"Holding governments accountable by exposing their misdeeds is the job of the free press, to which those listed by Melzer supposedly belong. Some observers also note that maintaining silence on Assange’s case amounts to complicity in the wrongdoings against him. "
"The case against Assange was aimed not only at keeping him at bay, but also at “shutting down dissent,” renowned journalist John Pilger recently said. "
So why are the BBC, SkyNews not broadcasting interview talking about this? Why do the following newspapers not publish Melzer's article?
Update made 30/06/2019. It now appears that someone is redacting the above article by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer. I have however been directed to a report by someone else reporting and quoting Melzer as well as making their own cogent remarks:
[consortiumnews.com]?
Update 01/07/2019 It has been suggested below that the United Dtates Government had nothing to do with Ecuador's change of heart in granting Assange asylum.
I simply submit the following report & quote from a recent Washington Post:
"Total U.S. exports of goods to Ecuador fall from $8.25 billion in 2014 to $5.82 billion in 2015. Total U.S. imports from Ecuador fall from $10.87 billion in 2014 to $7.47 billion the following year." By Rick Noack and Siobhán O'Grady [google.com]
Money talks?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Who ever controls the narrative controls the population. As the writer admits, everything he thought was, wasn't. And there are millions of Americans out there who still haven't found the truth to this particular story who will be using it as they vote based on that false narrative and many others. Who ever controls the narrative controls a large part of the voters. They also control the main stream media!
William_Mary
Level 8
June 29, 2019
1
The blog is now being redacted by an outside source.
@FrayedBear redacting in what way? Considering some of the news sources, I'd say at LEAST half of, that he states his article at Medium has been offered to for publication would be the type to redact content by their own editors. One's that stands out the most who have been a stanch opposition to Assange in the false Russiagate narrative would be The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. These 3 especially have been wagging that tail like a frantic starving dog in view of someone holding a steak out in teasing mode. They have the most to lose from all their line towing of perception management towards establishment narrative.
I posted the Consortium article a while back by Joe Lauria. Who has taken over the editors position at Consortium News since the death of Robert Parry nearly 2 years ago. You can also find Nils speaking on this at The Real News Network. [therealnews.com] My only surprise is that he offered it to any of these other sources, any, to be frank, to give them the chance to redact. If he thought he was going to touch any hearts and find empathy for Assange within these entities, he's sadly mistaken.
He had been better off to wait for them to take his write up on his findings on their own and then expose them as they hack it up.
@William_Mary I use the word redact to mean if I cannot read the linked article - it pops up for 20 seconds then disappears as a 404 or unable to connect message. I loosely use the word redacted to mean this total disappearance of the article.
@FrayedBear I'm getting it fine. Are you a member of Medium? If not you get a limited amount of viewing on that site.
It’s funny, to some Assange represents the speaker of secrets and truth. To others, he is a spy.
No one takes a middle ground which is where Assange really resides. In some ways, he is all of the above. But, the flaw in the whole argument would be the answer to the question of who funds him. Who provided his support, at least initially?
And, then there is this question, if he is really as unbiased as claimed, then... has he ever published any material that would embarrass Russia, China or any of the countries with leftest leanings?
Rob1948
Level 7
June 27, 2019
2
I won't do a ton of research, but here is some.
Russia
[search.wikileaks.org]
China
[search.wikileaks.org]
Co-publishers, Research Partners and Funders
[wikileaks.org]
This has nothing to do with the funding, but I find this very interesting:
Are the documents hosted anywhere else on the Internet? What is the “insurance” file?
In late July 2010, Wikileaks is said to have posted to its Afghan War Logs site, and to a torrent site an encrypted file with “insurance” in the name. The file, which apparently can still be found on various peer-to-peer networks, is 1.4 gigabytes and is encrypted with AES256, a very strong encryption standard which would make it virtually impossible to open without the password. What is in the insurance file is not known. It has been speculated that it contains the unredacted cables provided by the original source(s), as well as other, previously unreleased information held by Wikileaks. There is further speculation, which has been indirectly boosted by Julian Assange, that the key to the file will be distributed in the event of either the death of Assange or the destruction of Wikileaks as a functioning organization. However, none of these things is known. All that is known for sure is that it’s a really big file with heavy encryption that’s already in a number of people’s hands and floating around for others to get.
In late July 2010, Wikileaks is said to have posted to its Afghan War Logs site, and to a torrent site an encrypted file with “insurance” in the name. The file, which apparently can still be found on various peer-to-peer networks, is 1.4 gigabytes and is encrypted with AES256, a very strong encryption standard which would make it virtually impossible to open without the password. What is in the insurance file is not known. It has been speculated that it contains the unredacted cables provided by the original source(s), as well as other, previously unreleased information held by Wikileaks. There is further speculation, which has been indirectly boosted by Julian Assange, that the key to the file will be distributed in the event of either the death of Assange or the destruction of Wikileaks as a functioning organization. However, none of these things is known. All that is known for sure is that it’s a really big file with heavy encryption that’s already in a number of people’s hands and floating around for others to get.
