On his program “On Contact,” journalist and author Chris Hedges interviews Joe Lauria, CN editor, on the moves to prosecute Julian Assange using the Espionage Act; the media’s cravenness and the latest on Assange’s condition in London.
Volume 29, Number 356— Saturday, December 21, 2024
Sounds like the Guardian is in deep doo doo for their latest fabricated hit piece on Assange:
Growing calls for the Guardian’s editor-in-chief to resign as the paper faces accusations of publishing magical thinking about WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange and Paul Manafort meeting
I have not been able to stomach reading about this latest outrage, but when I read the “story” by Luke Harding just after the “assassins in Salisbury” with false names etc and every ridiculous linking up of bits of Elliott Higgins fantasies of “investigation” in the Guardian I was sick. I remembered Harding’s interview with Aaron Maté on the Real News Network showing his dishonesty and incompetence, plus he co-wrote the revolting “biography” of Assange after using Wikileaks material, yet this is an “acceptable” journalist on a UK “respectable “paper.
Thanks to Chris and Joe for this important interview.
Jonathan Cook’s recent article highlighted the Guardian’s role as the gatekeeper of the “respectable” left, which serves to smear radicals and anti-globalists. Guardian journalists were exposed to be part of the UK government disinfo network “Integrity Initiative” to destabilise the Corbyn Labour Party, SYRIZA and Die Linke. They serve the 1% against the 99% and operate conspiratorially to destroy Julian Assange even after exploiting him to shore up their now-flagging fake-left reputation. Mark my words, the paper’s reputation will fade like a desert marage in the coming months.
#BoycottTheGuardian
https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2018-11-28/guardian-vilification-julian-assange/
Thanks Anne. Great link. The Gareth Porter article linked at the bottom of Cook’s piece is also very informative.
In the US, we have Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post while simultaneously building some sort of data cloud for the CIA. Therefore, no surprise when a reporter is a CIA asset parroting what he’s told.
I believe this Luke Harding person is a MI6 asset at the Guardian. Look at where he’s been stationed and the topics he writes about.
It is not our imagination. The UK and US run psyops disinformation campaigns on their own citizens. I am almost certain Harding is an example of this.
Craig Murray says the same. Luke Harding is MI6.
http://opensociet.org/2018/11/30/assange-never-met-manafort-luke-harding-and-the-guardian-publish-still-more-blatant-mi6-lies/
Y
Thanks for sharing great information
Thanks for this discussion. Good to see/hear Joe L.
Personally, I could give a shite if the mainstream press reaps toxic fallout from government persecution of Assange. I mean, again and again we’re shown examples of how the execrable mass media have sold out their public trust on the most critical issues of our time. Maybe they ought to reap some of what they’ve sown. Isn’t it a tad unlikely that the Times, the Post, etc. are going to turn a 180 now on behalf of one guy whom the powers-that-be deem a turncoat? These media fish dart & turn as one in their big school at the whim of their masters.
What troubles me more is the point Joe raised about how even alternative media still clings to the imprimatur of the high muckety-mucks of mainstream press to frame the news and what is acceptable to report. (Hello, Gary Webb anyone?)
And Chris raises the question of precedence early in the interview only later to finally ask, since Assange isn’t a U.S. citizen, by what right does the U.S. even have standing to prosecute him? Well, we know the answer already because GovCorp is the penultimate maker/breaker/changer of laws. That seems to be the much larger, lawless precedent, already smoothed into place. Render unto Caesar; everything is Caesar’s, ‘cause he says.
Will there ever be enough courageous peoples to dismantle this reign of terror from the criminal elements that wield government’s powers for their own gain? Who will break these misused powers into a thousand pieces and scatter them to the winds? The least we can do is to remember the reveals published by Wikileaks and to use them to rebut the writhing of MediaCorp surely to come. Thanks to Chris and Joe for reiterating some of the main ones.
Assange should receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and on the strength of Wikileaks evidence Hillary should be indicted by any court with jurisdiction.
PEACE IN…
WE ALL MUST RALLY IN UNCOMPROMISING SUPPORT OF JULIAN ASSANGE – PERIOD.
We must fully expose and directly confront those who intend to persecute/prosecute Assange for publicly exposing information the public need for effective civic engagement in a transparent democratic process.
Let us stay informed and vigilant in determination to bring change that’s so needed for the public good.
