The Assange Case Means That We Are All Suspects Now

Unless a free people are educated -- taught to think intelligently and plan wisely -- freedom usually does more harm than good. This forum is to help establish Cosmic insight interpreted in terms of planetary facts, needs, and goals. Help the worlds citizens to be informed by posting current information on World Events.

The Assange Case Means That We Are All Suspects Now

Unread postby Paul Kemp » Fri Feb 03, 2012 2:07 am

Image

The Assange Case Means That We Are All Suspects Now
Thursday 2 February 2012
by: John Pilger, Truthout | News Analysis
Image
WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange talks to
demonstrators while leaving a court
appearance for a verdict on an extradition
request in London, February 24, 2011.
(Photo: Andrew Testa / The New York Times)


This week's Supreme Court hearing in the Julian Assange case has profound meaning for the preservation of basic freedoms in Western democracies. This is Assange's final appeal against his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual misconduct that were originally dismissed by the chief prosecutor in Stockholm and constitute no crime in Britain.

The consequences, if he loses, lie not in Sweden, but in the shadows cast by America's descent into totalitarianism. In Sweden, he is at risk of being "temporarily surrendered" to the US where his life has been threatened and where he is accused of "aiding the enemy" with Bradley Manning, the young soldier accused of leaking evidence of US war crimes to WikiLeaks.

The connections between Manning and Assange have been concocted by a secret grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, which allowed no defense counsel or witnesses, and by a system of plea bargaining that ensures a 90 percent conviction. It is reminiscent of a Soviet show trial.

The determination of the Obama administration to crush Assange and the unfettered journalism represented by WikiLeaks is revealed in secret Australian government documents released under freedom of information, which describe the US pursuit of WikiLeaks as "an unprecedented investigation." It is unprecedented because it subverts the First Amendment of the US constitution that explicitly protects truth-tellers. In 2008, Barack Obama said, "Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal." Obama has since prosecuted twice as many whistleblowers as all previous US presidents.

With American courts demanding to see the worldwide accounts of Twitter, Google and Yahoo, the threat to Assange, an Australian, extends to any Internet user anywhere. Washington's enemy is not "terrorism," but the principle of free speech and voices of conscience within its militarist state and those journalists brave enough to tell their stories.

"How do you prosecute Julian Assange and not the New York Times?" a former administration official asked Reuters. The threat is well understood by The New York Times, which in 2010 published a selection of the WikiLeaks cables. The editor at the time, Bill Keller, boasted that he had sent the cables to the State Department for vetting. His obeisance extended to his denial that WikiLeaks was a "partner" - which it was - and to personal attacks on Assange. The message to all journalists was clear: do your job as it should be done and you are traitors; do your job as we say you should and you are journalists.

Much of the media's depiction of Manning illuminates this. The world's pre-eminent prisoner of conscience, Manning remained true to the Nuremberg principle that every soldier has the right to a "moral choice." But according to The New York Times, he is weird or mad, a "geek." In an "exclusive investigation," The Guardian UK reported him as an "unstable" gay man, who got "out of control" and "wet himself" when he was "picked on." Psycho hearsay such as this serves to suppress the truth of the outrage Manning felt at the wanton killing in Iraq, his moral heroism and the criminal complicity of his military superiors. "I prefer a painful truth over any blissful fantasy," he reportedly said.

The treatment handed out to Assange is well documented, though not the duplicitous and cowardly behavior of his own government. Australia remains a colony in all but name. Australian intelligence agencies are, in effect, branches of the main office in Washington. The Australian military has played a regular role as US mercenary. When Prime Minister Gough Whitlam tried to change this in 1975 and secure Australia's partial independence, he was dismissed by a governor general using archaic "reserve powers" who was revealed to have intelligence connections.

WikiLeaks has given Australians a rare glimpse of how their country is run. In 2010, leaked US cables disclosed that key government figures in the Labor Party coup that brought Julia Gillard to power were "protected" sources of the US embassy: what the CIA calls "assets." Kevin Rudd, the prime minister she ousted, had displeased Washington by being disobedient, even suggesting that Australian troops withdraw from Afghanistan.

In the wake of her portentous rise ascent to power, Gillard attacked WikiLeaks as "illegal" and her attorney general threatened to withdraw Assange's passport. Yet, the Australian Federal Police reported that Assange and WikiLeaks had broken no law. Freedom of information files have since revealed that Australian diplomats have colluded with the US in its pursuit of Assange. This is not unusual. The government of John Howard ignored the rule of law and conspired with the US to keep David Hicks, an Australian citizen, in Guantanamo Bay, where he was tortured. Australia's principal intelligence organization, ASIO, is allowed to imprison refugees indefinitely without explanation, prosecution or appeal.

