An online vigil for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange was broadcast live on Consortium News on Friday night. If you missed it, watch the replay here.
Among the featured guests were famed whistleblower Dan Ellsberg, former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, columnist Caitlin Johnstone, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and more:
I’m Canadian. I sent the following around to about fifty friends, several of whom are journalists. I share it with you all, decent people.
I don’t get why every journalist in Canada doesn’t demand that Canada offer him asylum and condemn the UK’s continued persecution of the man. The same with every journalist in the UK. The stain on British history, British Justice and British politics is forever indelible. Imprisonment of anyone like this is imprisonment of everyone. Canada is making a national question about two people detained in China. Our news media has consigned coverage of his illegal detention to the wastebasket. The only press coverage is on leftist web media. Assange is important to the whole world. What has so corrupted us all ?
Michael Fish, Longueuil, Canada
Please try to interview and include Cairon O’Reilly in this discussion. He has maintained a vigil outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for the past month.
Freedom of the press. Period.
In 2011 I was among 144 journalists from 39 countries to sign a statement of support for Wikileaks and Julian Assange. I continue to strongly support the journalistic role of Wikileaks and Asdange!
When we consider the fatalities of other journalists over the years, it is amazing that Assange has survived as long as he has. Danny Casolaro, Michael Hastings, and Gary Webb were all killed by the so-called Deep State. We need to protect Assange because he represents the freedom of information of the 5th Estate. If he goes, we all go.
Mr. Luria, please have a computer technician (or at least computer-savvy person) on hand for the coming “vigils”, so we don’t miss whole sections of the conversation, through dilettantish handling of the equipment…
And provide a contact address for Diani A.
If somebody would fund us I think my partner and I could go to protest.
Some well off fellow or gal could send a bunch if they wanted to.
Defending Julian Lasange from the designs of the US government is key to our liberty of speech. Enough of government hiding behind its pretexts of national security. It already has us 80% in a full bown fascist stte.
I found this article tonight in my library about strange car accidents worth considering.
http://whowhatwhy.com/2014/08/28/curious-car-crashes-louis-freeh-the-man-with-the-secrets/
– WhoWhatWhy – http://whowhatwhy.com –
Curious Car Crashes: Louis Freeh, The Man With The Secrets
Posted By Russ Baker On August 28, 2014 @ 11:34 am In Domestic,Fresh Takes,International
Please add the “s” to the http url. Thank you.
https://whowhatwhy.org/
Various agencies and their perceived allies have had the capacity to control cars remotely for well over a decade, though I am not certain from which years forward.
The odds that it has not been used a fair amount must be close to zero, particularly since it would be extremely hard to verify cases.
As a 92-year old journalist I have always admired Julian and also whistleblowers like John. I wish you both good health, long life and happier days ahead. The way the US/UK governments have treated you is a disgrace and unworthy of a civilized society. In this respect there is no difference between the two and such regimes as exist in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
If it’ll help I’ll fly to Ecuador and hang out outside the embassy. I can even bring food
We’ve had food in Ecuador for a very long time. And FYI, Julian is in England. Public demonstrations here require a permit, so be sure to apply before sitting in.
Aaron Swartz escaped by the only way he found ! The genius kid any country would love to have had as a citizen ! and the ” Peace Nobel prize ” – lawyer Obama was ruling the country ! In the past , big brains used to emigrate to USA , today even the ones born there have to leave by any means !
As a French, i wonder if USA really has the power to go to any country and take away someone like this as if they were at home ! ……When George Bush and all these criminal U.S warmongers should be trialed for crimes against Mankind as they trialed the nazis in Nüremberg ! and PREVENTED TO LAUNCH ANY FURTHER WAR ! and as was saying former congressman Jim Mc Dermott said in a video on youtube about depleted uranium : first thing kids learn is to clean their mess ! Bush& co should be send there to clean all the contaminated area by depleted uranium for billions of years giving cancers to people and sever birth defects to new born babies ! Of course neither France or USA or any so called Western ” democracies ” are nothing but Oligarchies ! and the only way NOT TO ELECT OLIGARCHS AGAIN I GUESS WOULD BE TO FOLLOW LARRY LESSIG ‘s advices when he explained ” Tweedism : People financial themselves their own candidate in everyone’s possibility to finance .and refuse to enter the game of big campaing shows organized by olligarchs and their money ! It seems that was the way Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez won the last elections .
“As a French, I wonder if USA really has the power to go to any country and take away someone like this as if they were at home?”
Welcome, Sylvie. If your question above was rhetorical, forgive me if my response is superfluous. The answer, of course, is YES they can. That is one of the many benefits of an empire having 900+ military bases across the globe, thousands of nukes, and control over much of the world’s banking. The psychopaths pushing the One World Government globalist policy think they ‘own’ the world already.
When you own the world you can set up illegal military bases on foreign soil just to let everyone else know who’s in charge: https://www.orient-news.net/en/news_show/138956/0/AAs-map-of-US-bases-in-Syria-infuriates-Penatgon
so true.
