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Tag: wikileaks

Why is the Trump Administration Betraying Julian Assange?

Written by Jose Nino on . Posted in Elections and Politics, Liberator Online, National Defense, News, News You Can Use. 1 Comment on Why is the Trump Administration Betraying Julian Assange?

Former Congressman Ron Paul believes that President Donald Trump has betrayed Julian Assange. In one of his latest articles, Paul provides a big picture analysis of the “deep state,” the shadow government made up of bureaucracies and agencies that run politics without the consent of the governed. The deep state meme gained notoriety during the exhausting Special Counsel Investigation in which the FBI failed to prove that Trump allegedly colluded with Russian officials to get elected in 2016. Paul is correct in claiming that the deep state “is not just some crazy conspiracy theory.” It’s a part of U.S. politics that has been kept under wraps for decades, but because of the black swan nature of Trump’s victory in 2016, it has been placed under the microscope like never before. Now, people are beginning to question institutions like the CIA and FBI, which used to be held sacrosanct. Individuals like Julian Assange worked assiduously through Wikileaks, a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing news leaks, to create an environment where more people started to question the legitimacy of legacy institutions. Ironically, Trump praised Wikileaks on the campaign trail when it exposed Hillary Clinton’s dirty laundry. Sadly, Trump gave Assange the cold shoulder when he was arrested last year. When he was asked about Wikileaks following Assange’s arrest in April of 2019, Trump said “I know nothing about Wikileaks,” and added that, “It’s really not my thing.” Thanks to pressure from the U.S. government, the Ecuadorian embassy in London terminated Assange’s asylum. Since his high profile arrest in London last April, Assange has been subject to torturous conditions, likely the result of indirect U.S. influence on London. On February 24, 2020, Assange faced an extradition hearing at a U.K. courthouse. The U.S. is currently pursuing a 175-year prison sentence against Assange. Like with his foreign policy, Trump appears to be giving in to the influence of the establishment figures around him and giving power to the very swamp he supposedly campaigned against.  The looming Assange trial would represent a clear affront to free speech rights, especially of the sort that exposes some of the nastiest details surrounding the foreign policy establishment. To quote the former Texas congressman, “We don’t have freedom of speech so we can talk about the weather.  We have the 1st Amendment so that we can say very controversial things.” Should Assange be successfully convicted, it could set in motion bad precedents for future whistleblowers and other journalists who put out content exposing foreign policy elites.  If Donald Trump is serious about making America great again and sticking it to the deep state, he should pardon Assange immediately. 

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Indicted On Espionage Act

Written by Jose Nino on . Posted in First Amendment, National Defense, News. No Comments on Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Indicted On Espionage Act

The Trump administration has taken a bold step in undermining First Amendment rights by indicting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for revealing classified documents under the Espionage Act. This is the first time that a publisher has been charged under this law. The Justice Department’s indictment charged Assange with 16 counts of receiving or disclosing material leaked by Chelsea Manning, an Army intelligence analyst at the time. The actions took place from 2009 to 2010. The charges cite provisions of the Espionage Act that criminalize the disclosure or obtainment of any defense information that “could be used to injure” the U.S government. This law does not draw an exception between reporters and publishers, but previous administrations have abstained from using the law against journalists out of fear of violating the First Amendment. John Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said: “The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy and we thank you for it.” Demers then added that “It has not and never has been the department’s policy to target them for reporting. But Julian Assange is no journalist.” Demers claims that WikiLeaks’ publication of the names of U.S. government sources put people in China, Iran, and Syria. WikiLeaks declared that the prosecution marks “the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment.” The Wikileaks founder also received a 50-week sentence for skipping bail in the U.K. in 2012. The past month has been hectic for Assange, as he was originally arrested in April at the Ecuadorian embassy in the U.K. and could now face extradition to the U.S. Then President Barack Obama invoked the Espionage Act more than all previous presidents combined, and Trump is now following in his footsteps. Assange could face 180 years in prison if he is convicted on all the charges levied against him. Assange has been one of the fiercest critics of defense interests and has made it a point to expose corruption at the highest levels of government. For that reason, political elites want to silence him.   The Espionage Act, which was passed in 1917, is living up to its original intent. It was used during World War I, along with the Sedition Act, to put the clamps down on anti-war speech and others who “interfered” with the war effort. One of the most famous people prosecuted under the Espionage Act was socialist activist Eugene V. Debs. Slightly over a century later, the Espionage Act’s tyrannical legacy is being channeled again to silence the most prolific leaker of our generation in Julian Assange. For a president who benefited from Assange’s leaks on the campaign trail in 2016, it would be disgraceful if Assange is fully prosecuted under Trump’s watch. Beyond cracking down on leakers, this latest arrest could open up a Pandora’s Box of free speech abuses for the general populace.

