WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested and taken into custody by the London’s Metropolitan police, just as WikiLeaks warned days ago was about to happen. Assange’s lawyer Jen Robinson reports that his arrest is related to an extradition request from the United States, which the British government has until now refused to admit exists.
“Just confirmed: #Assange has been arrested not just for breach of bail conditions but also in relation to a US extradition request,” tweeted Robinson.
“From #Assange: The US warrant was issued in December 2017 and is for conspiracy with Chelsea Manning in early 2010,” Robinson added.
Assange arrest video:
"The UK must resist this attempt by the Trump administration"https://t.co/fq1JGfw40u
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 11, 2019
So there you have it. Extradited for journalism. In a blur, everything that Assange and WikiLeaks have been warning about for years has been proven correct, contrary to mountains of claims to the contrary by establishment loyalists everywhere. The same government which tortured Chelsea Manning is in the process of extraditing her publisher so that they can silence him forever. Everyone who has ever denied that this was happening needs to hang their heads in shame for scoffing at a very real threat to press freedoms everywhere when they could have been opposing this obscene agenda. It’s time for some serious soul searching.
The time to act is now. It’s too late to prevent Assange from losing his asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy, so the goal now is to fight extradition. Activist groups are swiftly organizing as I type this, so it will be easy for people around the world to find rallies to attend and online movements to help boost. I encourage everyone in the US, the UK and Australia to contact their elected representatives and politely but urgently inform them that the agenda to extradite Assange to the US must be fought at all costs. Educate yourself as best as you can on Assange’s case, and inform everyone you know about what’s going on.
The first words Julian was able to speak to the world in more than a year:
"The UK must resist this. The UK must resist"
The world will resist this Julian. Our efforts will be doubled and tripled now. #FreeJulian
— Suzie Dawson (@Suzi3D) April 11, 2019
This is seriously gut wrenching news. Here are ten thoughts on the matter in no particular order:
1 – The Metropolitan police were let into the embassy by the Ecuadorian ambassador, his political asylum revoked under entirely false pretenses in gross violation of international law. Shame on Ecuador.
2 – Assange is an Australian citizen. As of this writing, the Australian government has still not interceded to protect its citizen. Shame on Australia.
3 – The US government is setting a precedent which, if carried out, will constitute a grave threat to press freedoms the world over and a greater leap in the direction of Orwellian dystopia than the Patriot Act. Shame on America.
4 – The UK government is collaborating with the US government’s efforts to imprison a journalist for publishing evidence of US war crimes, just as it has collaborated with the US government in perpetrating war crimes. Shame on the UK.
5 – This arrest warrant was issued under the Trump administration, in full alignment with what the Trump administration has openly been saying about its agenda to silence WikiLeaks. Shame on Trump, and shame on anyone who continues to support him.
6 – This arrest is a Trump administration action, and has nothing to do with the 2016 Russia nonsense that Democrats have been shrieking about, yet these same Democrats who claim to oppose Trump and oppose his war on the press are currently cheerleading for Trump’s prosecution of a journalist who told the truth. Shame on Democrats.
7 – I am going to have a zero tolerance policy for QAnon cultists who try to tell me that this is actually 5-D chess by Trump to overthrow the Deep State. Stay out of my comments, stay out of my social media notifications, stay the hell away from me, and please rethink your worldview.
8 – The precedent set by imprisoning a foreign journalist under the Espionage Act will enable the US government to arrest leak publishers anywhere in the world who expose its crimes. This will cripple our ability to hold the most powerful institution on the planet to account in any way. There is no excuse for any journalist anywhere not to oppose this tooth and claw. If you see anyone calling themselves a journalist but failing to oppose Assange’s extradition, you should call them out for the frauds that they are.
9 – And yes, like it or not, Assange is a journalist. There is no legitimate argument to the contrary.
10 – This is it, folks. This is where we find out what we’re made of as a species. This is where we find out if humanity gets to survive, and if it deserves to. If we can’t stop the empire from imprisoning a journalist for publishing facts right in front of our eyes, we might as well roll over and tap out right now, because if we lose this one it’s never going to get any better from there. If we can’t pass this test, the oligarchs and the opaque government agencies which are allied with them will march us into extinction or Orwellian dystopia, and there’ll be no tool in our toolbox to stop them. We need to seriously dig deep on this one.
https://twitter.com/AssangeMrs/status/1116324906390523905
____________________
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110 responses to “Assange Has Been Arrested For US Extradition. The Time To Act Is Now.”
All I can say is the most important thing you will hear today: turn off your TV. What does this have to do with Assange? Everything. TV is a sellout. It does nothing but deceive you with state sponsored lies. Why isn’t their bigger outrage over Assanges arrest and the corresponding death of press freedom? Because the TV lied to you and told you he was a traitor. Because the TV news didn’t even cover his arrest despite it simultaneously being their own funeral. The TV is nothing more than a 24 hour a day state of the union address from O’Bannon to Oceana. Yet it largely shapes the worldview of automatons everywhere. Do you think people who don’t even notice the death of journalism we’re reading philosophy books? No they were mentally flatlining in front of the TV while it filled their heads with lies. Turn it off. Bankrupt it. Smear it. Boycott it and everyone that advertises on it to the greatest extent possible. Make it a pariah. Public enemy #1. Because it is. Stop deliberating the minutes of conspiracy theories and who is behind every devious agenda and realize that they ALL deliver their agenda to you via the TV that you dutifully keep in your house and turned on. As if you are just awaiting your next orders. Turn it off. It’s all a mind fuck. Every word is a scripted lie. You might deny the power it has over you but it’s undeniable. It’s a long con. It drip drip drips it’s agenda into you minute by minute until your mind is full of falsehoods that you don’t even realize were planted there. Think of how many lies you know the TV told about Assange. Even though you might deny them, they landed on many receptive tagrets. How many lies landed on you without you knowing? More than you’d ever believe. It’s their primary instrument for disseminating disinformation. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can escape it unscathed. Turn it off. Now and forever. It dies without you giving it credibility. And it needs to die.
