Julian Assange Being Turned over to UK????
sbenois said:
Dearest Nan,
I've been checking "the internets" for 24 hours now and so far Bernie hasn't said a thing about our favorite "journalist" Julian Assange. Like you, I was eagerly awaiting his full-throated support on this matter.
One thing that did pop up was this news report from our favorite site RT.COM:
"Berniecrats feeling burned as Sanders keeps mum on Assange’s arrest"
https://www.rt.com/usa/456328-sanders-ignores-assange-arrest/
I am starting to feel like Bernie might actually be full of ****. He hates millionaires, yet he suddenly became one by writing a book that he sold to the two of us and to the rest of the cult members. Now this.
Bernie,
Say it ain't so Bernie! And even if you come out with a statement now, it's too little, too late. You've lost my vote. And probably Nan's vote because I know Nan and she would never overlook this situation and continue to support you.
Bernie-hater who called for Assange's execution flailing as support for both heroes soars.
Poor Pauil. Doesn't know how to defend Bernie's silence.
Nice try though.
sbenois said:
Poor Pauil. Doesn't know how to defend Bernie's silence.
Nice try though.
Actiually if he has been silent, he should be criticized.
But you still haven't answered the question -- why do you hate Bernie so much?
Sweden can resume the investigation into the rape allegation against Assange at any time before the limitation period expires, which is August 2020. Sweden was not told of the impending arrest of Assange. If Sweden decides to resume the investigation, it will be up to the UK court to decide whether to grant priority to the Swedish extradition request or the US one.
A thread on Assange and Sweden.
https://twitter.com/davidallengreen/status/1116603074540216320
paulsurovell said:
Bernie-hater who called for Assange's execution flailing as support for both heroes soars.
Really repulsive and ignorant.
Moving on to people we can respect -
Daniel Ellsberg On Assange Arrest: The Beginning of the End For Press Freedom
The video above mentions a book Assange was carrying as he was arrested.
Gore Vidal History of The National Security State: Includes Vidal on America
https://www.amazon.com/Vidal-History-National-Security-State/dp/1494887991
In Gore Vidal: History of the National Security State & Vidal on America, TRNN Senior Editor Paul Jay and the acclaimed essayist, screenwriter and novelist Gore Vidal discuss the historical events that led to the establishment of the massive military-industrial-security complex and the political culture that gave us the “Imperial Presidency.”
Some think he might be sending a message with this book. However, as a book lover myself, I never leave the house without reading material. If I were being arrested, I would probably grab my reading material also. Since Assange has not been allowed internet access, he no doubt has spent a lot of time reading books.
nan said:
Tulsi Gabbard tweeted in support of Julian Assange. ******** Let's see how many other 2020 candidates do the same.******
https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1116446982342529024
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.
I am sorry that you find your own expectations to be so repulsive Nan. It's just proof that you will defend Bernie at all costs. Your own narcissistic millionaire candidate failed your challenge. Let's see you criticize him the same way you were most certainly going to criticize the others in the field.
Not to mention that the article I posted comes from RT.com, one of the sites that you tout the most here. If this doesn't wake you the heck up to your oddball bias, nothing will.
But I suspect deep down you know that Bernie failed you on this one. Ouch!
sbenois said:
But I suspect deep down you know that Bernie failed you on this one. Ouch!
Not speaking for Nan, but I'm guessing that if Bernie fails to stand up for Assange, she would say that he failed. I don't think she expects to like 100% of what he does or doesn't do.
But what's more curious is your obsession with Bernie. Why do you hate him so much? You should be able to cite at least a few of his policy positions that make you mad.
paulsurovell said:
Actiually if he has been silent, he should be criticized.
But you still haven't answered the question -- why do you hate Bernie so much?