Julian Assange Refuses To Be Extradited To The United States

Written by Jose Nino on . Posted in News, Personal Liberty. No Comments on Julian Assange Refuses To Be Extradited To The United States

On May 2, 2019, Assange threw down the gauntlet by telling a British judge that he plans on fighting extradition requests from the United States. He is due to appear in court again on May 30, in what is expected to be a drawn-out legal battle. Assange was originally charged for conspiring with Chelsea Manning to break into a government computer, which comes with a maximum prison of 5.5 years if he is convicted. When asked if he would turn himself in to U.S. authorities, Assange told Judge, “I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that’s won many, many awards and affected many people.” The Wikileaks founder’s court appearance came one day after he received a 50-week sentence for skipping bail in 2012. Assange’s arrest has received praise from establishment politicians from the neoliberal to the neoconservative side of the spectrum. This just goes to show how protected and entitled politicians think they are when it comes to dealing with journalists such as Assange. Say what you want about Assange’s motives, but he has done a fantastic job in exposing legacy institutions and putting the political class on its feet over the past decade. In days when journalism has been reduced to blindly repeating establishment talking points and advancing narratives that perpetuate that status quo “politics as usual,” daring journalists like Assange are a must. Punishing people like Assange with jail time sets a dangerous precedent. Real journalism involves telling the truth. Some times that truth gravely inconveniences political elites and their agenda. For that reason, they will try to muzzle it as much as possible. Putting the clamps on journalists because their findings put “national security,” and “national interests,” at risk is the height of statism. What these government apologists are really telling journalists is to not cover anything meaningful and stick to reporting on mundane news. On the other hand, establishment-approved journalists are given free rein to cover whatever pleases them thanks to the privileges bestowed upon them by legacy institutions. True accountability involves doing hard-hitting journalism that ruffles feathers of the even the most sacred sectors of the political class. If this is banned, press freedom is bound to deteriorate.

Julian Assange Told the Truth, So the Government Must Crush Him

Written by TJ Roberts on . Posted in First Amendment, Issues, Liberator Online, News, News You Can Use. 4 Comments on Julian Assange Told the Truth, So the Government Must Crush Him

On April 11, 2019, Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange was arrested. The UK Secret Police entered the Ecuador Embassy in London and arrested Assange for nothing more than telling the truth. Assange gained fame when his Wikileaks publicized US Military secrets that Chelsea Manning leaked. He has been in a political asylum since 2012, but that is over now. Julian Assange and the Death of Press Freedom With the arrest of Assange comes the Death of freedom of press and speech at large. As Dr. Ron Paul once said, “truth is treason in an empire of lies.” If you expose the lies of the state, they will smear you. They will brand you as the worst kind of person. Sweden even accused Assange of sexual assault (they later dropped the charge when that smear attempt failed). Instead of shilling for the power-elite, Assange opted to speak the truth, and loudly for that matter. He’s a brilliant journalist. He could have had a career that would have propelled him to the forefront of shaping public discourse. He just would have had to sell his soul. Instead of doing that, he saw the truth and exposed it, all the while protecting the whistleblowers that helped expose the truth with him. There is no case to be made against Julian Assange. He is an innocent man who fought for the freedom of all of us. Assange deserves a medal, not a jail cell. Since the state will not honor him, we must. The governments of this world are relying upon mass ignorance in this sting. The public must stand up for the rights of Julian Assange. If he loses his rights, we lose our rights. You Can Take Assange Down, but You Can’t Take Down the Truth Wikileaks isn’t going anywhere. The government can imprison Julian Assange. They can put a bag over his head and murder him with no trial. No matter what they do to him, the cat is out of the bag. Julian Assange is a threat to the global elite. The fact they retaliated against him proves that they’re scared. They’re scared because they understand that Julian Assange is just one person. But he has built a network around exposing the governments of the world for their evil. In fact, Julian Assange’s arrest is continuing this exposure. They are admitting that they are scared of the truth. Now, Wikileaks will not die just because you take out Assange. Assange may become a martyr, but you cannot control the truth. Because of his contributions to the truth, Julian Assange should receive a pardon from Trump and Asylum from the governments of this world. There is no case to be made against him if you believe in truth and freedom of speech.

