Sun Jan 13, 2013 6:32PM GMT
By Zaher Mahruqi
The biggest shock of all is the deafening silence across the globe in relation to Assange’s situation. Assange stood for the oppressed, the usurped, the villainies-d, etc. But we can’t blame the oppressed and the likes for not being able to defend the man. It is generally harder for them to go against money and power.”
In what must be the balcony of the most luxurious prison in the world, on the 20th of December 2012 and on the balcony of a brave embassy, stood a principled, committed and brave man in defiance of tyranny, torture, blackmail and all the dirty things that seem to come with power nowadays.
Even in those difficult conditions Assange spoke for the tens of journalist who remain in jail around the world simply for speaking their minds and spreading the truth. He also announced the release of one million leaked documents during the beginning of 2013; ironically, the very actions that landed him in that virtual incarceration.
A very wise man once said that when one witnesses a wrong deed (injustice) he must attempt to stop it by his hand, if he can’t then he must try to stop it by his mouth (pen) and in case he can’t do that then he must at least hate it and show disgust towards it.
Assange stood for the above in great length albeit by his pen. The man risked losing his normal life by pursuing the most powerful of this world and he must have been aware of the dangers involved. Hence the absurdity of some of the crimes he is being accused of.
No one in his right mind would go against a people willing to wage unjust war after another just to get their way without knowing the dangers in which he was enmeshing himself. Even more absurd is that someone with Assange’s intellect would go against such forces if he has himself committed a crime; let alone a sexual crime.
The more important question however is not whether he is guilty of a crime or not, the question with wowing effects is how in the world the US is adamantly seeking his extradition simply for his journalistic endeavors? That too is not a big surprise as the US attitude and behavior towards what it considers enemies are very well known. The list of people who got hurt by simply defying America is too long for this article.
The biggest shock of all is the deafening silence across the globe in relation to Assange’s situation. Assange stood for the oppressed, the usurped, the villainies-d, etc. But we can’t blame the oppressed and the likes for not being able to defend the man. It is generally harder for them to go against money and power.
Where are the academics, the decent Politian’s, practical media, honest billionaires, and people of God, where are these people? When Assange decided to take this path, like many people who seek justice, he must have been in no doubt that if justice is on his side then the world will be too. Sadly, the world doesn’t seem to be on his side, at least not in deed.
The danger of not defending such people as Asange is that the very evil he is confronting with his hunt prevails and becomes more solidified and widespread. Needless to say, when such crimes are allowed to happen openly, when the truth is being silenced so blatantly and the world watches on, the result is that other oppressors are let out of the box. Anarchy is legitimized, anarchy prevails.
These kinds of people are a rare commodity and are the last line of defense against lies, deceptions and injustices and as such they must not be allowed to fail nor fall. All the rhetoric that Assange’s work is compromising the national security of his pursuant is utterly stupid and quite defamatory.
Assange’s efforts are no different from the efforts of any self-respecting and honest journalist who pursues the truth at any cost. In fact, what distinguished better journalists to mediocre ones is their ability to gather information especially the so called sensitive one.
America is used to the filtering process executed by the likes of CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and shamefully even Al-Jazeera in some instances and as such Assange is a true thorn in their psyches. That however is the very reason that honest people, from journalists to politicians to activists must fight back, by deeds.
To be fair, there are those few individuals and media who have said things in defense of Wikileaks and his founder and their efforts are not in vain but more needs to be done. Justice is a thing that can’t defend itself and must vigorously be defended specifically in an era where those on the other side are many and have got resources.
Television programs, documentaries, and even international conferences dedicated to the support and defense of Assange and Wiki leaks are of utter importance. A man standing for justice for all should not be standing alone at this dark hour for those who dare expose atrocities by big shots.
Assange is a journalist, he may be of a different kind but remains a journalist and a messenger and no one should be allowed to shoot at any messenger and it is up to us to fight for a man who remains confined in an Ecuadorian Embassy.
ZM/JR
In February 2008 liberal website, Alternet published an article by Sara Robinson titled, Seven Steps to Revolution. Based on a 1962 social research paper regarding the conditions for modern revolutions, Ms Robinson concluded in all 7 areas discussed the U.S. was ripe for revolution. I think the stories on the Swartz suicide brought on by prosecutorial abuse and Julius Assange’s criminal prosecution belong together. Both involve Internet information sharing & both highlight a deeply corrupt criminal system.
http://www.alternet.org/story/77498/
Point # 7 is especially relevant to this discussion.
**7. Inept and Inconsistent Use of Force
The final criterion for revolution is this: The government no longer exercises force in a way that people find fair or consistent. And this can happen in all kinds of ways.
