The Global Financial Crises started approximately 3 1/2 years ago, during that time we've had Oil spills that look like red like blood. RED Toxic waste resoirvers spilling down river, flooding communities and emptying elsewhere, earthquakes all over the world causing devestation. Now, exactly 3 1/2 years into the GFC, who shows up on the spotlight, spouting truth and revelations about our currupt world. Someone who is gaining mass amounts of supportors from all over the globe almost overnight? Julian Assange.

http://www.facebook.com/wikileaks http://twitter.com/wikileaks

Rejected by Jews (Psalm 118:22) - Wikileak's cables not being covered by Israeli, Arab, Russian media. Presented with gifts (Psalm 72:10) - Presented with leaked information by various sources. Preached good news (Isaiah 61:1) - Reference to Wikileaks Cleansed the Temple (Malachi 3:1) - You could say J.A. and Wikileaks mission statement is to fight curruption globaly. Brought light to Zabulon & Nephthalm, Galilee of the Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1-2) -Sheds light on issues to the entire world via the internet and news. Accused by false witnesses (Psalm 35:11) - Interpol has issued a warrant for Assange's arrest for a mysterious charge of "Rape" & "Molestation" Silent to accusations (Isaiah 53:7) - Assange has remained silent to the accusations.

Now lets look at the 8-fold description of Chirst by John in Revelations.

11 Then I saw

One Like a Son of Man

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Julian Assange has uniquely white hair for his age, wooly even, especially if you like at his pictures when he had longer hair. Even when he dyed it, he still kept a white zig-zag like lightning.

The robe possibly a reference to modern clothing. J.A. has had many pictures taken of him with many different outfits.

His Voice like rushing waters. J.A. has a unique, slightltly croggy sounding voice, I can honestly describe it as rushing water before anything else.

Out of his mouth came a sharp double-edge sword.

Julian Assange: "We all only live once. So we are obligated to make good use of the time that we have and to do something that is meaningful and satisfying. This is something that I find meaningful and satisfying. That is my temperament. I enjoy creating systems on a grand scale, and I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards. So it is enjoyable work." He thrives on intellectual battle.

In reference to the eyes, face. Possibly an image of Julian using a computer. The "glow" of the computer screen on his face and eyes. He is well known as an internet "Hacktivist". The seven stars in his right hand is a mystery to me. Possibly the use of a computer mouse. Any answers to the descriptions I am unsure on are welcome, let me know what you think.

Sorry if this is poorly written I am in a hurry to get to work and this is my first post on YA.

Read more:
Is Julian Assange Jesus Christ returned? | Yahoo Answers

With no acting projects on the horizon, apart from a cameo in the big screen Baywatch, it appearsPamela Andersonnow fancies herself a political poet.

The actress and model, who often championsanimals asa PETA spokesperson, has now turned her attention to the White House with a new poem she has penned, titled, I Like How You Resist Me.

The lengthy read, posted to her website, touches on everything from the Trump administration and the state of the free world, to espionage and her special relationship with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In discussing President Trumps relationship to Theresa May, Anderson has suggested that France, the U.S. and the U.K. have a threesome.

Also Read: Pamela Anderson Addresses Julian Assange Dating Rumors -- Really

Anderson and Assangehave been rumored as an item since February. Anderson saidpreviously that the two had joined forces to do something important. Assange had previously saidof Anderson: Shes an attractive person with an attractive personality. Shes no idiot at all! Psychologically, shes very savvy.

In the poem, Anderson cries for No more war!, no walls! (around countries or embassies), and urges us all to not forget how to make love

I will stay relentlessly engaged, she promised, adding, Like it or not.

Read the full poem below:

I may have some advice for Trump and May on special relationships-

based on my own special relationship with Julian Assange

Regarding Free Speech and Democracy.

France can join in as a threesome.

A fast approaching UK election,

heated up US threats,

and the French makes this the opportune time to discuss politics romantically.

It is a romantic struggle

Things that the USA and UK bring to the relationship are Bad secrecy laws. Keeping Julian illegally detained. Hating transparency and Bombing countries.

It is dysfunctional and unequal, this relationship to date.

I wish to help them to improve it,

and make it work.

And, bring sexy back.

Just as a dysfunctional lover-

The USA has been spying on UK(reading emails and listening to calls).

All this, that the USA does is as a freakish lover or stalker would.

My recommendations are;

Keep things separate as in a good relationship:

The UK should have an independent foreign policy not based on a special relationship-

so,

the UK and USA relationship would be based on a fundamental reconfiguration of domestic politics, and their relationship with the rest of the world.

They then should disarm and withdraw their troops from Afghanistan and other overseas military engagements, and pursue a peaceful and cooperative diplomatic relationship with other countries.

Create a bilateral extradition treaty between them, it should at least appear as if it is between two equal westphalian state entities, rather than between a lord and vassal (or dominant and submissive partner).

It is completely disproportionate and has asymmetrical evidentiary standards.

