The US government has won its appeal against a lower British court's rejection of its extradition request to prosecute Julian Assange for journalistic activity under the Espionage Act. Rather than going free, the WikiLeaks founder will continue to languish in Belmarsh Prison where he has already spent over two and a half years despite having been convicted of no crime.
I can't agree more with this piece. As many of us have realized, this whole process has been a public pillory, constructed by the ruling elites as a warning to anyone even considering defying the forever iron-shod boot of war, repression, inequality and hypocrisy.
it's been a public threat to people around the world from the gangsters with their jackboots on our collective neck. follow Assange's lead, and leak / publish / share / spread criminal secrets. that's the only way to disrupt and undermine the global gang network. we are still many, and they are only a tiny cabal.
The US military budget is as high as the next 11 countries combined. I was listening to Jimmy Dore today riffing with another comedian (his name escapes me). The other comedian quipped something like, "Well you never know when the next 11 countries might gang up on you!" as a "defense" of our insanely high military budget.
When I read something like this post about Assange, and I think how the US is following a somewhat similar path to fascism like Germany in the 1930s (just much slower), I think, "Maybe it will come to it that the next 11 countries will be fighting the US Empire all at once.
Both parties (DNC and GOP) are identical, fascist and utterly corrupt.
-- Trump and GOP are truly HORRIBLE.
-- DNC oligarchs (Biden, Pelosi, Schumer) are even WORSE (CORRUPTION, censorship, they concocted Russia-gate hoax, torture of Julian Assange, Daniel Hale’s persecution for Obama’s drone crimes, $16B Haiti-corruption under Hillary/Obama – Biden-family corruption pales in comparison)
The ONLY solution – vote THIRD party – now and forever.
ALWAYS vote – but VOTE for a Third (or fourth, fifth..) party – at ALL levels, especially at LOCAL levels (vote OUT each and every incumbent).
A Wolf, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, decided not to attack the lamb, but to find some reason to justify to the Lamb why the Wolf had the right to eat him. So the Wolf said:
“Sir Lamb, last year you greatly insulted me.”
“But,” bleated the Lamb mournfully, “I was not born last year!”
Then the Wolf said, “You feed in my pasture.”
“No, good sir,” replied the Lamb, “I have not yet tasted grass.”
Again the Wolf said, “You drink water from my well.”
“No,” exclaimed the Lamb, “I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother’s milk is both food and drink to me.”
Upon which the Wolf seized the Lamb and ate him up, saying, “Well! I won’t remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my accusations.”
Moral: The tyrant will always find a reason for his tyranny.
I get where you're coming from, but wolves aren't tyrants. Stories like this that demonize wolves are why they are in danger of extinction, and why ecosystems, where wolves have been hunted out of existence (or nearly), are so out of whack.
Correct, and your sarcasm underlines my point. Anthropomorphizing wolves as evil, scheming demons (e.g. Red Riding Hood, the 3 little pigs) rather than ecosystemic extremely important apex predators leads to situations where laws to hunt wolves for sport to extinction get little to no pushback. The result is the explosion of grazing animals to the detriment of the entire ecosystem, from waterways and fish to birds of prey.
Take a look at the study of the totally unexpected and wonderful results in Yellowstone after the park reintroduced wolves into the park.
As Caity often points out: It starts with a narrative. "Wolves are evil schemers out til kill your grandmother." "They are 'tyrants' who will find any justification to kill a defenseless lamb."
You don't need a fable with a wolf. You can just use Nazi Germans and Jews, or Israelis and Palestinians, or Saudis and Yemenese and it is much more horrific because it historically or currently true.
You say it. Nothing to add. That's how it works. While people stare at pictures of yesterday they can't get aware of how it reappears, in different appearance. It is the idea that somebody must wear a short mustache and a uniform and bark commands, shaking a fist and stretching a right arm into the sky to identify it as fascism. The differences lie elsewhere, between the reality of a democracy and the propaganda identifying what is factual with the meaning of the principle. Be sober: There never has been a democracy in the USA.
