Virginia Bryant is an award-winning artist/painter whose writings have been featured in daily newspapers and other publications. The flowing article Los Angeles Progressive 29 October 2023) she shows that there is also a vigorous campaign in the United States to win the Freedom of WikiLeaks founder Jullian Assange from persecution and a lifetime of imprisonment. Two politicians are spearheading a bipartisan effort within the Democrat and Republican parties and building support within the Congress and Senate, as part of the broader campaign. Most American agree that Assange should be freed.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and James McGovern (D-Mass.) are circulating a letter to their colleagues in the House of Representatives calling on President Biden to end the prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is facing a possible extradition to the U.S. for publishing classified U.S. military documents.
This is a bipartisan initiative, which is always a good thing. The House has until October 31, before the letter is to be delivered. Therefore, Massie & McGovern are seeking signatures from their fellow Congress members until that date.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in Washington this week to meet with Biden and was expected to bring up Assange’s case. Albanese has repeatedly called on the U.S. in recent months to end the prosecution of Assange. We must move this particular issue into a more visible place. All people of good will understand that truth is foundational to the changes we all long for, for peace, for goodwill, and for our grandchildren so that they may have a world worth living in, if they are to survive at all.
Nine out of ten Australians want Julian Assange returned free to his home country as well as a majority here in the U.S. Rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union have called for his release.
He may be the most heavily awarded journalist of our time, also having been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize as well as the Noble Prize for Peace more than a dozen times and whose actions, contrary to current propaganda, have never been responsible for harming anyone, unless you count the arms dealers annoyance with bad PR as harm.
We must send our local Senators and Representatives encouragement and exhortations to be aware of this and respond to protecting the First amendment constitutional rights concerning Freedom of the Press that they have been sworn to protect.
We are speaking here of a journalist who has proven to be scrupulous about the truth.
If we were all sincere about seeing the truth of the statistics in the Palestine genocide, it would not be happening
We want to encourage people to sign this petition, nationally at least or the ones appropriate for their country of origin in the strongest possible terms by reminding them that a majority of the population wants Assange freed, and that in the USA they are sworn to protect the first amendment, which means Freedom of the Press.
In one of many legal absurdities of this case Assange is being prosecuted for treason against the USA when he is not even a citizen. Another absurdity is the USA’s “promise” not to treat Assange harshly if he is extradited to the States.
You can find your local U.S. Representatives and Senators and in the UK your MP’s by going to assangedefense.org and clicking on the TAKE ACTION drop down link. They also have a number of other useful directives and links supporting the Free Assange movement.
Please prioritize contacting your local government reps to move this issue into the centre of all national and international debate. Without a firm grounding in truth, we are doomed. As Assange himself has said, “If wars can be started with lies, truth can make peace”.
If they make Assange a martyr, it is counterproductive to their aims, not that their aims have validity. Rather, this is an example of the stupidity and chaos of lies generally. If we cannot develop a high regard for truth, as a keystone of the entry way to the world we want to live in, we are doomed.
Panel event with Julian’s father and brother
Video from Homerun for Julian LA
Sadly, either Merrick Garland or President Biden could free Assange with one stroke of the pen, which so far, they have refused to do. They need to be reminded that We the People are their employers.
Speaking of our government, of course this issue was buried under an avalanche of corrupt initiatives and Orwellian doublespeak for the Australian PM’s visit.
Firstly, arms dealing, selling Australia $368 billion dollars in nuclear submarines under the banner of AUKUS to “combat Chinese aggression” and then the “donation” of $5 billion dollars from Microsoft for a thing called Cybershield, which is described as an initiative to “protect us against criminals and hackers,” which may be more clearly stated as yet more censorship and intrusion into the privacy of citizens.
Both of these programs are described as “technological innovations and clean energy.” Just because a submarine is nuclear, this does not qualify as “clean energy,” especially when $368 billion dollars might be used to empower citizenry to live in a more sustainable way.
If you are really interested in the ecological imprint of computer technology, read Scorched Earth by Columbia Professor Jonathan Crary.
And finally, a quote from Assange himself, “People often ask, ‘What can I do?’ The answer is not so difficult. Learn how the world works. Challenge the statements, actions, and intentions of those who seek to control us behind the facades of democracy and monarchy. Unite in common purpose and common principle to design, build, document, finance, and defend.