Right, because Russian state-controlled media is more reliable. [/sarcasm]
Assange
Tue, 2019-04-23 16:34
#202
Timebandit
Tue, 2019-04-23 18:00
#203
Frequently...but I also watch/listen/post from Canadian state-controlled CBC .
You Are Being Lied To About Julian Assange
'Free Julian Assange - Jail the War Criminals' : The Poster
https://leecamp.com/free-assange-poster/
Please copy, forward and post..
Tue, 2019-04-23 17:58
#204
Timebandit
That's your opinion. I prefer a journalistic environment with fewer murdered journalists than Russia can offer.
I think that most of your, and contrariana's, Assange opinions line up if you accept at face value certain premises that aren't backed up by credible outlets. And that's my opinion. Again, IMO there is a higher risk of the fallacy of false premise inherent in your postings than I'm comfortable with. Being reactionary isn't the same as being media literate, nor is it progressive.
Tue, 2019-04-23 18:11
#205
I feel almost exactly the same risk about your posting history so at least we have that in common.
Wed, 2019-04-24 05:19
#206
Julian Assange Denied Access To Lawyers, Visitors in Britain's Belmarsh Prison
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/04/24/assa-a24.html
"WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange is being held in isolation in Belmarsh prison, without access to legal counsel, said Christine Assange, his mother, on Monday. Mrs Assange noted that Belmarsh has been dubbed 'The UK Guantanamo'.
The denial of the WikiLeaks founder's right to consult his legal counsel makes a mockery of due process. It demonstrates that the Trump administration's request for Assange's extradition to the US and the resulting legal proceedings in Britain are a pseudo-judicial cover for an extraordinary rendition approach aimed at placing the WikiLeaks publisher in the clutches of the war criminals and CIA torturers he has done so much to expose.
The effective isolation of Assange, including from his own lawyers, is being enforced in the leadup to his next court appearance over the extradition request on May 2.
US attempts to concoct additional charges against Assange were demonstrated yesterday, when a federal appeals court rejected a request by [Chelsea] Manning to be released on bail. The courageous whistleblower has been held in solitary confinement for over six weeks because she has refused to give perjured testimony against Assange before a Grand Jury. Her continued detention is a transparent attempt to force her to cooperate in the US-led vendetta against Assange..."
Mediastan: A WikiLeaks Road Movie/ Full Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n0Yu7bYF9E
"Documentary detailing the publication of the very documents for which both Assange and Manning have been incarcerated."
Wed, 2019-04-24 12:56
#207
Having been around here a while now the reactionary positions taken by babblers no longer surprise me, although it makes a bit of a nonsense of this being a 'progressive' site. When you take your view of the world from CBC, The Globe and Mail, NYT, WaPo or The Guardian, it is axiomatic that you'll end up promoting their side of things here. Or take a look at the 'progressive' NDP and their silence on US extradition of Assange, positions supporting war on Libya, NATO, Apartheid Israel, US regime changes etc, and one shouldn't be surprised to find that Canadian 'right-left' position supported here as well.
I think it is unhelpful claiming that everyone who disagrees on one particular topic are not progressive. It diminishes everyone. the progressive side of the table ought to be able to tolerate some differences of opinion without others dissmissing them as reactionary and not progressive.
Wed, 2019-04-24 14:48
#208
....
I think that most of your, and contrariana's, Assange opinions line up if you accept at face value certain premises that aren't backed up by credible outlets. And that's my opinion. Again, IMO there is a higher risk of the fallacy of false premise inherent in your postings than I'm comfortable with. ...
I can only speak for my posts. With your vague dismisal of the history of events as "premises", you don't ever have to dispute any facts or what they likely mean. Based on events, I have made some conclusions and probabilities, rather than "premises". You may disagree, but I don't see any factual arguments or counter-arguments from you, only a vague "appeal to authority", the authority of unquestioned and unnamed "credible media" on Assange.
