The Assange Extradition Ruling Is A Relief, But It Isn't Justice

"Judge Vanessa Baraitser has ruled against US extradition for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but not for the reasons she should have."
#Assange #AssangeCase
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/the-assange-…
Baraitser's frightening ruling supported virtually every US prosecutorial argument that was made during the extradition trial, no matter how absurd and Orwellian.
judiciary.uk/judgments/usa-…
In the end though, Baraitser ruled against extradition. Not because allowing the extradition of journalists under the Espionage Act poses a threat to press freedoms worldwide. Not to prevent a global chilling effect on natsec journalism about the world's most powerful government.
No, Baraitser ultimately ruled against extradition because Assange would be too high a suicide risk in America's draconian prison system.
Assange is still not free, and he is not out of the woods. The US government has said it will appeal the decision, and Baraitser has the legal authority to keep Assange locked in Belmarsh Prison until after that appeals process.
Discussions on bail and release will resume on Wednesday, and Assange will remain imprisoned in Belmarsh at least until that time. It's entirely possible that he will remain imprisoned throughout the entire appeal.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the Australian trade union to which Assange belongs as a journalist, has released a statement on the ruling which outlines the situation nicely.
meaa.org/news/assange-e…
Indeed, the ruling today was a huge relief for Assange, his family, and for all his supporters around the world. But it wasn't justice.
It is good that Baraitser ultimately ruled against extradition, but her ruling also supported the entirety of the US government's prosecutorial narrative that would allow for extradition of journalists under the Espionage Act in the future.
The ruling is a significant step toward freedom for Julian Assange, but it changes nothing as far as global imperialist tyranny is concerned.
That said, the message of the empire here was essentially "We totally coulda extradited you if we wanted, but you're too crazy," which sounds a lot like the international diplomacy equivalent of "I could kick your ass but you're not worth it."
If this case hadn't had such intense scrutiny on it from all over the world, we would have heard a different ruling today. The empire did what it could to try and intimidate journalists with the possibility of prison for exposing its malfeasance, but in the end, it backed down.
I'm not going to take that as a sign that we've won the war, or even the battle. But it is a sign that our punches are landing. And that we've got a fighting chance here.

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More from @caitoz

4 Jan
UPDATE: Judge ordered no extradition for Assange, and orders him released from Belmarsh Prison, both due to suicide risk concerns. The US has confirmed that it will appeal extradition ruling. He's still jailed, court is in recess and then they'll discuss possible bail or release.
It's likely they'll keep him jailed until after the US appeals the ruling, as Medhurst explains. We're definitely not out of the woods yet. But getting out of Belmarsh is excellent.
Read 4 tweets
3 Jan
People keep predicting coups, mass arrests and unprecedented upheavals in the US government because the mass media is acting very strange, which creates the illusion that the US government itself is acting very strange. Meanwhile the empire marches on completely uninterrupted.
What people are misperceiving is that it isn't the US government that's changing, it's the international world order. The US is approaching post-primacy and is unleashing tons of propaganda to roll out international agendas to prevent this, hence the bizarre behavior.
The information ecosystem looks wild, so America-fixated Americans get the mistaken impression that it's their government that is wild. Meanwhile great care is taken to maintain stability in the hub of the global empire, so all these prophecies of upheaval keep shooting blanks.
Read 4 tweets
2 Jan
The frenetic mass media propaganda campaign against Julian Assange was easily the creepiest and most Orwellian thing I've ever witnessed. And now it is silent. It did its job and then disappeared, before the public could really notice what was happening. It's absolutely stunning.
You wouldn't know it now, but between late 2016 and Assange's arrest this site was full of blue-checkmarked narrative managers falling all over each other to be the first to come up with the day's hottest smear painting a heroic journalist as a villain. Day after day after day.
Smearing Assange was one of the easiest ways for an aspiring journalist to show current and prospective employers that you're on the side of the empire. It was a soft target you could kick to signal that you'll say whatever the Pentagon wants so you can climb the media ladder.
Read 10 tweets
2 Jan
Let's Be Absolutely Clear What's At Stake In The Assange Case

"For this reason, this isn’t just about journalism: we really are collectively deciding the fate of our species with our response to the prospect of Assange's extradition."
#WeAreAllAssange
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/lets-be-abso…
When it comes to human behavior, things only change for the better when there is a lucid and unobstructed perception of what's going on.
Whether you're talking about individuals or humanity in its entirety, the story of human progress has always been a story of moving from blindness to seeing. From unawareness to awareness. From the lights in the room being off to the lights being switched on.
Read 14 tweets
1 Jan
Our society is asking itself a very, very important question of the Assange case. The question we're asking is this:

“Should journalists be jailed for exposing US war crimes? Yes or no?”

Our answer to this question will determine the future of our species.

#WeAreAllAssange
Make no mistake, this question is all the Assange case is and has ever been about.

“Should journalists be jailed for exposing US war crimes? Yes or no?”

Do not let the narrative managers twist it into being about anything other than this, because it isn't. This is the question.
Do we want truth, or lies?

Do we want light, or darkness?

Do we want freedom, or slavery?

Do we want the right to know what the powerful are doing, or do we want to give them a private space to abuse us in?

Should journalists be jailed for exposing US war crimes? Yes or no?
Read 4 tweets
31 Dec 20
America Keeps Claiming Governments It Hates Are Paying Bounties On US Troops In Afghanistan

"This brings the total number of governments against which this exact accusation has been made to three: China, Iran, and Russia."
caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/america-keep…
We're now getting mass media reports that yet another country the US government doesn't like has been trying to kill US troops in Afghanistan, with the accusation this time being leveled at China. China joins Russia and Iran in being targeted with this exact unproven narrative.
The report by @axios is already being circulated into public consciousness by mass media outlets like CNN.
edition.cnn.com/2020/12/30/pol…
Read 15 tweets

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