Great article Caitlin! Thank you so much. The real deal now the Biden puppet's are in charge. NOW they send Assange here to the Administrative State of America to be crucified. My hope is that some real Patriot warriors somehow intercept and save him (in transit), and that he becomes a new underground leader against the Leftist's world-wide fascist corporate State. I pray he doesn't die en-route as well. The good news? They are risking him becoming an inflection point again, in their 4th/5th Gen Warfare plans...we shall see. God Bless him for what he has done and exposed. Let US all rally again for him here again the fascist Administrative State. He may be another rally point to restore the Republic.
The number of things of which an American can be proud of their country continues its diminishing spiral.
Obama, as bad as he is, at least didn't prosecute Assange; that bit of traitorous stupidity was left to Donald Trump (and now continues under Biden. Please don't speak to me of Trump as any kind of viable choice in 2024.) Both parties only champion rot.
There are a handful of issues that allow us to illuminate our principles clearly and without equivocation. America's prosecution of Julian Assange diminishes us all.
IMHO Obama didn't do Assange any favors. Assange was in the Ecuadoran Embassy until 2019. He entered it under Obama.
IOW, you give Obama a break he doesn't deserve.
WRT Trump, he's as viable as anyone. Now whether or not you want to see him as president again, that's a different question. Let's say Obama v. Trump, who would you prefer? I sincerely do not know.
You glossed over my "as bad as Obama is" apparently. Both Obama and Trump as pieces of shit, and therefore, in your theoretical matchup, it would be my pleasure to vote for neither.
Perhaps my calling him a piece of shit wasn't clear enough? Lol
My bigger point -- seemingly missed -- is that Obama will not be running in 2024; Trump likely will be and there will no doubt be those crawling out of the woodwork propping him us as a viable candidate. He is not, (and if Obama were running again, I wouldn't vote for him either.)
Could that video of Blinken actually be authentic? The fact that he's lying in his teeth is a given, but his delivery! Clearly, his stable of handlers includes an acting coach. He's so eloquent, so polished, so handsome and stalwart--like Obama, but with better bloodlines. And his connections--sterling! From Wikipedia: In 2017, Blinken co-founded WestExec Advisors, a political strategy advising firm, with Michèle Flournoy, Sergio Aguirre, and Nitin Chadda...According to Flournoy, the firm's clientele includes "the defense industry, private equity firms, and hedge funds"...Blinken received almost $1.2 million in compensation from WestExec.[53].... And so on. We're doomed, I'm afraid.
In an interview with The Intercept, Flournoy described WestExec's role as facilitating relationships between Silicon Valley firms and the Department of Defense and law enforcement;[54] Flournoy and others compared WestExec to Kissinger Associates.[54]
The system Blinken works for is doomed, because its substance is a texture of lies, and in a crisis its personnel (being surrounded by lies) will not know who they are, who they are working for, or what is true. We were able to observe this at the outset of the current pandemic, when the official line changed every other day, according only to the political convenience of whoever was in charge. Appropriately Assange predicted the evolution of exactly such a situation several years ago.
for the record...i scanned and requested a small group of my friends to scan TV news (they are uniquely placed b/c their place of work keeps one channel "running" during their work, bu they get to choose,....so they get to monitor the hourly news "cycle" from the Hollywood journalism/press)....NOT ONE STORY ON ASSANGE. NOT ONE MENTION. It didn't rate a mention despite three 24 hour hollywood news studios, not to mention the "nightly news"!
This is how CUNNING the elites who govern this country are...a "mention" on news would create "ideation" around the story...it might spark "critical thinking", it might spark "group awareness" or "community following" around that topic......CAN'T HAVE THAT in Murica!
Right on, Caitlin. The USG dropped its disguise on 9/11, but that wasn't enough to shut everybody up, so now we have it even more explicitly: Shut the fuck up, do not resist or we will destroy you with overwhelming power ("shock and awe").
the comment section of AOL is always full of neo-con/neo-lib orgies. my latest glimpse -- to quickly check what they are up to -- has led me to believe that their psychopathic sociopathy is eating their tiny brain up like maggots. things are gonna get much worse before getting better, as the depraved are getting really desperate. somehow we need to help the neocons and the neolibs to form a circular firing squad.