Wed, 2019-04-24 16:21
#209
Timebandit
You're basing your "events" and interpretaion of them primarily on opinion sources, often from sites with sketchy credentials with a heaping helping of confirmation bias. I hardly read your posts anymore. There's not a lot of substance and quite a lot of hostility, so why would I?
Wed, 2019-04-24 17:08
#210
I know this has been touched on in earlier posts, but the charges against Assange are quite interesting and deserve discussion.
"James Goodale, First Amendment lawyer and former general counsel of the New York Times, said this about the US government’s efforts to charge a journalist who is not American and did not publish in the US, possibly with espionage: “If the prosecution of Julian Assange succeeds, investigative reporting based on classified information will be given a near death blow.” David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression stated that “prosecuting Assange would be dangerously problematic from the perspective of press freedom”.
Responding to this latest development on the WikiLeaks founder, American Civil Liberties Union commented, “any prosecution by the United States of Mr. Assange for Wikileaks’ publishing operations would be unprecedented and unconstitutional, and would open the door to criminal investigations of other news organizations.” Freedom of Press Foundation also issued a statement, alerting that the charge against Assange is a serious threat to press freedom” and noted that it “should be vigorously protested by all those who care about the First Amendment.”
Mobo: And some fast facts, opinion free, from our democratic, reliable and factual corporate-controlled media:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/world/europe/julian-assange-wikileaks-ecuador-embassy.html
The Obama administration had explored whether to bring charges against Mr. Assange but decided not to, in part because of fears of creating a precedent that could chill traditional journalism. But in November, an accidental court filing appeared to disclose that the Trump administration had secretly charged him with some unspecified offense.
The indictment unsealed Thursday, however, revealed that prosecutors in Northern Virginia had not charged Mr. Assange under the Espionage Act for publishing government secrets. Instead, they charged him with conspiring to commit unlawful computer intrusion based on his alleged agreement to try to help Ms. Manning break an encoded portion of passcode that would have permitted her to log on to a classified military network under another user’s identity. Because traditional journalistic activity does not extend to helping a source break a code to gain illicit access to a classified network, the charge appeared to be an attempt by prosecutors to sidestep the potential First Amendment minefield of treating the act of publishing information as a crime." ... {many paragraphs later in same article}
"If Mr. Assange is convicted on the conspiracy to hack offense alone, he could face up to five years in prison. The government could later seek to charge him with additional offenses, but because of extradition practices, any such superseding indictment would most likely need to come soon, before Britain formally decides whether to transfer custody of him."
Mobo: What do babblers think is likely to happen here? I think he will be extradited and it's an open question if the announced charges will be supplemented once he's in the US by further charges under the Espionage Act. Without a massive public response within the US and UK, which seems unlikely, it seems likely that they will be and he will be put away much longer than 5 years.
Wed, 2019-04-24 17:12
#211
"Icelandic court has ordered formerly VISA Iceland (now VALITOR) to pay $10m in damages for blocking credit card donations to Wikileaks in 2011..."
https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1121121623870984194
Julian Assange's Father Makes Plea For Wikileaks Founder to Return Home
"Assange's father, John Shipton, has made an appeal for his son to be brought home to Australia as he worries about the state of his health. 'Anguish is what I feel..."
Thu, 2019-04-25 21:55
#212
You're basing your "events" and interpretaion of them primarily on opinion sources, often from sites with sketchy credentials with a heaping helping of confirmation bias. I hardly read your posts anymore. There's not a lot of substance and quite a lot of hostility, so why would I?
Again, a repetition of your vague, fact-free drive-by dismissal of what you call "sketchy" sources, in favor of unnamed "credible media sources", with no instances or arguments to show or why they should automatically be considered credible.
Confirmation bias?
That of course could not not apply to you since you offer nothing to "confirm" anything you say. You do celebrate the need for fair-minded "nuance"---followed by the presumably non- hostile claim that "Assange would throw Manning under the bus". That seems to be totality of your "substantial" remarks in this thread.
