Sweden Media & Sweden Politician Prejudicial Attack on Assange - 2012

ꕤ Article SOURCE - 2012 http://www.friatider.se/the-swedish-media-war-on-assange Archive https://archive.is/Ppbhi [CLICK image for clarity / enlargement] ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Media & Politician Prejudicial Attack on Assange #Sweden media. Deputy editor-in-chief Svenska Dagbladet, #Stockholm daily, Martin Jönsson called #Assange a "paranoid querulant" #WikiLeaks @Raw_Binary 3h 2012 Article Jakten på Wikileaks The Swedish media war on Assange - "Australian pig", "retard", "white-haired crackpot", "scumbag" Publicerad 24 augusti 2012 kl 08.00 Inrikes.Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has claimed that the media climate in Sweden has become so "hostile" against him that it may now jeopardize his right to a fair trial. These allegations have been strongly rejected by several Swedish officials, but a brief glance at recent Swedish media coverage on Assange seems to show that they are not entirely without ground. In a controversial statement last week, Swedish Minister of Social Affairs Göran Hägglund called Assange a 'coward' and a 'pitiful wretch' for taking refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Hägglund also alleged that Assange was afraid of having "his case tried by the court", even though Assange has not been charged with any crime and has not been summoned to court. He added that Assange was a "scumbag" if the accusations against him were true. Another official reaction came from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an angry attempt to explain why Assange cannot be questioned in London: 'You do not dictate the terms if you are a suspect. Get it?', the Ministry declared via its official Twitter channel. The bulk of the attacks on Assange, however, do not come from government officials, but from journalists and prominent intellectuals. The four major Swedish newspapers - Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet and Expressen - have all roundly condemned the Wikileaks founder, using very strong language. A number of examples are provided below to illustrate the general tone of Swedish media opinion on Assange. In Sweden's largest tabloid Aftonbladet, well-known columnist Oisín Cantwell characterized Assange as a "coward", a "creep", a "white-haired crackpot" and an "asshole" because he would rather request asylum from Ecuador than face extradition to Sweden. Cantwell's colleague at Aftonbladet, Johanne Hildebrandt, famous for her reporting from the wars in former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, chimed in. "He's a paranoid retard who refuses to come to Sweden", she claimed in a recent column. Also writing in Aftonbladet, prominent journalist Martin Aagård called Assange an "Australian pig". "There are many good reasons to criticize Assange. One of them is that he's a repugnant swine", Aagård elaborated. In Svenska Dagbladet, a major Stockholm daily, deputy editor-in-chief Martin Jönsson called Assange a "paranoid querulant" who is to blame for "letting Wikileaks fall into ruins". He described Assange's recent speech from the balcony of Ecuador's embassy as a "megalomaniac's circus". The same theme was echoed by an editorial writer in Sweden's largest daily, Dagens Nyheter, who also called Assange 'paranoid', and a 'querulant'. Jan Guillou, a well-known journalist and probably Sweden's most famous author, recently proclaimed in Aftonbladet that regardless of "whether Assange is guilty or not 'he's still an unprincipled disgusting little creep", adding "and now I'm holding back". Writing in Sweden's second-largest tabloid, Expressen, TV journalist and news anchor Jenny Strömstedt advocated that Assange should be put on display in a glass cage at Ecuador's London embassy for the next fifteen years "so that anyone willing to pay entrance can watch his aging struggles". According to Expressen's culture editor Karin Olsson, Assange is a "dodgy hacker" whom most Swedes view as "a paranoid chauvinist pig". "A year ago we Swedes hailed Assange as a James Bond of the net. Now he's seen as a pitiable, paranoid figure", she writes. Having previously been portrayed as a romantic rebel, Assange has now become the target of what can only be described as a vicious smear campaign. Legal experts commenting on the accusations against Assange, however, have usually been far from convinced that the prosecutor's case holds water.  For example, Ove Bring, professor emeritus of international law, recently stated that the prosecutor would probably have to drop the case against Assange once he has been questioned, since "the evidence is not enough to charge him with a crime". http://www.friatider.se/the-swedish-media-war-on-assange Archive https://archive.is/Ppbhi SUMMARY Göran Hägglund Swedish Minister of Social Affairs called Assange a 'coward' and a 'pitiful wretch' [comment:  for (rightfully) obtaining political asylum] Göran Hägglund Swedish Minister of Social Affairs prejudiced Assange legal standing & smeared Assange with allegations that Assange was afraid of:  'having "his case tried by the court"' ... yet Sweden has 'no case' to speak of Assange has NOT been charged with any crime & Assange has not been summoned to court Göran Hägglund Swedish Minister of Social Affairs Swedish Minister of Social Affairs asserted that Assange: 'a  "scumbag" if the accusations against him were true.' Key here is:  'if' Note:  Assange has not been convicted of any crime or even charged with one, as at the date of the Swedish politician making disgraceful, prejudicial public statements -- or since. Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter 'explanation' for why Assange cannot be questioned in London: 'You do not dictate the terms if you are a suspect. Get it?' Sweden & UK Ministry of Truth TRUE CONDUCT & AGENDA EXPOSED [CLICK image for clarity / enlargement] ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Bulk of the attacks on Assange from journalists & prominent intelligentsia [comment:  because they do the dirty work of the state, & probably because politicians, mainstream journalists & intelligentsia rely on the patronage of the same elites] x4 Major Swedish newspapers condemned Assange: Dagens Nyheter (Sweden largest daily) Svenska Dagbladet (major Stockholm daily) Aftonbladet (Sweden largest tabloid) Expressen (Sweden second-largest tabloid) Oisín Cantwell Columnist Aftonbladet (Sweden largest tabloid) "Assange as a "coward", a "creep", a "white-haired crackpot" and an "asshole" because he would rather request asylum from Ecuador than face extradition to Sweden." [comment:  ie. compliant mainstream media reaction re:  politically persecuted Australian journalist obtaining (rightful) political asylum] Johanne Hildebrandt Yugoslavia & Afghanistan [propagandist scribe] Aftonbladet (Sweden largest tabloid) " ... chimed in.  "He's a paranoid retard who refuses to come to Sweden", she claimed in a recent column." [comment:  As pointed out by Assange lawyer, Sweden declined to interview Assange while he was in Sweden & subsequently failed to do so while he was in the UK (making an exception of him)] Martin Aagård prominent journalist Aftonbladet (Sweden largest tabloid) " ... called Assange an "Australian pig"." ""There are many good reasons to criticize Assange. One of them is that he's a repugnant swine", Aagård elaborated." Martin Jönsson Deputy editor-in-chief Svenska Dagbladet (major Stockholm daily) called Assange:  ""paranoid querulant" who is to blame for "letting Wikileaks fall into ruins"." "described Assange's recent speech from the balcony of Ecuador's embassy as a "megalomaniac's circus"." [comment:  it is interesting that the media circus is referred to here, when it is the Swedish authorities that leaked information to the Swedish tabloids in order to create this very media circus and press smear that Assange has been subjected to] Dagens Nyheter (Sweden largest daily) editorial writer: "also called Assange 'paranoid', and a 'querulant'." [comment:  LOL ... I think I'd be 'paranoid', too, if I had a 150-man US law enforcement team, the FBI, the US State Department, the US Department of Justice and various other US agencies intent on extraditing me re secret US Grand jury sealed indictment (legal accusation), confirmed January 2011 (here)] Jan Guillou well-known journalist Sweden's most famous author [in Aftonbladet (Sweden largest tabloid)] "... regardless of "whether Assange is guilty or not 'he's still an unprincipled disgusting little creep", adding "and now I'm holding back"." [comment:  Yep.  What a creep, exposing US (& Western) government wrongdoings & war crimes. How dare he seek to defend himself from dodgy legal assault aimed at US extradition, based on Sweden police flimsy and suspect  'allegations'! And, most of all, how dare the politically persecuted creep obtain political asylum from Ecuador?!] RIGHT-CLICK IMAGE Select:  'Open Link in New TAB' Use Magnifier tool for FULL ENLARGEMENT ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Jenny Strömstedt TV journalist & news anchor via Expressen (Sweden second-largest tabloid) " ... advocated that Assange should be put on display in a glass cage at Ecuador's London embassy for the next fifteen years "so that anyone willing to pay entrance can watch his aging struggles"." [comment:  being the subject of intense media attention and assault, while imprisoned without charge on flimsy Sweden 'allegations'  (that come with plenty of mind-boggling regularities) is a lot like the glass cage this tabloid hack envisaged. Coincidentally, it's to this Sweden tabloid, Expressen, that the alleged Sweden 'complainants' proposed divulging information ... information for which they expected to be paid by some source (not clear to me who was expected to make such payment)] RIGHT-CLICK IMAGE Select:  'Open Link in New TAB' Use Magnifier tool for FULL ENLARGEMENT ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Karin Olsson Expressen (Sweden second-largest tabloid) "Assange is a "dodgy hacker" whom most Swedes view as "a paranoid chauvinist pig"." [comment:  yaaaawn ... Did the Sweden government issue a press directive or something, seeing these tabloid hacks are echoing the same garbage?] ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- However, legal experts are not convinced by allegations of the Sweden authorities: [CLICK image for clarity / enlargement] ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Ove Bring professor emeritus of international law Sweden prosecutor is without sufficient evidence to charge Assange with a crime [ LINK Archive:  https://archive.is/6Ro7S ] Professor Ove Bring also refers to Sweden's reluctance to make an 'exception' of Assange by questioning Assange in London. However, this is not supported by evidence that has subsequently come to light. Sweden has an established practice of questioning parties abroad & has questioned 44 persons in UK alone, whereas it has refused to likewise question Assange in Britain. So Sweden HAS been making an EXCEPTION of Assange, by NOT interviewing ASSANGE in London, as it interviewed the other 44 persons in UK between 2010-2015.   What is this, if not more evidence of POLITICAL PERSECUTION? [CLICK image for clarity / enlargement] ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. [CLICK image for clarity / enlargement] ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. We have subsequently learned Sweden declined to interview Assange in Britain for strategic reasons:  ie to prevent Assange being able to legally defend himself while they continue the political persecution offensive, and that this strategic legal manoeuvre that apparently disregards the principles of justice, has taken place with the full cooperation of the British and on advice of the British Crown Prosecution Service. The British Crown Prosecution Service also explicitly stated that proposed extradition of Assange is not being treated in accordance with the established norm for all others, ie "as "just another extradition request.' Once again:  political persecution of a journalist who exposed US and Western allied wrongdoings and crimes.  [CLICK image for clarity / enlargement] ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Abovementioned Swedish politicians are NOT the first to attack and legally prejudice legal proceedings against Assange.  Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt got straight into political interference in 2010  (here).  That's just off the top of my head.  I think there have been other prejudicial statements - eg:   Cecilia Malmström European Commissioner for Home Affairs 2012 Prejudicial Press Statement { USA link:   US attorney-general Eric Holder, co-author article } LINK  | Post Meanwhile, the array of compliant Swedish journalists and intelligentsia that yap at the heels of Assange in Swedish media, smearing him in an effort to shape negative public opinion, do the dirty work of the corrupt state that is politically persecuting a courageous Australian journalist, on behalf of their powerful US ally. The extent they go to smear and assault Assange would be laughable, were it not so serious a consequence for him. Take Martin Aagård, Aftonbladet, referring to him as an 'Australian pig' and thereby not only assaulting Assange, who is a target of US-Anglo led political persecution, executed by the state of Sweden, but it is also insulting all Australian nationals. Members of the Swedish mainstream press and their mainstream Swedish media publications sound like a bunch of pitchfork waving mentally challenged hicks.  But, of course, they're not:  they're just butt-kissing presstitute journalists doing the dirty work of the state, probably because they pretty much share the same elite patrons as the politicians that comprise 'the state'. Note also that this is the same Swedish press that ignores and helps cover up rape, gang-rape and mob rape of Swedish women by third world arrivals, that the Swedish and European politicians have imposed on Swedes and Europeans for decades now, in support of the agendas of their respective economic and power elites, on whose behalf the West has been (and continues to be) engaged in decades-long serial covert and open military interventions, in the Middle East and in Africa (although these interventions cannot fully explain the suicidal policies such politicians have pursued and imposed on Europeans). And it is the same press that is covering up murder of a teenager: Sweden Media Misrepresents Murder of Teenager in Swedish School European Media Remains Silent LINK | here ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- ꕤ

Bush's Hatchet Man Unelected 'Co-President' of USA & His Special Relationship With Sweden

LONG READ BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS   Karl Rove Bush advisor / unelected  'co-President' "Karl Rove's career in U.S. President George W. Bush's administration began shortly after the first inauguration of George W. Bush in January 2001." [here] "... authors of [book] Bush’s Brain produce material that underscores the fact that for the first time in modern history a president attained office through outright criminality." [WSWS] Rise of Bush & Rove, apparently, coincided with the rise of "semi-fascist elements from the Christian right," and Rove is said to "represents the rise of political gangsterism in the Republican Party." [below & here] "In 2002 and 2003 Rove chaired meetings of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), an internal White House working group established in August 2002, eight months prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. WHIG was charged with developing a strategy "for publicizing the White House's assertion that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the United States." [here] Long-term friend of then Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt (prior PM, said to be the power behind the Sweden PM 'throne' - PM said to defer to him.  Bildt exposed as US spy & in English (elsewhere) here (re Expressen's attempt at casting this as 'smear', see WikiLeaks press release - here. More on Bildt: This is the same Carl Bildt who was recruited by the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, a lobby group trying to garner support for a US invasion of the country, and who even went so far as to defend the idea of a preemptive strike against the country. This same Carl Bildt, through investments in holding companies, profited in the millions by the invasion he helped bring about.  [source] Long-term friend & advisor of then Swedish PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt Julian Assange, journalist/publisher, WikiLeaks, who released: the Collateral Murder video on 5th April 2010 (depicting US war crimes); and the Afghan War Logs: 2004-2010 (comprising 91,000 US reports), on 25 July 2010); before going on to release the Iraq War Logs (comprising 391,832 US reports) that same year:  October, 2010.   EXTRACTS  [this section - not strict order] Bush’s hatchet man: two biographies of Karl Rove Bush’s Brain and Boy Genius By Joanne Laurier 19 July 2003 Both volumes are muckraking accounts of Rove’s career, but despite their varying levels of criticism, the journalist/authors cannot help but express admiration for him. At various moments, it becomes clear that the authors measure Rove by the standards of contemporary American culture: Rove is a success, a “winner” and not a “loser,” no matter how unattractive he is as a personality and political type. Bush’s Brain begins by claiming that Rove is “something grander” than a presidential advisor. “His influence marks a transcendent moment in American politics: the rise of an unelected consultant to a position of unprecedented power,” which may “raise” constitutional questions. The book’s authors describe Rove as the “co-president of the United