heart-piercing news for Julian Assange

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 8:50am

…and for his partner Stella Moris and their children; Stella is unbowed and unbroken. I’ll not comment as I’m almost speechless with contempt.

Multiple outlets and indy journalists are reporting that the Biden DoJ will continue Trump’s prosecution and the extradition of Julian Assange…and of course press freedom everywhere. The following have no copyright:

‘Assange Prosecution, Launched By Trump Justice Department, Will Continue Under Biden; A Justice Department spokesperson indicated officials have no plans to abandon a case widely viewed as a threat to global press freedom’, Kevin Gosztola, Feb. 9, 2021, the dissenter

“The Justice Department under President Joe Biden plans to continue the case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that was launched under President Donald Trump.
“We continue to seek his extradition,” Justice Department spokesperson Marc Raimondi told Reuters, days before February 12, the deadline for the United States government to submit its “grounds for appeal.”
The statement represents a departure from President Barack Obama’s administration, which declined to prosecute Assange. Justice Department officials were reportedly concerned about the threat it would pose to press freedom.

On January 4, British district judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected the U.S. government’s extradition request and concluded Assange’s mental condition was “such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America.”

She accepted that Assange would likely be imprisoned at a supermax prison in the U.S. under special administrative measures (SAMs) and would find a way to commit suicide.

“I am satisfied that, in these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate causing him to commit suicide with the ‘single minded determination’ of his autism spectrum disorder.”

However, the Biden Justice Department plans to contest the judge’s conclusion that Assange should not be extradited because he would likely commit suicide.” […]

“In February 2017—Trump’s first month in office, WikiLeaks published “CIA espionage orders” that called attention to how major political parties in France were “targeted for infiltration” in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election.

About a month later, WikiLeaks brought further scrutiny to the CIA when they published the “Vault 7” material, which they described as the “largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency.”

Mike Pompeo, who was the CIA director, responded to the publication on April 13, 2017. He labeled WikiLeaks a “non-state hostile intelligence service” and argued Assange had “no First Amendment freedoms” because “he is not a U.S. citizen,” an assertion with no basis in law.

“We’ve had administrations before that have been squeamish about going after these folks under some concept of this right to publish,” Pompeo added.

During Biden’s first foreign policy speech on February 4, he proclaimed, “We believe a free press isn’t an adversary; rather, it’s essential. A free press is essential to the health of a democracy.”

However, in Trump’s last year in office, he signed a counterintelligence strategy document [PDF] that lumped in “leaktivists” and “public disclosure organizations,” like WikiLeaks, with Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and terrorist groups, which U.S. security agencies view as “significant threats.”
That strategy document, which covers 2020-2022, sharply conflicts with Biden’s assertion that the U.S. government believes the free press is not an adversary. Indeed, it shows U.S. security agencies believe they should monitor, neutralize, and even target dissident media organizations that may employ practices pioneered by WikiLeaks.

While the tone of the new administration may sound more polite toward elite journalists, by refusing to abandon this dangerous political case, the Biden Justice Department is effectively signaling his administration is not all that serious about press freedom and what officials have to say are empty platitudes that should not pacify people aware of what is at stake if Assange is brought to the U.S. and put on trial.”

‘Biden Continues Trump’s War On The Press’, Caitlin Johnstone, Feb. 9, 2021, substack.com

“Just one day after a coalition of prominent civil rights groups made headlines with a letter urging the Biden administration to drop efforts to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States on espionage charges, the Biden administration has announced its intention to continue those efforts.” [long snip]

“Biden’s divergence from the Obama administration’s less authoritarian position on the matter should not come as much of a surprise, since he took an absurdly hard line against WikiLeaks after the first publications of the earth-shattering Manning leaks in 2010.

“I would argue it is closer to being a hi-tech terrorist than the Pentagon papers,” Biden said of Assange at the time. “But, look, this guy has done things that have damaged and put in jeopardy the lives and occupations of people in other parts of the world.” […]

None of this means we should stop fighting tooth and claw for Assange’s freedom: the fight is far from over. There is still time for the Biden administration to opt against appealing the UK court decision not to extradite, thereby leaving the entire embarrassing extradition attempt on Trump’s lap.