Every Australian citizen in grave difficulty overseas is said to have the right to diplomatic support. The denial of this to Assange, bar the perfunctory, is an unreported scandal. Last September, Assange's London lawyer, Gareth Peirce, wrote to the Australian government, warning that Assange's "personal safety and security has become at risk in circumstances that have become highly politically charged." Only when the Melbourne Age reported that she had received no response did a dissembling official letter turn up. Last November, Peirce and I briefed the Australian Consul-General in London, Ken Pascoe. One of Britain's most experienced human rights lawyers, Peirce told him she feared a unique miscarriage of justice if Assange was extradited and his own government remained silent.

The silence remains.

Image

This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

Image
______________TruthOut_______________


Image
Join the discussion:
You must be logged in to post a comment. If you haven't registered yet, click here to register. (It's quick, easy and free. And we won't give your email address to anyone.)
Image

.
User avatar
Paul Kemp
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1022
Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 5:36 pm
Location: Salt Springs
Are you a student of the Urantia Book?: Yes, I am a reader of the Uranta Book.
Urantia Book Study Poll: 29

Re: The Assange Case Means That We Are All Suspects Now

Unread postby Paul Kemp » Fri Feb 03, 2012 4:49 am

Image
Image

The Truth Never Suffers from Honest Examination
Article by: Paul Kemp
Thursday, February 2,2012

The news broadcasting systems of this world carry the moral, ethical and spiritual responsibility to make sure the world's true history is known to its citizens each and every day so that they can make informed decisions.

Presently the main stream media is owned and operated by men and women who have placed their faith in the might of riches. (The bankers) and the power of armies and all their wealthy clients and supporters who own the mainstream media. They use this propaganda tool to keep hidden the real events unfolding in the various nations of the world.

They do this to keep secret the immoral and unethical choices demonstrated by the activities and current choices of the world banking industry and the military industrial complex who, together with their representatives in our governments, form the planetary ruling dynasties of the planetary elite? A very small group of well organized families presently numbering less than five hundred throughout the world.

These elite families know full well that, if their world management, decisions and activities were fully made known to the general population of the world and contrasted against the moral and ethical fiber of the world's people, those planetary elites who indulge in error, evil, sin and iniquity, [1] would be swiftly removed from high administrative posts in the management of modern day world affairs.

When the truth about planetary facts, needs and goals is known to the citizens of this world it will create enormous pressures and immediate action against those who seek to control and regulate the world's activities outside of the RULE OF LAW [2] as it is manifested in TRUE REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENTS [3]

This very RULE OF LAW they promote for all the world's citizens but exempt themselves from these very same rules of living that all honest people abide in.

Those who cause the world's problems and indulge the satisfactions of their mismanagement are in reality a small minority, whereas those who provide for everything true, beautiful and good to be experienced in life on this world are the majority.

A majority those who choose sin and iniquity fear. Fear is man's chief enslaver and pride his great weakness; the planetary elite have betrayed all into bondage to both of these destroyers of joy and liberty and have lead them to the iniquity of the events of 9 11 in the city of New York.

What exactly is the "RULE OF LAW". [2] It is the guidelines by which all moral and ethical members of humanity have agreed to live within, with the agreement that all other citizens in all other nations also conduct themselves according to the RULE OF LAW. Such rules of living are now coming into world acceptance in the form of documents constructed by socially loyal individuals as is evident in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which has been the moral foundation of international law since December 10, 1948. The citizens of this world must demand that the RULE OF LAW applies to every citizen with no law abiding member exempt regardless of the position of authority or the life career choice.

Presidents, all government employees and the working poor should receive the same fair and just ruling for the same offence or crime. The guilty should be punished while the innocent are set free. The international criminal courts must have the power to act upon all betrayals of the well being of any world citizen.

It is now up to the citizens of this world to create new mainstream media broadcasting systems and services through our social and economic support of all those who fight the good fight for peace on earth and good will towards all mankind. The TRUTH never suffers from honest examination. Only those who live by hypocrisy demand secrecy, and exclusions from the regular LAWS of our civilization. Honest men have nothing to fear from the RULE OF LAW while dishonest men have everything to fear.

Once we know the world's true NEWS every day, we can make a better forecast of that which lies just ahead, able to depend on an accurate account of the world's history in the world’s daily newspapers, so that we can adjust our future destiny by a deep and sincere reflection on the world’s unfolding historic events.

Many of these new media circuits are now forming up in every nation of the world and the world's citizens would do well to make small economic contributions to keep these growing news sources free from commercial interests as well as making contributions to the quality of thought reflected in these various news sources. Men and women do not need to think alike or all believe the same things to demonstrate a higher spiritual unity by a true recognition of all those things we together as a people recognize as true, beautiful and good.