Fri, 2019-04-26 10:28
#213
Here's a small part of the debt that Canadians specifically owe to Wikileaks and Julian Assange. Sorry, it's from that sketchy CBC website.
9 Canadian stories WikiLeaks helped bring to light
From a bomb plot in Montreal to Canada's role in Iraq, Julian Assange's website exposed Canadian operations
Now that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to face extradition to the United States on charges that he conspired to access a classified U.S. government computer, here is a look back at some of what we learned about Canadian operations through information leaked by the whistleblower site.
Fri, 2019-04-26 21:08
#214
Number 1 is my favourite. But how many Canucklheads still don't know, or as is also the case, do know but prefer to adhere to Chretien's mythical 'Canada refused' bullshit instead?
Fri, 2019-04-26 21:16
#215
The War on WikiLeaks: Which Side Are You On?
https://blackagendareport.com/war-wikileaks-which-side-are-you
"There are two sides on the question of Assange: The side of truth and solidarity with the oppressed and the side of the US empire. Assange must be defended as a truth-teller and the US state condemned as a perpetual liar in service of mass murder and profit. American exceptionalism is dead, but the empire continues to live on with the hope that it can destroy all legitimate challenges to its rule. Which side are you on?"
#Unity4J 27.0
Online vigil in support of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
Sat, 2019-04-27 02:14
#216
Number 1 is my favourite. But how many Canucklheads still don't know, or as is also the case, do know but prefer to adhere to Chretien's mythical 'Canada refused' bullshit instead?
I read that list and found everything to be typical status quo for Canadian relations with the US.
I suspect that Canada must have done worst shit, but I haven’t read any of it being released or hacked by WikiLeaks.
Sat, 2019-04-27 03:21
#217
Here's a small part of the debt that Canadians specifically owe to Wikileaks and Julian Assange. Sorry, it's from that sketchy CBC website.
9 Canadian stories WikiLeaks helped bring to light
From a bomb plot in Montreal to Canada's role in Iraq, Julian Assange's website exposed Canadian operations
Now that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been hauled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to face extradition to the United States on charges that he conspired to access a classified U.S. government computer, here is a look back at some of what we learned about Canadian operations through information leaked by the whistleblower site.
That's some interesting stuff, but like many of the leaked diplomatic cables, not much of it fits the "CRIMES OF THE EMPIRE LAID BARE!!!" hype promoted by some of Assange's more excitable disciples.
Okay, so some US diplomats met Rae and Ignatieff, formed opinions about their respective characters, and passed those opinions on to Foggy Bottom. There's nothing illegal or even unethical about that, in fact, it's something that gets done by almost any competent diplomatic corps in the world. It's not like they take oaths of confidentiality NOT to discuss the people they meet in other countries.
And some of the stuff actually contradicts the left-wing critique of government policy. Far from wanting to "militarize the north", as we were often told on babble and elsewhere, Harper apparently didn't actually wanna do much of anything to establish a presence in the north, it was all just election bluster.
The stuff about the guy held at Bagram was interesting, and troubling, if that wasn't known before the cables' release. There's maybe one or two other items on the list that I would consider genuinely newsworthy.
Sat, 2019-04-27 03:27
#218
I read that list and found everything to be typical status quo for Canadian relations with the US.
I suspect that Canada must have done worst shit, but I haven’t read any of it being released or hacked by WikiLeaks.
Thing is, diplomats at that level generally don't sit around dictating memoes about how they're gonna bomb the shit out of some country somewhere and steal the oil, because they're not the people making those kinds of decisions.
So yeah, a lot of it is just gonna be "Met the new environment minister at a wine-and-cheese last week. Seems like a rising star." A zillion other people who have met the same minister at similar soirees could just as easily have drawn the same conclusion.
Sat, 2019-04-27 12:27
#219
Lest we forget:
Devastating Picture of War in Iraq and Afghanistan From WikiLeaks Files
http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php/wikileaks/6540-emerging-picture-o...