I can't agree more with this piece. As many of us have realized, this whole process has been a public pillory, constructed by the ruling elites as a warning to anyone even considering defying the forever iron-shod boot of war, repression, inequality and hypocrisy.
it's been a public threat to people around the world from the gangsters with their jackboots on our collective neck. follow Assange's lead, and leak / publish / share / spread criminal secrets. that's the only way to disrupt and undermine the global gang network. we are still many, and they are only a tiny cabal.
I'm sending "Christmas Presents" from here: https://wikileaks.shop
Hoping others will too.
The US military budget is as high as the next 11 countries combined. I was listening to Jimmy Dore today riffing with another comedian (his name escapes me). The other comedian quipped something like, "Well you never know when the next 11 countries might gang up on you!" as a "defense" of our insanely high military budget.
When I read something like this post about Assange, and I think how the US is following a somewhat similar path to fascism like Germany in the 1930s (just much slower), I think, "Maybe it will come to it that the next 11 countries will be fighting the US Empire all at once.
Both parties (DNC and GOP) are identical, fascist and utterly corrupt.
-- Trump and GOP are truly HORRIBLE.
-- DNC oligarchs (Biden, Pelosi, Schumer) are even WORSE (CORRUPTION, censorship, they concocted Russia-gate hoax, torture of Julian Assange, Daniel Hale’s persecution for Obama’s drone crimes, $16B Haiti-corruption under Hillary/Obama – Biden-family corruption pales in comparison)
The ONLY solution – vote THIRD party – now and forever.
ALWAYS vote – but VOTE for a Third (or fourth, fifth..) party – at ALL levels, especially at LOCAL levels (vote OUT each and every incumbent).
A Wolf, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, decided not to attack the lamb, but to find some reason to justify to the Lamb why the Wolf had the right to eat him. So the Wolf said:
“Sir Lamb, last year you greatly insulted me.”
“But,” bleated the Lamb mournfully, “I was not born last year!”
Then the Wolf said, “You feed in my pasture.”
“No, good sir,” replied the Lamb, “I have not yet tasted grass.”
Again the Wolf said, “You drink water from my well.”
“No,” exclaimed the Lamb, “I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother’s milk is both food and drink to me.”
Upon which the Wolf seized the Lamb and ate him up, saying, “Well! I won’t remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my accusations.”
Moral: The tyrant will always find a reason for his tyranny.
I get where you're coming from, but wolves aren't tyrants. Stories like this that demonize wolves are why they are in danger of extinction, and why ecosystems, where wolves have been hunted out of existence (or nearly), are so out of whack.
They also don't typically carry on conversations with their prey, not that this isn't beside the point.
Correct, and your sarcasm underlines my point. Anthropomorphizing wolves as evil, scheming demons (e.g. Red Riding Hood, the 3 little pigs) rather than ecosystemic extremely important apex predators leads to situations where laws to hunt wolves for sport to extinction get little to no pushback. The result is the explosion of grazing animals to the detriment of the entire ecosystem, from waterways and fish to birds of prey.
Take a look at the study of the totally unexpected and wonderful results in Yellowstone after the park reintroduced wolves into the park.
As Caity often points out: It starts with a narrative. "Wolves are evil schemers out til kill your grandmother." "They are 'tyrants' who will find any justification to kill a defenseless lamb."
You don't need a fable with a wolf. You can just use Nazi Germans and Jews, or Israelis and Palestinians, or Saudis and Yemenese and it is much more horrific because it historically or currently true.
It's also not Aesop.
Apropos nothing
You say it. Nothing to add. That's how it works. While people stare at pictures of yesterday they can't get aware of how it reappears, in different appearance. It is the idea that somebody must wear a short mustache and a uniform and bark commands, shaking a fist and stretching a right arm into the sky to identify it as fascism. The differences lie elsewhere, between the reality of a democracy and the propaganda identifying what is factual with the meaning of the principle. Be sober: There never has been a democracy in the USA.
Great article Caitlin! Thank you so much. The real deal now the Biden puppet's are in charge. NOW they send Assange here to the Administrative State of America to be crucified. My hope is that some real Patriot warriors somehow intercept and save him (in transit), and that he becomes a new underground leader against the Leftist's world-wide fascist corporate State. I pray he doesn't die en-route as well. The good news? They are risking him becoming an inflection point again, in their 4th/5th Gen Warfare plans...we shall see. God Bless him for what he has done and exposed. Let US all rally again for him here again the fascist Administrative State. He may be another rally point to restore the Republic.