PEACE IN…PEACE OUT…
What does this mean? One can only wonder.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-27/manafort-met-secret-julian-assange-ecuadorian-embassy-report
Thanks Joe, I think it means that we’ve reached the point of total absurdity otherwise known as the end game…
Good to hear your opinion Bob. I actually wonder if Mueller got something up his sleeve to implicate Assange into the Manafort Investigation. That by doing this Mueller side steps any argument made that Assange represents a free press, thereby dumping Assange into the back room dealings of Manafort somehow. Could this be a way to tie Assange into the supposed espionage web Mueller is trying to weave around Manafort? Also I might add tying Manafort & Assange together by passes Manafort’s supposed illegal financial dealings by harnessing Manafort through Assange to espionage crimes instead. Hard to say, but worth watching. Joe
Thanks again Joe, this from Craig Murray, “Assange Never Met Manafort”.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk
Read The Consortiumnews interview at the OffGuardian site for the extended commentary…
https://off-guardian.org/2018/11/26/crucifying-julian-assange/
While there read the excellent article “Britain on the Leash with the United States – but at Which End?” Especially the commentary because it offers a British perspective (most valuable).
https://off-guardian.org/2018/11/27/britain-on-the-leash-with-the-united-states-but-at-which-end
Thanks Bob, I throughly agree the comments as well as your link merit attention
This is becoming increasingly weird and unacceptable and our UK media, remains silent, sadly!
The scaffolding on the Embassy, cctv cameras, pointing in, not out and the doors open, in an Embassy, in London, should be on our front pages, as we know, our government, will be more than happy, to send Julian to the US,
despite, knowing what will happen to him!
What can we do to expose our government and ensure safety, for this brave and brilliant Publisher, who has worked so hard, to bring us the truth? Perhaps there is already,an action group,that I m unaware of, but, we must not let Trump, have Julian s life in his dirty hands!
One option is to publically demand your MP and The Government to adhere to Article 4, paragraphs 1 & 3 of the 2003 UK-US Extradition Treaty, which explicity prohibits extradition for political crimes or politically-motivated crimes. Any crimes the US may charge against Mr. Assange are obviously politically-motivated.
UNACCEPTABLE.
For an oldtimer like myself things started already to become UNACCEPTABLE when I was a teenager, which was a long time ago, I already was born at The Crash of 24 October 1929 which is longer than nearly everyone of you reading Consortium News today 2018. It has been going done hill ever since, lately with the Orange Hair One at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C. Trump House at an Express train speed.
In a very real sense, this IS a war of Good vs Evil. This will prove to be so, as it unfolds.
My best guess is that Julian will be brought to America as the star witness fueling a series of court trials and military tribunals to procees those 60,00 plus sealed indictments. This isn’t R vs D, liberal vs conservative, of Left vs Right. This is Insider vs outsider, globalism vs nationalism, the Deep State vs the Elected State, the Predators preying upon, and betraying, the people vs the Defenders trying to safe-guard the people and take down the Predators. That’s my guess on what is really going on.
I agree that this, and any other political issue of our time for that matter, is actually Insider vs Outsider.
However, those Insiders push the narrative into a R vs D issue, at which point, predictably, meaningful debate devolves into a food fight. At the moment, the prosecution of Assange it is most definitely a D issue and the Ds’s are zealously compromising their principles to vindicate the Hillary loss.
Absolutely.
I have independent but unpublished confirmation of this from unpublished emails from established journos.
They cannot get over the Hillary loss and view the Assange issue in purely partisan terms. Plus they have bought the narrative the Assnage worked with the Russians to throw the election. They also cannot stand the fact that emails published by Wikileaks of course did damage Hillary’s chances—but they were genuine, and the public had a right to see the behind-the-scenes Dem Party hanky-panky. So these journalists take a partisan position in hating on Assange and not giving a fig about not only his First Amendment but also his basic civil and human rights. It is beyond comprehensible to me that the Australian govt does not lift a finger for an Australian citizen.
Part of me wants to see a public trial of Assange in the USA where all of the dirt and lying is exposed to fresh air once and for all. But is this possible?
A public trial of Assange would be the best thing that could happen, which means there is no way that it ever will.
I see no difference between the Evangelicals zealously supporting Cheney / Bush no matter the war crimes, then the Dems zealously supporting Clinton / Obama no matter the war crimes. The shoe is merely on the other foot.
