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The arbitrary, indefinite detention of Julian Assange

Binoy Kampmark
CounterPunch
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 13:32 UTC
Julian Assange supporters
© Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
Supporters of Assange hang banners opposite the Embassy of Ecuador as Swedish prosecutors questioned the WikiLeaks founder on November 14, 2016, in London.
The modern detainee in a political sense has to be understood in the abstract. Those who take to feats of hacking, publishing and articulating positions on the issue of institutional secrets have become something of a species, not as rare as they once more, but no less remarkable for that fact. And what a hounded species at that.

Across the globe prisons are now peopled by traditional, and in some instances unconventional journalists, who have found themselves in the possession of classified material. In one specific instance, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks stands tall, albeit in limited space, within the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

Unlawful imprisonment and arbitrary detention are treated by black letter lawyers with a crystal clarity that would disturb novelists and lay people; lawyers, in turn, are sometimes disturbed by the inventive ways a novelist, or litterateur type, might interpret detention. The case of Assange, shacked and hemmed in a small space at the mercy of his hosts who did grant him asylum, then citizenship, has never been an easy one to explain to either. Ever murky, and ever nebulous, his background and circumstances inspires polarity rather than accord.

What matters on the record is that Assange has been deemed by the United Nations Working Group in Arbitrary Detention to be living under conditions that amount to arbitrary detention. He is not, as the then foreign secretary of the UK, Philip Hammond claimed in 2016, "a fugitive from justice, voluntarily hiding in the Ecuadorean embassy." To claim such volition is tantamount to telling a person overlooking the precipice that he has a choice on whether to step out and encounter it.
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Bell

The Assange case will define 'freedom of the press' in the 21st century

Kevin Freeze & Margaret Flowers
Counter Punch
Sun, 01 Jul 2018 11:59 UTC
Julian Assange supporters
© Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
Supporters of Assange hang banners opposite the Embassy of Ecuador as Swedish prosecutors questioned the WikiLeaks founder on November 14, 2016, in London.
Last week, rallies in support of Julian Assange were held around the world. We participated in two #AssangeUnity events seeking to #FreeAssange in Washington, DC.

This is the beginning of a new phase of the campaign to stop the persecution of Julian Assange and allow him to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London without the threat of being arrested in the UK or facing prosecution by the United States.

The Assange Case is a Linchpin For Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Information in the 21st Century

The threat of prosecution against Julian Assange for his work as editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks will be a key to defining what Freedom of the Press means in the 21st Century. Should people be allowed to know the truth if their government is corrupt, violating the law or committing war crimes? Democracy cannot exist when people are misled by a concentrated corporate media that puts forth a narrative on behalf of the government and big business.

Comment: Further reading:

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Pocket Knife

At least 4 injured in shooting & stabbing in Helsingborg, Sweden


RT
Sun, 01 Jul 2018 08:38 UTC
Police ribbon
© Ruptly
At least four people have been hospitalized with gunshot and stabbing wounds in the Swedish town of Helsingborg following an alleged 'attempted murder' which police are, for now, hesitant to definitively link to organized crime.

The incident unfolded at about 8pm just steps away from the Gustav Adolf Church in the center of the city. When police arrived at the scene they discovered four people injured.

"They had shot injuries as well as a stabbing injury," police spokesman Fredrik Bratt told local news outlets. "They were taken to hospital in ambulance, police cars and private transport."
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Windsock

America's 'soft' Civil War has already begun because contempt for those with opposing views is being fed into

Alex Roberts
Halsey News
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
red states / blue states
There has been a lot of debate lately about whether or not the United States of America is heading for another civil war. According to one law professor from the University of Tennessee the United States is no longer heading for a civil war. Professor Glenn Harland Reynolds contends that the reason we are no longer heading for a civil war is because our civil war has already begun. Monday USA Today ran an opinion piece written by the University of Tennessee professor that was titled "Is America headed toward a civil war? Sanders, Nielsen incidents show it has already begun." For the readers of Halsey News who are not familiar with USA Today, you should really take the time to google this fine piece of work because the Professor Reynolds makes some very insightful points with what he had to say .

It is his belief that recent attacks that were committed by bleeding heart liberals and their supporters against Nielsen and Sanders show that our civil war has already started. He is not saying that we are at the point of north versus south in the 1850s yet, but he does believe that is the direction that Americans are heading. It is his contention that America has found itself in a soft civil war for the time being. At this very moment Americans all over the country are sorting themselves into two groups. Those two groups are red or blue. It should not be too difficult for my readers to be able to determine which side of the line I fall on in this civil war.
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Newspaper

B.C. restaurant manager fired for refusing to serve man in pro-Trump hat


National Post
Sat, 30 Jun 2018 21:44 UTC
The manager told the patron he had to take off his hat if he wanted to be served. The man opted to leave the restaurant instead
In this June 1, 2016, file photo, then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wears his
© Jae C. Hong/AP
In this June 1, 2016, file photo, then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wears his "Make America Great Again" hat at a rally in Sacramento, Calif.
A Vancouver restaurant manager has been fired for refusing to serve a customer who was wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.