States.” This is a remarkable assertion, but even more remarkable is the failure of the authors to grasp that the rise of an unelected consultant takes place as the consequence of the rise of an unelected president! Rove’s prominence is one expression of the quasi-Bonapartist character of the Bush administration. “Cabinet appointments were vetted through him [Rove], judicial nominations crossed his desk, as did the details of a proposed energy bill, administration policy on stem-cell research, steel tariffs, and health care policy. Nearly every speech was shown to Rove before it was delivered,” asserts Boy Genius. This wide portfolio is all the more significant because Rove seems to have little interest in the substance of policy, outside of its impact on maintaining political office. He rose through the ranks of the Republican Party as a career political operative, concerned mainly with the process of manipulating public opinion to produce a desired electoral result. While a hard-core right-winger, Rove is not a product of the Christian fundamentalists, the neo-conservatives, the Southern racists or other factions of the contemporary far right. He comes from a slightly earlier, but equally foul, political tradition—the McCarthyite red-baiter. Born in Denver in 1950, Rove grew up in Colorado, Utah and Nevada. Beginning his political career as a die-hard Nixonite (from age 9), Rove “escaped the Vietnam draft, but loathed everything those anti-war protesters on TV stood for,” according to Boy Genius. “I came from a relatively conservative state, Utah, and it was hard to sympathize with all those Commies,” proclaimed Rove. After dropping out of college, Rove’s first foray into dirty tricks campaigning was in Illinois in 1970. The notion that Bush is unchallengeable, a quasi-mythical being, is patently absurd and, more than anything, demonstrates the political outlook of these supposed critics. The temporary success of the Bush-Rove team has less to do with their innate strength than with the historic collapse of liberalism and the prostration of the Democratic Party. The current crisis arising from the exposure of Bush administration lies about Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction,” whatever its immediate outcome, demonstrates the fundamentally narrow social base of the present regime and its inherent political weakness. Bush’s eventual victory was only due to the machinations of the Republican Party on election night and in Florida in the subsequent weeks, a conspiracy in which Rove was centrally involved, culminating in the anti-democratic ruling by the US Supreme Court that shut down vote-counting. To help his clients win office, Rove conducted “whisper wars”—a genteel way of saying slander campaigns—against political opponents. Whispers of homosexuality in the Texas state government purportedly undermined the gubernatorial campaign of incumbent Ann Richards in her unsuccessful 1994 fight against Rove’s client George W Bush. The same tactic was used in the 2000 GOP primary against John McCain. Rumors were circulated that McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, had become mentally unhinged as a result of his imprisonment. Although Bush was Rove’s premier asset—“the keys to the kingdom”—the latter maintained a list of private business clients who paid for his political advice. Among them was tobacco giant Philip Morris, which hired Rove to provide “political intelligence.” Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Angolan anti-communist guerrilla leader and mass murderer Jonas Savimbi also paid Rove to lobby for them. The authors of Bush’s Brain produce material that underscores the fact that for the first time in modern history a president attained office through outright criminality. Documents released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) some 19 months after the election reveal that the Bush team flew an estimated 250 operatives to Florida to disrupt the vote recount. Dubbed the “Brooks Brothers Riots” (after the upscale clothing worn by the disrupters), a successful effort was organized to stop the recount in Miami-Dade county of the estimated 10,000 “undervotes”—ballots for which no presidential choice had been registered by the original machine count. The authors of Bush’s Brain contend that “Rove represents a new species of advisor,” a “product of the permanent campaign, the co-president, whose relationship with Bush, and his faithful guidance, have put him at the heart of power in a manner unknown to previous political consultants and U.S. electoral history.” But Rove must be placed within the appropriate political context—the takeover of the Republican Party by semi-fascist elements from the Christian right. He represents the rise of political gangsterism in the Republican Party, and his current political “success” is the product of the alliance of these forces with the Christian fundamentalists, for which he has been a leading facilitator. In general, the authors elevate Rove’s role at the expense of other members of the Bush administration, such as Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Both books tend to exaggerate his significance in order to avoid a more probing analysis of the present government and the political and social crisis in America. Nonetheless, the ascent of this right-wing mediocrity, whose only apparent skill is manipulation and deceit, to the highest levels of power is telling. It is one expression of the decay of bourgeois democracy in the US and the degeneration of the ruling elite as a whole. In the final analysis, semi-criminal elements like Rove come out of the woodwork to attempt to rescue, by any means necessary, a fatally diseased American capitalism. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2003/07/rove-j19.html ************************************************* “The attacks on us are extraordinarily revealing” WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks with WSWS By Richard Phillips 16 March 2012 Richard Phillips: Can you comment on the latest details of the United States grand jury indictment and what happens if you’re extradited to Sweden? Julian Assange: The new evidence that emerged from the Stratfor files—emails from a Texas-based private intelligence agency—show that the US government has obtained a secret grand jury indictment against me. The US ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis Susman, stated in February 2011 that the US government would wait and see what happened with the current Swedish extradition case as to whether it would pursue extradition itself. The US ambassador to Australia [Jeffrey L. Bleich], one week prior to Obama’s recent visit, also told the Australian media that the Australian government might have to consider its extradition obligations in relation to me, presumably in case I returned to Australia. And while WikiLeaks has many of its people under legal attack, the organisation itself is also under an extra-judicial financial blockade. There are some 40 people who have been swept up in operations by the FBI, Scotland Yard or other police forces. ...  Even if we are successful in the Supreme Court, the situation will be similar because the United States is likely to unseal its espionage charges through the grand jury and apply directly for my extradition from Great Britain. RP: Do you have any detailed information on direct collusion between Britain, the US and Sweden over your extradition? JA: What we can say publicly is that on December 8, 2010, the Independent newspaper published a report about informal contacts that were already occurring at that stage between the US and Sweden in relation to my extradition. The Australian embassy in Washington also sent a cable to Canberra round this time, stating that the US intelligence and criminal investigation into WikiLeaks was of “unprecedented scale and nature.” It also said that the criminal prosecution in relation to me was “active and vigorous”. That material was the result of a Freedom of Information request and printed in the Sydney Morning Herald a few months ago. The UK crown prosecution service has also refused a request under the Freedom of Information Act in relation to communications over potential extradition arrangements, stating that it would affect Great Britain’s diplomatic relations with other countries. In the middle of last year, the UK’s extradition reform panel, which was appointed by the home secretary, met with Eric Holder, the US attorney general, and a number of members of the Defence Department in the United States. In addition, there have been other recent meetings between Carl Bildt, the Swedish minister of foreign affairs [and close friend of Karl Rove], and William Haig, the UK foreign affairs minister. RP: Can you comment on the role being played by Australia’s Gillard government? JA: The reaction by the Gillard government to WikiLeaks activities, in particular our release of the US diplomatic cables, was publicly the worst of any nation. Gillard falsely stated that our organisation was engaged in illegal activities. This was found to be false by an Australian Federal Police investigation. Together with the attorney general, she initiated a “whole of government task force” against WikiLeaks, recruiting the Australian Federal Police, the external intelligence agency ASIS, the domestic intelligence agency ASIO, the defence department and the attorney general’s department. Publicly, Gillard has not issued a single statement of support and we are not aware of any private support. The US government is trying to erect a new interpretation of what it means to be a journalist. It wants any communications with a source to be viewed legally as a conspiracy. In other words, it wants journalists to be completely passive receptacles for others. But this is simply not how national security journalism has been traditionally done. If they succeed, it will be the end of national security journalism in the West as we know it. These attacks on us have also been picked up by other countries and used to legitimise their own crackdowns. For example, two Swedish journalists are currently being jailed in Ethiopia. They were investigating a Swedish oil company by the name of Lundin—Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt had previously been a director of the company—but have been sentenced to 11 years jail in Ethiopia on terrorism charges. The Ethiopian prime minister says that it is perfectly acceptable to treat journalists this way and has pointed to my circumstances as justification. The issues facing WikiLeaks are entirely political and therefore a matter of public concern. My message to people everywhere is: do not wait until WikiLeaks is bankrupted or its members extradited to the United States before acting. It will be too late then. If people act strongly now, then the organisation will succeed. WikiLeaks has a lot of support and we’re battle hardened now. We’re not going down without a fight and if everyone pulls together then we will win. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/03/jass-m16.html *************************************************   MUST READS Rove Suspected In Swedish-U.S. Political Prosecution of WikiLeaks  EXTRACT Rove has advised Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt for the past two years after resigning as Bush White House political advisor in mid-2007. Legal Schnauzer blogger Roger Shuler scooped me on the story about Rove's Swedish work in a Dec. 14 column, "Is Karl Rove Driving the Effort to Prosecute Julian Assange?" But a big part of our role as web journalists should be following up on each other's work. Shuler is an expert on how Rove-era "Loyal Bushies" undertook political prosecutions against Democrats on trumped up corruption charges across the Deep South, including against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, his state's leading Democrat. The Siegelman case has turned into most notorious U.S. political prosecution of the decade, as readers here well know. It altered that state's politics and improved business opportunities for companies well-connected to Bush, Rove and their state GOP supporters.   