If disarming and withdrawing from Afghanistan seems too out there.

Another dynamic approach is to

encourage other countries to reduce their quantise of arms: If you will, I will.

Or:

Agree with other countries to stop arming and destabilising the Middle East.

War is a racket.

Subordinating safety and human rights to the profit motives of arms exporters is not strong, or sexy.

Other relationship issues to work on jointly:

Openness and honesty are a must in any relationship.

So, need to get rid of approaching everything with secrecy and cover up.

Stop abusing espionage and secrecy laws.

Cant stop?

Then get rid of them -

and replace them with laws

that cant be abused.

Stop shouting and punishing people who offer them help (as if a couple would turn against a relationship counsellor?) Julian is trying to help.

And, if their relationship is improved, they can expand it. Diplomatic relations with other countries should be in the spirit of mutual respect

Not haughty superiority.

Such as we saw in the threats to invade the embassy in violation of the Vienna convention. Or the refusal to comply with the UN ruling. A healthy relationship is reciprocal and has a single standard for behaviour.

Not a double standard,

where Britain gets to call out other countries for defying UN findings- but blow them off when they are against the UK.

I cant help but think romantically.

That is where my compass lays. In love and compassion.

To apply common sense relationship advice might be the key.

We must not forget how to make love

But, war.

No more war!

And no walls! (around countries or embassies).

I will stay relentlessly engaged.

Like it or not

Over the years, Republicans particularly Donald Trump supporters have done a 180 (or a full 360) in their remarks about WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. When he leaked on Hillary Clintons campaign in 2016, some Republicans said he was doing America a great service. But now the Trump administration is poised to attempt to convict Assange and WikiLeaks for their leaking activities. Here are fivetimes Trump and his supporters have flipped on the matter.

In 2010, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said this about Assange: He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders?

In 2016, though, Palin changed her tune. She posted an apology to Assange on Facebook. I apologize for condemning Assange when he published my infamous (and proven noncontroversial, relatively boring) emails years ago, she wrote.

Way back when, Fox News host Sean Hannity said what Assange was doing was waging his war on America and called for his arrest. He also said WikiLeaks stealing and publishing classified documents put lives at risk, as Media Matters reported.

When Assange started leaking emails from the Clinton campaign, though, Hannity became very friendly. He even brought the WikiLeaks founder onto his show for an interview, saying America owes you a debt of gratitude.

Back in 2010, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said Assange was a terrorist. Information warfare is warfare. Julian Assange is engaged in warfare. Information terrorism, which leads to people getting killed is terrorism. And Julian Assange is engaged in terrorism.

Once WikiLeaks turned its attention to Clinton, though, Huckabee was ready to discuss Hillary Clintons criminal enterprise, as he called it, on Hannity. He didnt, however, have anything to say about where the leaks came from or whether the leakers should be brought up on treason charges.

Trump had strong words for Wikileaks in 2010. As CNN reported, in an interview with radio host Brian Kilmeade, Trump said of Wikileaks, I think it's disgraceful, I think there should be like death penalty or something.

During the campaign, though, Trumps support for WikiLeaks was hard to miss. He tweeted over and over again about things WikiLeaks documents about the Clinton campaign, and said at one campaign rally in October, WikiLeaks has provided things that are unbelievable.

While Trump repeatedly tweeted about documents released by WikiLeaks aimed at damaging Clinton, he also tweeted it was the dishonest media that claimed he was in agreement with WikiLeaks.

Republicans were fans of WikiLeaks during the election, but now the U.S. is looking to charge members of the organization

Over the years, Republicans particularly Donald Trump supporters have done a 180 (or a full 360) in their remarks about WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. When he leaked on Hillary Clintons campaign in 2016, some Republicans said he was doing America a great service. But now the Trump administration is poised to attempt to convict Assange and WikiLeaks for their leaking activities. Here are fivetimes Trump and his supporters have flipped on the matter.

Go here to see the original:
Pamela Anderson Offers Advice for Trump Based on Her ...

Published time: 4 Nov, 2018 16:18 Edited time: 8 Nov, 2018 16:37

The mother of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange fears her son is in immediate and critical danger after spending nearly six years in limbo inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where his health has sharply deteriorated.

As fears for Assanges health have grown, his mother Christine spoke at the Assange-supporting #Unity4J online vigil event about how her son is undergoing a slow and cruel assassination in an online vigil dubbed #ReconnectJulian on Saturday.

The modern-day cage for political prisoners is no longer the Tower of London, it is the Ecuadorian Embassy, she said, adding that her son has been detained for nearly eight years without charge, cut off from all contact and tortured in the heart of London.

For the past six years the UK government has refused his request to access to basic health needs, fresh air, exercise, sunshine for Vitamin D, and access to proper medical and dental care. As a result, his health has seriously deteriorated, she added.

