Julian Assange: Land Of The Free vs. Putin's Russia

Submitted by gjohnsit on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 5:56pm

Both Republicans and Democrats are in agreement. The Land Of The Free(tm) thinks that Assange should be extradited to the U.S., given a trial that will confirm his obvious guilt, and then thrown into a very deep, dark hole.

A 2018 Economist/YouGov Poll showed that 20% of Americans have a positive opinion of Assange, while 38% hold an unfavorable view.

Similarly, 29% of Americans say they have a positive view of Wikileaks itself, while 44% have a negative view.

In the same 2018 poll, nearly one-third of Americans (32%) say they believe that those who leak information to Wikileaks should be prosecuted. One in five (21%) would be opposed to prosecuting those individuals, while 25% say they don't know.

That sounds fair.
But what do people in that brutal dictatorship of Russia think? Do they back crushing journalism and free speech like in America?

Forty-five percent of Russian respondents said they believe Assange “promotes the principles of free speech and freedom of the media” with the WikiLeaks disclosures, the state-funded VTsIOM pollster reported Tuesday.
Twenty-seven percent said he acted illegally, an opinion primarily shared by respondents in the younger age groups, while older respondents were more likely to cast Assange as a freedom fighter.

Another 57 percent said the 47-year-old “wanted to open the world community’s eyes to cases of corruption, crimes and scandals in different countries.”

Only 17 percent said Assange likely sought revenge on his enemies or to attract attention.

So in other words, the opposite.
These numbers have not seriously changed since this 24-nation 2011 poll.

Well, obviously Russia likes Wikileaks. They work directly for Putin, amirite?
Consider the title of this Politifact article: 'Is WikiLeaks Russia’s ‘useful idiot,’ its ‘agent of influence,’ or something else?'
It's not like Wikileaks ever targeted Russia.

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Submitted by gjohnsit on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 6:00pm

More polls

What do you make of these two polls?

Roy Moore the Hero

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore leads the field of potential Republicans vying for the chance to challenge Sen. Doug Jones (D), a year and a half after Moore lost what was supposed to be an easy election in a deep-red state.
A new poll shows Moore leading a still-evolving field of Alabama Republicans competing for the nomination. He is the top choice of 27 percent of Alabama Republican voters, according to the Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy Inc. survey.

Stalin the Hero

Seventy percent of Russian respondents told the Levada Center in 2019 that Stalin played a positive role for Russia. Stalin’s previous record approval rating stood at 54 percent in 2016.

A record low of 19 percent viewed Stalin’s role negatively, down from 32 percent in 2016.

“Stalin begins to be perceived as a symbol of justice and an alternative to the current government, deemed unfair, cruel and not caring about people,” Academy of Sciences sociologist Leonty Byzov was quoted as saying by the RBC news website.

“It’s purely a mythological image of Stalin, very far from the real historical figure,” Byzov added.

The share of Russian respondents who said Stalin’s crimes were unjustified has decreased from 60 percent in 2008 to 45 percent this year, Levada said.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 8:38pm

Who better to judge?

@gjohnsit

Refined cognitive dissonance is the holy grail in these unsettling times.

You know how the old saying goes:

People like you are still living in what we call the reality-based community. You believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality. But that's not the way the world really works anymore.

We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you are studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too. That's how things will sort out.

We're history's actors, and you — all of you — will be left to just study what we do.

The one time Karl Rove got it right.

—

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

Submitted by gjohnsit on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 6:19pm

Crazy Bernie again

Does electability matter if it's Bernie?
What about pragmatism?

Submitted by Le Frog on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 9:29pm

Donna Brazile works at FOX now?

@gjohnsit

How did I miss that? That must be one hell of a paycheque. Just what in the actual fuck though!

Submitted by ovals49 on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 7:16pm

I would be questioning my own judgement

if I was with the majority on any political poll these days. The world doesn’t get this f#cked up without a solid majority pulling together, over the edge and into the abyss.

—

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 7:26pm

My third sig line might sum it all up

The American people have been subjected to so much propaganda that they actually believe it.

"Propaganda is one hell of a drug." Abby Martin

Lately, I have been seriously depressed about the state of affairs in this country. And I am basically an optimistic person.

Thanks for keeping us informed, gjohnsit.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 7:29pm

If Stalin's numbers are on the rise

Tsar Nicholas II's must be stratospheric....

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by dkmich on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 8:07pm

Thanks gjohnsit

Very depressing. Sad, sad world.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by Sirena on Tue, 04/16/2019 - 8:27pm

They didn’t ask me

Did they ask you???

More propaganda bs.

Submitted by Lookout on Wed, 04/17/2019 - 7:54am

Aaron Mate' on Julian's situation...

You must have reasonable data to develop reasonable concepts. Corporate media misleads and omits. I think most citizens still think Russia hacked the election. Tell people black is white time after time and eventually they will believe what they know is false. Like gg's tagline from Abby...propaganda is a powerful drug.

I like the way Aaron takes on point by point....(6 min)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1p54pfAMfk]

If you missed his recent Russiagate summary it is worth a listen too. (another 6 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygc__jJrzfc

In fact I would argue these two deceptions...Russiagate and Julian the hacker speak to the power of the MSM/CIA propaganda machine.

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”