Top 5 WikiLeaks Vault 7 Secrets Revealed
Sun, 2019-04-28 13:21
#220
Timebandit if Assange had been arrested for sex offenses and people were defending him then your point would be 100% valid. As it is he was arrested for exposing the Empires secrets not sex offenses. He is facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in a US prison hellhole. So is that what you think is justice for a man accused of being too aggressive with women and crossing the legal line in Sweden. It seems a far harsher and truly draconian compared to any potential penalty that the Canadian court system would sentence him too for any of the accusations against him.I think that insisting over and over that the focus be on the fact that he is a misogynist pig is a red herring and ignores the fact he is being made a very public and global scapegoat for defying the NATO cabal that seeks to rule the world.
I don't think anyone on babble would argue that the sexual assault allegations against Assange need to be investigated, prosecuted, and that he should be held accountable if he is found guilty. (Michael Moore even said as much when he posted Assange's bail.) But don't you think it's strange that suddenly his critics care about misogyny, when the Republicans are openly misogynistic and their President openly boasts about grabbing women and the Democrats are pushing Joe Biden for President even though there are many picutres on the Internet of him touching women inappropriately?
Sun, 2019-04-28 16:19
#221
So Where Is the Swedish Warrant?
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2019/04/so-where-is-the-swedish-...
"What is the point of demanding Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden when there is no extradition request from Sweden? What is the point in demanding he face justice in Sweden where there are no charges? Where are the charges from Sweden...?"
See also #181, #186
Sun, 2019-04-28 16:24
#222
So Where Is the Swedish Warrant?https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2019/04/so-where-is-the-swedish-...
"What is the point of demanding Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden when there is no extradition request from Sweden? What is the point in demanding he face justice in Sweden where there are no charges? Where are the charges from Sweden...?"
See also #181, #186
Exactly. That's a charge that needs to be dealt with in Sweden. It could be that Sweden didn't handle in properly and Assange got away with something, but that is completely separate from having him arrested by the US.
Mon, 2019-04-29 06:13
#223
JohnHelmer: Virtue Signalling Won't Save Julian Assange - British Law Might
http://johnhelmer.net/virtue-signalling-wont-save-julian-assange-british...
"US prosecutors pursuing Julian Assange continue to add evidence for the British courts that they are concealing charges in a dummy indictment they intend to change as soon as Assange is extradited. This means the Americans are turning the Assange case for freedom of the press into a cause for British freedom from American domination. Read the legal issues at stake in this report. Listen to today's Gorilla Radio interview..."
"This video of Assange's father reminds me of a talk I had with a high-level WikiLeaks official, a European, in 2011, after the Manning release, who decided to leave WL. He said: 'I don't fear justice in my own country, nor of the EU. I fear ending up in the clutches of US."
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1122614352241156096
"When Exposing A Crime is Treated As Committing A Crime You Are Ruled By Criminals"
https://twitter.com/WLArtForce/status/1121453116933775363
It is. We are.
Tue, 2019-04-30 06:12
#224
"Lawyers have not been able to confirm at what time Julian Assange will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court tomorrow for 'failure to surrender' whilst seeking and obtaining political asylum. Updates to follow."
Wed, 2019-05-01 09:39
#225
Julian Assange Sentenced To 50 Weeks in Jail For Jumping Bail in UK
"A British court sentenced WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to 50 weeks for skipping bail. The activist also faces a court hearing on extradition to Washington where is is wanted for 'conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.' The Southwark Crown Court in London sentenced Assange to almost a year for 'violating bail conditions.' WikiLeaks slammed the sentence as 'shocking' and 'vindictive' adding that they have 'grave concerns' as to whether Assange will get a fair extradition hearing, scheduled for Thursday..."