LISTEN TO FULL AUDIO ADDRESS OF CHRISTINE ASSANGE:

Mandatory Credit: Unity4j.Com

Assange was granted refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London back in 2012 while fighting extradition to Sweden regarding a sexual assault case. The UN human rights panel has called Assanges embassy ordeal an arbitrary detention by the UK and Sweden.

READ MORE:Ecuador pledged to not kick out Assange, but threat of US prosecution still serious lawyer to RT

The Australian native believes the Swedish probe, which has since been discontinued due to what Stockholm called Assanges unavailability for questioning, was only a pretext to extradite him to the US over troves of confidential documents released by WikiLeaks. Assange is unable to leave the confines of the embassy, as there is still an outstanding warrant for his arrest after he skipped bail to avoid extradition to Sweden.

While the US government has not confirmed whether it would pursue charges against Assange, the countrys Attorney General Jeff Sessions has previously labeled the WikiLeaks founders arrest as a priority.

UPDATE: Christine Assange has since responded to the publication, tweeting the following:

If you like this story, share it with a friend!

See the rest here:
Slow assassination: Julian Assanges mothers emotional ...

US attorney for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said that the arrest of Roger Stone, an ex-aide of President Donald Trump, was an attempt to intimidate Assange. Barry Pollack tweeted that FBI's arrest of Stone served no other purpose other than intimidation. Stone is accused of lying to investigators about his alleged interactions with WikiLeaks.

Earlier, it was reported that Julian Assange had launched a legal challenge againstthe administration ofUS President Donald Trump. The activist's lawyers have filed an urgent application tothe Washington-based Inter-American Commission ofHuman Rights, demanding US prosecutors toreveal possible charges againstthe Australian citizen. The move aims toprevent his extradition tothe United States.

Sputnik talked aboutStone's arrest and Assange's future withProfessor Stuart Rees, the director ofthe Sydney Peace Foundation and Australian academic, human rights activist, and author.

Sputnik: What's your take onthe arrest ofRoger Stone, how could this affect Julian Assange's position?

Stuart Rees: Your commentator used the word intimidation aboutStone. Look, intimidation has been going onfor five or six years, the idea that freedom ofspeech, which essentially WiliLeaks, whatever their shortcomings there might have been, represented, is anathema tosuccessive American administrations, so if Stone was perceived ascooperating or being sympathetic withWikiLeaks, that's why they're outto get him and anybody else who stands inthe way ofwhat an American administration wants todo.

READ MORE:Stone Might Relish inthe Drama' ofMueller's Charges, But Drama's All They Are

Sputnik: I was discussing this yesterday withyou atlength and it's just hypocrisy atthe highest level. We've got the New York Times and The Guardian, obviously, they've released various sources ofinformation publicly, the American administration are not going afterthose media outlets, so inyour view how high are the chances that the legal team will be able toget the requested information onthese charges fromthe US authorities?

REUTERS / Peter Nicholls

Unless we prick the bubble oftheir arrogance, and express a different set ofvalues ina different language ofhow we treat one another, we're always going tohave this sort ofinternational bullying sanctioned bythe American governments and overthe Assanges bythe British.

Sputnik: The element tothis aswell interms ofthe whole protracted case that has been going on, it's going tobe further protracted bythe fact that a lengthy process is going tobe initiated withthe legal process. What chances does it have ofgetting stuck ina legal quagmire now? It's been never ending, it's going tobe never ending interms ofthe legality process, what's your take onthat?

Stuart Rees: They call it legal, they keep oncalling it legal and I've spent enough time incourts oflaw aroundthe world toknow that what claimed tobe legal is often a fiction, that it's aboutthe use offorce, it's aboutpowerful governments and people wanting touse violence directly and indirectly tostifle dissent, tostifle people they disagree with.

AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth

Even Machiavelli told us that the only thing that dictators and powerful people don't likeis tobe laughed at, tobe ridiculed, so the idea that we win bylegal challenge when this is essentially a political issue, I think I'm not going toput any hope inthe legal paraphernalia.

Sputnik: Absolutely, I think we all agree withyou onthis point, it's laughable and hypocritical atthe same time asI've mentioned and it is also prudent topoint outthat President Trump benefited fromthe publication ofdiplomatic cables byWiliLeaks duringhis election campaign; he was able toutilize and leverage those elements ofthe WikiLeaks exposure tohis benefit, now obviously he's ina position ofpower asthe American President and I suppose he has got totow the line interms ofideology, buthe's going againsta particular campaign that assisted him. It's hypocrisy atthe highest order, what's your point onthat then?

Stuart Rees: Well I think if you're completely amoral and I'm not claiming tobe a moral person, butif you're completely amoral, otherwise you can't tell the difference betweenright and wrong, loyalty and disloyalty, which is what we've got withTrump and the appalling mediocracies that he surrounds himself with.

Most ofthem are Christians bythe way, then you and I are talking aboutour sort ofdismay or surprise that he wouldn't help somebody who can help him, butthey were assuming that there's a certain thing called principal and courage toact onthe basis ofprincipal; that's completely absentin this American administration.