I completely agree with you. I haven’t watched their news for almost 7 years. I just use my TV to watch Netflix movies. I get my information from the REAL NEWS, or other internet independent sources.
Thank you, it is nice to know there are more people like you in our world.
Anyone want to join me on the Palm Sunday march making a specific statement condemning the persecution of Julian Assange?
Julian Assange knew what he was doing when he was contacted by Bradley Manning about his leaks. He thought Wikileaks could manage to stay on-line, and he was right. He presumably knew the US and its colonies would try and get him, either with 2 bullets to the head, or with a sealed indictment for publishing secret material and jail in solitary for 300 years. He probably didn’t think it would go the way that it has, for as long as it has, but he’s not stupid.
Dequincey: Lobby Wong and Albanese, let’s see if the Labor gov will do something about getting him home.
I can tell you now that they won’t.
No amount of peaceful protests will change their minds. They’ve had more than 7 years to do something about it, and they’ve done nothing. To do so would mean challenging the US Empire, and they might be expelled(!). Where could they turn for a strong alternative alliance partner?
China? Russia? Iran? Venezuela? Cuba? North Korea? Libya? Syria?
– No, only last year they banned Huawei from providing equipment for the 5G network and affirmed their right to do Freedom of Navigation provocations in the South China Sea.
As a fellow Australian, I tend to agree with you 100 %. Assange aside for a sec, let’s take a look at what the Yanks are doing in Venezuela, which is entirely ILLEGAL and CONTRARY to the United Nations Charter, Yet we have our very own Government supporting this attempt at destroying a foreign nation. Not just Australia, but many Western countries all in lock step with the CRIMINAL actions of the U.S. World wide, do people seriously believe and actions or protest regarding ONE human being is going to stop them from their agenda ????????????????? NO amount of protesting, bitching or whinning is going to change anything one iota. Check out the resistance on behalf of Syria, did it change anything, are the Yanks out yet ???? Let’s face it, no nation has the balls to do anything practical to save the life of ONE individual, hero that he may be.
Scotland Yard statement:
“Julian Assange, 47, (03.07.71) has today, Thursday 11 April, been further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10:53hrs after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act. He will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court as soon as possible.”
“When a truth comes upon the earth, or a great idea necessary for mankind is born, where does it come from? not from the police force, or the prosecuting attorneys, or judges ,or the lawyers ,or doctors .Not there. It comes from the despised and the outcast, and it comes perhaps from jails and prisons. It comes from men who have dared to be rebels and think their thoughts ,and their faith has been the faith of rebels .What do you suppose would have happened to the working men except for these rebels all the way down through history? Think of the complacent cowardly people who never raise their voices against the powers to be. If there had been only these , you gentlemen would have been hewers of wood and drawers of water. You gentlemen would have been slaves. You gentlemen owe whatever you have and whatever you hope to these brave rebels who dare to think and dared to speak and dared to act” Around 70 years ago Clarence Darrow spoke these words in a criminal court building in Chicago. Lets give all the support to Assange a true warrior whose weapons are searching and telling the truths. The streets and the alleyways and byways are our forums ,and that’s where we have to be to overturn the right wing oligarch and its media sucks.
I feel so sad for Julian, even sadder for his mum. I also feel your pain caitoz and appreciate the urgency and importance of the issue of free speech. We live in a supposed democracy (majority rule) and if the majority doesn’t care for this then.. Is this what we must accept? Of course not. I have been involved in activism for most of my adult life. I wasn’t one of the big movers and shakers of the organisations I was involved in, but I was always there in support. We worked on the principle of ‘Non Violent Direct Action’ or NVDA, passive resistance, by just getting in their way, blockading and occupying mainly forests but also mining and other extractive industries that give nothing back to the Earth except pollution and degradation. We had wins and we had losses, but we never gave up. We saved many thousands of hectares of native and old growth (untouched) forest, some of it now recognised as world heritage, national parks and wilderness areas on the east coast of Australia. Sometimes there was only a dozen or so of us camped out in the forest through cold winter, blockading, occupying, protecting. We never gave up. We handled: insults, violence, arrests, court convictions, and the feeling that the ‘majority’ just didn’t care. but we always remained passive, peaceful and positive.
Don’t be disheartened by the negative comments of those who I suspect are paid trolls like Cora Brigg and Junghi Lee. They offer no solutions. BDS the whole world is not a solution. Trolls are just sheep as well.
Don’t give up on Julian.. Those who live in London can still act and stop this injustice.
what have solved with all your activism? i do not question your intention or motive, like you do about mine and others’, but doing the same dumb thing and expecting a different results isn’t anything to write home about and brag about in public.
solutions? you know what they are. you just don’t have the integrity and courage to practice them. you still consume all the corporate products as much as your bank account allows, and manuver within the system that you criticise everyday. your life style is not negotiable, but you are such saints and angels….
I’ve totally given up. Even if millions of people around the world attended the biggest demonstrations ever (which isn’t going to happen), USUK would take zero notice. They get away with everything including war crimes. They know they can do what they like to Julian and they will.