“The US may submit its Assange appeal filing by Friday to meet its deadline, but one would expect a serious policy decision to be made by the new Attorney General [Merrick Garland] who, once confirmed, can review the incredibly weak case against Assange in full before making a determination,” a statement by the Courage Foundation reads. “Reports are circulating that an interim spokesperson says the Biden admin will continue the Assange case. The incoming DOJ, whose Attorney General is yet to be confirmed, can drop the charges against Assange at any time, including after this Friday’s appeal deadline.”

So we keep pushing. We cannot allow a corrupt and murderous globe-spanning empire to effectively outlaw inconvenient journalism around the world in the way it would by setting the legal precedent it is trying to set with the Assange case. If journalists everywhere know they can be extradited and imprisoned for publishing inconvenient facts about the US-centralized empire, they will largely refrain from doing so. And that is the whole idea.

Through WikiLeaks Julian Assange has revealed a lot of damning information about the most powerful entities on our planet, but by far the most damning revelation he provided was not a WikiLeaks release at all: it was the revelation that “free democracies” like the US and the UK will openly imprison and torture a journalist for telling the truth. This has been seen, and it cannot be unseen. We owe him a great debt for bringing such facts into the light. The least we can do is try to get him out of there now.”

IMPORTANT THREAD: Why it's necessary to keep up the pressure on the Biden Admin to #DropTheCharges.@joebiden and the incoming AG can reverse course on this politically motivated Trump legacy case anytime.

That decision is not dependant on UK court deadlines. #FreeAssangeNOW https://t.co/wa0xhdGwSf

— Stella Moris #DropTheCharges (@StellaMoris1) February 10, 2021

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Comments

Submitted by Snode on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:33am

Truly sad news

I can't think of any words that would be adequate. The US has a two party system that agrees on most issues 95% of the time and two propaganda outlets that spread disinformation about the remaining 5% to voters to give the illusion of choice.

I guess Biden is doing Hillary Clinton a favour. Woulda won if not for those emails being released. It appears releasing information voters would need to make decisions is dangerous to the message bearers.

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 11:27am

so sad, so tragic.

@Snode

add in the guardian and the intercept smearing julian with lies, and i'll agree. but you'd likely meant the NY/Cia/Slimes and sext-crazy bezos's Wapo rag.

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:40am

No great shock here

Joe and Kamala are career fascists. We knew that.

Hopefully, if anyone somehow does manage to be shocked - SHOCKED! - by this, this is where the TDS starts wearing off and people are forced to confront the reality they've been living under for over 20 years.

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 11:33am

by TDS do you mean

@The Liberal Moonbat

Trump Derangement Syndrome? as far as fascist biden and the Camel, you've put me in mind of this from rob urie at counterpunch on Jan. 15:

"The best use of the New York Times is usually catching up on the CIA’s talking points for the day. However, back in June of 2019 it published a surprisingly hard hitting article on Joe Biden’s history of crafting and promoting the odious bill that created the modern militarized police and carceral state. The money shot is a quote from Mr. Biden where he seemingly takes credit for mass incarceration: “every major crime bill since 1976 that’s come out of this Congress, every minor crime bill, has had the name of the Democratic senator from the State of Delaware: Joe Biden.” With Mr. Biden currently drafting ‘domestic terrorism’ legislation, alarm bells should be sounding.

Considered along with his contribution to the Patriot Act— the national security and surveillance state wish list passed in the aftermath of 9/11; Mr. Biden appears to be the central protagonist linking domestic political repression to the neoliberal project. Ava DuVernay’s film 13th does a good job giving political and economic context to the American conception and political utility of ‘crime.’ The 1994 Crime Bill written by Mr. Biden created the means by which to force conformity to the dictates of capital. That Mr. Biden appears to have seen law enforcement as a moral endeavor speaks to the hiddenness of its basis in economic production.