The attainment of a highly cultured civilization demonstrating the continual and increasing march of an advancing civilization whose citizens are making increasingly more moral and ethical choices demands, first, the ideal type of citizen and, then, ideal and adequate social mechanisms wherewith such a citizenry may control the economic and political institutions of such an advanced human society.

For any world citizen who may be curious as to how the greatest religious teacher ever to appear on this world, the young carpenter of Nazareth, viewed all these things having to do with the evolution of human institutions may be interested to discover[4] he increasingly measured every institution of society and every usage of religion by the unvarying test: What does it do for the human soul? does it bring God to man? does it bring man to God?

The new world’s internet based broadcasting systems and networks are one such social mechanism required to advance an ever increasing quality of thinking through a true and accurate account of the world’s decisions as they are evident in the choices of the world’s peoples. Our actions are our final decisions and the best reflection of the quality of the minds of both our citizens and our elected public administrators.

These electronic medias also provide for our freedom of speech and an honest expression of our own ideals and opinions.

As for either the dismantling or reconstruction of the mainstream media centers of the world who are betraying mankind by the cover up of military aggressions, we the people need to do today what courageous men and women have done in the past.

When the evils of human bondage once before confronted the conscience of United States of America, a courageous writer, William Lloyd Garrison, began publishing a newspaper called “THE LIBERATOR”; and in the first issue of this crusading paper, in 1831, he wrote: “I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not a cause for severity? I will be as harsh as the TRUTH, and as uncompromising as JUSTICE. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present! I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – and I will be heard”.

Today the world faces the evil, sin and iniquity of political tyranny, the crime of economic slavery and bank fraud and a rapidly progressing military/police state rule. The new world broadcasting outlets can, if they will, using advancing internet technologies and networks emancipate and liberate man from the grips of these totalitarian disciplines placed upon all free and thinking men and women by all those who have placed there faith in the might of armies and the power of riches.

Every citizen of a democratic nation must have freedom of the mind. However, unless a free people are educated -- taught to think intelligently and plan wisely -- freedom usually does more harm than good. The broadcasting systems of the world can play a major role in the education and enlightenment of the world’s people by bringing an accurate account of the daily progress of our unfolding world destiny as is determined by the choices of each individual and provide guidance with an accurate review of our historic past to guide us on to a better future. Quality of thought is the new challenge of the coming age of man.

Al Gore clearly identified the root of the problem facing modern day civilization when in his film “An Inconvenient Truth” he stated: "It is difficult to make a person understand the truth, when their salaries depend on their not understanding!" Many world corporations have become immoral by rejecting the right of religious freedom while in their employment.

John Swinton, who worked for the New York Times, honed in on the problem facing mankind in these times.

He was called "The Dean of His Profession" by other newsmen, who admired him greatly and was asked to give a toast before the prestigious New York Press Club in 1953, he made this candid confession: "There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, as an independent press. You know it and I know it.

"There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinions out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job.

"If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone.

"The business of the journalist is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell the country for his daily bread.

"You know it and I know it, and what folly this is toasting an independent press.

"We are the tools and vassals of the rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men.

"We are intellectual prostitutes."

George Orwell also understood the root of the error and evil facing the modern day world when he wrote.

“The purpose of Newspeak was to eliminate the possibility of thoughtcrime . . .to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted . . . a heretical thought should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words.”

For Orwell, the Machiavellian political abuse of language had distorted society into an increasingly malevolent form of tyranny. He wrote,

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.”

In Orwell’s future, Newspeak and Doublethink would eradicate the possibility of protest, sedition, insurgency and rebellion against the state.

The good news is; that today’s new world internet media broadcasters (many of whom are linked from this web source) have been demonstrating the moral courage and a new spiritual power of truth rising up over a free thinking network of world citizens giving a new forum of expression that was not yet available to the great thinkers and broadcasters of the past who standing all alone fought the good fight in isolation without a medium to carry their voice forward to the people of the world. Today these protests against tyranny are going forth to all the peoples of the world; their voices heard, their writings seen by many, and the good people are taking action to liberate man now and forever more from the tyranny of the fortunate few ruling in dictatorship of the unfortunate many.

These men and women are being heard by the upright citizens of the internet community of minds from far and wide; the good people speaking out in all nations of the world as they once again fearlessly lead the way by the growing nobility of their own moral character, their righteous indignation as demonstrated in their courageous writings reducing all sympathy for the newspeak of calling the "evil of war good", and the unmitigated assault on peacemakers as unpatriotic.

