A Democrat in Congress Calls For Assange’s Freedom!

[RVonse]

A very interesting video covering Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib and her efforts to free Assange. I would not have thought anyone in Congress less alone a Democrat would have had the stones to even bring this up. I think it is refreshing that at least someone in our congress is finally defending a journalist in trouble for telling the truth and the very basics of protecting our 1st amendment and what it means to us.

Even more interesting (to me) is many other comments made in this video relevant to our present Democratic party. Theories of how the Democrats (in general) have now been taken down by corporate America. Democrats used to be the party of free speech but now just the opposite because free speech is the antithesis of allowing corporations to control what they want for the national narrative. In particular, how "woke" has become their scheme to undermine the Democrat party with itself because now instead of fighting as a general category unit for basic stuff like free speech they are wrapped up into little identity factions fighting with each other over nothing.

Most Democrats I talk to do not even realize how far this party has changed over the past 20 years.

 

[ZiprHead]

A very interesting video covering Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib and her efforts to free Assange. I would not have thought anyone in Congress less alone a Democrat would have had the stones to even bring this up. I think it is refreshing that at least someone in our congress is finally defending a journalist in trouble for telling the truth and the very basics of protecting our 1st amendment and what it means to us.

Assange isn't in jail for telling the truth. He's in jail for jumping bail.

And he's in trouble with the United States because he helped Chelsea Manning break into a secure computer, something he was convicted for in 1996 when he did it previously.

 

[steve_bank]

From bios on Assange he began hacking after his mother had some medical issues if I remember right.

He intentionally released specific documents to cause problems in Africa and the Mid East which it did, violence.

It is funny he never released documents form Russia, China or Israel. He had a show on Russian state TV.

Sorry, the guy is no hero. Neither is Snodon. The best punishment for Snodon is leaving him in Russia. Let Assange join him in Russia.

He is one of many childish people who think they are accomplishing something by trying to disrupt the global system. Without any offer of any workable practical alternatives. It is easy to make a living as Assange railing against the USA. Child self righteousness.

If he did the same to China, Russia or Israel I doubt he would still be alive. Those foks do not fuck around over security.

Every year here in Seattle since the 90s WTO meeting rioys the Black Block crowd and anarchists show up on th anniversary. They dress in black Ninja style clotes ad carry homemade wepons, Molotove cocktails. They break windows on banks and try to provoke police into an over reponse. Pointless childless behavior.

During the recent Seattle riots our then mayor talked to a crowd in a parking lot down the street from where I live. I went down to listen. Anarchists shouting trying to disrupt.

More silly useless behavior.

Easy to shake a fist with feel good self righteousness, much harder to build and manage in the real world.

At the risk of sounding like an arch conservative, policies on the left is being filled with people who do not really believe in any good to the USA.

We have a self described communist on our city councl who says she wants to tear down the USA and replceit with what she thinks is 'true democracy'. An immigrant from India, Kshama Sawant.

She has said she is not running for re-election. Hers and the destructive social and political policies of the other progressives destroyed the police department with the not unexpected increase in crime and drug issues.

Assange made his own bed, let him take responsibility and sleep in it. Like a child he causses trouble witout any resonsiblity for his actions and comsequences.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

From bios on Assange he began hacking after his mother had some medical issues if I remember right.

He intentionally released specific documents to cause problems in Africa and the Mid East which it did, violence.

It is funny he never released documents form Russia, China or Israel. He had a show on Russian state TV.

Even when he was embarrassing the W Administration, Assange seemed a bit preoccupied with targeting western targets. He wasn't spreading the truth, he was merely exposing the truth for arbitrary targets. This became very obvious when he was helping to harm Hilary Clinton's chances in 2016, providing cover to Trump after his sexual harassment bravado leak came out.

Sorry, the guy is no hero. Neither is Snodon. The best punishment for Snodon is leaving him in Russia. Let Assange join him in Russia.

Snowden exposed a massive spying operation being performed by the W Admin and Obama Admin. His leaking of that was not partisan, it was patriotic. Assange... he has an angle.

