Julian Assange has changed history. And for that, he must die—slowly—so say the US and the UK.
Journalism as a crime
Assange revolutionized journalism by providing a credible alternative to the mainstream media – Wikileaks – which scores 100% for accuracy and authenticity. He did not offer “stories” or “narratives” that smooth dinnertime digestion– conversational antacids – he offered only facts – the truth, which is something you really need to chew on.
Now Assange is held in solitary confinement in the UK’s most notorious prison – Belmarsh – under conditions that no less than the UN Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer calls “torture”. While Tony Blair, a corrupt liar and a bona fide blood soaked war criminal, walked free, Assange was hounded for a broken condom and is now held without bail despite not having being charged with breaking any British law, for exposing war crimes and corruption.
You won’t read about this in the New York Times or the Washington Post or hear about it on CNN. There is a news blackout on the whole dirty business as there is on most of the shit-stained laundry for which American politics is remarkable.
Instead of honest reporting, the Mainstream media offer an endless stream of fake news and propaganda, repeated over and over and over. Joseph Goebbels would be proud.
What’s the difference between a journalist and a whore? With a whore anyone can at least get a good blowjob. With the corporate media, only their owners and politicians get off.
To find out what is happening to Assange you must go to the Alternative Media – including WikiLeaks itself. Look for media that offers links to actual sources. And then check those sources.
Assange’s lawyers have argued against his extradition to the US from the UK, citing the threat to his mental health: he has been diagnosed with Asperger’s and he has recently had a stroke.
Assange's Giftedness
Looking at Assange’s history, it is likely that he not only has Asperger’s--but also ADHD which often overlaps with the previous mentioned condition. Neither of these necessarily predispose him to suicide in and of themselves – but social retributions, isolation and mistreatment certainly do.
DRD4 r7 genes for ADHD, coupled with an IQ over 140 allow for a very clear perception of realities and connections between things, what I call the da Vinci trait., characteristic of all gifted people
Asperger’s is not a lack of empathy as some suppose. Rather, it depends on a different set of genes--notably GABRB3, which can enable hyper-empathy, and therefore hyper altruism. The causes can be genetic; more likely epigenetic.
You can see evidence \in Assange’s history. Attending as many as 37 schools, but mostly self-educated, he is an autodidact, who taught himself programming and hacking. His also has an insatiable desire to stand up for the underdog and a remarkably clear perception of the systemic corruption implicit in modern societies, which he takes personally as an insult to his – and your – humanity.
Like another neurodivergent outlier, Greta Thunberg, he is remarkably lucid and articulate when he speaks.
Ethics vs Morality
Like Thunberg he simply cannot ignore the truth. Like her, he is often vilified.
Is his fault Idealism? No,
I would call what he and Thunberg have something like “ethical realism”.
Idealism implies a priori values== acquired from others – the abstract goals of morality --based on social norms, which can be good or bad. “Ideals” are a part of an ideology of “shoulds” rarely achieved and not necessarily “good” in the wider sense. Sometimes evil
Hitler for example is usually labelled as a psychopath – but in fact was an idealist-- an atavistic moralist. Which is why he could pass the first animal rights legislation while murdering millions.
The US of A presents itself as idealistic, which is why it can exalt neo-Calvinism in which a Chosen Few – the One Percent – get Heaven and the rest of us –the 99%--get McDonalds—oblivious to the wars, destruction, and selective genocides worldwide that pay for our Big Mac and enrich Gates and Bezos.
What is worse? Nazism or Americanism. The Americans have killed more people and indeed, Hitler credited the US of A with inspiring him in his efforts, saying
… not only does man live in order to serve higher ideals, … conversely these higher ideals also provide the premise for his existence as a person.
For idealists of this kind, therefore, ideals and the moralistic norms that engender them are a priori to their humanity, as Hitler says, “the premise for his existence”.
Sum Ergo Cogito
Not "I think therefore I am". It is "I am therefore I think". Or-- feel!
For an ethical realist like Assange or Thunberg, humanity comes first. The Person comes first.
The ethical realist’s values are based on experience – on empathetic connection with actual people – caring and sharing. To feel another’s feelings – empathy – you must surrender part of what you think is your identity – and become that other person. That moment of surrender implies sacrifice. True altruism therefore means acting for the Other--even at the cost of one’s own life. Good is what benefits all. Bad is simply what hurts someone.
Julian Assange knew what he was getting into, taking on history’s biggest and most corrupt--and corruptive--empire
And now he languishes in Belmarsh. That’s on all of us.
How long did Jesus hang on the cross? Assange has been slowly crucified now for years.
If he dies, it will be reported in the mainstream media, as a “mention” in passing, an insignificant event.
And if you first learn about it in, say, on CNN, then you haven’t been paying attention. And what are you doing watching CNN anyway?
That makes you not only stupid--but an accessory. Like the guy who drives the car for a home invasion in which a family is killed. He didn’t know anyone was going to get killed because he didn’t want to think about it. Even though his "friends" were bad guys with guns and knives He wanted his hands clean.
But the law will prosecute him for murder, too. And maybe he gets to die, too. Stupidity kills and it may kill you!
In this age, there is no excuse not to be informed.
And those who aren’t informed are no better than the Germans who lived near Belsen and Buchenwald and said they knew nothing. Not wanting to know is not an excuse for anything.
You smell the flesh burning what do you do? Oh, reach for the air freshner. You hear the screams of the dying? Turn up the volume for CNN. YOU are the Holocaust.
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