The slogan popularized by U.S. President Donald Trump in his 2016 campaign has been embroidered on bright red baseball caps that have become an emblem of his supporters.
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Stock Down

"These guys are like diamonds right now,": America's trucker-shortage hits a crisis point

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sat, 30 Jun 2018 19:34 UTC
trucking prices per mile
Nearly every consumer product - from food, to textiles to electronics - sold in the US at some point touches the bed of a truck. Which is why the shortage of truckers to ferry goods across the US has become such an intractable problem for American companies - and unemployment at 3.8% isn't helping.

A shortage of workers is forcing trucking firms to raise wages and provide other incentives as they seek to fill an "official" shortage of 60,000 jobs that some industry insiders say is really closer to 100,000.

Comment:

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Fire

Two more fires hit north-west England during heatwave

David Nowell
Blackpool Gazette
Sat, 30 Jun 2018 16:45 UTC
Major fire on the dunes at St Annes.
© @elliotscarwash
Major fire on the dunes at St Annes.
Fire are now damping down after spending all afternoon battling a large grass fire in the sand dunes on the Fylde coast. The blaze was in the dunes in St Annes, with thick smoke blowing along the seafront and over roads.

Major blaze in the sand dunes at St Annes Major blaze in the sand dunes at St Annes

Five fire crews were called to deal with the blaze, which damaged a large area of grassland within the nature reserve. Police have closed Clifton Drive north in both directions and appealed for people to stay away from the area. A spokesman for Lancashire fire and rescue said: "We had five fire engines at a grass fire on Clifton Drive in Lytham St Anne's.

"We're now damping down, but if you're close by, please keep your windows and doors closed."

Comment: The ground does appear parched and restrictions of water use - the 'hose pipe ban' - have been implemented in the UK as a heatwave strikes the UK. What is curious is that this area has not seen so many fires, some of them are exceptionally large, and in such a short time.

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2 + 2 = 4

What's really behind cannabis opposition

Ryan Cristián
The Last American Vagabond
Sat, 30 Jun 2018 19:09 UTC
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein
drugs
One would be hard pressed to find a person not jaded by the American political system. Lies and deception accepted as "part of the process" as if to imply that it is outside the politician's control, and each is simply playing the game. Major news conglomerates stating contradictory "facts" about very important issues. What is one to believe?

The country has seemingly given up on trying to fix a broken system and become satisfied with choosing the lesser of two evils. As the public opinion begins to shift in favor of marijuana legalization many who once cried out, "Think of the children!" are now saying the exact same statement but fighting for the other side. Many are beginning to see what hemp and cannabis can truly do for the individual and for the country. It is important to differentiate between smoking cannabis, and using essential CBD oils (which do not get you high) to treat an illness. Many within the marijuana opposition want the uninformed to think the battle is being fought over one's right to smoke and get high. That aspect is a part of the debate, constitutional rights and all, but the least important of what is being fought for.
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Attention

German man suspected of killing 21 co-workers by poisoning their food


Deutsche Welle
Sat, 30 Jun 2018 18:19 UTC
German authorities launched a probe into a string of deaths after an employee was caught trying to poison a co-worker's lunch. Police found mercury, lead and cadmium in the man's home.
German Police
German authorities launched a probe into a string of deaths at a metal fittings company after an employee was caught trying to poison a co-worker's lunch. Police found quicksilver, lead and cadmium in the man's home.

The man was arrested for the incident in the town of Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock, northwest Germany. However, police now suspect he may be responsible for up to 21 deaths of people working for the same company.
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People

'We need to increase the birth rate": Putin pledges support for large Russian families


Free West Media
Sat, 16 Jun 2018 17:26 UTC
Russian dolls
© Pixabay
Support for the family unit, motherhood, and childhood has been and remains one of the unconditional priorities of his country, the Russian President believes.
Russian parents who have large families "have chosen for themselves a happy, grateful, but very difficult and responsible path that is full of inconvenience and suffering, demanding colossal devotion," Vladimir Putin told the audience at the awards ceremony for the Order of Parental Glory.

"Support for the family has been and remains one of the unconditional state priorities," by Putin added. "We need to increase the birth rate," he said. He noted that this was "a reflection and continuation of the changes taking place in our country."

The President explained that a parent who wants large family needs confidence that their children will be able to access quality education, health care, and housing. "We consistently work in all these areas, and we will continue to do this," the Russian leader said.
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