The Assange persecution is the greatest threat to Western press freedoms in years. It is also a shining monument to the fraud of American and British self-depictions.
"Free speech and press freedoms do not exist in reality in the U.S. or the UK. They are merely rhetorical instruments to propagandize their domestic population and justify and ennoble the various wars and other forms of subversion they constantly wage in other countries in the name of upholding values they themselves do not support."
How I wish I did not believe this is a true statement.
The only thing I find surprising about the whole Assange extradition affair is how abjectly stupid BOTH "the powers that be" and the propaganda corps are.
Apparently they're too stupid to realize that setting a precedence wherein they're now claiming what amounts to universal jurisdiction to the point of killing people means that any government anywhere in the world can now declare anything anyone does anywhere on the planet illegal under penalty of death, and extradite them extrajudicially from wherever - and lest you think Britain HAS "followed the rule of law", that just means you haven't been following that this whole procedure has been conducted illegally under British law!
This effectively is the kiss-off of the entire concept of the rule of law itself; it obviously doesn't actually mean shit to these people, and, by setting that precedence, it spells trouble for the whole world.
Damn, Glenn, your columns are so powerful, that I hang on every word, but at the same time, so depressing.
I know you hate Trump, but the same forces conspired to destroy him. If they could take down a duly elected POTUS, and prop up a demented back bencher, how can our country survive?
Note the relative silence of the US and UK MSM. You'd think that they might be concerned over press freedom, but they are not.
Their "journalists" sleep soundly in their beds, comforted in that they will never say or write or even think so much as a syllable that their masters would not approve of.
Personal animus toward Assange has become a litmus test for those in power. When core civic liberties are undermined by the powers that be, the most common modus operandi is to eliminate core civic liberties, and a common tactic is to begin by targeting a figure who is both deeply marginalized and disliked.
Glenn is correct in that the Espionage Act and Sedition Act were used by Woodrow Wilson in a way that was more repressive than what Lincoln did even at the height of the Civil War. It hardly got any press. It also cowed the press in such a way that most of the country had no idea how incapacitated WIlson was in that last two years of his presidency. Today, it is just a compliant media that ignores presidential incapacitation.
I have a sick feeling that they're releasing Assange, knowing he will probably be "suicided" in custody before it ever gets to the farcical trial. Deep state desperately needs a new "LOOK, SQUIRREL!" diversion, now that the Covid lies, January 6th farce and Ukraine narrative are unravelling faster than the economy going down the toilet.
The media neocons and neo-liberal interventionist warmongers alike are puppets controlled by The CIA and The Pentagon, which maintain absolute power. The War Party sprawls across both sides of the aisle and tolerates no meaningful pushback against their military adventurism, colonial human rights violations and mass murder.
"The Obama Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act of 1917 than all previous administrations combined — in fact, three times as many as all prior presidents combined."
Folks who say that Obama was "different" need to remember this. There is no difference between Rs and Ds. It is all just one ruling class in a system designed to make us think that we actually have a choice.
As a prosecutor I am all too aware of the need to prove -- beyond a reasonable doubt and to the unanimous satisfaction of the jury ---the "intent" requirement of any and all public official corruption charges. The jury instructions are overwhelmingly defense oriented in these kinds of cases [naturally ---what else would one expect?]. The path open to any public official --- say, for example, James Comey--- to an easy Not Guilty verdict is the 'irrational good faith belief defense' --whereby the defendant admits his conduct was 'astray' but was pursued in mistaken, dumber -than- cat -shit 'good
faith.' Voila --- intent element of charge erased. No such defense is available under The Espionage Act [naturally --what else would one expect?]. The fact the essayists we most admire, including Glenn himself, are absolutely vulnerable under this law gives the lie to the idea of Freedom of Speech.
Assange's big sin is having embarrassed politicians and bureaucrats, and for that he has been hunted and hounded.
The US, UK, and any other nation that wants to preserve freedom, desperately needs to limit the time that politicians and bureaucrats are in positions where they can abuse power. This means term limits and lifetime limits, both for politicians as well as political appointees and high ranking bureaucrats (like Fauci, for example). The longer these people are in office the more arrogant they become and the more damage they can do. We'll lose a few qualified and honest people, but that price is worth ridding ourselves of the others.
It wasn't that long ago the media was applauding whistleblowers when it came to Trump. Reality Winner was paraded around as a hero for months by all of these people only a couple of years ago.
It's funny how easily they can switch back and forth on their morals.
I'm not sure how much they're leading around the public by the nose, or how much of it is just the apathy or impotence of the masses.
I suspect most don't follow it or don't care (it doesn't help that it's not really covered at all in American media). It's a shame, because the Assange/Snowden/Manning cases are easily the most important (in my opinion) cases of at least the last decade or two.
One of my best friends thinks the U.S. is the most honest, sincere, moral governments ever existed. Even though he despises Biden and acknowledges FBI, deep state corruption, he believes Donald Trump and a Republican wave will fix everything. Delusional. Voting is an endorsement of one's subjugation to the corrupt state. If no one voted, or paid taxes, or sent their hapless children to government schools, how long would this BS last? But no, stooges like my friend will continue to vote, pay taxes and send their sad children to public school and think if only their people take charge, everything will be fine.