FULL ARTICLE AT SOURCE http://huffingtonpost.com/andrew-kreig/rove-suspected-in-swedish_b_798737.html ************************************************* Is Karl Rove Driving the Effort to Prosecute Julian Assange?  EXTRACT That Assange's legal troubles would originate in Sweden probably is not a coincidence, our source says. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has been called "the Ronald Reagan of Europe," and he has a friendship with Rove that dates back at least 10 years, to the George W. Bush campaign for president in 2000. Reinfeldt reportedly asked Rove to help with his 2010 re-election in Sweden. On the hot seat for his apparent role in the political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, Rove sought comfort in Sweden. "When [Rove] was in trouble and did not want to testify on the three times he was invited [by the U.S. Congress], he wound up in Sweden," our source says. "Further, it was [Reinfeldt] that first hired Karl when he got thrown out of the White House. "Clearly, it appears that [Rove], who claims to be of Swedish descent, feels a kinship to Sweden . . . and he has taken advantage of it several times." Why would Rove be interested in corralling Julian Assange? To help protect the Bush legacy, our source says. "The very guy who has released the documents that damage the Bushes the most is also the guy that the Bush's number one operative can control by being the Swedish prime minister's brain and intelligence and economic advisor." FULL ARTICLE AT SOURCE  http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2010/12/is-karl-rove-driving-effort-to.html  ************************************************* PM's Biographer Sees Rove Influence In Swedish Politics EXTRACT George W. Reinfeldt: The art of making a political extreme makeover Dr. Brian Palmer of Uppsala University in Sweden provided an illuminating interview on the Jan.13 edition of my Washington Update radio show regarding the influence of Karl Rove on Swedish politics as an advisor to the governing Moderate Party. FULL ARTICLE AT SOURCE  http://www.justice-integrity.org/faq/359-professor-links-rove-to-swedish-politics  Tape Five - Tequila (Gardener of Delight Remix) https://youtu.be/hyt8h2FlzMI

VIDEO - RT News - Defence Witness: Assange sex-crime case fabricated by prosecutors (2011)

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Defence Witness: Assange sex-crime case fabricated by prosecutors RT NEWS Studio Presenter The verdict in the high profile case of the WikiLeaks founder has been adjourned for two weeks. Julian Assange appeared in court in London on Friday as he continues his battle against extradition to Sweden where he faces questioning over sex crime allegations. He claims the case was fabricated so the US can use Sweden to hand him over on espionage charges. RT's Laura Emmett has been keeping track of developments from outside the court. RT NEWS Reporter, London “All we're waiting for is the verdict, and that is due to be delivered, we now know, on the 24th of February – so in a couple of weeks' time. We were hearing today the closing statements made by both the defence and the prosecution, and now the judge is going to presumably retire to his chambers for two weeks to think about the evidence that he's heard and then come up finally with a verdict. So on the 24th of February. We're not expecting that to take very long. Literally everyone will just gather here and the judge will tell us what he's decided. In terms of what we've been hearing on Friday morning, we essentially heard summaries of the evidence from the prosecution and from the defence. The prosecution has maintained all along and maintained today that there's no reason why Assange shouldn't go to Sweden to answer these questions. Following the news of that postponement, Julian Assange came out of the court and gave a short statement to the media. He used that statement to highlight what he called the injustices of the European Arrest Warrant, under which his extradition is being requested. Let's see what he had to say. JULIAN ASSANGE WikiLeaks Founder It gives me hope that we can, through this particular case, not simply draw attention to the difficulties and the pressures that we and other people have been under, but, rather, perhaps we have an opportunity to set a new precedent about the abuses of European Arrest Warrants. RT NEWS Reporter, London We heard some graphic details from the defence about these alleged assaults, sort of almost making light of these allegations, as the prosecution said, talking about the sexual encounters that took place with two women in August. And we also heard an angry statement by the defence solicitor about comments that the Swedish Prime Minister has made recently about Julian Assange. The defence called that a devastatingly prejudicial attack, and said that the Swedish Prime Minister had spread malicious lies about Julian Assange, suggesting that he believes that women's rights are worthless, and also suggesting that he's already been charged with this 'rape', which, in fact, is not the case at all. MARK STEVENS Defence In any decent country, the rule of law is separate from the political process. It appears that in Sweden it is not, and that the Prime Minister has, I am afraid to say, sought to taint the legal process. Just one more example of the quite exceptional behaviour in the Julian Assange case – another Assange factor. RT NEWS Reporter, London We heard some quite graphic details from the defence about these alleged assaults – sort of, almost making light of these allegations, as the prosecution said – talking about these sexual encounters that took place with two women in August. And we also heard an angry