Aaron Swartz quited by the only way he found when Peace Nobel prize -lawyer Obama was in Power ! ….In the past all the big brains of the world used to go to America ! Today even the one born there have to escape by any means ! what a ” Democracy ” !
Its a worrisome sign. The ability to attract clever people to do science is the key to world leadership. America has been very successful, offering more money than other countries and providing the delightful Californian weather. If the world’s best students cease coming, because of ignorant immigration officers at the border or uncontrollable policemen in the interior, it will foretell national decline.
I still grieve for Aaron Swartz… what a loss! Can we save Julian?
Consortium — thanks for this. It is great. Some of the best analysts of our times are supporting Assange. It is a tragedy that the major media — which used the material he published — have abandoned him.
Whistleblowers MUST be protected for the rights of the people DEPEND on them. Governments who threaten them do so to silence their wrong-doings. Power of government is not as powerful as the TRUTH and people WILL find the truth! Whistelblowers are our heroes and have been since the beginning of time. The truth will be exposed and punishment of those who expose the truth will grow ever stronger which will only make the people expose more and more truths.
A truly wonderful collection of true Heroes. Many Thanks CN and Joe. Hang in there Julian Assange!
Wondering if Consortium News is going to cover this scandal in the UK? Very important stuff.
Newly Released ‘Integrity Intitiative’ Papers Include Proposal For Large Disinformation Campaigns
First, everyone should know that the Foreign Office admitted the documents were real, as reported by the BBC. The BBC tried to downplay the significance of the documents exposing the UK government / “charity” astroturfing operation, but the main point to take home is that they admitted the documents were real.
This is some significant projection by the UK and other countries. Can you imagine if they had anywhere near the amount of evidence that Russia was doing this? Instead, it’s Western states doing the very same thing they claimed Russia was doing to them.
UK Column did an excellent report on this. They are a local grassroots paper that was started to expose corruption.
https://www.ukcolumn.org/article/integrity-initiative-look-deep-state
Anonymous also leaked some documents on this a little over a month ago. You can find all of the Scribd.com links to the documents at this website: https://www.cyberguerrilla.org/blog/operation-integrity-initiative-british-informational-war-against-all/
This was a massive hack and I’m surprised there isn’t more discussion about this on social media. This astroturfing operation has tentacles in many different countries, not just the UK, and it plans to extend its reach to the United States and Canada.
Documents are real, per BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46509956
The way they are framing this is that it’s “Russian propaganda” because a few Russian media outlets were reporting it. Russian media reports a lot of things that Western media ignores, and this is no exception. Anonymous hacked them and released the documents, Russian media reported on it, therefore this is “Russian propaganda” and you should ignore it? I don’t think so.
The ‘Integrity Initiative’ – A Military Intelligence Operation, Disguised As Charity, To Create The “Russian Threat”
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/12/the-strange-mind-of-christopher-nigel-donnelly.html
Also I put another post together on it with links to all the released documents last night. Link here:
Anonymous releases documents proving British Foreign Office funded Institute of Statecraft that produced propaganda that smeared UK Labour Party leader and British citizens under the guise of fighting Russian disinformation
https://old.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/a6bsum/anonymous_releases_documents_proving_british/
UK Column news which is a part of 21st Century Wire also has an informative post revealing more:
https://www.ukcolumn.org/article/integrity-initiative-ministry-defence-parliamentary-answer-now-doubt
The best and the brightest support Julian Assange! It is time now for all right thinking people to get on board! Release Julian Assange now!
What ever happened with Pacifica Radio? Did they ever endorse Unity4J, or are they still mired in Trump Derangement Syndrome as Don and Ann reported in September.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyjVGryc69U
Journalist Ann Garrison Interviewed by Don DeBar
Great show. Lots of information in there. It is heartening to see someone is taking a stand for justice and our basic freedoms.
Breaking free from the corporate news bubble is essential if you want to know what is really going on in the world. Until recently I believed the Guardian to be a reasonable alternative to the right wing press but then I discovered sites like : –
https://off-guardian.org
http://Www.consortiumnews.com
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info
https://www.strategic-culture.org
I no longer subscribe to The Fraudian. It has plumbed new depths with Luke Harding’s piece about Julian.
We should all take note of the point Ray McGovern is continually making – its time to stop talking about the rain and start doing something. I will try to contact the Irish group.
Love the liquid chalk idea.
Thanks again.
Regards to all.
.
While the mainstream media seem to be threatened by Trump, in the main they have the illusion that they are partners with the federal in protecting our country from the likes of Assange, Manning, Snowden, and Eugene V. Debs and so on. A person I was once very close to, and who was a reporter, once told me that the NY Times had an understanding with the U.S. government not to print certain stories and the gov’t would not kill its reporters, and that the Pentagon Papers was an aberration from the norm. (Supposedly, the NY Times also knew that other media outlets which had some real guts, were going to publish the Papers anyway, and so might as well look good.) What she told me just rolled right off my back and I did not really think of the implications. Now I think of it often, including when the editorial board of the NY Times met with Trump after he got elected and kissed his ass.