Julian Assange‘s honors and awards:
– 2008, The Economist New Media Award
– 2009, Amnesty International UK Media Awards
– 2010, TIME Person of the Year, Reader‘s Choice
– 2010, Sam Adams Award
– 2010, Le Monde Readers‘ Choice Award for Person of the Year
– 2011, Free Dacia Press Freedom Award
– 2011, Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal
– 2011, Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism
– 2011, Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism
– 2011, Voltaire Award for Free Speech
– 2011, International Piero Passetti Journalism Prize
– 2011, Jose Couso Press Freedom Award
– 2012, Big Brother Awards Hero of Privacy
– 2013, Global Exchange Human Rights Award, People‘s Choice
– 2013, Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award for the Arts
– 2013, New York Festivals World‘s Best TV & Films Silver World Medal
– 2013, Brazilian Press Association International Human Rights Award
– 2014, Union of Journalists in Kazakhstan Top Prize
– 2019, Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
https://whowhatwhy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/image2-26.jpg
Tulsi Gabbard:
“The arrest of #JulianAssange is meant to send a message to all Americans and journalists: be quiet, behave, toe the line. Or you will pay the price.”
https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1116446982342529024
“Assange is an Australian citizen. As of this writing, the Australian government has still not interceded to protect its citizen. Shame on Australia.”
How can Australia with its regulated Commonwealth Aussie Government pretending independency from the mother country COL, protect its citizen if they are not kosher enough (or too kosher) and cause friction to the so smooth sailing empire flagship of all British colonies/cronies? Australian citizenship is nothing but a chain to the beloved traditional British history of double faced politics and terror in foreign lands.
How marvellous it would be to become independent as a continent and country with all ties cut to ALL currently attached British/American systems and an abolished horrible past while one eye of the evil five is closed permanently on Australian soil. The Aussies themselves (educated by Murdock & Co) rather would fight each other opposing in a civil war then adapt to a free and sovereign country instead of debt slavery, subjectism and the war of terror on enemies that oppose the matrix of double faced manipulation.
The Australian government has shown many times that it has no respect for its citizens, so it would be naive to expect it to do anything at all to help Assange. It is so deeply in its master’s (US) pocket that it will not lift a finger for fear of retribution.
Shame on Scott Morrison, the government, the Liberal party, the National party, the Labour party, the right-wing media and all those other Australians who obey the US’ dictates to curb human and civil rights everywhere.
They are the real criminals, the real traitors – not Assange, Manning, Snowden and all those other brave people who have fought to tell the truth and reveal the facts.
I rather would say shame on us Australians who always end up being the same dependent convicts as our ancestors. It will always be the “ending up” meaning there are more important things for an Aussie to do than being an free and independent Australian.
To paraphrase a famous quote from Martin Luther King: “history will have to record that the greatest tragedy.,,,,, is not the strident clamour of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people”. This applies to so much of what is obvious to any sentient being,despite the best efforts of the bad people to disguise their evil. It definitely applies to the appalling silence of the msm who courted Assange, made money from publishing the leaks THE turned on him. Just to be clear Assange is one of the good people who refused to be silent. Forget not that two of the people murdered in the “collateral murder” footage were Reuters reporters and that Reuters was appallingly silent.This why we must support alternate media and resist media platform’s moves to censor them.
stop self-righteously whinning.
do what you can, but pls do not “protest” with a placard after the train has left the station. the Deep State doesn’t give a shit.
BDS the Deep State (you know who they are) of the NWO every way you can. commercially. politically. socially. culturally. act with your wallet.
you don’t have to risk much by practicing BDS in your everyday decisions.
Try the ultimate BoycottDivestSanctions: Kill your false belief that “government authority” exists.
There is no “govt.” There are just people. Average, flawed, common people – just like you. They have absolutely no rights that you do not have. They have no special authority. They have no special abilities. Hell, it’s very likely they can barely run their own lives. And you believe they should run yours? These people sleep at night, get up and piss in the morning, put on their clothes and go through the motions, just like you.
You, however, carry the extremely deep-rooted belief that ‘these people are special; more important than you.’ You firmly believe that they have the moral authority to tell you what you may do, what you may not do, and how you may live. You believe that they have the moral right to rob and extort you of your money (taxes) for purposes that you despise. You believe that they have the moral authority to declare war at their whim, murder people all over the planet, and that you must pay for it. On and on and on.
In simple fact: You believe they are your masters, which makes you their slaves.
Slaves do not tell their masters what to do.
Caitlin says, “I encourage everyone in the US, the UK and Australia to contact their elected representatives and politely but urgently inform them that the agenda to extradite Assange to the US must be fought at all costs.”
Let’s reword this appropriately: I encourage every Believer in Govt Authority [aka citizen-slave] in the US, the UK and Australia to contact their Masters and politely but urgently beg them to not kidnap Assange and send him to the US. We slaves feel this is not a nice thing to do. It makes us feel sad and afraid. We slaves would like to feel safe that you, our Masters, would never do a thing like that to us. So please don’t do it… pretty please?
What is the likelihood that the U.S. will place Assange in solitary confinement? 98% or 100%.
For me one of the worst aspects of this is that most of my friends and acquaintances will cheer at this news. I used to think many of them were intelligent, compassionate, and relatively un-indoctrinated, but now I realize they are unfathomably stupid, have hearts of stone, and gladly, willingly drink the Kool-Aid.
I expect such idiocy from the right, but most of these people consider themselves either liberal or left. I’ve never been more disgusted, nor felt more alone.
Plenty of Aussies support JA, Caitlin. But our politicians? They don’t represent us, haven’t for all my adult life. We are just a vassal state of the US.
Thank you for being a truth teller. We will protest as best we can.
Ah the Buddha Caitlin speaks the truth again!!! Unfortunately, Mr. Assange will be transported to ” Gitmo in Cuba ” where the Central Intelligence Agency will torture him 24/7!! Mr. Assange will be forced to reveal everything that the CIA wants to hear about!! Mr. Assange in on his way to be crucified!! I do not think it is right, nor do I think that it is legal; unfortunately my wayward government does whatever it wants to, anytime it wants to and it dares anyone to try and stop them!! We can hope and pray for Mr. Assange and we can remember him!! The Evil Empire Has Him Now; He Is Toast!!!