He has not spoken in defense of Assange and that is not good. But, now that he says he will release his taxes, Sbenois and nohero/S_M have quickly jumped on to the next thing they don't really care about except to dump on Bernie. So you are right to question them on why they hate Bernie so much. I mean the the guy takes not corporate contributions and will be the best one to get us Medicare for All, something the whole country needs. And they say they hate Trump and yet they seem to agree with him far more than they agree with Bernie. So strange. Did not see that coming.
Nan, like you, I am keenly sensitive to the political support that Julian is going to need here. So I started thinking about where the most bang for our buck is on this and then it dawned on me: let's see what "America's most popular politician" is saying about it!
After all, we need all the help we can get and if Bernie is on board then shoot, Julian has a chance of avoiding the big house!
Even the New Yorker is seeing the value of Julian Assange. Sbenois wants him executed. Wonder if they can change his mind?
The Indictment of Julian Assange Is a Threat to Journalism
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-indictment-of-julian-assange-is-a-threat-to-journalism?utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Cassidy_041219&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9ccc124c17c6adf3a243f&user_id=33647752&esrc=&utm_term=TNY_Cassidy
paulsurovell said:
Not speaking for Nan, but I'm guessing that if Bernie fails to stand up for Assange, she would say that he failed. I don't think she expects to like 100% of what he does or doesn't do.
But what's more curious is your obsession with Bernie. Why do you hate him so much? You should be able to cite at least a few of his policy positions that make you mad.
Exactly, Paul. I'm disappointed that Bernie has not stood up for Assange. However, contrary to what our corporate Dem MOL friends accuse me of, I'm not a rigid purist when it comes to my candidate. I am clearly to the left of Bernie, but I still think his platform is terrific and I'm not going to cut off my nose to spite my face.
And yet they carry on as though Bernie is the devil incarnate. I do wonder how they can seem to hate him so? And let's not forget Sbenois called for the execution of Assange also.
Getting back to Assange, did you see this Tucker Carlson video? Seems even the horrible Tucker Carlson understands that Assange must be supported and because of that FOX news viewers are better informed than the people watching MSNBC/CNN. How embarrassing.
John PIlger explains the importance of Julian Assange because he revealed how the United States fights their "colonial wars." What really got Assange and Manning into trouble was the video of collateral murder and the "kill them all" mentality. The illusion of the US as a benign entity was blown away.
Chelsea and Julian are in Jail. History Trembles
Tonight both Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange are in jail, both over offences related to the publication of materials specifying US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, and both charged with nothing else at all. No matter what ******** political and MSM liars try to feed you, that is the simple truth. Manning and Assange are true heroes of our time, and are suffering for it.
If a Russian opposition politician were dragged out by armed police, and within three hours had been convicted on a political charge by a patently biased judge with no jury, with a lengthy jail sentence to follow, can you imagine the Western media reaction to that kind of kangaroo court? Yet that is exactly what just happened in London.
District Judge Michael Snow is a disgrace to the bench who deserves to be infamous well beyond his death. He displayed the most plain and open prejudice against Assange in the 15 minutes it took for him to hear the case and declare Assange guilty, in a fashion which makes the dictators’ courts I had witnessed, in Babangida’s Nigeria or Karimov’s Uzbekistan, look fair and reasonable, in comparison to the gross charade of justice conducted by Michael Snow.
One key fact gave away Snow’s enormous prejudice. Julian Assange said nothing during the whole brief proceedings, other than to say “Not guilty” twice, and to ask a one sentence question about why the charges were changed midway through this sham “trial”. Yet Judge Michael Snow condemned Assange as “narcissistic”. There was nothing that happened in Snow’s brief court hearing that could conceivably have given rise to that opinion. It was plainly something he brought with him into the courtroom, and had read or heard in the mainstream media or picked up in his club. It was in short the very definition of prejudice, and “Judge” Michael Snow and his summary judgement is a total disgrace.