'This is Bullshit'
https://twitter.com/BellaMagnani/status/1123576192815247360
"This is bullshit' is the only way to describe the UK's continuing lawfare against Assange. This was political sentencing, bearing no resemblance to either the law or to justice..."
British Minister on Assange and 'British Justice'
Thu, 2019-05-02 07:11
#226
Watch: Imperialism on Trial - Free Julian Assange
"Politicians, journalists and specialists participate in panel discussion on Julian Assange and the 'state of imperialism in general' in London, on Wednesday, May 1..."
Revealed: The British Government's War on Assange and Media Freedom
"A look at the various legal and soft power tools used by the British government in its war against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks."
Thu, 2019-05-02 09:16
#227
"Assange to Extradition Court: 'I Won't Surrender To The US For Doing Journalism.'
https://twitter.com/Consortiumnews/status/1123928737584697344
Thu, 2019-05-02 16:46
#228
Harsh sentence for sure! I'm sure the US will be tough on this guy to.
Fri, 2019-05-03 12:30
#229
"UN expert group on Arbitrary Detention is deeply concerned about course of action against Julian Assange including the disproportionate sentence imposed."
Fri, 2019-05-03 20:32
#230
#Unity4J - May 3, 2019
"Assange extradition hearing vigil..."
'We Are All Julian Assange!' : Berlin Rally
Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, Die Linke, Edward Snowden, Angela Richter, Yanis Varoufakis, Ai Weiwei, etc.
Sat, 2019-05-04 05:46
#231
Martin Sieff: Lyra McKee, Julian Assange and the Pathetic Pulitzers
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2019/04/30/lyra-mckee-julian-assa...
"...The contrast with the courage and enormous achievements of Julian Assange could not be greater. The Pulitzer Committee could have awarded a prize to Assange. Such an award could prove vital in saving his life if he is hauled back to the United States and jailed in the most dangerous and hostile of conditions following his kidnapping in defiance of international law from the Ecuador Embassy in London on April 11.
Julian Assange was seized in contemptuous open defiance of international law and every principle of freedom of the press - from an embassy no less - in the heart of the United Kingdom. And the annual Pulitzer awards were even more empty, contemptible, pathetic and self-serving than usual.
Were all the journalistic staff and institutions in the United States and United Kingdom weighed in one scale - and Julian Assange put in the other, he would outweigh them all..."
Sun, 2019-05-05 15:30
#232
WikiLeaks Editor Julian Assange in De-Facto Solitary Confinement (and vid)
https://www.rt.com/shows/going-underground/458369-assange-wikileaks-soli...
"We speak to WikiLeaks ambassador Joseph Farrell and former Ecuadorian Embassy Consul Rafael Narvaez..."
"Journalism is not a crime' - this from the same British government that is treating one of the greatest journalists of our time, Julian Assange, as an abject criminal."
https://twitter.com/dimitrilascaris/status/1124890637680160768
Mon, 2019-05-06 19:09
#233
Kampmark: Disproportionate Sentences: Julian Assange, Bail and Extradition
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/06/disproportionate-sentences-julia...
"With Assange being treated as a felon of grave importance; and Manning's continued detention for her ongoing refusal to cooperate with the investigative grand jury in the United States, the press corps of the world should be both revolted and alarmed. What a delightful World Press Freedom Day it turned out to be."
WATCH: "Ecuadorian Ombudsman declares the expulsion of Julian Assange from their embassy as a 'de facto extradition' from Ecuador to the UK, which was illegal under multiple national and international laws. Concerns expressed for asylees the world over."
https://twitter.com/consortiumnews/status/1125004778977673216
Wed, 2019-05-08 08:15
#234
'We Need to Save His Life': Pamela Anderson Speaks of Emotional Visit to Assange Prison (and vid)
"It is a question of life and death."
WATCH: "Here's Slavoj Zikek, philosopher and Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 Advisory Panel member on Julian Assange and why you should care. Sign the petition against Assange's extradition to the US."