Absolutely wishful thinking. There is no available evidence to suggest this in anyway, but rather the opposite. Looking at the players involved in the indictment it becomes even less plausible. I wish I could believe this fanciful theory.
Of course Julian Assange is being illegally detained. Held ” Without Charge” for 8 years is absurd and unlawful, but that is how the UK govt. acts- it just ignores the law when it wants to. It upholds the “Official Secrets Act”. The original rape charges from women in Sweden, were eventually dropped by the women who were being manipulated and pressured by the CIA in order to ensnare Assange. The Swedish govt. was in the pocket of Washington and ready to deport him for some form of “payback”. MI 6 works close and tight with U.S. intel. and secret services, so Assange is targeted as enemy by both for releasing too much damaging and embarrassing evidence of their unchecked illegal activities. No one should question their unlimited powers and secret wars.
Most people are totally unaware of what their country is doing (with their tax money), and people in government are set to keep it that way. A family member spent his life in government as Cabinet member, Labour MP, and a top libel lawyer until his death, and defended his/ their JOB to keep sensitive information away from “the little people” as they were not educated at Eton, Cambridge, or Oxford. In the U.S. Democrats were outraged that Hillary Clinton should be exposed and embarrassed by her statements, her financial ‘kickbacks’ from the Saudis, Goldman Sachs, Wall Street, the suppression of B. Sanders- all in print for the world to see.
In the UK and Europe, many people tried to help Julian. I don’t know him personally, but I know his former friends and colleagues who helped him or worked with him , even housed him, but who eventually had to cut off or break ties because of his erratic, confusing, or self destructive behavior. He might have some psychological condition that causes him to treat people badly and has lost him friends and allies- a problem when you need support and solidarity.
Whistleblowers must be protected, defended, supported, aided: they defend democracy by exposing government corruption and crimes. When the government breaks the law and illegally detains someone, creating a political prisoner, they should and can be freed or liberated by a variety of means, but so far, no one has come forward with a plan to liberate Julian Assange.
One day, people will Thank J. A. for his Wikileaks “dump” of classified material,but the majority of the people are still not comfortable to learn the extent of, or to the degree to which their government deliberately lies, maintains secrets, and deceives their citizens. In the dangerous madness and dysfunction of the Trump administration, the Democratic Party does not want their own dirty secrets exposed.
More important is to hear what Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Noam Chomsky have to say about Julian Assange- mine is just another ignorant and ill informed opinion.
Very well said. Such an informed and educated commentary. Thank you
julian Assange has very much in common with DJT. they are both about themselves. They really do not care about anything except self promoting. Fine if you feel Assange is a first amendment promoter, free press , cool, be that, as it is. Meanwhile, the rest of us live in reality, not some world that Assange would want us to live in. The dude Assange cant even take care of his cat. I do not believe in or follow Assange, he is just another jim jones, david koresh, shri vaneesh, david duke, Donald trump some person who has charisma, and charm. Like Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Steve Jobs, Julaian Asssange is an asshole who created a way to disseminate information. On his terms. I will not rally around him . Assange is a douche because he never ever denied or said he was sorry for his sexual assaults
You are an imbecile.
“Meanwhile, the rest of us live in reality”… ?
“I do not believe in or follow Assange”…
Why are you posting here? You will be better off at the Daily Mail or some other rag where intellect to read or post or think is not required.
What a sad commentary on SOME, I suspect very few, readers of consortiumnews that you could even think, let alone admit, such beliefs.
Luckily, nobody would expect any understanding or humanitarian support from you.
Are you familiar with PEN, the international association to protect writers and freedom of expression is PEN? I was founded in London in 1921 and has branches in about 100 countries.
They completely ignore Julian. Search the sites, he’s not there!
Ashoggi’s there, though he’s “late” for protection. Also there are a host of folks I’ve never heard of.
I’ve been tweeting to @penCanada and pen_int (international) for some time asking them to stand up for Julian. I haven’t heard back. (There’s @penamerican too! )
Take a moment when you’re on twitter and there’s something about Julian, to retweet to the pen folks. Ask them to take on his case.
I do like the sound of the mass demo around the Ecuadorean embassy!
CN always provides the most interesting and truthful reports. I have been reading articles on this site every day for many years.