@Piece2YourPuzzle your Wikileaks links are useless. The rest I will read when I have time, if they have more relevance than the three I tried (see images.)
@Rob1948 Do you not have a scroll button on whatever you are making your enquiry through? On your first screenshot of the enquiry there are 660,000 itemised links according to the summary in the photo. Please do not give us your indoctrinated adequacy.
Also @Rob1948 whether Assange is a rabid communist, a die hard Trumper or a kiddy fiddling worshipper of the xtian faith his situation and the opinions of others, particularly experts in the torture of human beings should have their words as widely disseminated as those making the accusative assertions against Assange. As Pastor Niemöller stated 80 years ago -
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
@FrayedBear A. Yes, I have a scroll button. I am not going to waste my time looking at some “660,000” link about Russia (that was the only search term) to find the ones about Assange, and then read all of them to figure out, if that is possible, what the poster had in mind with his reply.
B. Your comment about those speaking out against torture is duly noted. Assange’s releases have been about many things other than just torture. And, as correct as you are about that particular instance, that and the quote have nothing to do with the questions I raised.
C. You seem to think I don’t approve of Assange (whether I do or not is not the point), I was raising questions for discussion rather than trying to present a personal opinion.
D. I’m well aware of the quote. It applies much more succinctly to Trump than to Assange.
@Rob1948 Please correct me if I'm wrong but as you are querying Wikileaks aren't all 660,000 items the "doing" of Assange who controlled what went into the reports?
D. As for Niemöller's quote applying more to Trump I again do not understand. Are you saying that Trump's words and those of the people standing in his defence are not widely reported?
C. I am not really interested in whether you like Assange or not. I am concerned that those making informed comment on Assange's detractors are not being as widely reported as those accusing, denigrating and probably slandering him.
@FrayedBear perhaps, but I don’t have time to do someone else’s research reading. If they want to make point, make it. As for Trump, he is a far greater danger that anyone muzzling Assange. And, if that is your point, say so.
@Rob1948 Please correct your statement. I do not understand yours or your spell checker's English.
@FrayedBear What specifically is not understandable?
@Rob1948 " As for Trump, he is a far greater danger that anyone muzzling Assange".
Trump seems to be one of the ones muzzling Assange.
The post however is about an expert's commentary which happens to reference Assange is being muzzled by the so called free press. It is nothing to do with anything that Assange has said or is alleged to have done. It is a report decrying the torture of a human being by agents of the American government.
@FrayedBear And, your point is what? That Trump is not worse than anyone (given I don’t think Trump has done anything exceptional to muzzle Assange)?
@Rob1948 Rob if you cannot understand my English do not waste my time.
@FrayedBear I understand you quite well. Apparently you can’t say the same about the plain English I used. You questioned what I said about Trump. I responded to that question SPECIFICALLY and ONLY to that question and you go off on me a second time (first time about how I can’t write clear English, and the second about how I can’t understand your English).
Seriously, that’s your way of talking to people? Do you do that in personal conversations? Do you insult people like that?Do you get slapped in the face a lot as a result? Those comments to me are rude and insulting. Seriously, if you disagree, disagree but do it without personal comments and belittlement.
You say Assange is being muzzled by the free press. I disagree. You made several comments about the article which are simply not consistent with anything in the article.
You said that Trump muzzled Assange. Trump is not mentioned in the article.
You said the article is about Assange being muzzled by the free press. The article alleges he is a victim of mudslinging and equates that with torture, admitting that that constitutes a slippery slope. Additionally, the article makes dismissive remarks about the rape allegations involving Assange. Sweden is still considering reviving the charges. There are two sides to the story and the article presents one.
The article fails to even mention why Assange was at the Ecuadorian embassy, instead complaining about how the current Ecuadorian President slandered Assange. Assange was in the Embassy voluntarily, fleeing bail give by British authorities trying to decide extradition to Sweden on rape charges.
And, anyone who doesn’t think that what Assange has or has not done is not a part of all this is a fool.
Nowhere does the article claim Assange has been silenced, muzzled, etc by anybody, person or government. It does make claims of mudslinging, going on for years. But nothing about him being silenced.
And, the article DOES NOT make a single claim about agents of the American government torturing Assange, as you stated. In fact, before you go blustering on, please, feel free to quote from the article you linked (https://medium.com/@njmelzer/demasking-the-torture-of-julian-assange-b252ffdcb768) about how American agents tortured Assange.
