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Amnesty International Says They Do Not Consider Julian Assange or Chelsea Manning to be Prisoners of Conscience

Amnesty International has declared that they do not consider 2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Julian Assange or whistleblower Chelsea Manning to be Prisoners of Conscience, and therefore they will not be actively defending them.

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Amnesty International has declared that they do not consider 2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Julian Assange or whistleblower Chelsea Manning to be Prisoners of Conscience, and therefore they will not be actively defending them.

The United States is currently seeking to extradite Assange to face charges related to the publishing of war logs that were sent to the award-winning publication by Manning — who is also currently sitting in prison for refusing to testify before a secret grand jury in a case against the WikiLeaks founder.

The government claims that Assange had offered to assist Manning in masking her identity, when accessing the files that she was legally authorized to view, and is using this as the basis for requesting extradition — though it is almost certain that more severe charges will follow.

Earlier this month, Maxine Walker of Julian Assange Defence Committee (JADC) had sent a letter to Amnesty urging them to defend Assange as he is in “grave peril,” according to a report from WSWS.

On May 17, the JADC received a response from Amnesty International UK in which they stated that “Julian Assange’s case is a case we’re monitoring closely but not actively working on. Amnesty International does not consider Julian Assange to be a Prisoner of Conscience.”

“His name appears not to have been mentioned in your material for World Press Freedom Day, an extraordinary omission given his current situation and that Julian Assange was awarded the 2009 Amnesty International UK Media Award for New Media,” Walker noted in her letter to the human rights organization.

In Amnesty’s response to Walker, they also linked to Amnesty’s Deputy Director for Research for Europe, Massimo Moratti, supporting Sweden’s reopening of the bogus rape investigation against Assange.

“Julian Assange rape allegations must be treated with utmost seriousness,” Moretti wrote, “It is vital that the allegations against Julian Assange are properly investigated in a way that respects the rights of both the complainant and the person under investigation.”

Assange is accused of having slept with a woman who was half asleep after a night of consensual sex and accused of having sex with an acquaintance of that woman and the condom breaking. There was no DNA, from either person, found on the condom. No charges have ever been brought in the case.

In a statement from the group Women Against Rape, they described Sweden’s investigation into Assange as “a smokescreen behind which a number of governments are trying to clamp down on WikiLeaks for having audaciously revealed to the public their secret planning of wars and occupations with their attendant rape, murder and destruction… The authorities care so little about violence against women that they manipulate rape allegations at will.”

In an essay on her website, Pamela Anderson, a close friend of Assange, explained that “both complainants have confirmed already years ago: namely that their sex with Julian had always been consensual, that they had never intended to report a crime, but that Swedish police had pressured them into doing so. And when Sweden finally wanted to drop the case in 2013, it was the British who urged them not to get ‘cold feet’. Sweden complied and, in the following years, went out of its way to ensure that Julian would not be able to defend himself against the rape allegations without at the same time exposing himself to extradition to the US.”

As far as Manning goes, Amnesty claims that she is not a Prisoner of Conscience worthy of their support because “detention for not testifying before a grand jury is not itself illegal.”

Amnesty told WSWS that “we understand Chelsea’s motivations for declining [to testify] when she has already testified at length on these issues,” adding that the “excessive sentencing and cruel treatment of her previous incarceration served as a stark reminder of the lengths that those in power will go to in order to keep others from speaking out.”

Yet, the website notes, Amnesty has not published a single thing about Manning on their website since 2017.

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Culture

Black Lives Matter Extremists Cover Former Home of Chauvin Defense Witness With Animal Blood, Leave Severed Pig Head on Doorstep

The former home of Barry Brodd, who testified as a witness for Derek Chauvin’s defense, was covered with animal blood and a severed pig’s head was left on their front porch on Saturday morning.

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The former home of Barry Brodd, who testified as a witness for Derek Chauvin’s defense, was covered with animal blood and a severed pig’s head was left on their front porch on Saturday morning.

Brodd no longer lives at the Santa Rose home that was attacked.

Brodd testified last week that police were justified in keeping George Floyd pinned because he kept struggling.

The new family that lives there called the police when they were awakened by the group of black clad individuals outside their home shortly after 3 a.m.

Law enforcement believes that the individuals thought that Brodd still lived there.

