Obama Capitulates to Republicans

Stephen Lendman


"All Hat and No Cattle" -This might be the GOP's
favorite photo of Barack Obama.

Despite campaign pledges and President Obama opposing extending tax cuts for households earning over $250,000, another promise made was broken. At the same time, while supporting them for working Americans, he said doing so permanently is unaffordable. Unsurprisingly, a December 6 White House press release issued a "Statement by the President on Tax Cuts and Unemployment Benefits," saying:

While "disagree(ing)" with Republicans, he capitulated, arguing that "without a willingness to give on both sides, there's no reason to believe (the current) stalemate won't continue well into next year....I am not willing to let that happen....it would be the wrong thing to do."

"As a result, we have arrived at a framework for a bipartisan agreement." Everyone will get a tax cut on income, capital gains, dividends, and the Bush enacted federal estate tax that lapsed at the start of 2010, including the super-rich (who deserve higher, not lower taxes), Obama caving to Republicans and deep-pocketed donors who'd likely give less if they paid more.

In Obama-speak, we need to make "tough choices...to secure our future and our children's future and our grandchildren's future" by:

permanent wars;
greater super-rich enrichment;
temporary populist benefit extensions; as well as
class warfare coming through neoliberal austerity for working Americans, mainly middle class ones, targeted for elimination.

Neither Obama or congressional allies explained it or that both parties accelerated it in recent years.


Free Julian Assange! Hands off WikiLeaks!

Bill Van Auken
WSWS


Julian Assange arriving at Westminster magistrates court.
The WikiLeaks founder's request for bail was denied.

"Crimes have been either concealed or justified by means of propaganda, the invocation of state secrets or outright lying to the public. This is what makes those attacking WikiLeaks hate and fear its work, and what makes this work so vitally necessary."

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was jailed in Britain Tuesday on charges that are nothing more than a pretext for an act of political repression dictated by the US government.

The aim of this judicial travesty is, in the first instance, to punish Assange for having made public secret cables exposing crimes and conspiracies carried out by US officials.

Second, by throwing Assange into London’s Wandsworth prison, the US and British authorities hope not only to silence WikiLeaks but also to intimidate anyone else from daring to lift the lid on government secrets and lies.

It is almost certain that the ultimate goal of the shoddy legal frame-up is to have Assange extradited to the United States to be tried as a spy or even as an accomplice of terrorism.

Given the unprecedented and shameful public outcry by leading American politicians and media figures for Assange to be declared an “enemy combatant” or “terrorist” and “taken out” or “assassinated,” not only would his ability to get a fair trial in the US be excluded, but his very survival would be in doubt.

Those leading the campaign against Assange and WikiLeaks are representatives of a government and a ruling establishment that is responsible for decades of criminality carried out behind the backs of the American people—from stolen elections, to illegal wars of aggression, to torture and other acts of international terror.


WikiLeaks cables cast fresh light on coup against former Australian PM Rudd

Patrick O’Connor
WSWS

The latest round of US diplomatic cables distributed by WikiLeaks has cast fresh light on the circumstances surrounding the anti-democratic Labor Party coup on June 23-24 that ousted Kevin Rudd as Australian prime minister. In 2008 and 2009, the US embassy issued an extraordinary series of scathing assessments of Rudd’s performance, centring on his attitude to China. While the full story is yet to come out, the WSWS noted in the aftermath of the coup that “Washington’s increasingly aggressive stance towards Beijing was undoubtedly a major factor in the recent political upheavals in Canberra.”

The cables also shed light on the role being played by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The prime beneficiary of the coup against Rudd, Gillard is functioning as nothing but a mouthpiece for the Obama administration. Lining up with right-wing forces in the US that have vilified WikiLeaks’ editor Julian Assange, and called for his “assassination”, the Australian prime minister has joined the fray by declaring “illegal”, without a shred of evidence, the publication of the documents and by supporting US threats to prosecute Assange.

Excerpts from the latest cables have been published today by the Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers. They cover a two-year period in which the US was becoming increasingly preoccupied with countering the rise of China as a rival world power. Not yet published are cables from 2010, in the period immediately leading up to Rudd’s ousting. But what has so far been revealed makes clear that as far as Washington was concerned, the Australian government’s primary responsibility was to function as an obedient junior partner in the anti-China containment strategy, providing military and diplomatic support as demanded. Much of the US embassy’s anger with Rudd derived from his various foreign policy initiatives that were not first devised in Washington, or at least vetted by American officials.


When it comes to Assange rape case, the Swedes are making it up as they go along

James D. Catlin
Crikey

James D. Catlin is the Melbourne barrister who acted for Julian Assange in London in October.