Sputnik: Absolutely, thank you forcorrecting me onthat point. Now let me ask you aboutthe options regarding Julian Assange's situation atthe moment and if and when the US charges againsthim are confirmed, what's your particular point ofview?

Stuart Rees: There have been recent incidents inwhich young, vulnerable people have been rescued bymassive publicity aroundthe world, and I'm talking aboutthe Saudi Arabian girl that arrived inBangkok;within days she was given refuge inCanada.

So I am making the analogy toJulian's situation withpeople sort ofbeing anesthetized intothinking there's nothing we can do, he's back inthe Ecuadorian Embassy, and I think we all need, including myself, we need tobe reawakened asto what the threats are toJulian.

Julian has made it easy forsupporters likeme because he insome ways I can't tell which direction he is sailing in, butas I say, this is a political issue, it's called a legal one, butit's a political one and that means that only massive, massive publicity affecting Britain, affecting supporters inAmerica it is going tochange things.

Julian Assange has been holed upin the Ecuadorian Embassy inLondon since2012. He was accused ofrape bySweden, which has dropped the charges sincethen. The accusations followed a grand jury hearing in2011 intopublication ofhundreds ofthousands ofUS diplomatic cables.

The views and opinions expressed bythe speaker do not necessarily reflect those ofSputnik.

See the original post here:
Only Massive Publicity in US and UK Will Change Things for ...

QUITO, Ecuador Ecuador's president has ramped up pressure on Julian Assange to leave the country's embassy in London. Lenin Moreno said Britain had provided sufficient guarantees the WikiLeaks founder won't be extradited to face the death penalty abroad.

Moreno's comments in a radio interview Thursday suggest that months of quiet diplomacy between the U.K. and Ecuador to resolve Assange's situation is bearing fruit at a time when questions are swirling about the former Australian hacker's legal fate in the U.S.

"The road is clear for Mr. Assange to take the decision to leave," Moreno said, referring to written assurances he said he had received from Britain.

Moreno didn't say he would force Assange out, but said the activist's legal team is considering its next steps.

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy since 2012, when he was granted asylum while facing allegations of sex crimes in Sweden that he said were a guise to extradite him to the U.S.

But his relations with his hosts have soured to the point that Moreno earlier this year cut off his access to the internet, purportedly for violating the terms of his asylum by speaking out on political matters.

Assange in turn sued, saying his rights as an Ecuadorian he was granted citizenship last year as part of an apparent attempt to name him a diplomat and ferry him to Russia were being violated.

The mounting tensions has drawn Moreno closer to the position of Britain, which for years has said it is barred by law from extraditing suspects to any jurisdiction where they would face capital punishment.

But nothing is preventing it from extraditing him to the U.S. if prosecutors there were to pledge not to seek the death penalty.

Assange has long maintained the he faces charges under seal in the U.S for revealing highly sensitive government information on his website.

Those fears were heightened when U.S prosecutors last month mistakenly referenced criminal charges against him in an unrelated case.

The Associated Press and other outlets have reported Assange is indeed facing unspecified charges under seal, but prosecutors have so far provided no official confirmation.

Thursday's development comes after a revelation that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort traveled to Ecuador in 2017 in an effort to broker an investment deal between that country and China, his spokesman told CBS News. And during that trip, the spokesman said, Ecuador's president raised the possibility of a deal that would remove Assange from the embassy.

Manafort's trip to Ecuador and what he discussed regarding Assange has become a subject of speculation in recent weeks. Manafort recently dismissed a story that he met with Assange in person during the 2016 campaign as "false and deliberately libelous."

On Monday, The New York Times reported thatManafort discussed Assange'sfate with Moreno at least twice.

Go here to read the rest:
Ecuador's president says "the road is clear" for Julian ...

By Mike Head 24 January 2019

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose web site is continuing to expose war crimes, coup plots and mass surveillance by Washington and its allies, has made a new legal bid to block a concerted operation to extradite him to the US, where he could be imprisoned for life, or even sentenced to death.

Under intense pressure from the Trump administration, Ecuadors President Lenn Moreno has for months ramped up efforts to repudiate the political asylum that Ecuador gave Assange in 2012 to protect him from US extradition, and force or coerce him to leave its London embassy.

Assanges legal team yesterday announced an urgent application to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), based in Washington, to direct the Trump administration to unseal the charges it has secretly filed against Assange. The application also asks the IACHR to compel Ecuador to cease its intensive spying activities against Assange, stop the isolation imposed on him inside the embassy since last March and protect him from US extradition.

The lawyers media statement said the 1,172-page application seeks precautionary measures from the IACHR, which monitors compliance of the US and Ecuador with their binding legal obligations. The IAHCR, an organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), is meant to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere, but the Trump administration has boycotted its hearings.

The US government has refused to reveal details of the charges against Assange, despite sources in the US Department of Justice confirming to the Associated Press that Assange has been charged under seal. The revelation that the US has initiated a prosecution against Mr. Assange has shocked the international community, the legal submission states. The US government is required to provide information as to the criminal charges in full.