“Because Mr. Brodd no longer lives in the city of Santa Rosa, it appears the victim was falsely targeted,” police said in a news release.

Santa Rosa Police Chief Rainer Navarro through Brodd under the bus on April 13, issuing a statement saying “Mr. Brodd’s comments do not reflect the values and beliefs of the Santa Rosa Police Department.”

Approximatey 45 minutes after the home was vandalized, a hand statue in front of the Santa Rosa Plaza mall was also splattered with animal blood. The vandals, who match the description of the people who attacked the home, left a sign with a pig on it that read “oink oink.” The statue has no apparent message related to the trial, as it is dedicated to immigrant agricultural workers.

Damage to the residence exceeded $400, making the attack a felony, according to a report from KPIX.

Anyone who witnessed or has information about the attack is encouraged to contact SRPD through their online Tip Line: http://www.srcity.org/CrimeTips.

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Culture

MUST WATCH: California Restaurant Owner Blocks Health Inspector’s Car, ‘If We Can’t Work, You Can’t Work’

A GoFundMe campaign to support the restaurant has raised over $20,000.

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A heroic California restaurant owner blocked in a Los Angeles County health inspector’s car after he attempted to shut his business down for allowing outdoor dining, asserting that “if we can’t work, you can’t work.”

Carlos Roman, the owner of Bread & Barley in Covina, did not back down even after police arrived.

“He wants to come in here and say that no one can work, so he can’t work either,” Roman told the officer. “He decided to come today and take photos of the people outside and say that he was going to fine us,” he explained.

https://twitter.com/hollandcourtney/status/1343623418910973953

Roman refused to move his truck, telling the officer to go ahead and get her supervisor.

“This is what happens when people get desperate. I’m desperate. Who is going to pay her car payment? Who is going to pay my cook’s rent?” Roman asked the officer. “I want it to be hard on everyone. I want everyone to see how hard this sh-t is.”

The outraged owner demanded to know if the inspector and the officer got paychecks last week, asserting that his employees haven’t.

“You’re just doing your job right, we’re all in this together?” Roman asked the inspector. “When I go to the bank, can I tell the bank the health department said it’s ok and that I don’t have to pay you?”

“What do I tell my employees?” Roman shouted.

Roman is now facing two $500 fines for failure to comply and interfering with the health officer.

A GoFundMe campaign to support the restaurant has raised over $20,000.

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US News

Hunter Biden’s Ex-Wife, Kathleen, Tells Him He is a Better Father Than Joe Biden Was

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In an email to her ex-husband Hunter Biden, Kathleen Biden told her troubled former spouse that he is a better father than Joe Biden was.

The cryptic email was found in a trove of documents currently being reviewed in a joint effort by District Herald and the Nationalist Review, provided to us on Friday by a source who obtained them from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

 

“I want you to know that you are a great father – a better father than your dad. Your girls love you because you love them for who they are. You haven’t judged them, you have loved them for who they are. You listen and you make them and their problems important to you. You make them great because you allow them to be who they are without unfair expectations. You are patient, caring, and loving,” Kathleen Biden wrote. “I know you and I have struggled but your love for the girls hasn’t waivered. Remember how we use to joke that the girls didn’t have anything to survive to make them strong and interesting? Well, we gave it to them! They did survive it and they are stronger. Through it all they never questioned your love or commitment.”

Kathleen Biden asserted that the former Vice President “wasn’t perfect” as a father.

“I know you love your dad and I do too but he wasn’t perfect,” the mother of Hunter’s children continued. “No one is perfect. At your core, you taught our girls what was important. They are kind, thoughtful, open, curious, funny, compassionate and hard working. You were as much a part of that as I was in helping them grow. Don’t ever question whether you were as good a father as your dad. You were better, in every way.”

In response, Hunter wrote that he worries he has failed them. “Thank you for this it means everything to me. I worry so much that I have failed you all in so many ways,” he said.

Hunter also acknowledged that he will need to earn his children’s trust and respect back, though the reason is unclear.

“I know the girls love me- but I often wonder if they trust and respect me. I know it’s something I have to earn back. And I know that you are the best mother I have ever known. You have raised three incredible young women. We are so lucky to have them, and I am so lucky to have met you 23 years ago. Thank you,” he wrote.

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