"Make no mistake: it is not Julian Assange that is on trial here but Sweden and its reputation as a modern and model country with rules of law."

Apparently having consensual sex in Sweden without a condom is punishable by a term of imprisonment of a minimum of two years for rape. That is the basis for a reinstitution of rape charges against WikiLeaks figurehead Julian Assange that is destined to make Sweden and its justice system the laughing stock of the world and dramatically damage its reputation as a model of modernity.

Sweden’s Public Prosecutor’s Office was embarrassed in August this year when it leaked to the media that it was seeking to arrest Assange for rape, then on the same day withdrew the arrest warrant because in its own words there was “no evidence”. The damage to Assange’s reputation is incalculable. More than three quarters of internet references to his name refer to rape. Now, three months on and three prosecutors later, the Swedes seem to be clear on their basis to proceed. Consensual sex that started out with a condom ended up without one, ergo, the sex was not consensual.

For three months Assange had been waiting in vain to hear whether media statements by and for the two female “victims” that there was no fear or violence were going to be embellished so the charges might be carried forward due to greater seriousness. Such statements would stop a rape charge in any Western country dead in its tracks. Rape is a crime of violence, duress or deception. You can rape someone by deluding them into thinking you are someone else or by drugging them or by reason of their young age but essentially it’s a crime of violence.

The women here are near to and over 30 and have international experience, some of it working in Swedish government embassies. There is no suggestion of drugs nor identity concealment. Far from it. Both women boasted of their celebrity connection to Assange after the events that they would now see him destroyed for.


Cablegate: Anonymous - The Internet will not be censored

Steve Ragan
TechHerald


Julian is the Internet's last hope...(IMG: Guillem
Carbonell Garcia / S.Ragan)

Julian Assange deifies everything they hold dear. Whether or not he wants their help, the collective hive of Anonymous has joined the pro-WikiLeaks anti-censorship movement. Their first target was the PayPal blog, but they have since moved on, targeting PostFinance.ch, and there are plans for more targets.

It started shortly after PayPal issued a statement that they had permanently restricted the account used by WikiLeaks to collect donations. Anonymous took offence to PayPal’s actions, including the fact that all of the money collected by the account holder - the Wau Holland Foundation - on behalf of WikiLeaks was confiscated.

Anonymous shifted from Operation Payback, where they were attacking various copyright enforcement agencies, including the RIAA and MPAA, to Operation Avenge Assange. The result of this shift caused 75 service interruptions, and more than 8 hours of downtime for PayPal’s blog. By Monday, things had returned to normal on PayPal’s end, but Anonymous was already hitting their second target.

In a statement, Post Finance, the Swiss bank that held funds for Julian Assange’s defense fund, reported that they had frozen the account. At the time, it was reported that it held nearly 31,000 EUR. The bank used a technicality to seize the account, reporting to the media that, “it was revealed that Assange provided false information regarding his place of residence.”

Assange has used his lawyer's address in Geneva on bank records. As such, the bank noted that they were closing them because “Assange cannot provide proof of residence in Switzerland and thus does not meet the criteria for a customer relationship with PostFinance.”

Once the announcement by PostFinance made the wires, Anonymous acted. They launched attacks at IP addresses used by the bank with the aim of hindering the completion of financial transactions. As of publication, PostFinance.ch has been offline more than 12 hours.


Racial and Gendered State Violence: 10 000 Palestinian Women Imprisoned

Patrick Mac Manus in Palestine
Patrick Mac Manus Blog

An estimated 10,000 Palestinian women have been arrested and detained since 1967 under Israeli military orders, which govern nearly every aspect of life in the occupied Palestinian territory today, including more than 750 Palestinian women arrested by Israel between the years 2000-2009.

Both HaSharon and Damon Prisons lack a gender-sensitive approach and, as such, female prisoners detained there suffer from harsh imprisonment conditions and interlocking systems of oppression, which are enacted through medical negligence, denial of education, denial of family visits, solitary confinement, and overcrowded cells. A majority of these cells are infested with insects, dirty, and lack adequate ventilation and natural light. The Israeli Prison Service, even in cases involving the detention of pregnant female detainees, rarely addresses personal health and hygiene needs.

Other forms of abuse perpetrated against Palestinian women detainees and prisoners include numerous forms of sexual harassment, namely: threats of rape (in some cases threats of rape are made towards the detainee’s family members), sexually degrading insults, and invasive body/strip searches used as a method of punishment. These occurrences are a fundamental part of Palestinian women’s prison experiences and should be understood as a common and systematic form of racial and gendered State violence.


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