Thank you Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria for the compassionate interview, and I thank the commentators, as well.
I read the report and comments on the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/us/politics/julian-assange-indictment-wikileaks.html
Being used to the lies of that paper, which I hardly ever read, I was nevertheless disgusted at the thoughts of revenge and outright hate most of the commentators expressed towards Assange.
The NY Times Pick comment has 272 likes and goes like this:
“Arresting Assange is not an attack on the freedom of the press. He and Wikileaks are not a news organization. Assange was a foreign agent working for an adversarial government that was trying to undermine our democracy by interfering in our election process. He new exactly were the information came from and the purpose of releasing it. He was a Russian accomplice.”
They have no idea who Assange is, and what he stands for. It is very disheartening to find out such lack of knowledge and compassion after so many years of his incarceration.
One cannot recommend the comments section of any Russian related piece in either the Post or Times; how supposedly well educated readers have been so thoroughly brainwashed. They eventually turned around during Viet Nam. We want in vain for that now.
It is disheartening to me how many of my “liberal” friends feel no need to get their news anywhere other than the New York Times, Washington Post, or CNN. Whenever I recommend to them an article from anywhere other than the big 3, it is immediately met with “I don’t trust your source”. If one never reads content from outside the USA’s mainstream media, one never hears anything but insults and opprobrium about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Whereas in my opinion, because of widespread abdication of responsibility by the US corporate press corps, WikiLeaks has emerged as the sole publishing outfit living up to the journalistic ideal of speaking truth to the power that is the US government. Assange gets smeared in the US press because he is doing their job for them and might make them look bad if people ever actually digest the content WikiLeaks releases. The Iraq and Afghanistan material from Chelsea Manning. The DNC and Podesta emails. Vault 9. As dark as our world may seem now, WikiLeaks has done far more to shed light on what’s actually going on than any other publisher.
I am not American but live in France and have no TV, but just from a few video clips/news items on sites I trust (including vesti news from Russia which is entertaining and good!)I cannot believe thinking people could accept “news” from these sources or, as I am told , news from facebook. No wonder there is widespread ignorance.
Thanks for this excellent and very important interview. I hope this gets spread far and wide, as it’s critical that Assange’s status and condition be understood by all.
I do have to say, though, that hearing former Senator Mike Gravel’s name mentioned made me cringe. I’ve had direct experience with him and he is not an ethical person at all.
Just two years ago, most (not all) of the liberal media were claiming that Julian Assange played the key role in “helping Russia steal the election” from their “bold progressive,” Hillary Clinton.
Is the pots and pans banging action going forward in London the weekends, as was discussed in the vigil for Julian some weeks ago?
Julian Assange is the premier defender of Freedom of Expression of our day. His immortal place in history is assured, and along with it, the deep gratitude of those for whom he has laid down his life and freedom. He is in the hearts of men, and will live on there.
not so much in the hearts of women and their vaginas.
Another very intelligent comment from the “Garcias”?
And I thought the notion that women “think with their sexual organs” had gone the way of the dodo.
Christina Garcia, you speak only for yourself (I suppose, it is actually your vagina doing the speaking, but how does that work with the keyboard?).
Signed: A woman
Are you related to the other charming and understanding garcia? Obviously ghastly would suit you better.
Surround the embassy with 100,000 people. Julian slips into the crowd. He switches to nondescript auburn wig and a woman’s (a wonder woman outfit, no high heels). Another 100,00 are still arriving no one notices the small dinghy rowing out to a small, drab river delta fishing boat. (Julian has a new outfit).
The non plain and rusty small fishing boat turns northeast as it crosses the channel, it hugs the European coast on a normal fishing trip. Julian the deck hand nervously drinks coffee as the follow coastal shipping route rounding Denmark. And sweat it out entering the Baltic sea north of Poland.
High tech Russian software with data managing technology once suggested by Edward Snowden notices Nato radar lock on the fishing boat. Very fast stealth helicopters already warmed and ready to go leave the Russian State of Kaliningrad. They fly low and pluck Julian from fishing boat and shuffle themselves like cards. Which one is Julian on? Nato is delayed as Trump is playing golf at the polluters international championship at Mira el largo.
Russian escort jets arrive and Julian lands free on Russian soil. Free at last. Russia has never deported someone seeking asylum from totalitarian Hollywood style mind control military empires.
I wish Julian could get to Russia.