The submission reveals that US prosecutors have in the past few months formally approached people in the US, Germany and Iceland and pressed them to testify against Assange in return for immunity from prosecution. Those approached are associated with WikiLeaks joint publications with other media about US diplomatic interventions, torture and indefinite detention at Americas Guantanamo Bay prison camp and war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The statement notes: The joint publication effort between WikiLeaks, The New York Times, McClatchy, The Guardian, The Telegraph, the UKs Channel 4, Al Jazeera, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, El Pas, The Hindu, and Reuters, among others, won numerous journalistic awards and created the collaborative model subsequently used for other large disclosures such as the Panama Papers.

Many of these media organisations have since turned on Assange, propagating US intelligence-fed slanders against him and WikiLeaksranging from false accusations of sexual misconduct to involvement in a supposed conspiracy between Donald Trump and Russian authorities to steal the US presidency from the Democratic Party candidate, Hillary Clinton, in 2016.

The statement warns that the operation against Assange sets a precedent to be used against other media outlets. It states: The [Trump] administration has been plagued by leaks of classified information in its first two years, and is clearly intent on using the prosecution of Julian Assange as an icebreaker to set a dangerous precedent that would enable the prosecution of most serious media organisations, such as The New York Times, the Washington Post, AP, CNN and NBC which routinely obtain and publish information from classified sources.

The application by Assanges lawyers identifies a raft of legal obligations that the US and Ecuador are flouting in their treatment of Mr. Assange. Former Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzn, the international coordinator of Assanges legal team, said the violations undermine the right to asylum from political persecution.

The media statement points to the real motives behind the drive to silence Assange and WikiLeakstheir ongoing publication of incriminating documents exposing US-led global spying and internet hacking operations.

The lawyers document Trump administration attempts to pressure Ecuador to hand over Assange, notably recent serious overt threats against Ecuador made by senior US political figures, unlike the more veiled threats made in the past. These threats have significantly increased since WikiLeaks published the Vault 7 documents from the CIAthe largest leak of CIA classified information in history, which the US government claims were provided by a young CIA officer, Joshua Schulte.

The statement reports that specialized security services contracted by Ecuador have spied on Assange and his visitors, acting as an informant to the US authorities, specifically the FBI. This followed the 2017 declaration by CIA director Mike Pompeo, now the secretary of state, that WikiLeaks is a non-state hostile intelligence service.

The application denounces Ecuadors interference with his access to his lawyers, affecting his right to a legal defence. It demands the suspension of Ecuadors so-called special protocol that blocks Assanges communications with the outside world and a guarantee that his rights as an asylee will be respected in full.

The statement notes that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last month urged all states to implement its 2016 call to set Assange free, adding: It is time that Mr. Assange, who has already paid a high price for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of opinion, expression and information, and to promote the right to truth in the public interest, recovers his freedom.

The escalating threat to Assange was underscored by a report yesterday in the Guardian that if he were to walk out on to the street, Assange is likely to face contempt of court charges for fleeing British justice. This points to the British government plotting to detain Assange for months while US extradition proceedings are conducted. Previously, the only British charge against Assange was said be a relatively minor offence of skipping bail.

American prosecutors have investigated Assange since at least 2010, when a grand jury hearing was opened under the Obama administration into WikiLeaks publication of hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables. Special prosecutor Robert Muellers probe of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election has intensified these operations, under the cover of investigating WikiLeaks publication of documents that exposed aspects of Clintons Wall Street-backed campaign.

Earlier this month, with Ecuadors agreement, US investigators began questioning former London embassy diplomatic staff about Assanges visitors. The US Department of Justice issued international subpoenas, supposedly probing a thoroughly discredited Guardian report that Trumps former 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort held secret talks in the embassy with Assange.

Ecuadorian President Moreno recently launched a pseudo-legal special examination of Assanges asylum and Ecuadorian citizenship to provide a cover for his government to repudiate its protection obligations. His government has increasingly aligned itself with the Trump administration, to which it has desperately appealed for support for an International Monetary Fund bailout because of Ecuadors deepening debts, which have been fuelled by falling global oil prices and the rapacious dictates of the financial markets.

These developments underline the importance of demonstrations called by the Socialist Equality Party in Sydney and Melbourne in March as part of the World Socialist Web Sites international campaign for the defence of Assange and internet freedom. Assange remains an Australian citizen. The SEP will fight to mobilise the working class around the demand that the Australian government use its diplomatic powers to secure his safe passage to Australia, if he so chooses, with an unconditional guarantee against extradition to the US.

The author also recommends:

Defend Julian Assange against US charges![17 November 2018]

Read the rest here:
Julian Assange issues urgent legal challenge against US ...

Welcome toTheNational Today newsletter, which takes a closer look at what's happening around some of the day's most notable stories. Sign up hereand it will be delivered directly to your inbox Monday to Friday.