Manning Revealed U.S. War Crimes, Celebrate Whistleblowers Like Her

Written by Alice Salles on . Posted in Foreign Policy, Liberator Online, National Defense, News You Can Use. No Comments on Manning Revealed U.S. War Crimes, Celebrate Whistleblowers Like Her

Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley, is a former United States Army soldier who, in 2013, was convicted of violating the Espionage Act. Her clandestine activities as a soldier allowed Americans to learn about the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike, an incident involving a Reuters journalist as well as other innocent men and children who were targeted by the U.S. military. Her leaks to WikiLeaks were made famous, but her cover was blown while she discussed her actions with former hacker Adrian Lamo. Manning Lamo turned Manning in to the authorities once Manning told him that the information she had leaked “might change something.” “I want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are,” she told him. “Because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.” Her sentence was meant to end in 2045, but due to the current administration’s latest actions, she is set to be released on May 17. Like Edward Snowden some time after her, Manning was able to help expose the U.S. government in a way seldom imagined by liberty advocates. After all, we all know government is inherently incompetent, but it’s often difficult to identify instances of misjudgment and irresponsibility when it comes to government entities involved in military action abroad. Without whistleblowers, how would we know about these actions? As we all know, bureaucracy removes the personal responsibility element from individuals working for government or government-run enterprises. When the buck never stops anywhere, who is to blame for a serious mistake or misjudgment? The public? No. The individual. Unfortunately, few bureaucrats, soldiers, policemen, or administrators are charged for their crimes, giving the public little to no hope that they will ever be held accountable for their actions. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why governments have a hard time tolerating whistleblowers. As libertarians or liberty lovers, we must recognize the importance of whistleblowers. They let us know veterans are being mistreated, alert us when government wants to violate our privacy, and let us know when officials are not upholding the constitutional rights of our citizens. It’s a victory for liberty that Manning is having her sentence commuted, but as a group of conscious and involved people, we must celebrate her and her importance by encouraging others to step forward. After all, libertarians and their message of individual sovereignty can only be embraced widely if the evils associated with the centralization of power are finally exposed.
Shoes

Did the Government Offer a Contract to New Balance in Exchange for TPP Support?

Written by Alice Salles on . Posted in Business and Economy, Economic Liberty, Economics, Liberator Online, News You Can Use, Trade & Tarrifs. No Comments on Did the Government Offer a Contract to New Balance in Exchange for TPP Support?

Did the Government Offer a Contract to New Balance in Exchange for TPP Support?

This article was featured in our weekly newsletter, the Liberator Online. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here. Government has a way of selling incredibly bad economic deals by calling them free trade agreements. Haven’t you noticed? ShoesThe Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is a trade agreement between Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, that hopes to “promote economic growth; support the creation and retention of jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in our countries; and promote transparency, good governance, and enhanced labor and environmental protections.” But according to information released by WikiLeaks, only five of TPP’s 29 sections deal with trade. At the time, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange claimed that many of the other sections dealt with Internet regulations, which includes details on what specific type of information Internet service providers will be required to collect once TPP is enacted. To former congressman Ron Paul, TPP is dangerous because of the several items listed in its sections that benefit special interest groups. Instead of opening up the market, Paul argues, TPP would boost “world government,” meaning that international nations would unite for all the wrong reasons, such as spying on its citizens. Opening up the trade among individuals in different parts of the globe, Paul explains, has little to do with the effort. To folks at Tech Dirt, TPP has always been bad, mostly because of the issues mentioned previously. But as reports claiming the US government has allegedly pressured a shoe company to back TPP in exchange for exclusive contracts hit the news, we learn that power players behind the TPP might be just as corrupt as the politicians under fire in South America over one of Brazil’s largest embezzlement schemes in recent history. According to New Balance, an American footwear company from Boston, Massachusetts, the US government allegedly promised the shoe company would get a “big government contract” if the company stood by TPP. Unfortunately for New Balance, the deal never came through. According to the Boston Globe story, It wasn’t until 2015 that New Balance chose to stop criticizing the deal. Until then, the company resisted supporting the pact for years. If what New Balance now alleges is true, executives only chose to change their tune after the Department of Defense claimed it would consider choosing New Balance for a contract to outfit recruits. So far, New Balance hasn’t received any official contract proposal, and New Balance now say Pentagon officials are intentionally delaying the purchase. While the US government claims that the contract problem is not associated with TPP in any way, the company is now renewing its battle against the TPP. For all the wrong reasons. According to Tech Dirt, New Balance claims that while most of the uniform purchased for the military is made in the United States, sneakers are the exception. With that in mind, New Balance decided to offer its products to the government, hoping to obtain a contract. That’s when a representative for the current administration “more or less” asked New Balance to accept a compromise version of the trade deal in exchange for a pledge of help in pressuring the Department of Defense to expedite the government’s purchase of American-made shoes. According to the Defense Department, New Balance didn’t get the contract because its sneakers aren’t durable or inexpensive enough. Regardless of what the government alleges, Tech Dirt claims, the idea that the government may have offered the company deal if it sided with its trade deal is “highly questionable.”
Manning