"Free speech and press freedoms do not exist in reality in the U.S. or the UK. They are merely rhetorical instruments to propagandize their domestic population and justify and ennoble the various wars and other forms of subversion they constantly wage in other countries in the name of upholding values they themselves do not support."
How I wish I did not believe this is a true statement.
The only thing I find surprising about the whole Assange extradition affair is how abjectly stupid BOTH "the powers that be" and the propaganda corps are.
Apparently they're too stupid to realize that setting a precedence wherein they're now claiming what amounts to universal jurisdiction to the point of killing people means that any government anywhere in the world can now declare anything anyone does anywhere on the planet illegal under penalty of death, and extradite them extrajudicially from wherever - and lest you think Britain HAS "followed the rule of law", that just means you haven't been following that this whole procedure has been conducted illegally under British law!
This effectively is the kiss-off of the entire concept of the rule of law itself; it obviously doesn't actually mean shit to these people, and, by setting that precedence, it spells trouble for the whole world.
Ugh.
Ugh.
Ugh.
Damn, Glenn, your columns are so powerful, that I hang on every word, but at the same time, so depressing.
I know you hate Trump, but the same forces conspired to destroy him. If they could take down a duly elected POTUS, and prop up a demented back bencher, how can our country survive?
Note the relative silence of the US and UK MSM. You'd think that they might be concerned over press freedom, but they are not.
Their "journalists" sleep soundly in their beds, comforted in that they will never say or write or even think so much as a syllable that their masters would not approve of.
Personal animus toward Assange has become a litmus test for those in power. When core civic liberties are undermined by the powers that be, the most common modus operandi is to eliminate core civic liberties, and a common tactic is to begin by targeting a figure who is both deeply marginalized and disliked.
Glenn is correct in that the Espionage Act and Sedition Act were used by Woodrow Wilson in a way that was more repressive than what Lincoln did even at the height of the Civil War. It hardly got any press. It also cowed the press in such a way that most of the country had no idea how incapacitated WIlson was in that last two years of his presidency. Today, it is just a compliant media that ignores presidential incapacitation.
Free Julian!!!
I have a sick feeling that they're releasing Assange, knowing he will probably be "suicided" in custody before it ever gets to the farcical trial. Deep state desperately needs a new "LOOK, SQUIRREL!" diversion, now that the Covid lies, January 6th farce and Ukraine narrative are unravelling faster than the economy going down the toilet.
The media neocons and neo-liberal interventionist warmongers alike are puppets controlled by The CIA and The Pentagon, which maintain absolute power. The War Party sprawls across both sides of the aisle and tolerates no meaningful pushback against their military adventurism, colonial human rights violations and mass murder.
"The Obama Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act of 1917 than all previous administrations combined — in fact, three times as many as all prior presidents combined."
Folks who say that Obama was "different" need to remember this. There is no difference between Rs and Ds. It is all just one ruling class in a system designed to make us think that we actually have a choice.
As a prosecutor I am all too aware of the need to prove -- beyond a reasonable doubt and to the unanimous satisfaction of the jury ---the "intent" requirement of any and all public official corruption charges. The jury instructions are overwhelmingly defense oriented in these kinds of cases [naturally ---what else would one expect?]. The path open to any public official --- say, for example, James Comey--- to an easy Not Guilty verdict is the 'irrational good faith belief defense' --whereby the defendant admits his conduct was 'astray' but was pursued in mistaken, dumber -than- cat -shit 'good
faith.' Voila --- intent element of charge erased. No such defense is available under The Espionage Act [naturally --what else would one expect?]. The fact the essayists we most admire, including Glenn himself, are absolutely vulnerable under this law gives the lie to the idea of Freedom of Speech.
From Obama to Trump to Biden, Assange is a candle in the dark.
Assange's big sin is having embarrassed politicians and bureaucrats, and for that he has been hunted and hounded.
The US, UK, and any other nation that wants to preserve freedom, desperately needs to limit the time that politicians and bureaucrats are in positions where they can abuse power. This means term limits and lifetime limits, both for politicians as well as political appointees and high ranking bureaucrats (like Fauci, for example). The longer these people are in office the more arrogant they become and the more damage they can do. We'll lose a few qualified and honest people, but that price is worth ridding ourselves of the others.
I'm very happy Glenn wrote about Assange.
I'd like to see a lot more from him about it.
It wasn't that long ago the media was applauding whistleblowers when it came to Trump. Reality Winner was paraded around as a hero for months by all of these people only a couple of years ago.
It's funny how easily they can switch back and forth on their morals.
I'm not sure how much they're leading around the public by the nose, or how much of it is just the apathy or impotence of the masses.
I suspect most don't follow it or don't care (it doesn't help that it's not really covered at all in American media). It's a shame, because the Assange/Snowden/Manning cases are easily the most important (in my opinion) cases of at least the last decade or two.
One of my best friends thinks the U.S. is the most honest, sincere, moral governments ever existed. Even though he despises Biden and acknowledges FBI, deep state corruption, he believes Donald Trump and a Republican wave will fix everything. Delusional. Voting is an endorsement of one's subjugation to the corrupt state. If no one voted, or paid taxes, or sent their hapless children to government schools, how long would this BS last? But no, stooges like my friend will continue to vote, pay taxes and send their sad children to public school and think if only their people take charge, everything will be fine.