According to the Democrats’ perspective, Trump will surely help Assange for the sake of his “good friend,” Putin.
I think this misses the point a bit. I doubt that Julian actually WOULD escape or try to avoid consequences. In fable, people such as Socrates and Jesus Christ were both offered ample opportunities to escape.
They do NOT want to avoid the consequences of some wrong doing!
Excellent articles and comments
The Nazi regime had a term “Gleichgeschaltet” – plugged in, for media or other elements which played along with the regime. The entire yankee state and its commercial media fit that pattern. Anybody who supports the silencing of Assange is nothing more than another piece of fascist filth. The yankee regime shows its total contempt for the rule of law through all of this, and the two party system is a new model two faction fascism. They are worse than the Soviet Union and, because weapons have become more dangerous, they are more dangerous than the Nazi regime, which they approach in the level of evil they represent.
Assange is being punished for exposing the hypocrisy of Democrats, who chortle that he is getting what he deserves.
We really have not made much progress since the days of burning heretics.
Who do you have to know to actually see your comment in the comment section??? This is getting really tiresome…
Maybe the comment I sent 2 hrs ago will show up in my lifetime. Whaddaya think?
The way to see the most recent comments is to send a “test” message. You can then refresh the page, go to edit comment, and select delete to remove your test message. I just did this and the comment number jumped from 56 to 75. The only times I’ve not seen my recent comment after doing this is when they’ve been under “moderation”. Then I don’t see them for a day or two.
This is more trouble than it’s worth. Maybe this comment will post tomorrow or the next day. ?
I agree Nancy. It has been going on so long now that I can’t help but think that it is deliberate. I have also seen that occasionally things seem to post normally for a little while. This is usually very early in the morning, but not every morning. I wish Joe Lauria would at least take the time to explain it to us.
Joe Lauria comes across as a very intelligent, committed person. Wonderful interview between two of my heroes.
“Believe in the truth—–Telling the Truth is a revolutionary act”
In this excellent, but ultimately depressing conversation about the current fate of Julian Assange between Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria, Joe indicated the doors are “wide open” in the Ecuadoran Embassy essentially inviting intrusions. If all other tricks fail, can we expect to see the ultimate Plan B, a Saudi hit squad, or something similar, engaged to do the government’s dirty work here?
Very good interview — thank you for doing it. I’ve already shared it and will continue to do so. Where are “We the People”?
Testing! This comment section is getting ridiculous. It’s almost like they don’t want comments which is a shame. There are many knowledgeable commenters who add a lot to these topics. See ya.
Not seeing much in the mainstream media about this subject. They’re mostly interested in the CNN vs. Trump WWF Wrassling show.
Here’s an article from Matt Taibbi:
Forget Jim Acosta. If you’re worried about Trump’s assault on the press, news of a Wikileaks indictment is the real scare story.
A vital interview and piece of journalism.
US pressure on the new government isn’t exactly being resisted. Fascist crap sticks together.
Joe Lauria, the interview with Chris Hedges helped me understand who you are. Defining what journalism is very difficult in the world we live in but you helped me to do so. Sy Hersch comes to mind when I listened to the interview, that there are among us real journalists, at least those who try to be. Not merely conveyors of leaks and handouts but journalists. Makes we wish I had been one. As to Assange, the least we can do is pray for him to be free.
The best way to support Julian is to donate to his legal defense fund: https://defend.wikileaks.org/
The best way to support Julian is to donate to his legal defense fund: https://defend.wikileaks.org/
Poroshenko Gets His War: General Mobilization of Ukrainian Army Announced by Kiev
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxB-izJRiME
Hillary Clinton is truly The Joker: Combine three facts from the list above, and compare them to Clinton’s latest clown show of telling European countries of the need to get tough on immigration to prevent right wing populist movements form gaining momentum:
Clinton campaign influenced Republican primaries to ensure that Donald Trump was the nominee.
Clinton’s emails reveal her as chief architect of the Libyan war, which led to massive exodus of migrants to Europe.
A comic display of clownerie at its best…if only it weren’t so tragic.
Clinton is a war criminal same as Bush, Obama etc. America is led by psychopaths whether they are elected to become presidents or not. Julian is a beacon of honesty in this totalitarian darkness in which we now live.