This tie of neoliberalism to fascism and political repression comes courtesy of Italian fascist Benito Mussolini. Mr. Mussolini defined fascism, following from Giovanni Gentile, as ‘as merger of corporate and state power.’ The Patriot Act gives the Federal government— not just the FBI as is generally reported, access to all of the information being gathered by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and social media platforms. Whatever else it is, social media is an information warehouse for political repression. And the tie of state to corporate power defines the relationship as fascism."

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:46pm

Of course I do

@wendy davis I'm not normally a fan of the "Abbreviate EVERYTHING!!!" intellectual-suicide frenzy. Degeneracy of language is not "progressive".

I wonder if the German web is any better about that; they've always loved their long words....

#2 Trump Derangement Syndrome? as far as fascist biden and the Camel, you've put me in mind of this from rob urie at counterpunch on Jan. 15: "The best use of the New York Times is usually catching up on the CIA’s talking points for the day. However, back in June of 2019 it published a surprisingly hard hitting article on Joe Biden’s history of crafting and promoting the odious bill that created the modern militarized police and carceral state. The money shot is a quote from Mr. Biden where he seemingly takes credit for mass incarceration: “every major crime bill since 1976 that’s come out of this Congress, every minor crime bill, has had the name of the Democratic senator from the State of Delaware: Joe Biden.” With Mr. Biden currently drafting ‘domestic terrorism’ legislation, alarm bells should be sounding. Considered along with his contribution to the Patriot Act— the national security and surveillance state wish list passed in the aftermath of 9/11; Mr. Biden appears to be the central protagonist linking domestic political repression to the neoliberal project. Ava DuVernay’s film 13th does a good job giving political and economic context to the American conception and political utility of ‘crime.’ The 1994 Crime Bill written by Mr. Biden created the means by which to force conformity to the dictates of capital. That Mr. Biden appears to have seen law enforcement as a moral endeavor speaks to the hiddenness of its basis in economic production. This tie of neoliberalism to fascism and political repression comes courtesy of Italian fascist Benito Mussolini. Mr. Mussolini defined fascism, following from Giovanni Gentile, as ‘as merger of corporate and state power.’ The Patriot Act gives the Federal government— not just the FBI as is generally reported, access to all of the information being gathered by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and social media platforms. Whatever else it is, social media is an information warehouse for political repression. And the tie of state to corporate power defines the relationship as fascism."

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 10:16pm

i confess that i'd had to

@The Liberal Moonbat

Bingle for the acronym.

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 10:59pm

"Bingle"

@wendy davis That's a new one for me.

I once read someone saying something about "Bing...is like playing Russian roulette with your computer."

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by lotlizard on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 4:07am

Germans often abbreviate using syllables rather than letters

@The Liberal Moonbat
The German IBM subsidiary in the punch-card era was called Dehomag, from German Hollerith Machines Ltd. (Deutsche Hollerith-Maschinen Gesellschaft).

The German word for the “mullet” hairstyle is Vokuhila — short in front, long in back (vorne kurz, hinten lang).

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 11:03pm

Still an improvement

@lotlizard Funny thing about your word for "mullet" is that it actually makes it longer - which seems to prove my point even better than I would've anticipated!

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by The Liberal Moonbat on Sun, 02/14/2021 - 7:48am

Incidentally....

@lotlizard ...the joke/catchphrase among American mullet-enthusiasts is "business up front, party out back" - what would the German abbreviation for that be (it being no secret that Google Translate is...flawed, and I happen to have a growing desire to learn German!)?

—

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Submitted by Fishtroller 02 on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:56am

This is all a result of the Democrats' conscious decision

to move to the right on national security so they don't look unpatriotic. It's another reason why the Democratic Party is off my support list... permanently.

—

"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 12:06pm

you may be right,

@Fishtroller 02

although i've forgotten what Being Patriotic looks like to the US political class.

you must remember stefania maurizi (@SMaurizi), italian journalist, who's done some deep digging on behalf of julian, as well as made numerous (successful in the end) FOIA requests. she's retweeted this comment by

@evan_greer

The Obama/Biden admin prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act than any previous administration in history. The Trump administration continued that trend, relentlessly attacking whistleblowers and journalists. Sad that authoritarianism is the most bipartisan thing in DC.

ah, she's retweeted k. gosztola's excellent column as well.