Julian Assange is trying to force the Trump administration to open up a "secret" court file and reveal if he is facing charges in the U.S.

Lawyers for the Wikileaks founder have filed a 1,172 page "urgent" submission with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a Washington, D.C.-based tribunal that monitors state abuses in the Americas.

The 47-year-old Australian, who has been living inside the cramped confines of Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012, is trying short-circuit any attempt to extradite him to the United States.

It is believed that he has been under investigation in Virginia since 2010, presumably in relation to his website's publication of hundreds of thousands of diplomatic and military cables about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the prison at Guantanamo Bay and other sensitive topics.

Last November, a federal prosecutor appeared to have mistakenly confirmed that criminal charges have been filed against Assange, but their exact nature has yet to be revealed.

Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election has been looking into Wikileaks' role in disclosing hacked Democratic Party emails, and allegations of contact and possible coordination between the website and several high-ranking members of Trump's campaign.

Today's filing claims that American authorities have been approaching people in the U.S., Germany and Iceland who have worked with Assange and offering them immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony about the cable leaks.

The submission also alleges that U.S. intelligence authorities have been working with their Ecuadorian counterparts to monitor Assange's electronic communications and his conversations with visitors to the London embassy.

Assange was originally offered refuge in the diplomatic outpost as he sought to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning in connection with a sexual assault investigation that has since been abandoned.

But tensions with his host have grown over the past six years.

Earlier this month, a commentator from a far-right U.S. website published an account of a visit with Assange. It claimed he is living in conditions "akin to a Stasi-era dissident," describing a "forest of menacingly Orwellian black cameras" and saying that they were forced to pass notes to avoid eavesdroppers.

The Ecuadorian government has denied the substance of the report, along with claims that the heat has been turned off in Assange's room and that he is being forced to sleep on the floor.

Last fall, Assange did file a lawsuit in an Ecuadorian court seeking to overturn restrictions on his internet use and visitors, and contesting demands that he clean his room and take better care of his pet cat. (The suit was dismissed.)

Assange and his backers remain sensitive about how the Wikileaks founder is portrayed in the media.

In early January, several outlets were sent a 5,000-word email that advised reporters not to repeat 140 "false and defamatory" statements about Assange and the website. They ran the gamut from claims that he has ties to Russia, to reports that he bleaches his hair or suffers from poor personal hygiene.

The document, which was labelled "Confidential legal communication. Not for publication," was promptly leaked.

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have answered the call of opposition leaders to take to the streets in an effort to force President Nicolas Maduro from office.

At least four people have been killed in the day of protests, which coincides with the 61st anniversary of the fall of the country's military dictatorship.

The police and army response has done little to dampen the demonstrations.

Here is aviewof the massive crowds in downtown Caracas.

And protests are going on in other cities and towns across the country, as well.

Here, a crowd gathers outside the cathedral in Baquisimeto, Venezuela's fourth-largest city, to express their defiance in song.

And the size of the march in Barinas, in west-central Venezuela, also appears huge.

The government put down an uprising by national guardsmen on Monday, but the opposition is urging the rest of the military to revolt and overthrow Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term earlier this month.

More than a dozen countries, including Canada, say that the election was illegitimate.

This afternoon, opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself presidentand was promptly recognized as the country's interim leader by the Trump administration.

How Maduro and his military backers will react remains the big question.

Not sleeping? It could be your daily habits, writes producer Perlita Stroh.

Canadians aren't getting as much sleep as we want, this much we know. In fact, almost 60 per cent of us say we aren't getting the recommended eight hours a night.

The question is, why aren't we getting enough sleep?

The answer, according to some health experts, has more to do with our own behaviour than we like to admit.

"We are sometimes unrealistic when it comes to sleep," says Dr. Danielle Martin, a physician and vice-president at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. "We think we can act however we want during our days and expect our nights to be perfectly restful, and that's unrealistic."

Martin points to things like drinking alcohol excessively, consuming too much caffeine, exercising late into the night, and using electronics right before bed as some of the reasons we aren't getting enough sleep.

Experts agree that creating healthy "sleep hygiene," a consistent sleep routine, goes a long way towards helping with the problem.

"Simple things, like keeping a dark room and a comfortable temperature in your bedroom, can help so much with sleep," says Dr. Samir Sinha, with Sinai Health Services and University Health Network.

Another thing doctors are now urging is that all Canadians, and particularly seniors, steer clear of prescription and over-the-counter sleeping pills. They say the risks associated with their use outweigh the benefits. Plus, the fact that they keep a person sedated long after they wake up in the morning can be dangerous.

In a special discussion on The National tonight, doctors Martin and Sinha will join Dr. Shelly Weiss, neurologist and sleep specialist at The Hospital for Sick Children, to talk about sleep and how we can get more of it.

- Perlita Stroh

And in case you missed it, here's Duncan McCue's story on sleep apnea, how it can affect you health, and why so many Canadians go undiagnosed:

A Hall pass for a late, great Blue Jay.