I have been racking my brains all day to find a positive take on this, after taking a number of relaxants….. all I have left is….. a pile of poop. Sorry that one wrote itself.
He is going to jail, HRC isn’t President. The two are not connected but I would like to think they where
USA is out of control and fighting for control of the public narrative. Trump and his posse, along with the rest of the “5 Eyes” countries are stark raving mad, moral depraved and predatory in their contempt for us and or right to speak the truth.
If it was hopeless to resist, the feds would have just done a Tiananmen Square on Bundy ranch. And initially during the peasant’s revolt of 1381 in England, King Richard or whoever it was gave in very quickly at first. In both cases, government only won after the movements were diffused/splintered. Government is actually scared like a lion tamer whose beast turns on him in a widespread popular rebellion. Like the lion tamer, It knows it can be annihilated in an instant, so it talks soothingly and gives in to everything until it calms the beast, and then it cracks down hard. The lesson is, don’t stop until they are all gone. Wat Tyler was right.
For journalists and free speech advocates , Assad’s expulsion and arrest is the equivalent of the murder of a US president in broad daylight by the military intelligence complex. By analogy, this is a second coup d’etat. Everything you wrote in this article, Caitlin, is 100% true including the BS from QAnon.
That is basically how shocked and outraged I feel about it too.
Big Brother finally takes the axe
And gives the press unwisely whacks
And when it sees what it has done
‘Twill build a jail for everyone
Partisans cry Assange is a spy,
Exposing crimes of their girl or guy.
And none likely attest,
That with his arrest,
We are watching press freedom die.
So such is the fate of Julian,
Branded a Ruskie friendly hooligan.
Rather than protect him,
The Press will reject him,
Acting the State’s useful fools again.
I’m glad to see the outpouring on this alternate site of Caitlin’s. I usually write on Medium but as this is so important here I am today. We need to gather up enough outraged people to get the assholes of the ‘establishment’ media to take this seriously. Or if they do nothing we can laugh and scoff at them as they are hauled off to prison where Sunlight is a fleeting memory. It’s their choice; fight the ‘man’ now or join your fellow journalists in jail. Some of my life’s work has been fighting the ‘man’. Caitlin has made a career out of fighting the ‘man’. She’s to be applauded for her due diligence a tireless writing about the world as it is not as ‘they’ want us to think it is. Julian Assange helped in publishing unwashed truths and now faces prison in the biggest police state in the world. This incident will be viewed in the future an end to democratic ideals as the powerful gain complete control from ‘the people’.
I wonder whether the ‘reporting’ of Julian Assange’s deteriorating mental health is preparation for the news of his ‘suicide’ while in custody.
With regard to the arrest of Assange:
I would like to join those who nominate Julian Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize for speaking truth to power and upholding the moral imperative for freedom of the press.
Please consider this, and if possible pass it on.
Respectfully,
Jesse
https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-controversial-nobel-peace-prize.html
why must you defame Assange and legitimize the nobel prize by this move? oh lemme guess who you are and which tribe you belong to… as your dirty tactic is so typical and revealing.
Please, No.
I am astounded at the reaction of those who found fault with your suggestion, Jesse. I can only conclude they are establishment trolls. I second your recommendation and will forward your link to others.
re: Sam and Jessie,
.
Kindly consider that Obama was given a Nobel Peace Prize before serving one day as US President. Once in office, he immediately doubled down on his predecessor’s war policies, including a dramatic expansion in the US drone “program” to indiscriminately kill people worldwide as well as a Tuesday coffee klatch dedicated to determining whom on the US governments’ enemies list they should murder next…
.
These are some of the dirty little secrets Julian helped expose, and why he is on that enemies list…
.
You must decide for yourself if the Nobel committee is complicit.
projecting yourself onto others much?
I am very much in favor of this initiative. Get the beast itself to acknowledge how important the world’s citizens consider Assange.
https://www.change.org/p/us-uk-governments-free-julian-assange-now
the Deep State of the NWO debased Assange long time ago,
by suiciding, accidenting, harrassing, threatening, jailing, firing his supporters and collaborators, as well as cutting him off the rest of the world.
disappearing from the people’s consciousness is the worst thing that can happen to Assange and his cause of making the world transparent and accountable.
this is a much better situation for Assange than it was in the tiny prison at the ambassey. i almost think that Assange himself engineered this outcome where he reveals himself to the world as a bleeding David who has never stopped fighting Goliath to the best he can.
his insurance file is still out there. he has managed to galvanize his base, the people (99%) of the world, once again. his personal sacrifice is heartbreaking, but history grows on the blood and sweat of the martyrs. always. let’s do our part and BDS the NWO in every way we know.
If being tortured in Gitmo were such a great outcome for Assange, he could have left the Embassy any time in the last seven years.
what would anyone gain by torturing Assange while the whole world is watching? what has he been able to achive, other than constant torture in the prison cell called the enbaasy while the world was forgetting about him?
Two things. He has been enduring torture for years now. Secondly, Self-modified people ‘gain’ from torture. Normal people do not. self-modified people no longer have normal desires or values.
The point of torture is for the torturer to show what he can do with impunity.
In part..about intimidating other while blowers
Another act of protest would be to watch, or hopefully for most people, re-watch, the film “Collateral Murder” which was released by Manning and Assange. It shows American helicopters crews happily murdering innocent civilians, reporters, and a family who did the basic, decent, human act of stopping to help a wounded person lying on the sidewalk. It helps to remember just what we are dealing with. I won’t put a link in here, but a non-google search engine will easily find it on wikileaks, on youtube and probably on other platforms.