statement by the defence solicitor about comments that the Swedish Prime Minister has made recently about Julian Assange. The defence called that a devastatingly prejudicial attack and said that the Swedish Prime Minister had spread malicious lies about Julian Assange, suggesting that he believes that women's rights are worthless, and also suggesting that he's already been charged with this 'rape', which, in fact, is not the case at all. So that has brought in a rather worrying political element to the case. We also heard from the defence that these charges would not constitute 'rape' here in the UK, and, in fact, the defence maintains that the essence of the charges wouldn't constitute 'rape' anywhere else in the world, apart from in Sweden. I spoke earlier to Goran Rudling, who's a Swedish rape campaigner, and he told me about the bizarre way in which the investigation has been conducted from the very beginning. GORAN RUDLING Defence Witness It looked like Julian was declared innocent by one prosecutor. Then you have to find out immediately find out, OK, what's the truth: what's his side of the story? What they did instead was try to collect evidence and they interviewed all kinds of witnesses, in another way which wasn't very good, to try to build a case against him. It's like prejudice. Like they're saying: 'He's guilty; let's get him.” And of thirteen people interviewed by the police, three are tape-recorded. Only three. Julian is tape-recorded on the 30th of August . The two witnesses that could speak in his favour are tape-recorded. All the other witnesses are just summary interviews. Sometimes accusers change their story, and if we don't have their story, we can't compare it to the suspect's story. It's impossible to investigate. RT NEWS Reporter, London This is also a case that has descended at times into a farce, and today is no exception. There's a new book out by a man called Daniel Domscheit-Berg, who used to work with Julian Assange at WikiLeaks, and he has essentially written a book about Assange and his relationship with him. He says that Assange has an 'emperor complex', that he wants to be the king and the all-powerful person over everything, and he also alleges that Assange has turned into the sort of man that he used to hate, the sort of man that he used to want to bring to justice.  But the most bizarre thing about the allegations that Domscheit-Berg has made is something to do with his cat. He said that Assange lived with him for a while in Weisbaden in Germany and that Domscheit-Berg has a cat which Julian entered into a war of supremacy with, essentially attacking the cat and then pulling back, seeing who would win. Sometimes the cat won, sometimes Assange won. And he says that that shows that Assange is some kind of power-hungry maniac. So, really, a lot of people are trying to jump on this bandwagon to take advantage of Assange's fame or infamy, depending on which way you look at it. [end – 6:25]

VIDEO - Sweden a voluntary vassal state of US

From Assange to NATO, Sweden a voluntary vassal state of US SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=085JbHikPyk [ Uploaded on 13 Feb 2011 ]  RT's Anissa Naouai interviews: Dr Brian Palmer "Dr Brian Palmer, a social anthropologist from Uppsala University, believes that Julian Assange is safer in the UK than in Sweden.  RT has asked him about why Sweden wants the WikiLeaks founder so badly and his fate if he were to be extradited." [ ... Introduction ... see particulars above ] Reporter Sweden has been in the spotlight quite a bit lately, with the WikiLeaks scandal and the spy and sex probes into Julian Assange.  Why does Sweden want Julian Assange to be extradited?  Is it just for - to be questioned, rather, for the sex crimes alleged against him? Dr Brian Palmer It's hard to say.  Certainly, sexual misconduct is taken seriously in Sweden, but few cases get anywhere near the kind of judicial energy behind them as this had.  So there seems to also be other factors at play.  It may be partly the prosecutors and lawyers involved, and issues of their careers.  It may also be that there's some pressure from the foreign policy establishment in Sweden and even from the United States that's played a role. Reporter Do you think that eventually Assange will, in fact, be extradited to Sweden? Dr Brian Palmer It wouldn't surprise me if he is in the end, but I would say that he and his lawyers have a fighting chance of keeping him there and suggesting that whatever questioning of him the Swedish prosecutors want to do can easily be done by video link. Reporter Many critics say that once, and if, Assange is extradited to Sweden that it would be very easy for the US to get him into custody.  Do you agree with that? Dr Brian Palmer I think that's quite right; that it would be easier to get him to the US from Sweden than from Britain.  The Swedish government has shown itself to be more pliant than the British, surprisingly, given the so-called special relationship of trust between Britain and the USA, and the Swedish press has been - and Swedish public intellectuals - have been less vocal in defending WikiLeaks than many people and many papers in Britain, so I think he's safer there. Reporter Why do you think that the media has been reluctant to - am I understanding correctly - openly cover WikiLeaks or cover it in a way that looks like Assange has a fair chance? Dr Brian Palmer There's been a lot of coverage of WikiLeaks and Assange in Sweden, but he doesn't have that many high profile champions.  It's partly because allegations of sexual misconduct weigh so heavily here, that it is a country where feminist ideals are maybe stronger than anywhere else on Earth and, one wishes that no-one would be judged in a case until they had been tried, but there's some hesitation to come to his defence on those grounds; and then, so much of our media in Sweden is owned by a few conservative leaning media houses, particularly Bonniers, a media group that's right leaning and has every interest in not raising these questions, and they're the largest player in the media market in Sweden. Reporter You wrote a biography of the Swedish Prime Minister [Fredrik Reinfeldt] and it's no secret you wrote about this:  that the Prime Minister has been - or is being advised - by US republican strategist Karl Rove.  