"I know this has angered China, but we have a system of extradition treaty, a system of rules of law, which are above the government. The government cannot change these things, and as I said, I think Ms. Meng has quite a strong case."

- John McCallum, Canada's ambassador to China, expresses some regret about the Meng Wanzhou case in an interview with Chinese-language media.

Jan. 23, 2006: Paul Martin concedes defeat, announces resignation

Paul Martin worked tirelessly for nearly two decades to become prime minister. But his time in office was comparatively brief two years and 56 days. Here, on the night he lost to Stephen Harper's Conservatives, the Liberal leader reflects on his time in public life and announces that he's ready to move on.

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Excerpt from:
Julian Assange pushes back against U.S. government, wants to ...

Julian Assange, the fugitive WikiLeaks founder whose diplomatic sanctuary in the Ecuadorian embassy appears increasingly precarious, is launching a legal challenge against the Trump administration.

Lawyers for the Australian activist have filed an urgent application to the Washington-based Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) aimed at forcing the hand of US prosecutors, requiring them to unseal any secret charges against him.

The legal move is an attempt to prevent Assanges extradition to the US at a time that a new Ecuadorian government has been making his stay in the central London apartment increasingly inhospitable.

He has been staying in the Knightsbridge flat, which houses the embassy, since 2012 when he fled extradition proceedings at the UKs supreme court. Swedish prosecutors have since dropped their request to extradite him to Stockholm over a rape investigation.

If he were to walk out on to the street, Assange is likely to face contempt of court charges for fleeing British justice. His chief fear, however, is that once arrested, the US authorities would begin fresh extradition proceedings against him alleging security offences.

It is believed American prosecutors have been investigating Assange since at least 2011, when a grand jury hearing was opened into the whistleblowing websites publication of hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables, in conjunction with a number of international newspapers including the Guardian.

The IACHR monitors human rights in the Americas and hears appeals on individual cases. The Trump administration, however, has boycotted its recent hearings.

The 1,172-page submission by Assanges lawyers calls on the US to unseal any secret charges against him and urges Ecuador to cease its espionage activities against him.

Baltasar Garzn, the prominent Spanish judge who has pursued dictators, terrorists and drug barons, is the international coordinator of Assanges legal team. He has said the case involves the right to access and impart information freely that has been put in jeopardy.

The Trump administration is refusing to reveal details of charges against Assange despite the fact that sources in the US Department of Justice have confirmed to the media that they exist under seal.

The revelation that the US has initiated a prosecution against Mr Assange has shocked the international community, the legal submission to the IACHR states. The US government is required to provide information as to the criminal charges that are imputed to Mr Assange in full.

The application alleges that US prosecutors have begun approaching people in the US, Germany and Iceland and pressed them to testify against Assange in return for immunity from prosecution.

Those approached, it is said, include people associated with WikiLeaks joint publications with other media about US diplomacy, Guantnamo Bay and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assanges lawyers say the Trump administration has pressurised Ecuador to hand over Assange, making increasingly overt threats. In December, the New York Times reported that Ecuadors new president, Lenin Moreno tried to negotiate handing over Mr Assange to the US. in exchange for debt relief.

The application also highlights what it says are espionage operations against Assange in the London embassy.

Read more from the original source:
Julian Assange launches legal challenge against Trump ...

A GoFundMe on behalf of Julian Assange appeared online Jan. 10, but its reached only a fraction of its $500,000 goal, raising $801 so far.

Julian Assanges safety is in serious jeopardy. He is now threatened with imminent arrest and extradition from the United Kingdom to the United States where he faces life in prison. He and his campaign team urgently need your help. Elements in the US government are aggressively pressuring Ecuador to withdraw his asylum status the time for action is now! the campaign states.

Assange has been at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012; he fears he will be arrested and extradited to the U.S. since he failed to appear in U.K. court in 2012 following a 2010 arrest.

In 2010, the United States began a criminal investigation into Assange because WikiLeaks released a series of videos, diplomatic cables, and other classified or sensitive documents provided by Chelsea Manning.

In November, a court error seemed to suggest that Assange was being charged in the U.S., although the Justice Department has refused to disclose information about the charges.

The GoFundMe requests $500,000 for the public, media and political campaigns, not legal costs, but did not clarify further. GoFundMe page says this fund is the only official fund endorsed by WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks did tweet about the fundraiser on Jan. 11 but did not return requests for comment about the fund.

Julian Assange & WikiLeaks Public Defence Fund Launchedhttps://t.co/1GZIWEeX2Y pic.twitter.com/OlewN2A1kB

WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 11, 2019

The fundraiser says its affiliated with the Courage Foundation, a nonprofit that says it supports eight beneficiaries, including WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden, by testifying in court, appearing in media interviews, and submitting public comments in support of the beneficiaries.

The Courage Foundation did not respond to request for comment about its affiliation with the fundraiser.

Another GoFundMe, also credited to the Courage Foundation, has been more successful.