US Gov’t Targets Public Employees With ‘Whistleblower-Like’ Characteristics

Written by Alice Salles on . Posted in Liberator Online, News You Can Use, Personal Liberty. No Comments on US Gov’t Targets Public Employees With ‘Whistleblower-Like’ Characteristics

US Gov’t Targets Public Employees With ‘Whistleblower-Like’ Characteristics

This article was featured in our weekly newsletter, the Liberator Online. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here.

The United States government may be looking for the “next Chelsea Manning,” a report from The Guardian argues. ManningAccording to documents obtained by the UK newspaper, disgruntled employees, egomaniacs, and the office “door mat” are all potential whistleblowers under the ever watchful eyes of the US government. In what many call a witch-hunt, the US government is allegedly placing all public employees under surveillance in order to spot individuals with characteristics that match Chelsea Manning’s profile. According to the government’s own standards, individuals with motives of greed, too much ego, or who experience financial difficulties may become whistleblowers. Employees who are “disgruntled,” or who appear to have “an ideology,” or a “divided loyalty” are also potential risks to the government. According to Manning’s article, even employees with “any family/personal issues” should be closely watched for potential problems. As Manning pointed out, anybody holding a security clearance may, at some point, be labeled as a potential threat if officials are trained to single out individuals by looking for the characteristics listed above. The 31-page document reviewed by The Guardian was originally obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request placed by Chelsea Manning, the former United States Army soldier-turned whistleblower who became famous for leaking information on the US government’s actions in Iraq. A video leaked by Manning and released by WikiLeaks in 2010 shows two American helicopters firing on a group of ten men, including two Reuters employees who had ben photographing an American Humvee under attack. The footage also shows helicopters firing at a van that had stopped to help the victims of the previous attack. Children inside the van were injured while their father was killed. Months after Manning was arrested over violations of the Espionage Act, the National Insider Threat Task Force was created, and officials involved with the agency were given the task of deterring threats to national security by anyone “who misuses or betrays, wittingly or unwittingly, his or her authorized access to any US Government resource.” According to Manning, this gives the task force broad powers, resulting in “total surveillance.” The 2011 “Insider Threat” program that followed Manning’s arrest, or what many call “modern-day McCarthyism,” also teaches officers to spy employees presenting what they believe to be deviations of sexual orientation and gender identity, characteristics that match the government’s profile of Manning. As the country watches in horror what is now unfolding in Brussels after the deadly terrorist attack that killed over 30 innocent civilians, this report gets buried by the news cycle. With both Republican and Democrat candidates competing to show the county who’s the toughest on foreign policy, liberty advocates like former congressman Ron Paul argue that the American voter will be much more likely to urge government to do more after the Brussels attack, putting both of our safety and liberty in jeopardy. Under a hawkish administration whose plans include expanding our presence in the Middle East, programs like the “Insider Threat” will be the norm. But can increased surveillance bring us safety? History shows that the answer is no.

Report: U.S. Losing Freedom of the Press

Written by James W. Harris on . Posted in Liberator Online. No Comments on Report: U.S. Losing Freedom of the Press

