Some readers have asked us why we are “obsessed” with the case of Julian Assange.
One can read every day in American and European newspapers about the mistreatment of journalists in China, Iran, Russia and other U.S. adversaries. That news is hardly suppressed in the West.
But news of Julian Assange, a victim of Western mistreatment, is suppressed.
Consortium News’ mission is to report news omitted or suppressed by Western media, not to merely repeat what is already widely available.
We have no influence over what those other governments do, governments that see Western criticism as interference in their internal affairs and as hypocrisy in light of what the West is doing to one of its own journalists.
But we have some influence over the behavior of our own governments and that’s our responsibility.
There’s another reason for our heavy focus on this story: The Assange case is one of the most important press freedom cases in modern Western history. No less than the future of a viable democracy and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is at stake.
I would like to read more detailed argument and opinion. I think it is all too easy to dwell on one’s side’s arguments. But it would be useful to also look at the other side’s.
We have exhaustively presented the U.S. prosecutors case against Assange. Look at our coverage during the extradition hearing in September. We contacted the Justice Department for comment on their offer to the High Court last week. They did not reply. Ultimately the responsibility is not just to report the facts, but to assess those facts and draw conclusions.
Your coverage is essential and in no way ‘obsessive’
The shame is that it’s been the most important and continues to be the most important story and that Assange has been incarcerated for so many years.
Thank you for diligently reporting and continuing the great work of Robert Parry
Don’t ever apologise for doing what you have done and are still doing, Consortium News. Without the likes of you, no one would ever know the truth.
When all our efforts to make the criminal US back off this persecution with the weak UK’s compliance, while Chelsea Manning and Daniel Ellsberg go free in their own country, you will have made a great effort in contributing to his release. But don’t expect any assistance from the feeble Australian government who should hang their heads in shame (all but 11 Parliamentarians) as they let their grovelling subservience to the US rule their responsibility to a valued and courageous citizen who opened the eyes of the world to crimes against humanity.
Once a country of some value until the end of WWII, but since then a disrespected acolyte to the world’s biggest bully, Australia has already volunteered for the next burst of death and destruction in S E Asia, driven by the US and its never-ending drive for world dominance.
Still enthralled to the US for coming to the rescue in Darwin after the Brits said bugger off.
CN
Is this was directed at my criticism of the US (after all , you are a US publication), your point is taken.
But Darwin was a long time ago and since then we have lived in the Bush, Hilary Clinton, Trump, Rumsfeld, Pompeo (and others) eras and now in the era of an weary old dodderer with a disgraceful and criminal voting history, a State Department chief called Blinken, both being as bad as any you have ever had in those roles.
Something wrong with your electoral system when you can’t find anyone worthy of such responsibility out of 330 million citizens and who can spell the word PEACE and then, to know what it means.
We only have 25 million and look at the knaves we elect. But they are well conditioned in order to carry the US bags into wars ……..on demand. Have been doing that since WWII.
Anxiously waiting for other next US-initiated war. Hope you’ll still be there to cover it. You are the best there is in this day and age in my reckoning.. You know better than most the shortcomings of your own country.
As I do mine. Everyone does.
Thank you for being “obsessed”! This is a vital issue in many ways.
In my opinion, having more than half of articles on Assange may starve other topics from attention, but outfits like Consortium News have no resources or expertise to cover all worthy topics, and surely, they cannot cover all worthy topics in depth.
It used to be frequent for independent web publication to have a table of links of loosely related websites. Unfortunately, independent people with strong opinions tend to disapprove of each other to much to make it a regular practice. In the same time, quality changes over time, I used to like most of CounterPunch content, not so much anymore.
If you look over a period of months more than half of our articles are not about Assange. We have also covered other topics in depth, such as the Middle East, Covid-19, Russiagate and earlier, Ukraine.
Are all the judge’s rulings knowingly wrong, an intentional tactic, a sham, to keep Assange in jail for as long as possible. To cause him to go insane or to die?
And why shouldn’t we obsess about Assange. Are we really ready to welcome the day when expressing an opinion is only acceptable to those who are trying to control us? Proclaiming ‘freedom of expression’ …what does it really mean? To me, only those who are trying to muzzle us have something – actually, a lot, to hide.
Judges, prosecutors etc. view themselves as defenders of social order, and to them, Assange represents Chaos, opposite of Order. Expressions, leaks of informations etc. are all laudable, unless they collide with the Order, and hiding a lot is “indispensable”.