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 10:34am

Remember ~

tptb cannot have ANYONE exposing their secrets. While they are cheating, stealing, killing, it cannot be exposed. We, the people, are not allowed to know what they are doing in our name. Julian made a calculated risk - he will set the standard for change in journalism. Either, journalists will find their courage and continue to report on behalf of the people, or they will cower and run for cover. I'm hoping for courage in the face of dire adversity.

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 12:18pm

i hope your hope may

@Raggedy Ann

be justified, and it may partially depend on what happens in julian's case. as i remember it, the DT admin went crazy after learning of his publication of CIA vault 7. assange had long thought that what was the impetus, too, iirc. pompeo ['we lie, we cheat, we steal'], of course, was the head of the CIA under DT until become his Chief Diplomatic Mafia Thug.

manning of course is still incarcerated, and are the several whitleblowers/leakers busted by the Intercept: reality winner, jeffreey albury, were there others?

wikileaks is still accepting material, which is a good thing.

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 11:11am

the biden appointee to head his

'inInjustice Dept' is merrick garland. most coverage is: O, so collegial, a harvard graduate and team player', 'so excellent mcconnell blocked his hearings', what.ev.er.

i did recall this acerbic description from jacob cross on jan. 9 at wsws.org: 'Biden names conservative appeals court judge Merrick Garland as attorney general

"While Biden’s nominees certainly come in all shapes, hues and sizes, their allegiance to the ruling class is no less complete than that of their predecessors in the Trump administration. All of them are tried-and-true servants of big business and the military/intelligence establishment. Judge Merrick Garland of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is a former prosecutor who was elevated to the most powerful federal appeals court by Bill Clinton. When arch-reactionary Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in early 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Garland to fill the seat. Obama chose Garland with the idea that his law-and-order credentials would placate the Republican-controlled Senate and its majority leader, Mitch McConnell.

As an appeals court judge during the Bush and Obama years, Garland endorsed the right-wing theory of “deference” to the executive, according to which executive agencies are presumed to be acting reasonably and lawfully. Garland joined a unanimous decision of the DC Circuit that expanded the scope of corporate-controlled Super PACs in funding election campaigns. He rejected lawsuits from Guantanamo Bay prisoners, ruling in Hatim v. Obama (2014) that humiliating and vindictive genital searches of detainees were “reasonable security precautions.”

you may remember others i've forgotten, but does he sound anything like the man they hope would see how flimsy the evidence is and vacate the charges? his senate confirmation hearing has been scheduled for either the end of fef. or the beginning of march...depesding on coverage.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 1:59pm

Obama owns this horrific persecution of Assange

don't forget that asshole was the one to set the ball in motion on persecuting Assange by convening the grand jury, but then did bail as to not knock out the 1st Amendment and free press worldwide. Why Biden is still doing it must mean that there is huge pressure coming from everywhere and who wants to bet Israel is in the middle of it. Plus Obama persecuted 8 whistleblowers even tho there is a whistleblower protection act and I do not remember one gd democrat standing up for even one of them. Well till they made one up themselves to impeach Trump on bogus charges and every Dem sycophant joined on that WB need to be protected. And yet not one of them have stood up for Assange. F them too.

If those who denounced Trump's attacks on press freedom actually meant what they said, they will be the first to denounce the Biden admin's decision to *continue* the most egregious and harmful one. Where are you at on this, @BernieSanders@AOC @NancyPelosi @SenSchumer? https://t.co/sOIxfEmESk
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) February 9, 2021

.
Caitlin says the fight is still on and I agree with her. A bunch of us on the Twit are getting a new campaign going. Whether it helps or not it feels like something I can do when I am utterly helpless on this. And heartbroken. I cannot imagine how let down Julian felt when he got the news that the beatings Will continue. FU Biden. Sideways and as many as possible.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 3:26pm

what changed?

@snoopydawg

The Justice Department has all but concluded it will not bring charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing classified documents because government lawyers said they could not do so without also prosecuting U.S. news organizations and journalists, according to U.S. officials.”

