Pilger: The Pursuit Of Julian Assange Is An Assault On Freedom And A Mockery Of Journalism

[polly7]

By John Pilger

Source: Johnpilger.com

Thursday, August 23, 2012

http://www.zcommunications.org/the-pursuit-of-julian-assange-is-an-assault-on-freedom-and-a-mockery-of-journalism-by-john-pilger

Excerpts:

"The British government's threat to invade the Ecuadorean embassy in London and seize Julian Assange is of historic significance. David Cameron, the former PR man to a television industry huckster and arms salesman to sheikdoms, is well placed to dishonour international conventions that have protected Britons in places of upheaval. Just as Tony Blair's invasion of Iraq led directly to the acts of terrorism in London on 7 July 2005, so Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague have compromised the safety of British representatives across the world.

Threatening to abuse a law designed to expel murderers from foreign embassies, while defaming an innocent man as an "alleged criminal", Hague has made a laughing stock of Britain across the world, though this view is mostly suppressed in Britain. The same brave newspapers and broadcasters that have supported Britain's part in epic bloody crimes, from the genocide in Indonesia to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, now attack the "human rights record" of Ecuador, whose real crime is to stand up to the bullies in London and Washington."

"The irresponsibility of this statement matches the Guardian's perfidious role in the whole Assange affair. The paper knows full well that documents released by WikiLeaks indicate that Sweden has consistently submitted to pressure from the United States in matters of civil rights. In December 2001, the Swedish government abruptly revoked the political refugee status of two Egyptians, Ahmed Agiza and Mohammedel-Zari, who were handed to a CIA kidnap squad at Stockholm airport and "rendered" to Egypt, where they were tortured. An investigation by the Swedish ombudsman for justice found that the government had "seriously violated" the two men's human rights. In a 2009 US embassy cable obtained by WikiLeaks, entitled "WikiLeaks puts neutrality in the Dustbin of History", the Swedish elite's vaunted reputation for neutrality is exposed as a sham. Another US cable reveals that "the extent of [Sweden's military and intelligence] cooperation [with Nato] is not widely known" and unless kept secret "would open the government to domestic criticism".

The Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, played a notorious leading role in George W. Bush's Committee for the Liberation of Iraq and retains close ties to the Republican Party's extreme right. According to the former Swedish director of public prosecutions Sven-Erik Alhem, Sweden's decision to seek the extradition of Assange on allegations of sexual misconduct is "unreasonable and unprofessional, as well as unfair and disproportionate". Having offered himself for questioning, Assange was given permission to leave Sweden for London where, again, he offered to be questioned. In May, in a final appeal judgment on the extradition, Britain's Supreme Court introduced more farce by referring to non-existent "charges"."

more ....

[xchrom]

1. du rec. Nt

[dipsydoodle]

2. I can hear Pilger's voice as I read that.

Good man.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Sound like Pilger is channeling Pegler

[Zorro]

5. I second that

Google Westbrook Pegler, whippersnappers.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Good to hear from one of the better investigative journalists.

rec

[bvar22]

7. Good to hear from a "journalist"..... period!

You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.
[font size=5 color=green]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
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[starroute]

6. Glenn Greenwald's also going at them -- from his new perch at the Guardian

It'll be interesting to see whether this particular marriage will survive, but it's interesting so far.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/22/julian-assange-media-contempt

Is it not remarkable that one of the very few individuals over the past decade to risk his welfare, liberty and even life to meaningfully challenge the secrecy regime on which the American national security state (and those of its obedient allies) depends just so happens to have become – long before he sought asylum from Ecuador – the most intensely and personally despised figure among the American and British media class and the British "liberal" intelligentsia?

In 2008 – two years before the release of the "collateral murder" video, the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, and the diplomatic cables – the Pentagon prepared a secret report which proclaimed WikiLeaks to be an enemy of the state and plotted ways to destroy its credibility and reputation. But in a stroke of amazing luck, Pentagon operatives never needed to do any of that, because the establishment media in the US and Britain harbor at least as much intense personal loathing for the group's founder as the US government does, and eagerly took the lead in targeting him. Many people like to posit the US national security state and western media outlets as adversarial forces, but here – as is so often the case – they have so harmoniously joined in common cause.

[idwiyo]

8. K&R

Thank you for posting it.

[idwiyo]

12. Kick

[AntiFascist]

9. Interesting...

The Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, played a notorious leading role in George W Bush’s Committee for the Liberation of Iraq and retains close ties to the Republican Party’s extreme right. According to the former Swedish director of public prosecutions Sven-Erik Alhem, Sweden’s decision to seek the extradition of Assange on allegations of sexual misconduct is “unreasonable and unprofessional, as well as unfair and disproportionate”.

[tama]

10. Carl Bildergberg't

Without going into more sinister lizard conspiracies ;P, I find it noteworthy and interesting that most ultimate corruption of politicians into the neoliberal/neocon establishment seems to be invitation to and participation in Bilderberg discussions. Standard example is current Finnish Minister of Economy - internationally important position for the whole Euro Crisis - Jutta Urpilainen, Social Democrat, who said earlier that she wouldn't go or if chose to go, certainly not with taxpayer money. Of course she flew there with tax payer money.

Edit to add: End of Oil Age has been discussed in Bilderberg at least since 1980:
http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Bilderberg_meeting_report_Aachen,_1980/Text#Energy_Policy.2C_Monetary_Policy.2C_Foreign_Trade_and_Payments:_Relations_Between_Europe_and_the_U.S.

[idwiyo]

11. Yes, very. As interesting as the profile of the lawyer representing the complainants.

Quote from this article: http://justice4assange.com/Press-Contact-List.html

...Claes Borgström is a high profile politician and lawyer representing the two complainants, AA and SW, against Julian Assange...

He is also infamous for letting mentally imparted men get convicted of 7 murders he did not commit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Quick

Quote from here: http://justice4assange.com/Press-Contact-List.html

...Quick’s defense counsel during the murder trials was Claes Borgström, who is now disgraced because of this case and as a result has reported himself to the Swedish Bar Association...