Free Assange. Free Palestine. Free Your Mind.

Free Assange. Free Palestine. Free Your Mind.

by C.A. Matthews

February 20, 2024 is a date that could very well live in infamy.

Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange could be extradited from the UK to the US on that date or the next day. He’d be transferred from Belmarsh, one hellhole of a prison to another similar lock-up across the Atlantic. Locked up ever deeper away from the prying eyes of the public and kept far away from the loving arms of his wife and children and his father and brother who have fought so hard for his release. And why? Simply for publishing the truth.

Why all the fuss over one journalist? It’s not like it’s the end of the world if he dies in prison, is it? In a way, it is. Julian Assange has become a world famous icon signifying free speech. He is the man who defied the corrupt system, the establishment or  status quo. He fearlessly published the Collateral Murder video demonstrating just how craven our rulers really are and how little they care about civilians killed in their endless wars for oil, wars they lied our way into in the first place.

It can’t be overstated just how angry and vengeful Assange’s revelation of the truth has made the powers-that-be. Mere words cannot expressed how worried they are that Assange would do it again in a heartbeat if he could. He’d expose their bloodthirstiness over and over again to the public, and other journalists and publications would follow suit and, before you knew it, the whole world would be in the streets, demanding justice. The workers would be pulling these villains who rule us out of their mansions and dragging them from their luxury yachts and marching them off to the gulag or up the steps toward the guillotine.

Yeah, Julian Assange and what he stands for—freedom of expression—is that dangerous to the powers-that-be.

Actual journalism is not what our rulers want. It’s best to keep us working drudges in the dark, ignorant of the transgressions they commit regularly in our names in any number of military conflicts, proxy wars, or genocides worldwide. And so Assange must be held accountable for committing the crime of journalism—real journalism and not simply pumping out propaganda such as CNN and other mainstream media outlets are known for and even now are being exposed for doing so by their own staff.

Call your representative and senators today at (202) 244-3121 and tell them to sponsor H.Res. 934 to drop the charges and free Julian Assange. Freedom of speech cannot be allowed to die along with our hopes for democracy.

#FreeAssange

If Assange were free today, I’m certain he would be publishing stories to expose the genocidal machinations of the Netanyahu regime in Israel. He would expose the complicity of Biden and the US government in supplying arms to fuel the genocide in Gaza. No doubt about it. Assange implored us to learn all we could of what is being done in our names by our so-called elected officials. It shouldn’t have taken a court proceeding at the International Court of Justice at The Hague to determine Israel has “plausibly committed acts of genocide.” A free press should have yelled this fact out from day one.

In a world filled with journalists doing their jobs instead of doing what they are told to do by the CIA and corrupt governments, it would have been made more than obvious what the Zionist regime’s intentions toward the Palestinian people were from the start. The point would have been driven home repeatedly. Instead, independent publications and journalists that attempt to share the viewpoints of the Palestinians are forced to crowd fund to keep their operations working. They’re forced to fight for bandwidth and social platform space as the Ministry of Truth finds excuses to force them offline so its propaganda can continue to cloud the issues and confuse the public.

The vast majority of Americans actually believe that Israel is full of war criminals committing genocide against the Palestinians. The numbers rise in every poll in spite of all the US government propaganda and narrative spin by the mainstream media pundits. Amazing how the truth will come out even when evil minds work hard to keep it from being revealed! Without a free press, or a free online forum of ideas and independent journalists, the story that Palestinians are the victims of Israel's genocidal aggression instead of the other way around—that Israelis are eternal “victims of Arab terrorists”—would never have been able to reach the public's ears.

Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the freedom of independent journalists and publishers to cover all angles of a story are all important “weapons” in the struggle to protect the human rights of indigenous peoples everywhere. Without the world knowing what is going on in Gaza—an open air concentration camp under fire—would the world have overwhelmingly taken the side of the Palestinian cause?  The professional journalists and the citizens journalists alike who have lost their lives in this cause are to be admired and their names honored by all who value honesty.