@Rob1948 Both my link and yours no longer operate. Yours I think came up with 404. Mine simply with a unable to connect message. I wonder why that is?
@Rob1948 Searching the Medium site produces the article but it is then it is redacted.
It will be interesting to learn if this is occurring through the publishers action (unlikely as the article is briefly viewable on the Medium site before being redacted) or agencies favourable to the US government.
I believe that Trump is the head of that government and that the buck is supposed to stop there.
Your own Washington Post reported as follows on Trump's involvement with Wikileaks/ Assange:
My initial post does not mention Trump. In fact it is mostly quotations of Melzer and journo John Pilger. Those remarks are reproduced in & contained in "___" (quotation marks). I have highlighted the word "that" which makes your sentence and response unintelligible to me.
@FrayedBear No idea. Sorry. See if this works: [consortiumnews.com]
@FrayedBear I understand but, you were referring to your original article in your reply. It’s not fair to fault others if you don’t give them the proper links to support your assertions. Besides, Trumps lies and deflections are simply noise to the types of slander being discussed in your article.
@Rob1948 Thanks for that consortium link Rob. It did not take me to the Melzer/Assange article but a quick search turned it up:
[consortiumnews.com]
I particularly appreciated Joe Lauria's comments on the Australian government's failure to protect its citizen Assange. They did the same with David Hicks held in the US Guantanamo torture camp.
@FrayedBear Assange’s troubles with the embassy came when Moreno became president. Up to that point, Assange was getting along well. So well in fact that he was granted Ecuadorian citizenship. I think the idea that he was tortured as discussed by the UN rapporteur is missing relevant facts and overstated his case as a result. The idea that he was forced into this torturous situation is wrong. Assange deliberately fled to the Ecuadorian embassy seeking asylum. They granted it. He ran from British nail and as a result is serving an 11 month sentence. Too, while I know you won’t agree, the idea that he would be tortured in the United States is pure supposition. As to his Australian citizenship, Assange willing accepted Ecuadorian citizenship... would that result in losing his Australian citizenship?
@Rob1948 Multi citizenship frequently occurs in Australia. I had a friend and wife who were British/ EU, British Guianian and Australian. If the had first migrated to New Zealand before Australia and stayed there long enough they could have added that to their list. The most well known is probably Rupert Murdoch who has been Australian, American, Chinese and possibly British. I do not know if they eere all held simultaneously.
As to Assange and his torture your comment is like saying to someone "if you had not walked in your garden when the plane crashed into it you would never have been injured".
Your current president was calling for Assange's death 9 years ago if I remember correctly and the USA is renowned for torturing and murdering going back to the time of the county's first settlers (except that it is made to look like justifiable defense or homicide and like Clinton stating that "oral sex" is not sex is totally duplicitous).
@FrayedBear yeah, Trump is renowned for almost anything he says. But, again, that was not discussed in either the article, which was my point. And, while the article claims torture, I think that’s an overreaching assertion. Even the article agrees that calling it torture is a slippery slope.
I like your analogy but I think it’s more of a if you hadn’t gone inside, you wouldn’t have been burned when it caught fire. More to the point, Assange ran from Sweden to avoid charges he claims are baseless. He skipped bail in England to claim asylum in the Ecuadoran embassy and avoid extradition back to England. Those were choices he made.
He was welcomed and offered and accepted Ecuadoran citizenship. His treatment was perfectly fine until Moreno was elected president. And, then it wasn’t. Moreno was the prime source of this “torture” until Assange agreed to go back into English custody. That is the result of choices he made.
Any other “torture” it is claimed he suffered isn’t, just as the “mean” treatment by the Ecuadoran isn’t. It is the result of the perception resulting from whatever acts he is accused of doing with Wikileaks. And, if we are to accept a widening of that definition, then we certainly cast a wide net. Get “bad press,” it’s torture. Treated meanly, it’s torture. And, we are equating torturous acts such as what happened to Assange with that of what happened to John McCain in Vietnam and what happened to Jamal Khashoggi or the physical and psychological torture that happened in Abu Ghraib. I don’t think so.
I can’t defend US actions of the past but I really don’t think that Assange would be tortured in US custody, if he ever is. He is far too high a profile for anyone to risk it.
One last point, equating what happens today with what happened 200, 300 or 400 years ago is too far of a reach to be valid.
@Rob1948 Please continue your duplicitous arguments - when did Assange voluntarily go into British custody? When did you become an expert in psychological torture and gain more experience in the field than Melzer? When have you experienced anything other than a cosy American life probably draft dodging and bribing your way out of legal trouble whilst ignoring the barbarism, bullying, theft and pillage occurring around the world driven by your and your country's greed and always excused by your duplicity.
Good day to you, I have spent enough time trying to get through your indoctrination, I now have better things to do with my time.
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