If those who have asked that question about the coverage of Julian Assange do not understand the importance of defending a publisher from prosecution for journalism which speaks truth to power, while informing the public about war crimes , it is my opinion that the questioners have a far more serious deficit of understanding than your amount of coverage of his persecution.
They do not understand that silence is complicity, or the future ramifications of this particular attack on the rule of law, freedom of speech, and press freedom. That includes what your organization, and others, are allowed to cover honestly without fear of recriminations.
From what I can ascertain, Craig Murray’s case , who is a staunch defender of Julian, is already proceeding in the same unjust manner, even though the precedent of silencing the press hasn’t been acceptable under the rule of law thus far.
This, in my judgment, is something that should be covered as often as possible, by as many journalists as possible, because if they can silence and punish these important voices telling truth, there will be no free press.
Thanks for your coverage.
Indeed!
Assange is the critical battle of the moment upon which rests a further dangerous erosion of our democratic principles and respect for individual rights and the truth or a redemption of our seeking truth as the foundation of our democracy
It’s quite simple – protect the criminals (those who have committed crimes) or hold them accountable
protecting the powerful wrongdoers is currently the default for our weak and frightened “leaders”
the other battles will continue to go on and they will only be resolved when this battle – valuing truth tellers instead of dropping them into dungeons to endure the punishment for simply saying “the emperor has no clothes”
Whoever fights this truth is enabling the wrongdoers
The more reporting on Julian Assange the better…he’s been kidnapped and illegally imprisoned and by USA and UK. Getting Julian freed is a very small step toward justice. THANK YOU Consortium News.
It’s a tough job and somebody’s got to do it. Keep it up!
Most of your readers understand the import of the case, and the extreme injustice of it. Don’t worry about the trolls.
trolls indeed!
makes me wonder sometimes…..
The problem with American and English law is it is entirely based on biblical moral attitudes. It is insidious and nasty and used to justify war against those who worship other gods being wicked sinners. Western governments of christian countries think they should destroy that which is not of the patriarchal war like god Yahweh. This in itself is profoundly evil. Even when war crimes according to conventions are committed these remain merely hidden in classified documents in the hope no one will find them out. We need investigative journalists to check what is really going on. Sadly the UK and America share the same imaginary god. Biden is a Catholic. Theresa May flaunted her religion on most Sundays by being filmed coming out of church with her arms dealing husband for whom war is money. The West is thoroughly sick and dysfunctional especially when oil is thrown into the pot. Afghanistan was a war between two extreme religions and doomed to failure.
One can show many cases disproving the notion that “biblical moral attitudes” are the bases of either law or the foreign policy. For starters, the concept of “biblical moral attitudes” is very vague. For the foreign policy, countries like Japan, Korea, not to mention Saudia Arabia, count as “important allies”, while Christian, mostly Catholic, Nicaragua and Venezuela, are in the dog house. Bible itself describes peaceful coexistence and alliances with countries having different religions, say, Phoenician Tyre, or Persian Empire.
To a Christian, Washington D.C. may seem like City on the Hill, or Whore of Babylon, or something else entirely. Even Anglo-Saxon Christians are not a uniform group with uniform attitudes. Maryknoll Sisters and Reagan Administration — what is common between them?
Re: Dr Adrian Garfoot
Good Sir, while completely empathizing with the unconscionable injustice you have been SUBJECTed to in your native Great Britain; and likely concurring with your insights into the historic damage done to human societies by being propagandized with dogmatic monotheistic ideologies that portend THEir fiction is THE truth, might it be in keeping
with truthful awareness to here note the coexistence of all three iterations of monotheism Judaism, Christianism, and Islamism.
However, the issue herein is the serial INQUISITION of JULIAN ASSANGE, not the petulant theological nonsense of his inquisitors. Simply stated, Julian Assange is a truth-teller, that is the proverbial cross these brain-washed fools are attempting to nail him to. WE can not allow this public execution to occur.
The ten year+ Inquisition, persecution, imprisonment, and torture of JULIAN ASSANGE is being conceived, planned, and executed by a plurality faux civil servants who, much like a possible plurality of those they ostensibly serve, were raised on these ethically and morally convoluted dogmas. Now as adults, many of these rudderless vessels are wielding enormous power over the well-being, the lives and even the deaths of unsuspecting humankind, including their own citizens. Sadly we all are subject to this untenable situation, “the inmates are in control of the asylum”; the asylum that we once imagined as a civilized world writ large.
FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW!!!
As Usual,
EA
Jeez…
CN has it right. The only way to get to these people is to beat them relentlessly with the truth.
Truth is Julian is a noble persona , the U.S. Dept of Justice cannot relate.
Truth is Biden uses photo ops to display his loyalty to the criminal leaders of Israel, wearing his Kippah, while Julian wastes away. Disgustingly perverse logic working there, that of the twelve year old spoiled child’s mind.
Truth is Biden is as scary as Trump and his mindless minions.
Thanks CN
keep publishing assange information..msm obsessed with trump 24-7..much praise to consortiumnews for doing what is right and necessary!!!!
Thank you for continuing to report on Julian Assange;
it is my sincere wish that you don’t let-up until he is free.
I guess that means I’m also obsessed with his case. Good.
Anybody who is paying attention should be asking why other outlets are so “obsessive” about not reporting about Assange.
I cannot thank CN enough for keeping us posted on the western governments’ suppression of freedom of speech. You are doing a great job!
re:”why other outlets are so “obsessive” about not reporting about Assange”
that’s the question of the day, Mr Mulcahy!
the outlets self censor when powerful interests have made it clear which side their bread is buttered on.
even when deep down surely they know what’s right
the wars are for profit alone, it seems, – they don’t accomplish anything else while wreaking havoc on our soldiers and millions of killed/dislocated people – and any criticism of the criminal activity promoting these wars is considered anti democratic
Why is that?
the profiteers are in charge – they own too many of the politicians lock stock and barrel
they’ve spun the case that they KNOW and we don’t
and yet they’ve been largely responsible for this government not paying attention to what’s important – climate disruption, nuclear war, pandemic preparedness, justice for all, health care, a fair economy – instead our government panders to their short term unsustainable, destabilizing financial gouging off the work of others and misdirection of the resources of this country to serve them
Readers concerned with “obsessive coverage of Assange”
must enjoy swimming in the swill of self-deceit.
People who think the coverage is “obsessive” should get their “news” somewhere else.
The american public has been put to sleep and they seem to be comfortable with a do-not disturb sign prominently displayed!!
Those who consider CN Assange coverage “obsessive” might want to ask themselves, was I actually born with a soul, where did I lose my soul, or just admit they sold their soul. Bourgeoise is as bourgeoise does.
Well done CN, and thank you.
To be silent or uninterested is to be complicit.
Today Julian, tomorrow you !
Ask the average person in the street of a U.S., British, European, Australian or Canadian city if Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Russia, Egypt and China throw journalists in jail for what they report and most would probably say yes. Ask them if Britain and the U.S. do the same thing and it’s unlikely many would also say yes because of the way their corporate media cover this issue.
Absolutely. Thank you!
We should all be ‘obsessed’ by Julian Asange. I came to CN via a mention by John Pilger in one of his columns a while back. Keep up the good work CN.
One should rather wonder why other outlets are not obsessed with the Assange case. It symbolizes the looming fate of the freedom of press. Sadly, the glaring disinterest of thew public in Assange is quite a harsh reminder of how bad things already are.
Carry on, Consortium News, every lone voice left in the wilderness is sorely needed and it counts.
Julian misjudged the media, and rather naively believed their specious mission to search out and publish facts. He partnered with some of the worst and was surprised by what he discovered. When they do as he did their publishers don’t spend ten years in prison. One of Julian’s enduring legacies, other than exposing endless US war crimes and filth which we were aware of in any case, will be to expose the MSM. For this they will hate him until the end of time. Expect no change in the MSM and no defense of Julian. Their perversion lies at the epicenter of the crisis. Without a free media there is no democracy, and the media does not wish to be free. QED
I’m a long-time supporter of CN and I fully support their “obsession” with Julian Assange. The editors and directors of CN understand what Julian Assange, MLK, and countless other defenders of human rights throughout history have understood. Freedom is just an illusion as long as we allow our political representatives to persecute those who exercise it.
Ultimately, we are all captives of Belmarsh and Gaza.
Thank you for continuing to report on Julian Assange;
it is my sincere wish that you don’t let-up until he is free.
I guess that means I’m also obsessed with his case. Good.
Real readers of Consortium News wouldn’t ask such a question.
