Mohamed Elmaazi, Consortium News:

The British Parliament is debating a national security bill which could undermine the basis of national security reporting and ultimately throw journalists in jail for life.

A person convicted under the new offense of “obtaining or disclosing protected information,” defined in Section 1 of National Security Bill 2022, faces a fine, life imprisonment, or both, if convicted following a jury trial.

A review of the parliamentary debate on the bill makes clear that work by press outlets such as WikiLeaks is at the heart of Tory and Labour MPs’ thinking as they push to make the bill law.

As currently written, direct-action protests, such as those conducted by Palestine Action against U.K.-based Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems Ltd, could also be captured under the offences of “sabotage” and entering “prohibited places” sections of the bill.

Whistleblowers, journalists and publishers focusing on national security related matters may be most at risk of being prosecuted, though any person who “copies,” “retains,” “discloses,” “distributes” or “provides access to” so called protected information could be prosecuted.

“Protected information” is defined as any “restricted material” and it need not even be classified.

Under this bill, leakers, whistleblowers, journalists or everyday members of the public, face a potential life sentence if they receive or share “protected information” which is widely defined.

That does not mean imprisonment from one day “up to” a life sentence. If a judge determines a fine isn’t suitable enough punishment the only alternative is life in prison. Following a conviction, a judge would have no choice but to either issue a fine or hand down a life sentence, or both.

There is no public interest or journalistic defense in the bill, a fact noted by some of the parliamentarians during the debates.

Ω Ω Ω

The bill can be seen as part of a growing crackdown in both Britain and the United States against legitimate journalism that challenges establishment narratives.

In many respects, the proposed law, which applies to people both inside and outside the U.K., shares many elements with the draconian 1917 Espionage Act, which the U.S. government is using to prosecute WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.

Ω Ω Ω

As is the case with the U.S.’ Espionage Act, no evidence of actual harm needs to be proven by prosecutors in order to secure a conviction under the National Security Bill.

There is a broad test of whether the defendant knows or “ought reasonably to know” that their conduct is “prejudicial to safety or interests of the U.K.”

What is, or is not, “prejudicial” to the “safety” or “interests” of the U.K. is also to be determined by the government of the day, according to long established case law from the U.K.’s highest court.

This could include anything from environmental, energy, climate and housing policy, to policing, foreign affairs or military policy.

Deutsche Welle:

Julian Assange: Bundestagsabgeordnete fordern Freilassung

Über 80 Abgeordnete des Deutschen Bundestages wenden sich in einem offenem Brief gegen die Auslieferung des Wikileaks-Gründers an die USA. Die Auslieferung wäre ein „fatales Signal für die Pressefreiheit“.

Wikipedia:

Frank Schwabe (* 12. November 1970 in Waltrop) ist ein deutscher Politiker der SPD und seit 2005 Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages.

After years of seeing Assange’s support team release statements from Bundestag Abgeordnete that were almost wholly Die Linke reps I am very glad to see an SPD spokesman given center stage.

Kamala Harris often seems to be working hard at remaining expressionless, perhaps pursing her lips to keep from laughing.

This November perhaps a massive Blue Wave will gush across the land. A tsunami of mighty woman power will envelop and overcome all recalcitrant Republican males who dare attempt to withstand the righteous Democratic wrath. It could happen.

BBC:

A law in the US state of Arizona will ban people from filming police officers at short distances, with possible fines or jail for those who don’t comply.

Critics call the law a threat to free speech and the right to a free press.

Police are often filmed by bystanders and footage has occasionally resulted in officer misconduct being exposed.

The law comes into effect on 24 September and will make it illegal to film police officers in the state within a distance of 8 feet (2.4m).

People who ignore a verbal warning and continue filming risk a misdemeanour charge and up to 30 days in jail.

The law, however, makes exceptions for people interacting with police, or in enclosed area on private property.

State representative John Kavanagh – who sponsored the bill – has argued it is necessary because „groups hostile to the police“ sometimes „get dangerously close to potentially violent encounters“.

Tribune:

Responsibility for Johnson’s ability to rise as far as he has lies not with some personal quality, but with a political class that allowed him to get away with it. The Conservative MPs that now denounce him—claiming their ‘honour’ demands they resign from his Cabinet—knew what he was like when they campaigned to make him Prime Minister. What has changed is that now he is a busted flush, an electoral liability for the Conservatives and a threat to their political careers.

…

Johnson’s premiership served a purpose for the political establishment, expressed clearly by Sajid Javid in his resignation letter, in which he wrote that Johnson ‘will forever be credited with seeing off the threat of Corbynism’.

BBC:

Guardian:

Johnson accuses Tory MPs who forced him out of ‚herd‘ mentality

Boris Johnson’s resignation speech was short and relatively perfunctory – but revealing, although perhaps not in the way that he intended. Normally when prime ministers leave office, or start the process of leaving office, they focus on their legacy. Johnson mentioned Brexit, the UK’s response to Covid and his support for Ukraine, but it felt as if he was rattling through his standard talking point, rather than reflecting deeply on what he did and why.

Instead, the speech came alive when Johnson started considering the circumstances of his departure. In a rare moment of humility, he accepted “no one is remotely indispensable”. But he also delivered a barely concealed whinge against the Tory MPs who forced him out, effectively accusing them of groupthink and ignoring the polls.

And he said nothing about the multiple flaws and failings that led to his party losing confidence in him. Not a word, or even the most tangential reference. It seemed like confirmation that he still thinks he has done nothing wrong.

Reuters:

A peculiar granite monument that some have dubbed „America’s Stonehenge“ but a conservative politician condemned as „Satanic“ was torn down on Wednesday by authorities in rural Georgia hours after it was heavily damaged in a bombing by vandals.

United States Vice President Kamala Harris:

I want for you that you hold each other tight as a community, that you know that you have a whole nation who cares deeply about you and stands with you. This is a — an incredibly tight community. I know that. And this person will be brought to justice, but it’s not going to undo what happened.

And we — we’re here for you, and we stand with you. And of course, as we always say — because it is true — our prayers are with you.

The President and I and our administration have put all of the resources and will continue to put all of the resources that the Mayor and the Chief and others need in terms of the federal assistance. So the FBI and the ATF are here.

There’s a lot of healing that’s going to have to happen that is both physical and emotional. There is no question that this experience is something that is going to linger in terms of the trauma. And so, I’d like to urge all the families and all the individuals to do seek the support that you so rightly deserve.

And — and we’ll deal with what we need to deal with in terms of also, as we move forward, all agreeing that we’ve got to be smarter as a country in terms of who has access to what and, in particular, assault weapons. And we got to take this stuff seriously, as seriously as you are — because you have been forced to have to take it seriously.

The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy to understand that this can happen anywhere, in any peace-loving community. And we should stand together and speak out about why it’s got to stop.