It's now confirmed. I'm living in a fascist dictatorship.
Amerika's speech police are now global. Freeeeeeeeeeeeeedommmmmmmmmmm.....NOT.
The number of things of which an American can be proud of their country continues its diminishing spiral.
Obama, as bad as he is, at least didn't prosecute Assange; that bit of traitorous stupidity was left to Donald Trump (and now continues under Biden. Please don't speak to me of Trump as any kind of viable choice in 2024.) Both parties only champion rot.
There are a handful of issues that allow us to illuminate our principles clearly and without equivocation. America's prosecution of Julian Assange diminishes us all.
IMHO Obama didn't do Assange any favors. Assange was in the Ecuadoran Embassy until 2019. He entered it under Obama.
IOW, you give Obama a break he doesn't deserve.
WRT Trump, he's as viable as anyone. Now whether or not you want to see him as president again, that's a different question. Let's say Obama v. Trump, who would you prefer? I sincerely do not know.
You glossed over my "as bad as Obama is" apparently. Both Obama and Trump as pieces of shit, and therefore, in your theoretical matchup, it would be my pleasure to vote for neither.
You said "at least didn't prosecute Assange;".
I give him no credit for not prosecuting Assange when he could have stopped it.
Perhaps my calling him a piece of shit wasn't clear enough? Lol
My bigger point -- seemingly missed -- is that Obama will not be running in 2024; Trump likely will be and there will no doubt be those crawling out of the woodwork propping him us as a viable candidate. He is not, (and if Obama were running again, I wouldn't vote for him either.)
Let me repeat: both parties champion rot.
Could that video of Blinken actually be authentic? The fact that he's lying in his teeth is a given, but his delivery! Clearly, his stable of handlers includes an acting coach. He's so eloquent, so polished, so handsome and stalwart--like Obama, but with better bloodlines. And his connections--sterling! From Wikipedia: In 2017, Blinken co-founded WestExec Advisors, a political strategy advising firm, with Michèle Flournoy, Sergio Aguirre, and Nitin Chadda...According to Flournoy, the firm's clientele includes "the defense industry, private equity firms, and hedge funds"...Blinken received almost $1.2 million in compensation from WestExec.[53].... And so on. We're doomed, I'm afraid.
In an interview with The Intercept, Flournoy described WestExec's role as facilitating relationships between Silicon Valley firms and the Department of Defense and law enforcement;[54] Flournoy and others compared WestExec to Kissinger Associates.[54]
The system Blinken works for is doomed, because its substance is a texture of lies, and in a crisis its personnel (being surrounded by lies) will not know who they are, who they are working for, or what is true. We were able to observe this at the outset of the current pandemic, when the official line changed every other day, according only to the political convenience of whoever was in charge. Appropriately Assange predicted the evolution of exactly such a situation several years ago.
A free press does not "tell stories", as Blinken says, it tells the truth.
for the record...i scanned and requested a small group of my friends to scan TV news (they are uniquely placed b/c their place of work keeps one channel "running" during their work, bu they get to choose,....so they get to monitor the hourly news "cycle" from the Hollywood journalism/press)....NOT ONE STORY ON ASSANGE. NOT ONE MENTION. It didn't rate a mention despite three 24 hour hollywood news studios, not to mention the "nightly news"!
This is how CUNNING the elites who govern this country are...a "mention" on news would create "ideation" around the story...it might spark "critical thinking", it might spark "group awareness" or "community following" around that topic......CAN'T HAVE THAT in Murica!
Right on, Caitlin. The USG dropped its disguise on 9/11, but that wasn't enough to shut everybody up, so now we have it even more explicitly: Shut the fuck up, do not resist or we will destroy you with overwhelming power ("shock and awe").
perfectly put, Caitlin.
on a tangently related note,
the comment section of AOL is always full of neo-con/neo-lib orgies. my latest glimpse -- to quickly check what they are up to -- has led me to believe that their psychopathic sociopathy is eating their tiny brain up like maggots. things are gonna get much worse before getting better, as the depraved are getting really desperate. somehow we need to help the neocons and the neolibs to form a circular firing squad.
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/seventh_letter.html