Exactly right. I actually think Assange does seem like a jerk and believe his Swedish accusers but let’s not pretend the US cares about that. They just want anybody thinking of revealing anything about war crimes shaking in their boots. A decent press would play the Collateral Damage on repeat and ask the public: do we want the government hiding this and stuff like it with impunity?
Seems if I am not wrong, one girl Girl merely went along with the other who had in past been working for CIA ..or still did….they merely asked for a STD test..later conflated to worse somehow….It looks like it well could have been a “Honey Trap”…After the Swedish Police investigated Assange was told “no charges” & “free to leave Sweden”…The case was very curiously & later “Re-opened” by Swedish AG…whom I believe, was the AG assisting USA with their illegal renditions of folks in Europe to “torture destinations” like Morocco & Pakistan during the Iraq War.
Kathleen, I suggest you read an account of exactly what happened between Julian and the two women and how the Swedish police became involved and said he was free to leave Sweden, and how another prosecutor (CIA aligned from what I’ve read) picked up the case again. One more point, even if Julian happened to be the biggest jerk on earth, what does that have to do with his publishing?
Thanks for reminding me. I thought I had the video. I may have uploaded it to my YouTube channel, but I’m banned (supposedly temporarily) from YouTube for uploading a violent video (aka known as documentary evidence) of the beheading of young Adullah Issa. That was what YouTube cited. They didn’t cite “Collateral Murder,” so maybe it’s not there. In any case, I see that it’s up on Wikileaks website. Or it was a few days ago. But those were YouTube vids – ? When I get it again, I’ll be uploading it to Bitchute. But I have no illusions. New Zealand completely blocked Bitchute over the Christchurch killings and vids that were uploaded to that site. The warmaking State has almost absolute power – compared to the power that we the people possess.
Vote Green. You’ll feel better about yourself.
The implications of this catastrophe, and the world’s silent complacent complicity in it, presage more horrors to come.
Such tyranny from the Globalist thugs seizing and dragging Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in Britain – a nation that committed espionage against the US election process with the phony Steele dossier and their Five Eyes intelligence coup! May God damn the Deep State that has usurped not only “OUR” government but has on this day assaulted all humanity and human decency by its tyrannical moves against freedom of speech and the notion of an objective and free press. FREE ASSANGE!
The basic human right of Asylum is under strong attack by the Trump regime. Both in this case, where the traditional principle of an embassy offering sanctuary is being stripped. And at America’s borders, where America denies its obligation under international law and treaties to allow people to file claims for asylum. Both are key rights, which Americans might well miss someday or at least pray that other countries still might respect when Americans are running from their lives from a government that is already threatening to not allow Trump to lose the election. (See Trump’s statements that the most popular opposition candidate would not be allowed to bring ‘socialism’ to America)
Oh my, this is terrible. From my perspective, this is more of the Corporate States of Amerika being headed down the 21st century version of the collapse of the Roman Empire. What the corrupt establishment is doing to Julian Assange is more of removing the opportunities for people to see truth and facts about the corporate corruption of the establishment.
We need to revolt.
Again, thank you so much for what your truth bombing, Caitlin,
Knew this was coming but still it’s a shock. Thinking about how much work we have to do to counter disinformation piled on top of misinformation is disheartening. Just gotta take a deep breath and, as Julian said, resist.
Hoping that our fellow humans and Julian’s fellow journos step up to the plate.
“Activist groups are swiftly organizing as I type this, so it will be easy for people around the world to find rallies to attend and online movements to help boost.” Do you even hear how pathetic this sounds? Rallies? Online movements? Seriously? What happened to the wall of peasants surrounding the embassy, which was supposed to protect Assange from arrest? Critical Mass didn’t happen as planned? The saddest thing is you peasants actually think you can make a change to an entrenched evil government by signing a petition or waving a sign. Get in their way, and they will crush you. Face it, you live in an Evil Empire, and that’s with TWO capital E’s… Go back to your stupid social media platforms and post “Pray for Assange” memes, and pretend as if you’ve done something important. LOL
Someone is making sense. Fact is, we and our opinions don’t even show up on the radar of the people who matter.
Yes, we should all go back to our slave jobs and whistle while we work, because everyone on the internets tells us its all so hopeless to resist. Of course, the massive efforts to tell everyone that its hopeless to resist is the clue that it is not.
Funny, I don’t recall saying anything about that.
There are various modes of resistance, but direct, head-on confrontation with state power is usually not very successful, simply because the modern state and its forces (government, police, armies, political parties, corporations, etc.) constitute the apex predator of social coercion.
Mr. Assange’s best hope now is not through peasant uprisings but through the human tendency to screw things up, the law of Unintended Consequences, and the law of Paradox.
“Mr. Assange’s best hope now is not through peasant uprisings but through the human tendency to screw things up, the law of Unintended Consequences, and the law of Paradox.”
OK, explain that one.
I am ready. I’ve gotten all of the good times out of this life I’m going to get, and I accept that. Whatever the outcome, I still won’t be a slave. I am not a soldier, I am an artist, but this is what life has put before me, and there is clearly no way around it, so I am ready.
> The time to act is now …
… to find rallies to attend
… to contact their elected representatives and politely but urgently inform them that the agenda to extradite Assange to the US must be fought at all costs.
Educate yourself as best as you can on Assange’s case,
and inform everyone you know about what’s going on.
We need to seriously dig deep on this one.
That is a seriously pathetic, losing strategy.
I can tell you now EXACTLY what Bill Shorten will say in his automated reply:
Thank you for taking the time to contact Bill Shorten.
We appreciate your patience as we work through the large amount of correspondence Bill receives.
Comments, suggestions and ideas will be carefully considered and we will make every effort to arrange a response where needed.
Your email may be referred to Opposition MPs and Shadow Ministers for their consideration and response.