(From the Activist Ammunition section in Volume 20, No. 7 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Each year the respected international organization Reporters Without Borders issues a World Press Freedom of the PressFreedom Index that explores and ranks freedom of the press in the countries of the world. According to the organization, the Index reflects “the degree of freedom that journalists, news organizations and netizens enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the authorities to respect and ensure respect for this freedom.” In this year’s report the United States is ranked a sad 49th out of 180 countries. This is the second-lowest ranking for the U.S. since the rankings began in 2002. (The lowest was in 2006, when the U.S. was ranked 53rd). Ranking immediately ahead of the U.S. are Malta, Niger, Burkino Faso, El Salvador, Tonga, Chile and Botswana. Americans accustomed to the U.S.’s reputation as the bastion of a constitutionally protected free press may be surprised by the rankings. Reporters Without Borders cites incidents it considered in its rankings, including:
  • The U.S. government’s years-long effort to force two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter James Risen to reveal sources for his 2006 book State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration.
  • The U.S. continued war against WikiLeaks and similar whistleblower organizations and individuals like Edward Snowden. 
  • The arrests of at least 15 journalists covering the police protests in Ferguson, Missouri. 
Journalists definitely feel a chill in post-9/11 America. As the Liberator Online reported last year, the PEN American Center, an organization of professional writers whose membership includes some of America’s most distinguished writers, surveyed its members and found: “73% of writers have never been as worried about privacy rights and freedom of the press as they are today. Writers are self-censoring their work and their online activity due to their fears that commenting on, researching, or writing about certain issues will cause them harm. The fear of surveillance — and doubt over the way in which the government intends to use the data it gathers — has prompted PEN writers to change their behavior in numerous ways that curtail their freedom of expression and restrict the free flow of information.” It’s not just the U.S. facing such problems. Press freedom is in decline around the world, says Reporters Without Borders. They say it is “incontestable” that “there was a drastic decline in [worldwide] freedom of information in 2014. Two-thirds of the 180 countries surveyed for the 2015 World Press Freedom Index performed less well than in the previous year. … “Beset by wars, the growing threat from non-state operatives, violence during demonstrations and the economic crisis, media freedom is in retreat on all five continents. … All warring parties without exception waged a fearsome information war. The media, used for propaganda purposes or starved of information, became strategic targets and were attacked, or even silenced.”

Best Libertarian Science Fiction/Fantasy of the Year Announced

Written by James W. Harris on . Posted in Liberator Online. No Comments on Best Libertarian Science Fiction/Fantasy of the Year Announced

(From the Intellectual Ammunition section in Volume 19, No. 11 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Cory Doctorow's Homeland Want some great libertarian-oriented reading? The Libertarian Futurist Society has some new recommendations for you. For more than three decades, the Libertarian Futurist Society has given its coveted annual Prometheus Awards, which celebrate outstanding current and classic works of science fiction and fantasy that stress the importance of liberty as the foundation for civilization, peace, prosperity, progress and justice. This year’s Best Novel Award was a tie: Homeland by Cory Doctorow and Nexus by Ramez Naam. FREE DOWNLOAD: Cory Doctorow has generously allowed readers to download Homeland — and some of his other works — for free here. Homeland, the sequel to Doctorow’s 2009 Prometheus winner Little Brother, follows the continuing adventures of a government-brutalized young leader of a movement of tech-savvy hackers — who must decide whether to release an incendiary Wikileaks-style exposé of massive government abuse and corruption as part of a struggle against the invasive national-security state. This is Doctorow’s third Prometheus Award for Best Novel. He won last year for his Pirate Cinema. All three are young-adult novels with strong libertarian themes. Nexus by Ramez Naam is described as “a gripping exploration of politics and new extremes of both freedom and tyranny in a near future where emerging technology opens up unprecedented possibilities for mind control or personal liberation and interpersonal connection.” The other finalists: * A Few Good Men by Sarah Hoyt * Crux by Ramez Naam (sequel to his Best Novel-winning Nexus) * Brilliance by Marcus Sakey The Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) winner is Falling Free, a 1988 novel by Lois McMaster Bujold that explores free will and self-ownership by considering the legal and ethical implications of human genetic engineering. The other 2014 Hall of Fame finalists: “As Easy as A.B.C.,” a 1912 short story by Rudyard Kipling; “Sam Hall,” a 1953 short story by Poul Anderson; “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” a 1965 short story by Harlan Ellison; and Courtship Rite, a 1982 novel by Donald M. Kingsbury. In a separate awards ceremony, four-time-Prometheus Award-winning author Vernor Vinge will receive a Special Prometheus Lifetime Achievement Award. Author-filksinger Leslie Fish — according to Prometheus “perhaps the most popular filk song writer of the past three decades and one who often includes pro-freedom themes in her songs” — will receive a Special Prometheus Award in 2014 for the combination of her 2013 libertarian-themed novella “Tower of Horses” and her related filk song, “The Horsetamer’s Daughter.” (No, that’s not a misspelling. Filk songs are songs created from within science fiction and fantasy fandom, usually dealing with related subject matter.) The Prometheus Award will be presented in a ceremony during the 2014 World Science Fiction Convention, to be held in London, England August 14-18, 2014. For further great libertarian fiction reading recommendations, see the list of past Prometheus Award winners and nominees.