“The problem the department has always had in investigating Julian Assange is there is no way to prosecute him for publishing information without the same theory being applied to journalists,” said former Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller. “And if you are not going to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information, which the department is not, then there is no way to prosecute Assange.”

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 4:39pm

one slight correction:

@snoopydawg

obomba had secretly convened a grand jury to indict assange, which is even more fucked up and cowardly. so evan greer was right? i couldn't remember...

The Obama/Biden admin prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act than any previous administration in history. The Trump administration continued that trend, relentlessly attacking whistleblowers and journalists. Sad that authoritarianism is the most bipartisan thing in DC.

i of course saw and read aaron mate's tweet on caitlin's thread, and had even looked at a couple of the twit accounts he'd mentioned. but their sole concern was the epic distraction of trump theatrics impeachment 2.0. and AOC was busy polishing her own brand, of course. no, they don't care, and i'm glad for your rant. i wish i could come out of speechlessness to vent, to say the truth.

Submitted by aliasalias on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 2:09pm

Silence by Dims regarding Assange says all you need to know

about them all.
Dims have no problem calling for the release of Navalny,a racist embezzler that skipped required appointments under his suspended sentence, but not a word in support of Julian Assange and press freedoms.
On twitter I saw a Bernie Sanders thread where he called for Russia to release Navalny and yet not a word about Assange, which was pointed out in a long line of tweets.

AOC, as far as I know hasn't explained what she meant by her "concerns and considerations" regarding Assange that kept her from supporting the idea of him getting a pardon. Of course if were a real interview instead of just another platform for AOC to talk about AOC, she would've been asked what she meant.

This is our "left"?

I'm sure the Dims are gushing about the sanctity of Congress and you have this...

"Rep. Jamie Raskin: “You ask what a high crime and misdemeanor is under our Constitution. That’s a high crime and misdemeanor. If that’s not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing.”

Speaking for a party whose leader Nancy Pelosi said she didn't find Bush/Cheney etc.had committed "an impeachable" crime, even after Dennis Kucinich had itemized a long list of crimes from torture to the ultimate war crime "a war of aggression".

Dims paint themselves as martyrs of an attack on the Capitol but I don't remember anyone doing anything but cheering when they looked at videos of Hong Kong protesters crashing their way into that government building. There were no compliant policemen opening doors and taking selfies with those 'protestors', they did their jobs unlike many on Capitol hill on Jan 6th.

I don't expect any help for Assange will come from this Congress, and that is worse than an unorganized uncontrolled riot on Capitol hill.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 3:11pm

Absolute Dim BS

@aliasalias

this impeachment is just as big a farce as the 1st one. The house called liars for witnesses who then proceeded to lie under oath with the full approval of democrats and then they bitched when the senate called no witnesses. Looks like it will be dems so far that haven't called any witness. Like anyone that went into the capital and is charged with a crime should certainly testify to why or on whose plan they did. Or anything along those lines.

Speaking for a party whose leader Nancy Pelosi said she didn't find Bush/Cheney etc.had committed "an impeachable" crime, even after Dennis Kucinich had itemized a long list of crimes from torture to the ultimate war crime "a war of aggression".

But no. Let us once again have this kabuki show for the masses that are just the Biden way of distracting us like what Trump's job was. AOC, Bernie, Neera ect are going through the motions on what each person Biden appoints will do. Blinken's job interview sounded like a list of war crimes I hope one day be prosecuted.

I wouldn't mind Pelosi being one of the 1st ever to be charged for crimes against humanity and punished to the fullest extent possible. She not only has the blood of millions of people across the pond on her hands, she also has the blood of millions of Americans who have died from want because congress has whored themselves out to corporations. But knowingly letting Bush/Cheney off for their crimes against humanity while she was fully complicit in them is one of the things she should be charged for.

Pelosi has also watched as the democratic party has gotten wiped out at local levels for years and are still losing states to republicans. She has also overseen the asset stripping of America as companies take every penny they think they are entitled to take from us. F her too and everyone who has been complicit with the crimes.