Why one of America's most notorious neocons and the man, of course, most credited with getting Bush into the White House? Dr Brian Palmer It's an interesting question, because the conservative party (called the Moderates) have plenty of Machiavellian strategists of their own - plenty of Karl Roves of their own - but Rove has a long-term relationship with the Moderates.  Already in the 1980s he came to Sweden to advise them and then he's been back before the election in 2006 and even more recently.  He himself has some Swedish roots, and I think it may be partly initiative from his side that he wants to be involved in politics here.  And then what the Moderates accomplished before the 2006 election had something in common with Bush's electoral victory in 2000.  The problem for both George Bush and Fredrik Reinfeldt was to win the votes of groups who wouldn't necessarily benefit from having a right-wing, tax cutting regime in power.  Bush succeeded so well in wooing working-class votes that in the ... 2004 election, Bush won the white working-class by a 23% margin.  So working-class voters were really the backbone of his victory.  Reinfeldt acknowledged that he was impressed by Bush's campaign and his struggle was also to get working-class voters to support his party (which they hadn't done in the past), and so it's logical that he would have wanted to bring in some of the people from Bush's campaign to help with that - and, not least, Karl Rove. Reporter You've said that the method is linguistic innovations, media manipulation and the art of bringing smear campaigns.  Is that what Sweden wants to take from a strategist like Karl Rove? Dr Brian Palmer The Moderates won the past two elections very much because of the negative image of Fredrik Reinfeldt's opponent in both elections.  It was very much the weakness of the opponent the people were voting against, rather than attraction to Reinfeldt.  And how to accomplish that through different kinds of negative campaigning, in the broad meaning of campaigning that focuses on the deficits of the other candidate, was something that Rove has been very good at, so he would be a relevant adviser there.  Another thing that Rove has been something of a genius at is finding peripheral issues that will mobilise the right voter groups to support the Republicans, and that strategy has also been somewhat effective in Sweden. Reporter Is it normal for Karl Rove to be doing this kind of international advising? Dr Brian Palmer No.  On his own website he notes that Sweden is his only international assignment.  The Moderate party in Sweden is the only foreign party that he's worked for; so, as far a I know, he's a pretty US-focused person.  But then again, as mentioned, he himself has Swedish roots and he may feel a particular obligation to be involved here - or interest to be involved here. Reporter How much influence do you think the US, on a whole - from Assange to NATO to asylum seekers being taken into custody - have on Sweden? Dr Brian Palmer Enormous influence and, in a way, almost puzzlingly so at this historical moment that Sweden should be so eager to host NATO military exercises in the north, to share intelligence information at a very high level with the US and NATO that Fredrik Reinfeldt was so very eager to visit Bush, it was one of his first major international visits after he became Prime Minister in 2006.  All of that is a bit puzzling when the US is no longer so central to Sweden's exports, for example, as it has been at certain periods, when European relations ought to be more central to Sweden in certain ways, and all of this is a far cry from the Sweden of the 1970s and early 80s when Olof Palme was Prime Minister and when the most important relations were often with developing nations - with the South African freedom movement; with India, with the Non-Aligned Movement - the once very progressive Sweden has become something of a voluntary apprentice state, some would say vassal state, of the USA. Reporter And why do you think Sweden took those kind of policy moves Dr Brian Palmer I think a lot of it is admiration for the United States among the foreign policy elite in Sweden,  many of whose members have studied at top universities in the US and had spent time there, and have a good network of personal friendships in the US, and now with the conservative governments in 2006 those ties have become even stronger.  The motto of one of the young people's divisions of the conservative party over many years was we would like things to be like in the USA - vi vill har du som USA, in Swedish - so an open wish to see a more Americanised Sweden, which is exactly what we're seeing. Reporter Thank you very much for being with us. Dr Brian Palmer My pleasure. COMMENT NOTE I don't speak Swedish, so 'Vi vill har du som USA' (referred to above) is just a best guess at what Palmer has said in Swedish. The transcription could do with one more check of audio against text, but I need to switch tasks because my brain's just about crawled to a stop.  LOL Will have to come back to check and comment. Before I split, I'll link an article that I also found interesting. Bush, Rove Tied to Effort to Dismantle Sweden’s Social Welfare Program Tuesday, December 9, 2008 http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/9/bush_rove_tied_to_effort_to And one more ...      Partner At Firm Counseling Assange’s Accusers Helped In CIA Torture Rendition January 12, 2011 By Andrew Kreig http://ctwatchdog.com/govt/how-much-did-lawyer-for-wikileaks-accusers-help-cia-in-torture-rendition That's it.  I'm done for now.