government (and the Air Force went further the same week, blocking access to news sites reporting on Wikileaks as well), and the staff of Columbia Jounralism School was warning the president that prosecuting Wikileaks would set a dangerous precedent. But the government decided to look into the possibility of CFAA charges anyway. There was a slight bit of uplifting and surprising news though, when congressional hearings on Wikileaks turned out to be not entirely stupid.

Fifteen Years Ago

This week in 2005, an emerging conversation about traffic shaping was paving the way for a net neutrality fight, with the most worrying aspect being that FCC chairman Kevin Martin was apparently prepared to give the telcos everything they wanted. Congress was doing its own kowtowing, this time to Hollywood, and serving up exactly the legislation the entertainment industry wanted, while the music business was getting mad at Apple for the DRM it had a huge hand in pushing for and we talked about how copy protection stalls innovation. HarperCollins was spending a lot of money to scan its own books for no obvious reason beyond spiting Google, the MPAA was suing someone for sharing movies it couldn't actually find on his computer, and one band was dealing with Sony's DRM failure by sending their fans burned replacement CDs with no copy protection.

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Filed Under: history, look back

See original here:
This Week In Techdirt History: December 13th - 19th - Techdirt

KEY POINTS

Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared from the crypto space 10 years ago and in his last message, he talked about the importance of protecting thenetwork from denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.

In a message, posted on the Bitcointalkforumon Dec.12, 2010, Nakamoto said, "There's more work to do on DoS, but I'm doing a quick build of what I have so far in case it's needed, before venturing into more complex ideas."

Nakamoto added that the improvement he did for what was at that time Bitcoin version 0.3.19 was just temporary because the software was not at all resistant to a DoS attack. "This is one improvement, but there are still more ways to attack than I can count,"he added.

The creator did not post an update after that one. The next day, on Dec.13, 2010, he logged off for good.

There was no explanation as to why Nakamoto suddenly left the community. According to Bitcoin.com, the creator was very active in December 2010. The day prior to his last post, he expressed disappointment over a story on PC World thatsuggested Wikileaks could adopt Bitcoin after it was denied access to PayPal, Mastercardand Visa, technically the three giants of the payments world.

Nakamoto was apparently annoyed by the idea because Bitcoin, at the time, was still a small network run by a small number of people. "It would have been nice to get this attention in any other context,"Nakamoto emphasized, adding that Wikileaks could drive attentionand,therefore, bring in criticism for Bitcoin.

The creator said Bitcoin needs to slow gradually so that the software can be strengthened along the way. "I make this appeal to Wikileaks not to try to use Bitcoin,"Nakamotosaid, adding that Bitcoin was a small beta community and hence, "bringing the heat"could likely destroy it.

While December 2010 was the last public post of Satoshi Nakamoto, there was anemail correspondence between the Bitcoin creator and developer Gavin Andresen on April 26, 2011. "I wish you wouldn't keep talking about me as a mysterious shadowy figure, the press just turns that into a pirate currency angle,"Nakamoto said in the email. "Maybe instead make it about the open-source project and give more credit to your dev contributors; it helps motivate them."

Andresen replied to the email from Nakamoto, but the Bitcoin creator never responded.

Bitcoin is the best known virtual currency, but it may face a real problem next week Photo: AFP / INA FASSBENDER

See original here:
Satoshi Nakamoto's Last Message To Bitcoin Community Before Disappearing: 'More Work To Do' - International Business Times