To the slain journalists in Gaza who kept their eyes open so the world could see Israel’s crimes:  https://therealnews.com/a-tribute-to-our-slain-journalist-colleagues-in-gaza

RIP 6-year-old Hind Rajab and all the innocent children of Gaza slaughtered brutally by the US funded Israeli Defense Forces https://www.commondreams.org/news/hind-rajab

#FreePalestine

It’s hard to remain optimistic during times like these. True journalism is portrayed by the American regime as a crime punishable by life imprisonment. Being born a Palestinian in Gaza or the West Bank is seen as a crime punishable by death by the Israeli regime. Is there any light at the end of this tunnel full of doom and gloom?

Who knows? In the meantime we need to keep our spirits up and our minds focused on important tasks at hand. An online acquaintance mentioned how difficult it was repeating the same facts and stories to others in order to convince them of the truth of the genocide happening in Gaza. I agree. It is difficult. Very difficult.

I found myself without words earlier this week, unable to think clearly, feeling tired and foggy-brained just like our foggy morning air. I didn’t know what to write about for this week's post. And then I was encouraged by comrade activists to write a poem for a Palestine-inspired poetry read at a local coffee house.

Writing poetry helped to lift my mental fog. Just doing something different with words can help your mind reset and refocus. Instead of trying to hammer coherent sentences together, I focused on what I was feeling about what is happening in Gaza. A different style of writing cleared away the fog. I found I could write prose again after crafting a poem to share what has been hurting me deep in my heart. 

Here is a poem I wrote as I realized how my recent daily ritual was connected to the sorrow and shame I was feeling for those trapped in Gaza:

Dust From Gaza

The air quality index is higher than it's ever been
The particulate count is sky high
No fires burning in California or out west currently
Could this be dust from Gaza?

I breathe in the air full of particulates and cough and groan
Where has all the oxygen gone?
Has it been burned up in thousands of fires caused by Israeli bombing?
Could this be caused by dust from Gaza?

It is said that matter is neither created nor destroyed
That we are breathing in air that was once breathed out by pharaohs and kings
That every speck of soot clinging to our car windows isn't original
Could these gray motes be dust from Gaza?

Every morning I check the air quality index
Every day since October the number has been in the moderate to unhealthy range
Once a day I take my asthma medication and think--
Am I breathing in dust from Gaza?

What air do Gazans breathe in?
What air do Zionists breathe in?
Are we all not breathing in the same air?
Why are Americans allowing the IDF to disintegrate an entire people, turning them to dust?
For our penance this Ash Wednesday we should be covered in dust from Gaza

Yeah, I know it's not going to win me any poetry contests, but writing this poem helped me come to terms with the frustration, the sadness, and the anger I’m feeling. I think writing poetry inspired by Palestine helped others at the poetry read deal a little bit with their overwhelming emotions, too.

No matter what fate awaits us, we must free our minds and remain vigilant to keep them free. We are living witnesses to the events happening here in our communities and over there in Gaza. We owe it to ourselves and posterity to never forget, to never let them forget, to never let genocide happen ever again—to anyone, anywhere.

#FreeYourMind (And don't be afraid tell the world what you're seeing and feeling. Your viewpoints are valid and needed. History will cherish them.)

 

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Free Julian Assange! February 10, 2024 https://www.indiemediatoday.com/p/free-julian-assange-february-10-2024/comments

Free Julian Assange! February 9, 2024 https://www.indiemediatoday.com/p/free-julian-assange-february-9-2024

The Wizard (for Julian) https://youtu.be/xh5-CtGmE3A?si=xhMSNRMsnAnoQjjL

Assange: The Truth They've Been Hiding from You https://youtu.be/c l8XIr5vxhM?si=G3FwmJA1cFs-pV-0

Israel assaults Rafah, where one million Gaza refugees are sheltering with nowhere to go https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/02/07/rzhz-f07.html

Missing 6-Year-Old Gaza Girl Hind Rajab Found Dead With Massacred Family & Rescue Workers https://www.commondreams.org/news/hind-rajab