I think the “questioners” are establishment trolls to whom thinking is not part of there DNA.
What some people call obsession others call passion.
Thankyou! Keep it up1
I came to Consortium News for coverage of what was really happening in Ukraine in 2014. I stayed because CN covers stories that other people ignore. Keep doing what you do, it is important work!
Absolutely right! Thank you for your ‘obsessive’ coverage. Consortium News is a beacon of hope.
Main stream media (MSM) deliberately not reporting on this, is the reason why Assange is in jail. If people knew the full story, they’d be protesting in their thousands. It is MSM that is obsessive in their NOT covering Assange. Despicable.
CN is obliged to talk about Julian Assange. I support you in recognizing that the US and British governments must be held to account for the endless wars at the cost of Quality public education, healthcare, a living wage. My deepest gratitude to CN and Julian Assange for printing the despicable actions of the US and British governments. Free all whistleblowers! Free Julian Assange!
Day 821: Julian Assange still in prison
hXXps://failedevolution.blogspot.com/2021/07/day-821-julian-assange-still-in-prison.html
I’m glad that you are covering this and including Craig Murray’s blog about this situation. I agree with McGovern’s comment that it is the US media and our government that is obsessed. Not one major paper (the NYT, Wa Po, WS Journal) or any major network (PBS, NPR, NBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC etc.) has said a word about the recent report from Iceland. Imagine! The most important free press story in today’s world and NOT ONE major media outlet says a word about the lies one person testified to in court against Julian! There is something dangerously askew in our MSM and I’m glad CN is talking about it.
Thank you. The testimony came in the indictment, anonymously, not in court.
I applaud your “obsession” and share it. Let us keep on obsessing until Assange is free!
I think I found Consortium News through John Pilger, specifically when he was talking about Julian Assange. CN has been very important in helping me find out more about what has been happening with Julian Assange (I agree it’s hugely important) and I am very grateful to have access to the content for free. I also very much enjoyed your videos. I do wish you would cover more subjects – for example, Armenia and Azerbaijan. I realise that might be of limited interest to many people, but that too has got very little coverage in the mainstream press, and what coverage it has had, has tended to not really understand / care what is going on or the history and wider context behind it.
Thank you. Of course we have had extensive coverage of other topics over years, particularly the Middle East and Russiagate.
Who the fuck is complaining about your coverage of the Assange matter? Tell them to go shove it and keep on!
I have written to many major news agencies who tout the fact that they are purveyors of trustworthy news. I have told them how appalled I am at their lack of coverage of the Assange case. I consider it a lie of omission. Thank-you for covering the story. Your site was the only one I found that reported it. You’re doing an awesome job!
Your coverage of Julian Assange’s case is why I started reading ConsortiumNews in the first place. After a little while, as the Julian Assange case unfortunately continues to be unresolved, I found myself reading most of your other content too. I am glad I did because I discovered many talented authors writing thought-provoking and insightful articles that I would never be able to read in the oligarchic press, for obvious reasons. I think you are doing a good job so please keep doing what you are doing.
As part of that most important freedom of the press reason for the wonderful, comprehensive coverage by CN, it tells us so much about the duplicity and utter hypocrisy of the United States and other governments, including Britain’s, lapdog to the U.S.; the journalistic malpractice of the Mainstream Media in its non-coverage and/or disparagement of Assange; reveals much about psychological torture; reveals more evidence of the awful, lawless wrongdoing of the CIA, the FBI and the Department of Justice.
What’s “obsessive” is not CN’s coverage of Julian Assange. Rather “obsessive” is the term more aptly applied to the efforts of the U.S. to get this truth teller!
I APPLAUD your “obsessive” coverage of Julian Assange, and thank you for your persistence. For the last six months I have relied on consortiumnews.com, checking daily for updates. Those who complain about excessive coverage should read elsewhere.
Like your reader, I must say that I am very proud of you! Please just continue to be “obsessed “ with the case of Julian Assange. It’s right and honest thing to do. All compliments and credit for great and courageous journalists of Consortium News- b.
The Assange case is the Dreyfuss case of our generation. The mainstream media’s betrayal of Assange tells us exactly who they are, and who they work for.
In pursuing this story, Consortium News and the valiant Craig Murray have proved trustworthy and honest, something we can no longer say about the MSM.
Thank you!
I can only agree. Ample reason to stay “obsessed”.
Well said Consortium News. Tony Kevin