The fundraiser Help WikiLeaks sue The Guardian for fabricating a story that Julian Assange had secret meetings with Paul Manafort, launched Nov. 27, 2018, and has raised $50,300 of its $300,000 goal. Over 1,250 people have donated as of this writing.

The funds title refers to a story from the Guardian from last November, which tied Assange to former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort. Critics raised doubts about the reporting, and both Manafort and WikiLeaks denied the meetings ever happened.

Read this article:
GoFundMe Asking For $500,000 on Behalf of Julian Assange

Julian Assanges current living conditions in the Embassy of Ecuador in London are more akin to those of a political dissident in China or Stasi-era Germany not a journalist claiming political asylum from a country that once promised to protect his right to publish information.

I last visited Assange in March, days before the Ecuadorians placed the award-winning journalist in isolation for allegedly violating a draconian ban on all public political comments.

That isolation has since been mostly lifted, but I felt a sense of trepidation as I approached the embassy last Monday the Ecuadorians, pressured by the U.S., are widely believed to have grown hostile to Assange, so I didnt expect a warm welcome.

I wasnt wrong. Things have changed a great deal since I last saw him. The surreal conditions are more invasive than visiting someone in a federal penitentiary which Ive done, by the way where at least you can speak privately, provided you arent shouting and causing a scene.

In order to visit the publisher last year, I simply organized it with him and his lawyer and went. This time I was required to provide details about my social media, my employer, and my reason for visiting in advance of my arrival and hope to be approved.

If I wanted to bring my cell phone, I would have had to provide the brand, model, serial number, IMEI number and telephone number. Providing these details to a foreign nation with extreme surveillance seemed unwise, so I left it behind.

The new protocol also states that the embassy will keep a record of all visits made to Assange and the data that they provide. This information will be sent to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other undisclosed agencies.

After receiving permission to visit (not something I was sure of by any means), I was given an authorization letter that I had to provide, along with my passport, at the door of the embassy before being allowed in. Once inside, my bag was searched and I was scanned with a metal detector, TSA style. Given the amount of enemies that Assange has made, this seemed appropriate.

As this was taking place, Assange walked by all smiles which was immediately reassuring as I had been tremendously worried about his wellbeing given the tough restrictions placed on him by Ecuadors new regime.

The reassurance didnt last long.

After being guided into the conference room, the same place we initially met at the beginning of my last visit, I immediately noticed a marked increase in the amount of cameras in the hallways and around the large meeting table. After saying hello, we tried to go to another room with less surveillance so we could speak more openly. Within minutes, a member of the staff at the embassy came knocking on the door and demanded that we go back. As we walked through the hall, I noticed that there was no angle that wasnt being recorded by a forest of menacingly Orwellian black cameras.

Currently, Assange cannot even have a simple visit with a friend without it being monitored by some shadowy state actor. Its like a scene from the Stasi spy drama The Lives of Others.

While Ecuador presents this surveillance operation as a mission to protect and support Assange, this is contradicted by the fact that he isnt even allowed to confidentially speak with a reporter and friend without being recorded. In May, the Guardian reported that there are extraordinary reports from these spies that include daily logs of Assanges activities inside the embassy, even noting his general mood.

As John Pilger pointed out after his visit with Assange on New Years Eve, it could be any newspaper publisher or editor stuck in that embassy. For the crime of publishing journalism, Assange has not only had to give up his freedom, but also any semblance of privacy. Its impossible to overstate how unsettling it feels to have multiple lenses pointed at you wherever you stand.

Unable to speak privately, even with a noise machine attempting to muffle the microphones from picking up conversations, we resorted to passing notes. Assange is not only barred from sharing his views online under the new regulations thanks to the constant surveillance, he cant even do so among his friends in the embassy where he is arbitrarily detained.

If we value the principle of the freedom of speech we must do something to stop this madness. While we do not know what Assange has been charged with by the U.S. as it remains under seal, we do know that it is related to his work as a publisher, the only publisher with a record of 100% accuracy. His dedication to truth is so profound that he has never once had to issue a correction or retraction.

In the age of fake news, the work of WikiLeaks should be celebrated, not persecuted.

The WikiLeaks founder entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on June 19, 2012. He was soon granted political asylum. The UK has long refused to acknowledge the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), which found that Assange is being arbitrarily and unlawfully detained and must be immediately released without the threat of arrest and compensated.

On a positive note, Assange seemed to be in good spirits especially considering his circumstances. He looked good, though thinner, and was as brilliant and sharp as ever. Despite the efforts from the US and Ecuador to make his life a living hell, they havent broken him yet.

It is clearly a lot more difficult to break someone who knows how necessary and important their cause is. The freedom of speech and freedom to publish are rights that must be protected at all costs, and Assanges dissent does just that.

If President Donald Trump really wanted to show the world that he is committed to real news, he would end this witch hunt and allow Assange to get back to work.

See the rest here:
Exclusive: Julian Assange's Living Conditions Deteriorate ...