Correspondence containing offensive or inappropriate content will not receive a response.
To stay up to date with Labor’s positive plans for Australia visit http://www.alp.org.au
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Attending a rally (if it has the proper Police permit) will maybe get you arrested and fined, with perhaps the odd bruise. They are happy to let you do that, because there is not the slightest chance of the politicians being forced to change their minds over peaceful demonstrations. The Police will be praised for their restraint under difficult circumstances.
Attending an unauthorised rally will get you tear gassed, arrested, beaten up and jailed. If violence breaks out, and it will, video footage of Police being injured by thugs will be shown on the evening news, politicians will visit them in hospital and award them medals, while the jails will not be televised.
Seriously digging deep, there is nothing to be gained by going to a peaceful rally, or even a violent head-to-head one, because THEY have lots of well-paid, well-equipped, well-trained thugs with riot gear, and you have nothing.
The solution is to avoid the confrontation altogether and simply use petrol and matches to seriously damage government buildings at night when they are unprotected, and you can get away down a back street to do it again tomorrow. They simply don’t have enough Police/CCTV to protect everything all the time.
Assange has already effectively been convicted, but the US will put on a show trial, convict him again, and then send him to a maximum security prison where he will be tortured via solitary confinement. The goal is to drive him insane. The UK will do absolutely noting to stop this nor will the Australians.
There will be a show trial, but it is possible that a jury will vote to acquit. Much depends on the specific charges under which Julian is tried. I hope and expect that he will have a crack team of lawyers that will show the U.S. government to be petty and cruel.
That implies that there is such a thing as justice in the US which means you must not live here. There is no justice here.
Yes, shame on my USA, which it appears, is about to violate its own Constitution.
Shame on the Brits for being interposers, obedient lap dog of the US, in fetching Assange.
Shame on Australia for failing to defend one of its citizens.
Shame on the Moreno Ecuadorian Government for reneging on their asylum given by the Correa administration. They turned a safe haven into a solitary confinement.
Judas’!
Shame on the Swedes for their mis-handling of the initial accusations.
Again, just another tool in the USA’s toolbox.
Shame on free people, everywhere, for not demanding and defending freedom of the press.
Shame on all, so called, main stream media journalists for not coming to defense of one of their own.
Especially, Reuters for it was the execution of their reporters by the US military chopper that took much pleasure in playing, “Shoot first and ask questions later.”
What’s to come next?
Shutting down the w.w.w.?
(Russia may be preparing to circumvent such action ) — https://www.newamerica.org/cybersecurity-initiative/c2b/c2b-log/russias-plans-for-a-national-internet/
It’s said, “The worst thing is not knowing.”
Well, we’re about to find out if there’s any remorse or atonement by any of the afore mentioned governments.
I don’t have a great deal of hope, but the least the Brits can do, is get Julian some much needed medical attention.
It seems to have been neglected by Moreno’s Embassy.
The infowar goes on. No matter what, we must continue and expand our efforts to uncover and make known to as many as possible the truths that Julian has devoted his life to. Rage, rage against the dying of the light!
Earth’s ruling demonic warlords OWN the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and release them at will. Humanity will be exterminated if we do not end the elitist control of War, Famine, Pestilence and War.
1. I agree that the extradition must be fought with everything available, but I also can guarantee you that the outcome if the Westminster court hearing has been carefully determined in advance.
2. It’s your blog and I don’t know how much energy you spend on Q cultists, but I would reconsider the decision to block or ban them. Besides giving them ammunition (“‘they’ don’t want the truth to get out!”), they are so easy to mock, especially as the evidence keeps piling up.
I for one laugh at them as they spin, obfuscate, move goalposts, attack messengers, attack messages, try to shift burdens of proof, argue from ignorance, demand philosophical standards of proof (but apply no scrutiny to their own claims), make vague predictions (which therefore cannot be falsified), claim insider knowledge which turns out to be bullshit, and otherwise making fools of themselves.
Their only rivals for idiocy are the russiagate cultists. And God knows their only saving grace is that they have been a wellspring of comedy delights.
The Intercept did a nice piece on your typical Q-cultist types. Typing “Intercept White Rabbit” into a non-google search engine will probably find the piece.
Will look this up, thank you.
I see Q as NESARA for Trump supporters, even down to the begging for funds over the internet.
https://theintercept.com/2019/03/30/domestic-terrorism-donald-trump/
This the one you were talking about?
If Bernie and Tulsi do not fight this they should get out of the way.They are part of the machine if so, and better get out of the way or insert a cog.
Not to mention Corbyn. Is he not leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition?
If they are running for office in the US, they are already part of the machine. They may hope to divert or sabotage the machine, but they’re still part of it.
I don’t know what “insert a cog” means, but real progressives who have been paying attention know that Berni and Tulsi are fakers, whatever progressive-sounding things they may say. Look at their records.
“This is it, folks. This is where we find out what we’re made of as a species. This is where we find out if humanity gets to survive, and if it deserves to.”
No, actually this is one “this is it” moments in a series of countless “this is it” moments throughout HIStory. Reading through Mumia Abu Jamal’s tome entitled, “MURDER Incorporated: Empire, Genocide, Manifest Destiny”, the author points to all the events contributing to white male supremacy and the on-going argument for the narrative of manifest destiny and empire, which includes silencing journalists. It’s nothing new. In response to a recent New York Times “op ed” video piece featuring Joanna Hausmann, daughter of Venezuelan neoliberal Ricardo Hausman, I wrote:
Reactionary liberalism is alive and well in the realm of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism. From a platform of privilege this performer does a wonderful job of selling what all politicians keep selling (funny how she singles out those politicians who are not). To quote the 19th century editor and writer John O’Sullivan from his treatise declaring divine sanction for American expansionism:
“The fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.”