UN agency says aid shipment blocked in Israeli port https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-agency-says-aid-shipment-blocked-israeli-port-2024-02-11/

Why De-Funding UNRWA is Another Crime of Genocide
https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/why-de-funding-unrwa-is-another-crime

International Coalition To Stop Genocide In Palestine Demands Full Funding Of UNRWA https://popularresistance.org/international-coalition-to-stop-genocide-in-palestine-demands-full-funding-of-unrwa/

Netanyahu Rejects Hamas Counter Offer for Hostage Deal, Insists on ‘Total Victory’ https://news.antiwar.com/2024/02/07/netanyahu-rejects-hamas-counter-offer-for-hostage-deal-insists-on-total-victory/

US Blocks Yemen-Saudi Peace Deal https://news.antiwar.com/2024/02/06/us-blocks-yemen-peace-deal/

Jewish Students Across 15 Campuses Plan “Shabbat for Ceasefire” Gathering  https://truthout.org/articles/jewish-students-across-15-campuses-plan-shabbat-for-ceasefire-gathering/

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture urges UK government to halt imminent extradition of Julian Assange https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/un-special-rapporteur-torture-urges-uk-government-halt-imminent-extradition

The Western Press Are Just Printing Straight Up Nazi Propaganda About Middle Easterners Now https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-western-press-are-just-printing

Study Finds Media Giants New York Times, CNN, and Fox News Pushing for US War in Yemen https://www.mintpressnews.com/new-study-shows-media-pushing-us-war-yemen/286754/

New York Times’ Friedman Hits New Low With Animalization of Arabs and Iranians https://scheerpost.com/2024/02/06/new-york-times-friedman-hits-new-low-with-animalization-of-arabs-and-iranians/

CNN’s Israel bias has been laid bare. But CNN is the norm, not the exception https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/cnn-israel-bias-laid-bare-norm-not-exception

CNN staff say network’s pro-Israel slant amounts to ‘journalistic malpractice’ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/04/cnn-staff-pro-israel-bias

CNN's CEO Is Making Staff Churn Out Israel Propaganda https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/cnns-ceo-is-making-staff-churn-out

Pregnant Palestinians Are Trapped as Israel Assaults Southern Gaza   https://truthout.org/articles/pregnant-palestinians-are-trapped-as-israel-assaults-southern-gaza/

Let Them Eat Dirt https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/let-them-eat-dirt  https://scheerpost.com/2024/02/08/chris-hedges-let-them-eat-dirt/

Pushing Gazans Into Rafah And Then Attacking Rafah, Killing UNRWA Funding Without Evidence https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/pushing-gazans-into-rafah-and-then

The Palestinian Human Rights Cause Must Mature Beyond the Extreme Left https://www.leefang.com/p/the-palestinian-human-rights-cause

The Biden-Schumer Plan to Kill More Ukrainians https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/the-biden-schumer-plan-to-kill-more-ukrainians

The Vladimir Putin Interview pic.twitter.com/67YuZRkfLL

Putin debunks Tucker Carlson's warmongering anti-China propaganda, mocks his CIA ties https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/putin-tucker-carlson-china-cia
 
Women and People of Color Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis https://scheerpost.com/2024/02/06/women-and-people-of-color-bear-the-brunt-of-medical-misdiagnosis/

China is ‘world’s sole manufacturing superpower’, with 35% of global output https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/01/31/china-world-manufacturing-superpower-production/

A Dementia Patient Is President Because It Doesn't Matter Who The President Is https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/a-dementia-patient-is-president-because

Israel Weaponizes Sympathy And Victimhood https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-weaponizes-sympathy-and-victimhood

"In The War Of Propaganda, It Is Very Difficult To Defeat The United States" https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/in-the-war-of-propaganda-it-is-very   

Robert Kraft’s $7 Million Super Bowl Ad Fuels Controversy Over Israel’s Actions in Gaza https://truthout.org/video/robert-krafts-7-million-super-bowl-ad-fuels-controversy-over-israels-actions-in-gaza/

 

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