Sat, 2019-05-11 09:16
#235
Unity4J 29.0
Online vigil in support of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Updates, news and analysis
Sun, 2019-05-12 10:57
#236
Note To Editors
https://twitter.com/AssangeLegal/status/1127153909603229697
"Julian Assange did not seek asylum from extradition to Sweden. He sought asylum from onward extradition to United States. UK and Sweden refused to guarantee no US extradition. Read Assange's 2012 asylum extradition application in full..."
Mon, 2019-05-13 10:22
#237
Sweden Reopens Rape Case Against Julian Assange
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sweden-reopens-rape-case-against-julian-as...
"Swedish prosecutors said Monday they are reopening a rape case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a month after he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. They said they will seek his extradition after he has served his 50-week prison term in Britain for jumping bail. Per E Samuelson, Assange's Swedish lawyer, said on Monday that the decision to reopen the investigation into the WikiLeaks founder is 'an embarrassment."
The 'Swedish Allegations' Concerning Julian Assange
https://justice4assange.com/note-to-editors-sweden.html
"There is widespread misreporting about the allegations made against Julian Assange in Sweden in 2010. Here are the facts..."
The Re-Opening of the Swedish Assange Case Should Be Welcomed
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2019/05/the-re-opening-of-the-sw...
"That the Swedish investigation into rape allegations against Julian Assange is being reopened is something that ought to be welcomed. The alternative would be for this accusation to hang unresolved over Julian's head forever. The Swedish prosecutors now need finally, as my father used to say, either to piss or get off the pot..."
See also #222
Mon, 2019-05-13 10:47
#238
Ecuador Will Give Julian Assange's Embassy Computers and Files to the US
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/05/13/inenglish/1557735550_398996.html
"...Balthasar Garzon, a former crusading judge who is now [one of] Assange's lawyer, has described this latest decision as 'an absolute violation of the institution of asylum by Ecuador. 'It is incomprehensible that the country that afforded him protection is now taking advantage of its privileged position to turn over his belongings to the country that is persecuting him.'
'These belongings will be seized without a court warrant, without protecting the rights of political refugees, without respecting the chain of custody,' added Garzon. 'And this is made worse by the system of illicit recordings that went on at the embassy, and over which a complaint has already been filed. The systematic violation of Assange's rights is going beyond conceivable limits.'
Aitar Martinez, one of the lawyers in the legal team defending the Australian activist, says that Ecuador's recent initiatives are 'a manifest and radical violation of the right to a defence, since those documents and devices contain all of [Assange's] communications with his lawyers and his legal documents. This is confidential material that will allow the US to come up with new charges to request his extradition..."
Persecution masquerading as prosecution.
Mon, 2019-05-13 12:29
#239
Timebandit
Naturally, a site called "justice 4 Assange" is going to proclaim his innocence, and so is his lawyer. Not exactly "nothing to see here" territory.
I don't know if the allegations are true or not, but dismissing them out of hand is every bit as biased as accepting them uncritically. Certainly, Assange doesn't like feminists and has never made any bones about it.
With no evidence of a link between the accusers and the US government, Kate Harding wrote at Salon at the time, “folks all over the blogosphere have been settling for the next best thing: making light of the sexual assault charges and smearing one of the alleged victims.”
The press dug through the accusers’ backgrounds and attempted to cast doubt on their motivations. The Daily Mail, for instance, noted that Ardin “had not only been the protegee of a militant feminist academic, but held the post of ‘campus sexual equity officer’” while working at a local university, and speculated that she might have been out to get Assange because she was jealous that he also had sex with Miss W.
“There was a deep reluctance to take these charges seriously,” said Doyle, the journalist who criticized Moore. “People really didn’t want to think that their hero could do something like this, and it was easier to call women counter-revolutionary than it was to question their allegiance to him.”
Assange, for his part, fed criticism of his accusers. “Sweden is the Saudi Arabia of feminism,” he said in one interview. “I fell into a hornets’ nest of revolutionary feminism.”
https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/4/12/18306901/julian-assange-arrest-...
