Consortium News‘ CN Live! interviewed British journalist Richie Medhurst about his arrest last Thursday by British authorities because of his “opinions” and “beliefs” under the so-called Terrorism Act.
The British journalist discusses with CN Live! his arrest under Section 12 of the U.K.’s Terrorism Act and the meaning of the Western crackdown on dissident journalism.
Guest: Richard Medhurst. Interviewers: Cathy Vogan, Elizabeth Vos and Joe Lauria. Producer: Cathy Vogan. Time: 39 minutes.
Thank you, CN, for this interview. You are a bulwark against the propaganda project that is mass media. I see that the Democratic Party has renewed its obeisance to Israel in their party platform; no surprise there. The UK political class appears determined to follow the U.S. and Israel on the road to perdition, a dangerous and ultimately tragic and profoundly foolish path. Zionism is driving this bus and we’re headed for a cliff. Zionists have profound influence in all aspects of our economic and political lives that is quite out of proportion to their actual numbers. It is a profoundly unbalanced and undemocratic state of affairs that may ultimately destroy our freedoms and, quite possibly, our world. Zionism is a political, settler/colonial ideology, not a religion or ethnic identity. To be against the Zionist project is not to be against Judaism as a religion or ethnic identity. One needn’t have animus toward Jews (and I don’t) to condemn what the Zionist project has revealed itself to be. That the UK, U.S., Germany and other “liberal” republican democracies have aligned themselves with what our common humanity prods us to condemn–genocide, ethnic cleansing, persecution and the abrogation of civil rights and free speech–says everything about how far the train has gone off the rails. It is a dangerous time that I never thought I would see in my long life. Richard Medhurst and CN are doing the good work of keeping the light shining. We should support them in any way we can.
The fact that those in charge talk about Richie and others as “class traitors” tells you what is going on here. It is and always has been class warfare. The greatest enemies of the wealthy elites are the people who “should be” a class warrior for the wealthy, but instead speak truth to corrupt power.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
– George Orwell
Free speech in the U.K. is gone after a few pronouncements from authorities. U.K. subjects will play Hell trying to win back just that one inherent right.
Why can’t people just shut up and do what they’re told?
You have no rights. They can do whatever they want to you.
Mr Medhurst’s articulate, forensic, matter of fact, yet utterly damning description of how he was detained and mis-treated, was the greatest weapon that the Deep State could have inflicted upon the Deep State. It sounded like a nightmare out of Kafka or Orwell, but is a blighted example of truly dystopian Blighty.
Such heavy handed thuggery and intimidation has backfired against the oppressors.
Ordinary people are outraged against this totalitarian fascistic behaviour, everyone must be made aware of it.
Richard, we are nowhere near as brave as you, but we admire and support you for championing Free Speech, you belong in the Hall Of Heroes alongside Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Assange and Scott Ritter to name just a few.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr Medhurst.
I just want to add something. As Gabor Mate said not long ago on Katie Halper’s blog there’s a Hitler in all of us. This is a profound notion which would take much longer than a few words to get into, and it’s a disturbing notion. But at the very least we are seeing this mentality widely on display today, whether here with Richie Medhurst, Julian Assange, or in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It’s a mentality of bullying supremacy and bestiality sprung from sadists and maniacs. Too often police get into this . . . power corrupts, cruelty proliferates. We must absolutely denounce it and reassert the goal to be human instead of vicious little animals. Remember Goering: “The best solution would be to shoot anybody who looked sideways.”
Richie Medhurst is inspirational. Thank you all for this exposure of rank bullying and intimidation, inspired by the likes of Nazi sadists (as you say, the gestapo) of yesteryear. I am very encouraged by Richie’s strength.
What’s happening today, to Medhurst, Assange and far too many others with the courage to speak the truth, is far, far worse than what happened “yesteryear” under Hitler. You are wrong when you quote “there’s a Hitler in all of us.” Yes, there are far too many nasty schoolyard bullies, cruel, power hungry dominator types. But these types are still a relatively small psychopathic individuals, far from “all of us.”
Perhaps Gabor had in mind mostly males. The question of how apparently “normal” people can allow this sort of behavior is deeply mysterious. Most important here is to fight against new iterations of authoritarianism in supposedly “advanced” countries pretending to observe human rights. I hope we might join as partners in this.