Endless war is necessary to feed the insatiable engine of capitalism. As one of those that I’m sure Ms. Hausmann would gladly include in her soapbox psyop performance art, Dr. Cornel West offers this troika as a symptom of manifest destiny, “free-market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism and escalating authoritarianism”.
So let’s intervene. Let’s get behind Trump when it suits us and scream Kremlin agent when it doesn’t. Let’s forget that Elliot Abrams is a murderer. Let’s whitewash the whole situation so we can continue the neoliberal experiment by finishing us all off in the process. Or…
Why don’t we realize the true definition of sovereignty and rewrite the underlying narrative of manifest destiny and replace it with reciprocity, humanity, compassion and common sense. Thomas Paine, the original Kremlin agent, coined the latter phrase. But no one listened to him much.
I also, in a separate, comment, deleted by the New York Times, quoted revolutionary journalist Caitlin Johnstone:
“Since the dawn of civilization, powerful individuals have controlled the stories people tell themselves about who they are, who’s in charge, how a good citizen behaves, what groups should be loved, what groups should be hated, and what’s really going on in the world. When you study what we call history, you’re mostly just reading the ancient proto-propaganda of whatever kingdom happened to win the last war during that period of time. When you study what we call religion, you’re mostly reading stories that were advanced by ancient governments explaining why the people should be meek, forgiving taxpayers instead of rising up and killing their wealthy exploiters.
This continues to this day. We fill our children’s heads with lies about how the world works, how the government works, how the media works, and, on a deeper level, how their own consciousness works, and the entire process is shaped to funnel power toward the people who control our stories. The modern schooling system was largely formed by John D Rockefeller, widely considered the wealthiest person in modern history, in order to create generations of docile gear-turners for the industrial plutocratic machine. Modern schooling is essentially mainstream media in a building; it promotes authorized narratives day in and day out to ensure that children will have a reaction of cognitive dissonance and rejection when confronted with information which contradicts those narratives.
This funnels the populace seamlessly into the narrative control matrix of adulthood, where childhood indoctrination into mainstream narratives lubricates the way for continual programming of credulous minds with mass media propaganda. All the print, TV and online media they are presented with supports the status quo-supporting agendas of the same plutocratic class that John D Rockefeller dominated all those years ago. This ensures that no matter how bad things get, no matter how severely our spirits are crushed by end-stage metastatic neoliberalism, no matter how many stupid, pointless wars we’re duped into, no matter how much further we are drawn along the path toward extinction via climate chaos or nuclear war, we will never revolt to overthrow our rulers.”
The New York Times had a lead line from today’s reporting on Julian Assange that I believe it revised – something along the lines as Assange having “embarrassed” the US. It was absurd. I can’t find it now but it was the first thing I read this morning, prior to Johnstone’s piece.
We’re in trouble, yes. Yet, when you think of the “manifest destiny” players who have shaped the game since the notion of empire entered our unintegrated mammalian brains, you can conjure many cases of “this is it”. Mostly it’s been the empire makers murdering millions of POC and native people. This recent event will likely turn out to only be the frog in boiling water narrative turned up another notch. Or it could incite a call to action. For those of us who no longer want to participate in manifest destiny, it’s huge. For those participants, or anyone on the fence, it’s not going to effect their narratives much. They will turn back on their mobile game apps and get on with their day, sleepwalking through the narrative. For the so-called “woke” people it’s another welcome to the desert of the real moment.
Thanks Joshua. Good comments.
Why on earth would you read the New York Times? You know its all propaganda and lies. When you read them you both give them more money and you let their lies into your head.
Why on earth do you need to shame me for reading the NYTimes? 😉 It’s okay I understand your point, however I feel it’s okay to follow many sources of media. How else will we remain aware of Empire?
You’re right. I however don’t have time to read it all and therefore stick to alt/progressive (which fails often enough). I’m thankful that there’s competent, educated and progressive people who ‘do’ read crap such as what NYT and WaPo cranks out, analyze it and then tell us. It saves me the work, which I wouldn’t be able to do as well. And I just wouldn’t enjoy reading that crap. But, We do need to know.
Agree. Caitlin’s arguments that we don’t know how things will turn out, and that it’s worthwhile to keep working towards a better future, have been a real inspiration for me. I hope she keeps writing even if this particular battle doesn’t go well.
Josuha–you might want to check your info–I’m quite sure that not all zionists are white males–more of a rainbow kind of coalition [including women]–so perhaps instead furthering the cause of civil strife in an already dangerous situation [unless that was your agenda]–how about we leave the racism out and just talk about the sons-a-bitches who are trashing the very foundations of humanity–and call a spade a spade.
What is on the line here is no less than Freedom of the Press.
They want to make an example of Julian Assange, so all Journalists Everywhere will understand that this is what will happen to them if they dare to step out of line and Print the Truth.
President Thomas Jefferson brought Thomas Paine to America to save this from happening to Thomas Paine in Europe.
Paine likely would have been killed otherwise.
Julian Assange is today’s Thomas Paine. But we have no Leaders offering him sanctuary. Which means we have NO Leaders.
We the People must act.
“When in the course of Human Events, it becomes NECESSARY….”
Thomas Jefferson
“Democracy cannot exist without Freedom of the Press”
Thomas Jefferson
Yeah for you Caitlin! I am so glad I found you and love your outspoken activism on ALL areas that involve out right to speak out. Free Julian! I hope this atrocity can be stopped. I would love to see you speak with James Corbett about this and it would enhance this very important message to reach SO many people!
On a practical note, can I add that when we’re faced with such gross injustice, it has the ability to traumatise us, therefore our ‘energy’ is destablised, ungrounded, we don’t think clearly and are subject to emotions that can undermine us and our environment (viz through the quantum field).