Mon, 2019-05-13 13:04
#240
WikiLeaks Editor On Sweden Reopening Extradition Case
"He's never seen justice."
Mon, 2019-05-13 13:28
#241
Timebandit
Some charming comments on that link - here's an example:
Sweden should be very cautious in it's decisions.... It only took a man with a plan and an airfare to bring America to it's knees in full view of the world. Their decisions may be costly to the Swedish if unjust.....?
With a winning argument like this, how can you not win over more supporters?
Mon, 2019-05-13 15:26
#242
It's Complicated/Manipulated & Obviously Very Political...
https://twitter.com/CathyVoganSPK/status/1127908450430664704
"August 10, 2010:
The Swedish Prosecution Authority website said Chief Prosecutor Eva Finne had come to the decision that Julian Assange was not subject to arrest. In a brief statement Eva Finne said: 'I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape."
Sweden Reopens 9-Year Old Rape Investigation Against Julian Assange Seeking His Extradition
"In 2017, Swedish prosecutors ultimately visited Assange at the embassy and in May of that year ended the investigation, which had been revived. At the time the investigation was dropped for a second time, Karin Axelsson and Lisa Longstaff of Women Against Rape wrote:
'The allegations against [Assange] are 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 adn occupations with their attendant rapes, murder and destruction...The authorities care so little about violence against woman that they manipulate rape allegations at will. [Assange] has made it clear he is available for questioning by the Swedish authorities in Britain and via Skype. Why are they refusing this essential step in their investigation? What are they afraid of...?"
The 7 Years of Lies About Assange Won't Stop Now
https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2019-04-11/julian-assange-lies-arrest/
"...After refusing to question Assange in the UK, Swedish prosecutors had decided to quietly drop the case against him in 2015. Sweden had kept the decision under wraps for more than two years. It was a freedom of information request by an ally of Assange, not a media outlet, that unearthed documents showing that Swedish prosecutors had, in fact, wanted to drop the case against Assange back in 2013. The UK, however, insisted that they carry on with the charade so that Assange could remain locked up. A British official emailed the Swedes: 'don't you dare get cold feet!!!'
This was never about Sweden or bail violations or even about the discredited Russiagate narrative, as anyone who was paying the vaguest attention should have been able to work out. It was about the US Deep State doing everything in its power to crush WikiLeaks and its founder...Now the pretence is over. His arrest was not to help two women in Sweden or to enforce a minor bail infraction..."
Thu, 2019-05-16 16:20
#243
Arundhati Roy on Why She Admires WikiLeaks and Opposes Assange's Extradition to the US (and vid)
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/5/13/arundhati_roy_on_why_she_admires
"We speak with award-winning writer Arundhati Roy, who has criticized the arrest of WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange. Roy and other public intellectuals in India called for Assange's immediate release, writing in a statement, 'The journalism WikiLeaks and its Editor-in-Chief stand for is a journalism of outrage - outrage against the injustices and atrocities that take place round the world - but always with an eye to factuality, substantiation and precision..."
Mon, 2019-05-20 10:55
#244
Press Release: Ecuador Hands Over Assange's Entire Legal Defense, Manuscripts To US Prosecutors
https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1130396010063310848
"I visited Julian Assange in Prison. He has been ill, but his courage is astonishing. He is locked up for up to 23 hours. Let no one doubt he is a political prisoner, fraudulent events in Sweden included. Shame on those who feign otherwise."
https://twitter.com/johnpilger/status/1129678074554064896
Head of Swedish Bar Association Condemns Handling of Assange Case in UK and Sweden as Deplorable
http://the-pen.co/reputation-of-swedish-judicial-system-damaged/
"I fear that the treatment of Assange has damaged the reputation of the Swedish judicial system..."