The UK has having huge problems with their privatization schemes too and millions of Brit kids are in extreme poverty. He are his view on that.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/512419-poorest-hardest-hit-lockdown-uk/

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 3:16pm

As to this

@aliasalias

well said:

Dims paint themselves as martyrs of an attack on the Capitol but I don't remember anyone doing anything but cheering when they looked at videos of Hong Kong protesters crashing their way into that government building. There were no compliant policemen opening doors and taking selfies with those 'protestors', they did their jobs unlike many on Capitol hill on Jan 6th.

I kept asking AOC if she is still so scared after what happened on the 6th will that result in her not voting for regime change in other countries since many of them have turned extremely violent with people getting killed. She hasn't answered and that is why I have no sympathy for what she is going through now. She just voted to make her health insurance better so I bet she has mental health available to her. Here in Utah regular citizens have to pay for it out of pocket cuz their insurance thinks that their emotions and brain are different that the rest of the body and therefore should be separate requiring extra insurance. Oops going off on a rant... I'll stop here.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 5:44pm

rant on, amiga!

@snoopydawg

this one is just too multi-directioanal to focus on any one of them for now.

as to AOC being under such duress in the Capitol, and it reminding her that she'd been sexually assaulted...one corner of the Twittersphere had erupted with Qs and corrections. but many were asking 'where are the police reports? you have a smart phone where is the evidence??'; no you weren't in the Capitol. but accress the street' and so on. but i'm sure the contributions are rolling in...

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 4:51pm

not to mention that the

@aliasalias

'leader' of the astro-turfed Hong Kong protests is a homie of the leader of the White Helmets (stars of psyop 2 or 3 documentaries), and yes, i've stored the tweet if you need it.

I don't expect any help for Assange will come from this Congress, and that is worse than an unorganized uncontrolled riot on Capitol hill.

yes, amigo, but: Priorities are Priorities!

fascinating that you and snoop have been following the bread and circuses of the DT impeachment a bit. last news i'd seen was that it was voted to be: Constitutional! will it ail so badly in the end that they'll move on to Plan D? kaine and collins' 'censure with 'illegal to run for office again'?

bah, it'll be pompeo who'll be seen as DT's Heir Apparent.

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 10:20pm

LO-bloody-L:

@aliasalias

This is our "left"?

er.....the D team has a left? news to me. ; )

Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 6:17pm

i'd missed this, even though it says it's been

up for 19 hours.

kevin reed at wsws.org has added some illuminating tidbits:

"It is significant that the Trump’s top national security official in the DoJ, John C. Demers, is still in place at the National Security Division. Demers was asked by the Biden transition team to stay on for continuity purposes while many other Trump political appointees resigned.

Meanwhile, Mr. Demers’s predecessor from 2013 to 2016, John Carlin, has returned to the DoJ and is currently serving as the acting deputy attorney general. That there really are no fundamental differences between the Trump and Biden administrations on key national security topics is demonstrated by the fact that Carlin’s predecessor, Lisa O. Monaco, in charge of the National Security Division from 2011 to 2013, is Biden’s nominee to be deputy attorney general but has not yet been confirmed.

Additionally, The New York Times was cynically promoting illusions that the Democrat Biden might stop the Assange extradition policy while it was fully aware that no such change was in the offing. Speaking out of both sides of its mouth, The Times said on Monday, “A Friday deadline in the London extradition case may force the Biden administration to decide whether to keep pursuing a Trump-era policy,” while at the same time, “For now, the Justice Department remains committed to appealing the denial of its request to extradite Mr. Assange, said Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for its National Security Division.”

It is also possible to go back further and review what Biden said about Assange more than ten years ago after WikiLeaks had published the diplomatic cables and when he was Vice President during the Obama administration. When asked about the WikiLeaks exposures on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on December 19, 2010, Biden called Assange a “high-tech terrorist” and furthered the unproven claim that “this guy has done things that have damaged and put in jeopardy the lives and occupations of people in other parts of the world.”

Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 7:22am

most of us here

reside in this Duopoly Police State/Nat Sec Nation.

i edited out the video for having been in bad taste.

g' night.