These new world broadcasters express the ideals and values of these three basic rights of a free and thinking society.

1. Freedom of speech. Representative government is unthinkable without freedom of all forms of expression for human aspirations and opinions.

2. The right of petition. Representative government assumes the right of citizens to be heard. The privilege of petition is inherent in free citizenship.

3. The right to rule. It is not enough to be heard; the power of petition must progress to the actual management of the government.


iWitness News on this DavidCampus Forum is dedicated to the liberation of mankind from political tyranny, (politics without principals) economic slavery, the wealthy few ruling over the unfortunate many and the liberation of mankind from a military/police state who protect the political and economic tyrants of the world.

One of most accurate accounts of today’s pressing troubles as concerns political tyranny was well spoken of by Lewis Lapham in this clip from his article speaking about the leader of the United States during the Bush Jr. Years of mis-management:

We have before us in the White House a thief who steals the country's good name and reputation for his private interest and personal use; a liar who seeks to instill in the American people a state of fear; a televangelist who engages the United States in a never-ending crusade against all the world's evil, a wastrel who squanders a vast sum of the nation's wealth on what turns out to be a recruiting drive certain to multiply the host of our enemies. In a word, a criminal—known to be armed and shown to be dangerous. Under the three-strike rule available to the courts in California, judges sentence people to life in jail for having stolen from Wal-Mart a set of golf clubs or a child's tricycle. Who then calls strikes on President Bush, and how many more does he get before being sent down on waivers to one of the Texas Prison Leagues? Lewis Lapham - Harpers Magazine


Image

Image[1]Never forget these laws of relation to the Father's will:

148:4.3 "Evil is the unconscious or unintended transgression of the divine law, the Father's will. Evil is likewise the measure of the imperfectness of obedience to the Father's will.

148:4.4 "Sin is the conscious, knowing, and deliberate transgression of the divine law, the Father's will. Sin is the measure of unwillingness to be divinely led and spiritually directed.

148:4.5 "Iniquity is the willful, determined, and persistent transgression of the divine law, the Father's will. Iniquity is the measure of the continued rejection of the Father's loving plan of personality survival and the Sons' merciful ministry of salvation.



Image[2]71:2.7 3. The reign of law. Liberty can be enjoyed only when the will and whims of human rulers are replaced by legislative enactments in accordance with accepted fundamental law.


Image[3]71:2.4 There are ten steps, or stages, to the evolution of a practical and efficient form of representative government, and these are:



71:2.5 1. Freedom of the person. Slavery, serfdom, and all forms of human bondage must disappear.

71:2.6 2. Freedom of the mind. Unless a free people are educated -- taught to think intelligently and plan wisely -- freedom usually does more harm than good.

71:2.7 3. The reign of law. Liberty can be enjoyed only when the will and whims of human rulers are replaced by legislative enactments in accordance with accepted fundamental law.

71:2.8 4. Freedom of speech. Representative government is unthinkable without freedom of all forms of expression for human aspirations and opinions.

71:2.9 5. Security of property. No government can long endure if it fails to provide for the right to enjoy personal property in some form. Man craves the right to use, control, bestow, sell, lease, and bequeath his personal property.

71:2.10 6. The right of petition. Representative government assumes THE RIGHT OF CITIZENS TO BE HEARD. The privilege of petition is inherent in FREE CITIZENSHIP.

71:2.11 7. The right to rule. It is not enough to be heard; THE POWER OF PETITION must progress to THE ACTUAL MANAGEMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT.

71:2.12 8. Universal suffrage. Representative government presupposes an intelligent, efficient, and universal electorate. The character of such a government will ever be determined by the character and caliber of those who compose it. As civilization progresses, suffrage, while remaining universal for both sexes, will be effectively modified, regrouped, and otherwise differentiated.

71:2.13 9. Control of public servants. No civil government will be serviceable and effective unless the citizenry possess and use wise techniques of guiding and controlling officeholders and public servants.

71:2.14 10. Intelligent and trained representation. The survival of democracy is dependent on successful representative government; and that is conditioned upon the practice of electing to public offices only those individuals who are technically trained, intellectually competent, socially loyal, and morally fit. Only by such provisions can government of the people, by the people, and for the people be preserved.




Image
Join the discussion:
You must be logged in to post a comment. If you haven't registered yet, click here to register. (It's quick, easy and free. And we won't give your email address to anyone.)
Image
User avatar
Paul Kemp
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1022
Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 5:36 pm
Location: Salt Springs
Are you a student of the Urantia Book?: Yes, I am a reader of the Uranta Book.
Urantia Book Study Poll: 29


Return to Urantia Broadcast - World News Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 194 guests

cron