Mon, 2019-05-20 15:04
#245
US Prosecutors Seize Assange's Possessions
https://twitter.com/suigenerisjen/status/1130477688672706564
"As Ecuador hands over Assange possessions - including legal materials - to the US, Garzon urges international bodies to intervene in 'an unprecedented attack on the rights of the defense, freedom of expression and access to information."
US and Ecuador Sign New Agreement After Assange Expelled
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article...
"Now that Ecuador has expelled Julian Assange from its embassy in London, the Trump administration is opening a 'new chapter of cooperation' with the South American government. USAID Administrator Mark Green joined the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Valencia in Ecuador on Wednesday to sign a memorandum of understanding to work together on a series of economic and democracy initiatives. Green said the partnership would not be possible without Ecuador's sincere commitment 'to democratic reforms and reengaging with the US and the international community."
Wed, 2019-05-22 08:40
#246
Swedish Hearing To Extradite Julian Assange Delayed Until June 3
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/22/assa-m22.html
"An extraordinary bid by Swedish authorities to rush a hearing into the possible extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden has been delayed by a court until June 3. That is because Assange's lawyers have not even been able to consult the jailed journalist and publisher..."
Thu, 2019-05-23 19:31
#247
Amnesty International Declares Julian Assange 'Not A Prisoner of Conscience'
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/23/assa-m23.html
"If Assange and Manning are not prisoners of conscience, then who is...?"
Assange Indicted Under Espionage Acts Raising First Amendment Issues
https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1131657973745496066
"The Department of Justice just declared war - not on Wikileaks, but on journalism itself. This is no longer about Julian Assange: This case will decide the future of media." - Edward Snowden
Ironic that the same media that helped to smear, demonize and manufacture consent for his 'stitch-up' finally begin to realize the fences are now being moved in to enclose them as well.
Thu, 2019-05-23 20:07
#248
Applying the Espionage Act is going too far.
Fri, 2019-05-24 10:07
#249
Julian Assange is Hit With 17 New Charges Under the Espionage Act For Conspiring With Chelsea Manning - And Faces 170 Years in Prison
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7064533/Julian-Assange-hit-18-n...
"Julian Assange has been charged in the US with 17 violations of the Espionage Act for conspiring with Chelsea Manning. A federal grand jury returned the indictment against him in Virginia on Thursday afternoon. Now, the 47-year-old WikiLeaks founder faces 170 years behind bars.
WikiLeaks on Twitter called Assange's prosecution 'the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment.' WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristin-Hrafnsson said in a tweet, 'I find no satisfaction in saying 'I told you so' to those who for 9 years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. The US has until June 11 to submit its case to the UK for it to extradite Assange..."
"For the first time in the history of our country, the government has brought criminal charges under the Espionage Act against a publisher for the publication of truthful information. This is a direct assault on the First Amendment."
Sat, 2019-05-25 01:45
#250
'Again: the reason Assange sought asylum and Ecuador gave it wasn't to hide from the Swedish case. He and Ecuador always said he'd go to Sweden if they promised not to send him to the US. The asylum was to protect him against this: *espionage* prosecution for *publishing documents*"
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1131660142821421062
Unity4J 31.0/31.1
Online vigil in support of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
Sat, 2019-05-25 01:56
#251
Assange May Spend The Rest of His Life In Jail, He's Got A 'HANGING Judge' - CIA Whistleblower (and vid)
"There is little hope for Julian Assange to be given a fair trial in the hands of the US justice system, former CIA analyst and whistleblower John Kiriakou, whose case was handled by the same District Court in Virginia told RT. According to Kiriakou, Assange should not count on the court's impartiality in this case:
'They are going to try to make an example of Julian. He's been charged in the Eastern District of Virginia. His judge was my judge and Snowden's ex judge and [CIA whistleblower] Jeffrey Sterling's judge who reserves every national security case for herself. She is a hanging judge. She will not give him a fair trial. It's impossible for Julian to receive a fair trial in the Eastern District of Virginia..."