Domestically, there’s uneven sentencing, where some people get the maximum and others get cut loose without penalty — and neither outcome has any connection to the actual circumstances of the crime (though it often correlates all too closely with race, class, and the ability to afford a good lawyer). Unchecked police brutality (tasers, for example) that hardens public perception against the constabulary. Unwarranted police surveillance and legal harassment of law-abiding citizens going about their business. Different kinds of law enforcement for different neighborhoods. The use of government force to silence critics. And let’s not forget the unconstitutional restriction of free speech and free assembly rights.
Abroad, there’s the misuse of military force, which forces the country to pour its blood and treasure into misadventures that offer no clear advantage for the nation. These misadventures not only reduce the country’s international prestige and contribute to economic declines; they often create a class of displaced soldiers who return home with both the skills and the motivation to turn political unrest into a full-fledged shooting war.**
And remember the flashpoint for the French Revolution was the Storming of the Bastille July 14, 1789.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille
I’m not myself expecting a violent revolution but one more like the Soviet Empire – Now you see the Berlin Wall; now you don’t moment.
For me, this is partly an example of the effects of “third party” (spreading false rumors about a person and his true intentions and/or affiliations) and how Assange himself operates. I have heard that Julian may be affiliated with the intelligence community (CIA?) in some way, and participates in “controlled” leaks, where information damaging to the correct targets is selectively published. Now, I have no particular way of verifying this story, but it is pertinent to the question of whether he deserves our support as some sort of modern-day hero, or not.
For many others, and probably most of the mainstream media, there is probably simply a lack of interest in what Assange has been doing. In my experience, many people today are not interested in the truth. In fact, many don’t seem to be interested in much of anything, expect perhaps what they feel compelled to be “interested” in to fit in. Others, usually classified as neurotic, have compulsive or sentimental interests like model railroading or fast cars that give them something to do, but don’t really contribute that much to the larger dialogue. For those of us left (assuming I am not actually one of the former!) who are actually interested in what’s going on around us and what it means for our future and for future generations (which are us in new bodies), we find ourselves assaulted by a barrage of information of the most dubious quality, which we are expected to somehow sift through and use to come to some higher understanding.
To me, for now, Assange is just another person pouring information out at us and letting us take it all as best we can. He is an oddity, but it’s hard for me to conclude that supporting him is that important. Maybe he has some grand philosophic vision that I am unaware of. But what I want from a journalist is not a torrent of minutiae, but a few well-documented key facts.
Julian Assange is a hero of this time but it is not seen in the presence of now, it’s only in hindsight that everything becomes clear for the mass population.
Watching yesterdays episode of ‘The Citizen’ on RT, the reporter asked New Yorkers why was America still in Afganistan. One guy said ‘We are spreading democracy.’ The reporter asked, ‘Is that Americas job?’ He replied ‘Yes, if we don’t do it then nobody will.’ There you have the effect of FOX,CNN, BBC at their very best, a totally brain zombied population. That guy even looked glazed as he he spoke the words that had been force fed into his poor brain. I just hope he went away wondering – ‘Why the ‘f’ did I just say that’.
The reason Assange doesn’t get the credit and support he so rightly deserves is because so many are still plugged into the system(Matrix). I am thankfull he had the inteligence to make that move to the Equadorian Embassy. With that I am happy to see a country like Equador willing to take it’s own stand against these terrible forces of evil.
We are aproaching the end game, the gun grab is the final straw. This will force the hands of all parties. No more hiding in the corners. We all want a better world without conflict. No one accepts any longer the need to be ‘at each other’, even the ones still plugged in and unaware, they too want peace.
@DavidG …….what you said id 100% correct…….but I wouldn’t worry about the gun grab because guns only are a form of violence. You can get rid of Obama without guns a lot easier and quicker.
Albert, I am from the UK and guns have been bread out of our culture. Saying that, I wish now we had guns. Yes guns are a tool of violence, I am seeing very clearly now that they are also tools of freedom. Those FEMA camps are waiting to be filled up, one obstacle, Americas guns. Get them, then the shackle trains are rolling. Population cull unstoppable.
I do think you are right, it does not need to go that far and the gun is never really the right answer. Let us just hope that the right people come into play at the right time, which is right NOW!
@DavidG …….it’s people like you and I that are going to stop evil in this world……just keep at it …..I managed to convince an old US friend that there is a rat in the USA….and now , not only does he believe me but he now knows a lot more and is far more active than I am in spreading peace.
David, thanks for this clear response. It is so difficult to share the news, because there is so much that is pure muck out there. I try to share what will awaken people, and what will inform them of the truth. I don’t always get it right. When I read a response like yours, I’m grateful to you – and those like you – who come here and comment. You all tend to help me keep the balance.
Thanks and hugs,
~Jean
Reblogged this on cedarridge2007.
I, too, agree 100%. Julian is being targeted because he ripped off the veil of secrecy. The cat is out of the bag. The genie is out of the bottle and the ruling elite cannot take cover from the truth anymore. Unfortunately they are too stupid to realize that this is the information age and they are done. If Julian doesn’t getcha, anonymous will.
I Agree with you Jean
I Agree with you Jean