Indeed M2. Your urgency is felt. The article focuses on Assange as culprit for the inconvenient truth of real news versus propaganda:’ the inconvenient truth of capturing Victoria Nuland on tape “fucking the EU” and the rest of the world as architect for transforming the Cold War into a very real Hot War in the Ukraine, while pointing the finger at Russia for the blame. Poroshenko, Nuland and her neo-cons, and the American industrial military fascist regime get their war in Ukraine. World War is taking shape as we speak in the Donbass and Sea of Azov.
A big thank you! from the bottom of my heart to all the courageous and freedom loving people, for standing up for the WikiLeeaks Founder Julian Assange. His stunning achievement for freedom of speech and for bringing the truth to the public,deserve honor, respect and his freedom. We must act now to protect and defend our brave, selfless and brilliant journalist Julian Assange: write letters, emails, make phone calls to governments, UN, Human Rights Watch, Journalist Defenders, organizations ,etc, peaceful protest in the streets, donate .
Together we will counteract the rough government authorities and corporate media, who are carrying out an unlawful and coward persecution against Julian Assange, who has not been charged with any crime. Free Assange Now!
Full of Hope
Elsa Collins, Alan Collins and Family from UK
The best way to support Julian is to donate to his legal defense fund: https://defend.wikileaks.org/
My email is [email protected] for any loser who thinks it would like to argue with me.
The treatment of Julian Assange is a symptom of a world increasingly under the control of a greedy Western power-elite that is desperate to hide the truth.
Julian Assange is a canary in a mine that is filling with toxic volatile gas. The canary started singing and was gagged. His permanent demise will be the equivalent of lighting a match.
The world is at a critical juncture with this man. It is make or break for a world in a dangerous condition. His voice must be restored or we are lost.
The canary in a toxic coal mine metaphor is a vivid image of the urgent nature of the state war against Julian Assange.
Agree
Outstanding interview. Thank you.
The impotence and frustration we feel is the same that you would feel if you tried to liberate battery hens. Once people are “dumbed down” to the extent of being happy with what they are given and told, they will actually be hostile towards you if you try to open the cage!
The freedom of people must be bred back and multiplied from the few remaining mortals of discernment. The resistance to enslavement requires huge courage and sacrifice. Only free people will be able to appreciate Julian’s tremendous courage and sacrifice.
Love your analogy ~ here’s to all free-range humans.
I wear a Wikileaks button on my jacket. Few people who notice it have any idea what it refers to. When I try to explain it, people aren’t even interested in one of the most important phenomena of our time. It’s Christmas you know–time to hit the mall and fight for the rock bottom prices on mass-produced goods.
In the land of the free….
I cannot believe we, millions of us, are so impotent.
Perhaps “we” are focusing our potency on class warfare: accumulation of material goods in a pathetic display of superiority as compared to others; sensationalism grabs the headlines: give money to relief funds for those who have lost their homes; don’t give a rats ass for the epidemic of homelessness…the homeless can’t “pay to play”, so they don’t count. Competition, the catalyst for capitalist venture, is the only gun for hire, no pun intended, and it trickles down from its most extreme form in the creation of entities for perpetual war for the sake of lucrative business transactions, down to the I got mine mentality, screw you, that reigns in Suburbia across the land.
People who reveal evidence of US war crimes are thrown into one of Haspel’s dungeons or jailed for decades if they are lucky enough to see the inside of a US kangaroo court. Those who commit war crimes are rewarded and celebrated. Maybe that’s only logical with a Chief Executive who is an enthusiastic fan of torture. JA could just disappear into the black hole of the 44 nation US Gulag of concentration camps and torture chambers. Or he might be “whacked” as the reptilian Pompeo and so many other leading lights of the US political establishment have advocated. “We’re going to whack the son of a bitch”, like a two bit Mafia hood. Sort of reflects the essentially criminal and terrorist nature of the US Regime. Not that any of this is going to inhibit the Exceptional and Indispensable People from climbing up on their moral high horse and giving lofty sermons and pious lectures to the rest of humanity on their human rights failings. The real casualties in all this are the highly corrupt, politicised and hopelessly compromised US, UK and Swedish “justice” systems. The servile media will soon find to their cost that this is the thin edge of a very long wedge.
JA should have tunnelled out Shawshank Redemption style to a waiting fishing boat or Berlin Wall style under the back seat of a car.
