The IMF Program in Ecuador: A New Report by Mark Weisbrot — Matias Vernengo

As they discuss the new candidate for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and it seems that the lead candidate for Lagarde's position is the former Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, a pro-austerity member of the Labor Party (which I guess is at least nominally on the left), it is worth reading the new CEPR report on the possible effects of IMF programs in Latin America, more specifically the one in Ecuador, now that the country has been brought back into the fold of well-behaved nations (after expelling Assange from their London embassy, in the post-Correa period)....

Naked Keynesianism — Hemlock for economics students
The IMF Program in Ecuador: A New Report by Mark Weisbrot
Matias Vernengo | Associate Professor of Economics, Bucknell University

Every Major MSM Paper Declined to Run This Piece on UK Treatment of Assange by UN Rapporteur on Torture — Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

News blackout.

Checkpoint Asia

Every Major MSM Paper Declined to Run This Piece on UK Treatment of Assange by UN Rapporteur on Torture

Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

HOME TRUTHS AND PRESS FREEDOM – WHAT THE CASES OF JULIAN ASSANGE AND IVAN GOLUNOV MEAN FOR THE AUSTRALIAN PRESS, AND VICE VERSA — John Helmer

For those [journalists] who want to keep their jobs, police raids and prosecutions are reminders when self-censorship isn’t enough to prevent their investigating abuses of the law, war crimes, fraud and corruption. The first home truth is that truth is loss-making for an enterprise; pauperizing for its reporter. The second home truth is that in wartime – that’s now – truth-telling may be a criminal offence which will get the reporter time in jail.

Dances with Bears
HOME TRUTHS AND PRESS FREEDOM – WHAT THE CASES OF JULIAN ASSANGE AND IVAN GOLUNOV MEAN FOR THE AUSTRALIAN PRESS, AND VICE VERSA
John Helmer

Links — 23 May 2019

Bloomberg View

The New Assange Indictment Endangers Journalism
Eli Lake

RT
'Modern fascism is breaking cover': Journalists react to Assange Espionage Act charges

Buzzfeed

Legal experts say the new indictment against Assange is the first time the Justice Department has used the Espionage Act to charge a third party — not the government leaker — with publishing classified information.

Press Freedom Groups Say The New Charges Against Julian Assange Are A Threat To Journalists
Zoe Tillman

The Hill
Democratic senator warns of threat to press freedom in new Assange charges

Zack Budryk

Boston Review
The Anti-Defamation League Is Not What It Seems: Under the guise of fighting hate speech, the ADL has a long history of wielding its moral authority to attack Arabs, blacks, and queers.
EMMAIA GELMAN

Sputnik International
US Reports of 'Chemical Incident' in Syria Based on Terrorist Claims – Moscow

US Considers Duties on Countries That Undervalue Currency - Report

Tyler Durden — US Senate Calls On Julian Assange To Testify

Julian Assange has been asked to testify before the US Senate Intelligence Committee as part of their Russia investigation, according to a letter signed by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Mark Warner (D-VA) posted by the official WikiLeaks Twitter account.

The letter, delivered to Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, reads in part "As part of the inquiry, the Committee requests that you make yourself available for a closed interview with bipartisan Committee staff at a mutually agreeable time and location." ...

The post provides the background leading to this request, if you are not familiar with it, or need a quick summary.

Not favorable for the FBI, especially when they did not secure or even examine the server involved as evidence.

Senior FBI officials involved in not only a coverup but also a frame up?

Zero Hedge
US Senate Calls On Julian Assange To Testify

Tyler Durden

The Julian Assange Affair

The Intercept
Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange and Hand Him Over to the UK. What Comes Next?

Glenn Greenwald

Caitlin Johnstone — Rogue Journalist
Be Prepared To Shake The Earth If Julian Assange Is Arrested
Caitlin Johnstone

RT — ‘Enslaved to US politics’: Assange seeks encrypted Twitter alternative

Assange told his 439,000 Twitter followers on Friday that he is looking for a “decentralized/cryptographic alternative” to the social media giant.…

Twitter’s freedom of expression has been on an inexorable decline. It’s enslaved to its US jurisdiction and politics. Although it is substantially better than Facebook that is a very low standard indeed,” Assange said online.

The inevitable result of politicization is loss of credibility and creation of alternatives.

Not to mention that Twitter and FaceBook and most of social media constitute a gigantic waste of time.

RT
‘Enslaved to US politics’: Assange seeks encrypted Twitter alternative

Zero Hedge — Senate Declares War On Assange

Realizing the gravity of the situation of becoming a persona non grata to the US government (and CIA), Assange then siad that “it is an interesting thought experiment to consider where other media outlets lay on this spectrum. It is clear that if the 'Pompeo doctrine' applies to WikiLeaks then it applies equally if not more so to other serious outlets."

Outlawing dissent while privileging official propaganda transmitted via compliant media. The road to tyranny leads through the US deep state and the US government. Surprised?