 

[Patooka]

Great, we've gone from Russell Brand to Jimmy Dore. Wonderful. Let's add some Dave Rubin and Tim Pool into the mix for some more disingenuous dishonesty. Don't you remember the last time you thought this prick had something meaningful to say?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Even when he was embarrassing the W Administration, Assange seemed a bit preoccupied with targeting western targets. He wasn't spreading the truth, he was merely exposing the truth for arbitrary targets. This became very obvious when he was helping to harm Hilary Clinton's chances in 2016, providing cover to Trump after his sexual harassment bravado leak came out.

This. He wasn't being selective in focusing on things that needed exposing, he was being selective with a political motive.

I have a lot more respect for Snowden than Assange--and even Snowden was political, releasing things which harmed without being embarrassing.

 

[steve_bank]

From bios on Assange he began hacking after his mother had some medical issues if I remember right.

He intentionally released specific documents to cause problems in Africa and the Mid East which it did, violence.

It is funny he never released documents form Russia, China or Israel. He had a show on Russian state TV.

Even when he was embarrassing the W Administration, Assange seemed a bit preoccupied with targeting western targets. He wasn't spreading the truth, he was merely exposing the truth for arbitrary targets. This became very obvious when he was helping to harm Hilary Clinton's chances in 2016, providing cover to Trump after his sexual harassment bravado leak came out.

Sorry, the guy is no hero. Neither is Snodon. The best punishment for Snodon is leaving him in Russia. Let Assange join him in Russia.

Snowden exposed a massive spying operation being performed by the W Admin and Obama Admin. His leaking of that was not partisan, it was patriotic. Assange... he has an angle.

It was old news. In the 90s a woman found hrself on a watch list and set about finding out why.

In an email she said her kid had 'bombe' in a school play. It was scanned by a program called Dragon I think that was looking at emails for trigger words.

If Snoden did not run he may have faced jail time, maybe not. If Assange came here same rhing, he may have faced jsil time maybe not. If he did go to jail when he got out he;;dhave been a celbrity hero to his followers.

Ali took a moral stand on the VN War and lost his money and boxing license. He didn't whine or complain he stood up to the consequences.

Ellsberg was a high level security analyst who found that by aroud 1966 or so the Pentagon had determined there was no miitary solution to the VN War. Yet the Pentagon and the White House were saying we were winning. It was an outright serious lie to te people.

He leaked documents. The Pentagon Papers. I read it in the 70s aafter I got out of the militray. He didn't run or hide. He stood up to his actions in court and I don't think he had any jail time.

Assange and Snoden are cowards, Snoden had options.

Assange never went at countries like Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, or Israel for that matter.

 

[lpetrich]

Tlaib Leads Letter to DOJ to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange; Defends Freedom of Press - Rashida Tlaib
noting
Congressional-Letter-to-DOJ-on-Julian-Assange-Indictment_Final.pdf - the letter itself

Signed by Reps. RT herself, Cori Bush, Greg Casar, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar

We write you today to call on you to uphold the First Amendment’s protections for the freedom of the press by dropping the criminal charges against Australian publisher Julian Assange and withdrawing the American extradition request currently pending with the British government.

Press freedom, civil liberty, and human rights groups have been emphatic that the charges against Mr. Assange pose a grave and unprecedented threat to everyday, constitutionally protected journalistic activity, and that a conviction would represent a landmark setback for the First Amendment

 

[Jayjay]

Assange is certainly a slimy bastard.

But that shouldn't be illegal. The actual leaker, Chelsea Manning, is already free, and what she/he did was much worse in this case than Assange, a foreign citizen with no security clearance or any obligation to keep secrets for US government. Sure, I can see that disseminating classified information is something that can't be completely overlooked, or it might set a bad example, but the underhanded methods by which the US has kept Assange practically under house for several years is not the way to do this.

The best compromise in my opinion? The US silently just forgetting about the charges and letting UK know through back channels that it would be fine if the extradition never happened.