A few years ago a Chinese dissident called Wei Wei wanted on tax charges took refuge in the US embassy and was allowed to leave for America. It would have been entertaining to listen to the howls of outrage and righteous indignation from the MSM if the Chinese had besieged the embassy and refused to let him leave, Assange style.
More to follow.
Thank you!
Someone is screwing around with this site.
I tried posting something 4 times and it keeps getting blocked.
Will try again.
Test.
I think this site is being hacked.
Comments seem to disappear into a black hole.
This is a good interview, especially because Hedges gave his guests room to express themselves. Sadly, only a relative minority of people realize that “attention must be paid” to Assange, who is being left to twist slowly in the wind.
I began to refer to the odious Lenin Moreno as “The Jailor of Mordor” months ago, when it became clear that his government was in the process of transmogrifying Assange’s political asylum into political captivity. Now, thanks to Hedges and sites like this one, it’s become evident that the rogue Ecuadorian government is deliberately and iniquitously imposing an onerous, torturous existence upon Assange in a craven and sadistic attempt to force him to abandon his former sanctuary.
I wish I could be more sanguine about the prospects of Assange being protected, if not rescued, by a watchful and supportive public. Speaking of “rescue”, I’m sympathetic to those who propose that an enormous mob of Assange supporters storm the embassy and literally smuggle Assange out– but it’s more the stuff of blockbuster movies than a realistic option.
I regret tacking on this sour tangent, but I feel compelled to mention that this interview helps to make up for a recent surprisingly atrocious article by Hedges, “Are We About to Face Our Gravest Constitutional Crisis?” I won’t supply a link on principle, but it’s easily found if you haven’t read it– read it and weep.
That article by Hedges was so out of character for him that I wonder how much of it he wrote himself. I think he used a lot of text from Ralph Nader in that piece who I know he admires greatly as do I, but who also tends to think our government is transformable.
I’m really hoping that piece was an aberration and not Hedges going to the ark side.
Splendid, keep on fighting with the courage you have been showing sofar.
The way that the corporate media attacks Assange is frightening, to say the least. They will pay a heavy price if they stand by and let some sort of precedent set the stage for future actions against journalists in general. They need to stop blaming the messenger and listen the the message itself if they can which, so far hasn’t been the case. Thanks to Joe and Chris for the exposure on this dire issue.
Assange’s best defense against Paragraph C Section 793 resides in other legislation which renders it illegal to use classification to hide illegal activity. Most everything that he has exposed has been egregiously criminal in nature. With the current state of politicized two-tier justice and weaponized lawfare we now endure, it is unlikely that such truth any longer matters, but it is worth mentioning. If anything irrefutably exposes the one-party duopoly and the agenda driven criminal persecution of Assange, it is the bipartisan glee with which Assange is being pursued. I wonder, where are those “greatest generation” journalists like Dan Rather who lied about the Zapruder film, and Tom Brokaw, who found himself guilt-ridden because he had displayed insufficient submissiveness to her Royal Anus, Nancy Reagan? They’re all rich and comfortably retired. Pusillanimous journalism has been around since at least 22 November, 1963 and no doubt dates back much further. If the Assange prosecution is allowed to proceed, all dissenting journalism will be permanently reduced to the status of “conspiracy theory”, and the tyranny of the elect will be institutionalized among the remaining corporate club of approved mouthpieces. But the majority of “land of the free and home of the brave” Americans actually seem to be cheering for this. It’s like H. L. Mencken put it: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it…good and hard”. It’s like I said before the 2016 election: Americans will have to get screwed really, really good before they wake up. That said, they’re still sound asleep.
Yes, the use of laws that penalize those who “use classification to hide illegal activity” is a good course. Joe Lauria seemed to know something about this in the interview. Assange is also a foreign citizen who did not knowingly commit an offense against the law of his home country nor international law. I hope that Assange’s defenders include specialized lawyers in the US as well as UK. But I agree that our two-tier judiciary will simply ignore the law and the facts (tier 1); they are not the least bothered in making outright lies every step of the way, and ignoring the most clear requirements of law.
It took 1945 to wake Germans up. I fear the same is true of my fellow Americans.
Many thanks to you, Joe Lauria and Chris Hedges, faithful colleagues of Julian Assange. Viva Assange!
