© Anarchimedia/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0Kunstnerbillede af Julian Assange
'Som følge heraf vil den udleveringsanmodning nu blive sendt til den britiske indenrigsminister Prita Patel, som teknisk set skal godkende alle udleveringsanmodninger, men i betragtning af den britiske regerings langvarige underkastelse over for den amerikanske sikkerhedsstat, er den næsten sikker på at blive stemplet. Assanges repræsentanter, inklusive hans forlovede Stella Morris, har lovet at appellere dommen, men dagens sejr for USA betyder, at Assanges frihed, hvis den nogensinde kommer, er længere væk end nogensinde: ikke måneder, men år selv under de bedste omstændigheder. .''Marker denne dag, som fascismen kaster sine forklædninger af sig,' tweetede journalist John Pilger om afgørelsen.
This ruling, which allows the U.S. to continue working to extradite a journalist for exposing U.S. war crimes, comes on the final day of Washington's so-called "Summit for Democracy", where the U.S. secretary of state made a grandiose show about of press freedom:
This ruling also comes on UN Human Rights Day.
This ruling comes on the same day two journalists formally received the Nobel Peace Prizes they'd been awarded and demanded protections for journalists in their acceptance speeches.
This ruling comes as the U.S. government pledges hundreds of millions of dollars in support for "independent media" around the world in coordination with British state media.
This ruling comes after it was revealed that the C.I.A. drew up plans to kidnap and assassinate Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy after the 2017 Vault 7 releases embarrassed the agency.
This ruling comes after it was revealed that C.I.A. proxies spied on Assange and his lawyers at the Ecuadorian embassy, thereby making a fair trial in the United States impossible.
This ruling comes after it was revealed that the U.S. prosecution relied on false testimony from a diagnosed sociopath and convicted child molester.
This ruling comes after recent investigative reports on civilian-slaughtering U.S. airstrikes reminded us why it's so important for the press to be able to conduct critical coverage of the most powerful military force ever assembled.
The facts are in and the case is closed: the U.S. and its allies do not care about press freedoms beyond the extent that they can be used to conduct propaganda. The way journalists who offend the powerful are dealt with by the U.S. government and the way they are dealt with by the Saudi monarchy differ only in terms of speed and messiness.
The masks are crumbling. Even when he is silenced, immobilized, locked up and hidden from public view, Julian Assange continues to shine a light on the abusive mechanisms of power. He is arguably exposing them more now than ever before.
As fascism casts off its disguises, it becomes more and more important to highlight the hypocrisy, fraudulence and depravity of the people who rule our world.
About the Author:
Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly at Medium. Her work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking her on Facebook, following her antics on Twitter, checking out her podcast on either Youtube, soundcloud, Apple podcasts or Spotify, following her on Steemit, throwing some money into her tip jar on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of her sweet merchandise, buying her books Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix, Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone and Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers.
Kommentar: There is no disguising this turn of events. There will never be another Julian Assange if the PTB have successfully delivered their threat and the public acquiesces. Has the pivotable moment passed? It would seem so.