 

[TomC]

Sure, I can see that disseminating classified information is something that can't be completely overlooked, or it might set a bad example, but the underhanded methods by which the US has kept Assange practically under house for several years is not the way to do this.

Sorry, I just can't work up a shred of sympathy for Assange.
He's not a USA citizen, he is an enemy of my country. He has absolutely no constitutional rights. He chose these circumstances and I'm OK with him being stuck with them.

Permanently.

Back when this all began, I was kinda cheering for him. Shine that "blinding light of truth", and all that. On evildoers everywhere. But the other shoe never dropped. Somehow, it was all about attacking the USA. Nothing about Russia or Saudi Arabia or China or Israel.

Then there was the partisan thing. Embarrassing the Democrats, while not noticing that the Republicans were pulling out the stops trying to get rid of Trump. Which they did, Huuuugely.

Sorry, I don't see Assange as a whistleblower hero. He's an anti-American operative. I don't want to send bounty hunters or anything, but he's not welcome here and I hope he rots in ignominious infamy.
Tom

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Tlaib Leads Letter to DOJ to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange; Defends Freedom of Press - Rashida Tlaib
noting
Congressional-Letter-to-DOJ-on-Julian-Assange-Indictment_Final.pdf - the letter itself

Signed by Reps. RT herself, Cori Bush, Greg Casar, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar

We write you today to call on you to uphold the First Amendment’s protections for the freedom of the press by dropping the criminal charges against Australian publisher Julian Assange and withdrawing the American extradition request currently pending with the British government.

Press freedom, civil liberty, and human rights groups have been emphatic that the charges against Mr. Assange pose a grave and unprecedented threat to everyday, constitutionally protected journalistic activity, and that a conviction would represent a landmark setback for the First Amendment

When was Assange a reporter? The guy works (worked) on behalf of a nation state.

 

[Jayjay]

Tlaib Leads Letter to DOJ to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange; Defends Freedom of Press - Rashida Tlaib
noting
Congressional-Letter-to-DOJ-on-Julian-Assange-Indictment_Final.pdf - the letter itself

Signed by Reps. RT herself, Cori Bush, Greg Casar, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar

We write you today to call on you to uphold the First Amendment’s protections for the freedom of the press by dropping the criminal charges against Australian publisher Julian Assange and withdrawing the American extradition request currently pending with the British government.

Press freedom, civil liberty, and human rights groups have been emphatic that the charges against Mr. Assange pose a grave and unprecedented threat to everyday, constitutionally protected journalistic activity, and that a conviction would represent a landmark setback for the First Amendment

When was Assange a reporter? The guy works (worked) on behalf of a nation state.

I don't think Wikileaks started as a Russian operation. They also revealed some embarrassing information about Russian oligarchs too. But at some point, I think Russians infiltrated the organization and now it's exclusively disseminating "leaks" from Russian hackers that make the US or its western allies look bad.

But Assange's original motivation was probably just personal vanity, not a paycheck from Moscow. He was never a "reporter" though, you're right about that.

That's not to say that Assange or Wikileaks were ever the good guys, or some sort of heroes. A lot of people are undoubtedly dead because of their unprofessionalism.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I don't think Wikileaks started as a Russian operation. They also revealed some embarrassing information about Russian oligarchs too. But at some point, I think Russians infiltrated the organization and now it's exclusively disseminating "leaks" from Russian hackers that make the US or its western allies look bad.

Seconded. I believe the intent was good but it was quickly subverted.

But Assange's original motivation was probably just personal vanity, not a paycheck from Moscow. He was never a "reporter" though, you're right about that.

That's not to say that Assange or Wikileaks were ever the good guys, or some sort of heroes. A lot of people are undoubtedly dead because of their unprofessionalism.

What he chose to leak shows he was anti-American. He released stuff that wasn't embarrassing in the slightest but would endanger our troops. I would have a lot more sympathy for him if he hadn't done that sort of thing.