I’ve never been prouder to be a longtime reader, supporter, and commentator on this truly remarkable web presence, created by Robert Parry. Clearly he would have been proud of this very high quality reporting and International Journalism. Thank You All… Joe Lauria, Great.
Thank you so much for this. I urge everyone to spread this interview around. Forward it to family and friends. We need to make a big noise now, not just for Julian, but for the future of our world.
Shame cannot even start to describe what all of us must feel considering how Assange is being treated and how the “rest of the world “ continues to react.
I wish I could spread this news wide. But how? Most people I know and deal with, including family members and friends, want nothing to do with “dirty” politics. In fact, I have lost friends because of my political stand point. Now I have voluntarily stopped using Facebook.
Now all I can do is keep myself politically informed, for example, through websites like this one (and numerous other excellentl sites). Kind of sad.
It is very sad. I too have lost friends who have been “blue pilled”, and many others have completely withdrawn from politics due to overwhelming hopelessness. I never trusted Facebook, and although I was considered “a little strange” for years, I now know of many others who have completely dropped it. It is just another way for them to monitor us and sell more crap.
I still forward stuff like this to a select group that still engages and aren’t put off, and I hope that they too know of some people who are still reachable. Don’t lose hope.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
” The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”- Martin Luther King Jr.
Keep fighting Nathan, we are not alone.
The US Mafia Government kangaroo court gathers it’s phony “legal” forces, salivating in anticipation of Assange as a choice morsel for it’s evil appetite. Their “logic” goes like this, “if we say you are guilty, then you are guilty”.
“People like you are still living in what we call the reality-based community. You believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality. That’s not the way the world really works anymore. We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you are studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors, and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.” (Karl Rove?)
Yes, people are upset now, but when I heard Rove say that and watched them put in motion what they had fully gamed-out beforehand, well… upset doesn’t even begin to describe it. Some folks don’t realize even now that the game has been over for at least a decade. I watched Rove, et al in absolute awe of their political mastery. I guess it would have been like a conscientious German watching the rise of Adolph Hitler.
So, nuclear weapons have made war between the major powers unthinkable, but it has also made the wide and deep cabal of US empire unassailable. Lacking the ability for global annihilation, it was still possible for a concerted effort to defeat the forces of an evil axis (WWII,) only to be replaced by one that can’t be taken down short of global destruction. Make no mistake; the fanatics at the core of US dominance would see humanity destroyed before they would give up power.
Very well stated by Joe Lauria, Chris Hedges, and Christina Assange.
The corruption of US mass media, judiciary, and executive is very clear.
This case is an historic moment in the demise of the former US democracy.
A different history would be made by a courageous rescue of Assange.
Whomever may achieve such a rescue will at last be honored by the US.
I have been thinking for months that, in a sane world, Navy Seals would have rescued him! Alas, as you note, we are so far from that!
Two very couragous men defending a journalist, defending journalism. It is a disgrace there aren’t more voices speaking out!
God bless and protect Julian Assange God bless him God bless him
Thank you thank you thank you…this is total BS going after Julian !!
Happy Belated Thanksgiving
You mean Thankstaking…without the thanks really ’cause it’s just a rhetorical device to drive in and turn the knife of hypocrisy. Like the good Reverend Jessie Jackson’s indifference to the “scumbags” of MOVE, but showing up late at the NODAPL resistance in support of the same tribal philosophy that he accused MOVE upholding.
Wilson Goode, the “good”, well dressed, civilized African American mayor of Philadelphia drops a bomb, literally(!), on his African American constituents on Osage Avenue in West Philly for adhering to African tribal culture and philosophy (heathens!).
Breakthrough (1978-1994) – Philadelphia: The Great Experiment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q02Qw4CbL0E
We should go in to the Ecuadorian Embassy, form a human shield arouhim, and take him out of there. It is the only humane thing to do. Then when the cops kill all of us, the world might wake up.
The world is comatose and anyone who participates may not be killed but it will be extremely difficult for them to live afterwards;however, before long this world may not be worth living in anyway so l’m in. A couple hundred people shielding him as he makes his way to somewhere safe might do the job but thousands would definitely get it done or rip the mask off of the demonic force that the U.S. U.K. alliance has become.
There must be dozens of alternative journalists and organizations in UK who know young activists able to form the core of a rescue operation. Some of them could provide a safe house, later transport perhaps temporarily to Russia, while others arrange a masking demonstration.