I think it would be wise for all who learn about this criminally unjust action, that we take a breath, several in fact and ensure we are stable in ourselves, before we let this undermine our own physical and emotional health and therefore our ability to act wisely and judiciously – unlke our global authorities – and see how best we can support Julian hereon in, in a calm, well thought through and calmly organised fashion.
If we are to join forces and take supportive action, we need to do so from the best ‘space’ possible and now one of ‘reaction’; but one of planned ‘response’:
To everyone who said, “Yeah, he can just walk out of the embassy.” We fucking told you so. #FreeAssange
Love your comment, Jack. Read it just after it was posted and it’s been resonating ever since. It encapsulates the whole disgusting stinking saga.
If ever there is a defining event in human history this is it. Assange’s post asylum fate has been speculated for years, with Assange paying the price with his freedom. Now the other shoe has dropped. The baying hyenas of the lickspittle “mockingbird’ press will show their verminous, cowardly, selves with self-serving pronouncements of his ‘guilt’. The shame is ours. We must hold the press, politicians, pundits and the like to account for factual failures as best we can and dare. There is no fence any more: one side or the other must be chosen. Freedom of speech, truth, constitutional protections, a free press, humanity on one side and the mirrored negation on the other.
You rock Catlin… Thank you.
This was always going to end in tears… Make no mistake, I’m solidly behind Julian, but when his situation didn’t quietly resolve itself after a couple of years, well, this outcome appeared to be inevitable.
.
Freedom of the press doesn’t exist now and, if I’m correct in my assessment, never did except in very limited (mainly local) circumstances. There is a carefully cultivated fiction of press freedom, a myth we’ve all bought into, but you should bear in mind GR Hearst’s instructions to a reporter sent to Cuba to cover the explosion of the USS Maine.
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Now that “the other shoe has dropped” — how do you plan to “…hold the press, politicians, pundits and the like to account…”? Oh, I see, weasel words crept in “… as best we can and dare.” How does that fit in with your incendiary: “There is no fence any more: one side or the other must be chosen.”?
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To accomplish what you hint at, what are you willing to sacrifice? Your comfort? Your freedom? Your life? Words on the internet will accomplish little or nothing (sorry to say). Justice for Julian, indeed confronting the evil empire in any serious capacity, will require commitment, time and sacrifice… real sacrifice.
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Julian’s plight demonstrates the empire uses violence to maintain its hold on power — are you willing to match the empire’s commitment to challenge it?
How depressing!..Great work…thanks Caitlin
“I am going to have a zero tolerance policy for QAnon cultists”
Until they are materially interfering in your and others’ ability to speak in each instance — say, flooding the comments in this posting — then you are going against your own free speech principles.
I most definitely am not. If you can’t tell the difference between opposing deplatforming on massive monopolistic outlets and getting people out of my own personal space, you need to think harder. Neither you nor anyone else is entitled to the use of my space to spread bullshit.
You are right . Don’t feed the Trolls.
Yes. Don’t support those who would use our freedoms to take away our freedoms.
I’m not bullshitting. Please don’t infer between the lines. I think this is important, and I don’t think broad-brush censoring of a worldview, as you explicitly pointed out, is the way to go.
Those other actions you identify against you– deplatforming, monopoly control, etc. — are not fighting your content with content. Those actions are not legitimate in a free society. But then when you remove someone else’s worldview from any consideration, no matter how crazy it appears, you censor content.
But that is exactly what we are fighting against. After all, that’s one way narratives take root, yes? The mainstream media censors content, so that only the “crazies” are talking about it in their own blogs. You know, crazies like you (and me).
I’m a fan of yours, except for your occasional (apparent) conflation of the weapons of speech with those outside the realm of speech. I believe I’m sympathetic to the trials you endure in your position, but possibly inadequately so. I ask you to nuance your handling of this, to the extent you can. Otherwise, others see what I’m seeing, and I’d say it looks bad to the skeptical who you have yet to win over. Thanks.
Yes, you are spot on Caitlin – it would be nice if he stuck to the point being made… Well done! please, please keep up the good work you do!
@Robert:
Which point about QAnon am I not sticking to?
I am objecting only to content censoring (the “worldview” of those “who try to tell me that this is actually 5-D chess by Trump to overthrow the Deep State”).
It is not at all clear that content is still being permitted while combatting non-speech actions (deplatforming, etc). In fact, just the opposite. If I am incorrect, please set me straight.
Bravo Caitlin…
My question is, will the US Agents facilitating the extradition be traveling with bone saws? Will actual evil prevail yet again or will this finally lead to the prosecution of the war criminals exposed: bush/CHENEY, Obomba/Clinton and Blair?
I wouldn’t be surprised if before extradition occurs, Assange is killed on his way into court. But it will only be a lone nutjob, with no connection to the US or UK (or Australian) governments.
Assange was arrested just hours after the Morrison government of Australia called a general election so that now there is a “caretaker” government in power and everyone can deny the need to take responsibility for this Australian citizen. The Australian government has always been pathetic in its defence of this Australian citizen. The price of being a client state….
The Australian government has done sweet FA for Julian from the start. If anyone needed more proof that Australia is nothing but a US outpost, this is it. Sacrificing its own citizen when he should be feted as a hero.
Pine Gap, right in the centre of the country, our dead heart 🙁
Lobby Wong and Albanese, let’s see if the Labor gov will do something about getting him home.
I’ve emailed my local Federal ALP member regularly about Julian’s plight approximately four times over the last year or so but apart from an initial ‘he can leave the embassy any time he likes’ reply, he doesn’t even send a standard acknowledgement response. I emailed Shorten over a week ago, still waiting for a response. They’re all up the Washington backside, there is no hope.
Disgusted and sad for Julian and our world.
Agree 100%