Zero Hedge
Senate Declares War On Assange

Tyler Durden

Also

In April, Trump’s newly appoint CIA Director Mike Pompeo branded WikiLeaks a “hostile non-state intelligence agency” which, according to Zerohedge, meant that Wikileaks would not be afforded the protections of the First Amendment under the constitution.

The Duran
CIA colludes with Congress to brand Wikileaks a “hostile non-state intelligence agency”

Alex Christoforou

see also

Zero Tolerance - Venice Mayor Orders Cops To Shoot Anyone Who Shouts 'Allahu Akbar'

Adam Garrie — Julian Assange asks why the US said nothing when Obama supported Ukrainian neo-Nazis

In the above Tweet, Assange has juxtaposed a neo-Nazi torch march in Kiev with the far-right torch march in Charlottesville. Apart from the torches, it is clear that the Ukrainian fascists were far more equipped for violence as they were wearing bullet-proof combat gear and facial coverings.

The Duran
Julian Assange asks why the US said nothing when Obama supported Ukrainian neo-Nazis
Adam Garrie

Joe Lauria — A New Twist in Seth Rich Murder Case

Best summary of the story to date, that I am aware of anyway.

More questions than answers and a lot hangs on it.

Consortium News
A New Twist in Seth Rich Murder Case

Joe Lauria

John Pilger — Getting Assange: the Untold Story

John Pilger relates the story of the concerted drive to get Assange because freedom and democracy. (snark)

How liberalism becomes authoritarian when "liberals" attempt to save liberalism by killing it.

Counterpunch

Getting Assange: the Untold Story
John Pilger

Alex Christoforou — Julian Assange tells Fox News Sean Hannity, definitively, ‘Our source is NOT the Russian government’

[Sean] Hannity interviewed Julian Assange, who once again confirmed that Russia and “no state actor” was the source of the Wikileaks Podesta emails or DNC leaks.

Hannity is also the only MSM show to explore the Craig Murray report, that chronicles the genesis of the leaks…stating that the former Ambassador had met with the source of the email leaks…confirming and corroborating Assange’s factual claim that no state actor, including Russia, was involved in any kind of “hack” or leak....

The Duran
Julian Assange tells Fox News Sean Hannity, definitively, ‘Our source is NOT the Russian government’

Alex Christoforou

Craig Murray — The CIA’s Absence of Conviction

According to Murray, it was an inside job rather than a Russian hack.

Craig Murray
The CIA’s Absence of Conviction

Craig Murray | former British ambassador to Uzbekistan

Wikileaks — Assange Statement on the US Election

Wikileaks
Assange Statement on the US Election
8 November 2016
Julian Assange

John Pilger — The Secrets Of The Us Election: Julian Assange Talks To John Pilger

Video and transcript.

johnpilger.com

The Secrets Of The Us Election: Julian Assange Talks To John Pilger

John Pilger

Ramanan — Noam Chomsky On Free Trade Agreements

Chomsky and Assange school economists on "free trade."

The Case for Concerted Action

Noam Chomsky On Free Trade Agreements

V. Ramanan

RT — Assange: WikiLeaks did not receive Clinton emails from Russian govt (JOHN PILGER EXCLUSIVE)

In a John Pilger Special, to be exclusively broadcast by RT on Saturday courtesy of Dartmouth Films, whistleblower Julian Assange categorically denied that the troves of US Democratic Party and Clinton work and staff emails released this year have come from the Russian government.…

Looks like it could be a revolt in the deep state.

RT
Assange: WikiLeaks did not receive Clinton emails from Russian govt (JOHN PILGER EXCLUSIVE)

Sputnik — Assange Says Hillary Clinton Behind Ecuador’s UK Embassy Ban on Internet

The duel heats up.

Sputnik
Assange Says Hillary Clinton Behind Ecuador’s UK Embassy Ban on Internet

If Hillary wins, she had better take the House and Senate. It's almost a forgone conclusion she will be impeached just like Bill.

The Washington Post

House Republicans are already preparing for ‘years’ of investigations of Clinton

Dave Weigel

Chicago Tribune
Cruz suggests leaving Supreme Court seat vacant if Clinton is elected

Associated Press

Joseph Jankowski — Did We Just See the Beginnings of a False Flag Attempt to Silence WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange?

Looks like the information war is in full swing with the shut down of RT's bank accounts in the UK, the shoe off of Assange's internet connection, and now this from Hillary-promoting Democrat site Daily Kos.

Russia News Now
Did We Just See the Beginnings of a False Flag Attempt to Silence WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange?
Joseph Jankowski

Robert Mackey — Ecuador Cuts Internet Access for Julian Assange to Preserve Neutrality in U.S. Election

Correa is not neutral himself. "I want Hillary to win."

The Intercept
Ecuador Cuts Internet Access for Julian Assange to Preserve Neutrality in U.S. Election
Robert Mackey

Zero Hedge
Ecuador Admits Censoring Assange Over "U.S. Election"; Denies "Yielding To Pressure From Other States"