We wrapped up the final Wikileaks and legal team meeting at 21.45 tonight and thereafter Kristian Hrafnsson and I had dinner together. The whole team, including Julian, is energised rather than downhearted. At last there is no more hiding for the pretend liberals behind ludicrous Swedish allegations or bail jumping allegations, and the true motive – revenge for the Chelsea Manning revelations – is now completely in the open.
To support the persecution of Assange in these circumstances is to support absolute state censorship of the internet. It is to support the claim that any journalist who receives and publishes official material which indicates US government wrongdoing, can be punished for its publication. Furthermore this US claim involves an astonishing boost to universal jurisdiction. Assange was nowhere near the USA when he published the documents, but nonetheless US courts are willing to claim jurisdiction. This is a threat to press and internet freedom everywhere.
These are scary times. But those may also be the most inspiring of times.
sbenois said:
Do they have room for Jimmy Dore?
We have room for him here since you requested it- Here is Jimmy Dore's response to Assange's arrest:
Even RT is on top of this: https://www.rt.com/usa/456328-sanders-ignores-assange-arrest/
And a related issue: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, in a case filed last year against 13 Russians accused of interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign, said workers at a St. Petersburg facility called the Internet Research Agency were instructed to write social media posts in opposition to Clinton but “to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump.”
sbenois said:
Bernie / Assange Watch Day 2: dead silence.
If this got you to watch Niko House that's a good thing.
sbenois said:
it didn't
Too bad you are so resistant to ideas. Are you still calling for Julian Assange to be executed or have you soften even a bit?
You do realize Assange is charged with hacking, not writing or publishing stories, right?? Also jumping bail in the UK, of course.
CHRIS HEDGES: The Martyrdom of Julian Assange
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-martyrdom-of-julian-assange/
The arrest Thursday of Julian Assange eviscerates all pretense of the rule of law and the rights of a free press. The illegalities, embraced by the Ecuadorian, British and U.S. governments, in the seizure of Assange are ominous. They presage a world where the internal workings, abuses, corruption, lies and crimes, especially war crimes, carried out by corporate states and the global ruling elite will be masked from the public. They presage a world where those with the courage and integrity to expose the misuse of power will be hunted down, tortured, subjected to sham trials and given lifetime prison terms in solitary confinement. They presage an Orwellian dystopia where news is replaced with propaganda, trivia and entertainment. The arrest of Assange, I fear, marks the official beginning of the corporate totalitarianism that will define our lives.
Under what law did Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno capriciously terminate Julian Assange’s rights of asylum as a political refugee? Under what law did Moreno authorize British police to enter the Ecuadorian Embassy — diplomatically sanctioned sovereign territory — to arrest a naturalized citizen of Ecuador? Under what law did Prime Minister Theresa May order the British police to grab Assange, who has never committed a crime? Under what law did President Donald Trump demand the extradition of Assange, who is not a U.S. citizen and whose news organization is not based in the United States?
I am sure government attorneys are skillfully doing what has become de rigueur for the corporate state, using specious legal arguments to eviscerate enshrined rights by judicial fiat. This is how we have the right to privacy with no privacy. This is how we have “free” elections funded by corporate money, covered by a compliant corporate media and under iron corporate control. This is how we have a legislative process in which corporate lobbyists write the legislation and corporate-indentured politicians vote it into law. This is how we have the right to due process with no due process. This is how we have a government — whose fundamental responsibility is to protect citizens — that orders and carries out the assassination of its own citizens such as the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old son. This is how we have a press legally permitted to publish classified information and a publisher sitting in jail in Britain awaiting extradition to the United States and a whistleblower, Chelsea Manning, in a jail cell in the United States.
Britain will use as its legal cover for the arrest the extradition request from Washington based on conspiracy charges. This legal argument, in a functioning judiciary, would be thrown out of court. Unfortunately, we no longer have a functioning judiciary. We will soon know if Britain as well lacks one.
The Knight Institute for the First Amendment at Columbia University:
https://twitter.com/knightcolumbia/status/1116378980247134208