At the present moment, I would guess the NY Times, and the Bezos/CIA mouthpiece, the Washington Post, and other mainstream media outlets are likely seeking reassurance from their government contacts that they will not be prosecuted after Assange. So while they are rightly scared of becoming targets of that clown in the White House, they are also looking for ways to sell out Assange, and what he stands for, real freedom of the press. Besides Assange was supposedly part of the Russiagate fantasy they are trying to sell the American people.
It is difficult but I believe one must be very critical of the mainstream media AND the looters and parasites in the Trump administration AND the establishment Democrats coming into office in January, who will divert us from the real problem in this country, economics based on profit (i.e. greed), with a diversionary attack on Trump. Even if he does get impeached, and even convicted (!), that just leaves us with Pence, a more slithery version of Trump who wears a mask of faux Christianity.
The only way this country will achieve any constructive impact on the world, and a truly democratic and representative U.S. government is when power is in the hands of ethical, politically honest, principled
leaders like Daniel Ellsberg and Robert Parry and Julian Assange.
If Assange is expelled from the Ecuadoran embassy, held by the UK government, extradited to the US and prosecuted and convicted, and the conviction is upheld on appeal, it will be a major tragedy and chilling precedent for all who would exercise first amendment rights, media freedom to publish, and all who are similarly situated to Assange, including NYTimes, Wn Post, Guardian, and all who also published or would in future publish similar material revealing government secrets. And a victory for draconian, authoritarian rule.
Perhaps sadly, these will not be the greater loss.
Ralph,
You nailed it, sir … We would only add that failure to achieve publisher Julian Assange’s rightful, total freedom would represent a “victory” for the world’s war criminals – a Pyrrhic victory (a victory won at too great a cost), of historic magnitude.
Peace.
Get Nigel Farage to speak up. Tommy Robinson, I don’t always agree with his views, but he probably would because he was thrown in prison for his free speech rights. Marin Le Pen get her to speak up. I don’t think I spelled her name right. Get the Quakers — they are always up for non-violent protest. I can’t think of more progressive folks at this point, but I think coalition efforts of left and right are powerful — I mean look at the Yellow Vests — that is left and right together.
Get more Catholic leaders to protest. Ecuador is a major Catholic country. How about Manning? Bless you guys. What a lovely group of wise old men.
As I marched with Dr. King and the multitudes in the early ’60’s, we sang “Black and white together, we shall not be moved.” Today, if we are to win, we must sing “left and right together, we shall not be moved!” So long as we allow the rulers to keep us divided and factionalized, we will always remain trampled upon. The phoney “two party system” is based upon this principle. The Democrat party, with it’s identity politics, has mastered the tactic. Wear the Yellow Vest, and shout “The People United Will never be defeated!”
Get some advice from the French. They know how to protest.
How does the U.S. have any jurisdiction over Julian Assange who is not a U.S. citizen. And why is he NOT considered simply a publisher?
The empire has no jurisdiction! I wonder the same about Canada’s decision to arrest and turn over to the U.S. a Chinese exec for ignoring U.S. sanctions against Iran. China is a member of BRICS, after all.
And thank you, Consortium for all you do! ?
P.S. the ? at the end is not intentional. Was meant to be an emoji of a rose, my gift to the staff.
It’s more a Don Corleone kind of thing.
My question also…
Had to stop watching after Daniels Ellsberg talked about Julian.
Daniel goes to great leanghts to remind you he doesn’t support Julian’s decisions over the past couple of years.
Obviously he’s a Democratic Party loyalist ( Clinton) just like Noam Chomsky. Kiriakou too is an obvious gatekeeper.
Ray McGovern I can’t find anything ingenuine about you.
Surely you see through these phonies!
I thought Daniel was ok but he gave himself away tonight.
Some vigil for Assange!!
Helicopters and riots? Not helpful at all!
I thought Mr. Ellsberg said earlier that he had never met Assange..Now after this phone call he changes the message????
Incorrect. Dan and Julian have a long (and public) friendship
Daniel Ellsberg told me 20 years years ago that “Whistle-blowers today must be willing to lose their jobs, their families, their freedom – and, yes, even their lives.” Thank God Almighty that Julian Assange, and some others, are gallant enough to do so.
So great to hear the people speaking here, and remember the times when America had some real leadership!
Kiriakou’s statements are extremely important for all their details. Will they be available online so I can forward them to people not listening to this vigil?
There is NO justice anywhere, there is just us. Unite and Revolt.
I’m here.
Jeff Scott for Congress
NC District 9
No offense but I don’t trust John Kiriakou!
Ray McGovern yes but not Kiriakou!
I support Julian Assange’s natural right to be free to publish information provided to his firm, Wikileaks, and the parties approved by Wifileaks, to publish information with intent to inform the ‘public’ on issues that should be transparent and not hidden by the government entities from the ‘people’ who have a right to know in order to protect the liberty of each individual person on this planet.