Category: Art

When the canary dies, so will the miners

Godmother of punk Vivienne Westwood warns the world

And coverage in the ABC News

Veteran fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood posed in a giant bird cage in London to show her support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and call for his extradition to the United States to be stopped.

Dressed in a canary yellow outfit, the 79-year-old designer led protesters who chanted “Free Julian Assange” outside London’s Central Criminal Court.

…

Westwood told the Associated Press after her protest that freeing Assange would mean that “journalists can continue to tell the truth, rather than repeating the spin that’s dealt to them by the government”.

“I am Julian Assange,” she said.

The designer has turned to activism in recent years, leading campaigns in support of Mr Assange and drawing attention to climate change at her fashion shows.

On 1st July 2020, Michael McCaffrey reviews the film ‘Mr Jones’

In 1933, British journalist Gareth Jones risked life and limb in service to the truth, while in comparison, the journalists of today only care about access to power and towing the elites’ ideological line.

Mr. Jones, a new film by esteemed director Agnieszka Holland, tells the true story of Gareth Jones, a Welsh journalist who travels to the Soviet Union in 1933 and uncovers the Holodomor, Stalin’s genocidal famine of Ukrainians.

…

What makes Mr. Jones noteworthy is that the film’s noble protagonist is, unlike our current corrupt press corps, a dogged journalist more loyal to truth than to ideology, and more interested in maintaining his integrity than gaining access to power and wealth.

Editors Note: Of interest is Michael McCaffrey’s reference to Julian Assange as the natural role model for integrity of journalism and reporting

The most glaring example of the ideological cancer in journalism is the cheering by the establishment media of the prosecution and persecution of Julian Assange, who has done more to inform the public of the truth than any corporate-controlled reporter at any news outlet in the world, and may very well die in prison for it. 

The current crop of subservient sycophants play-acting as journalists in the corporate media are an utter disgrace to their profession, and they dishonor the staggering sacrifice that people like Gareth Jones made in service to truth.

Mr. Jones is not a great movie, but it does chronicle the great struggles of a noble man. If only we had many, many more like him today, maybe truth would be revered and the powerful held accountable

Read whole article in RT News

On the 15th June 2020 Mark Chew writes

Ten years ago this month I was asked to make some photographs of Julian Assange. We spent a couple of hours together and as I worked I found him fascinating, if a little self-obsessed. There was something strange about his world view, perhaps because it was formed 12 inches from a glowing laptop screen. I seem to remember that I didn’t really like him, but I admired his firm belief that knowledge is usually preferable to ignorance.

Ten years on, over my morning coffee, I see pictures of what seems to be a different man, peering from the back of a prison van, like a mole sticking his head out of a burrow, blinking at the daylight. Assange, at the age of 48, is wanted in the US to face seventeen charges under the Espionage Act after the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011 around the time I made this portrait. If convicted, he faces 175 years in prison.

Right now he is being held at Belmarsh Prison in South London while the court system tries to reschedule his extradition hearing, which was postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic. There are plenty of reasons not to like everything that Assange has done over the years. I doubt anybody who really knows him would deny his flaws. However, before you make a final judgement you should perhaps remind yourself of this.

There are a few interesting overlaps here with George Floyd’s murder.  In both cases an over entitled,  over armed, under informed enforcement apparatus of the USA took matters into their own hands…..and it was recorded for the world to see.

Without  Darnella Fraizer, the 17-year-old high school student who recorded and posted the last minutes of George Floyd’s life perhaps the world would not have convulsed as it has over the last fortnight.

Without the work of Assange our opinions of world order would certainly be different. Would we really prefer that we had never known?

So should the British Government be handing this Australian over to the country that is America in 2020? 
I myself would prefer a world where exposing murderer is not a crime in itself.

More on Mark Chew’s web site

The WikiLeaks official Don’t Extradite Assange campaign announces an online film festival – The WikiLeaks Lockdown List. Our contribution to those who are following medical advice and self-isolating due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The WikiLeaks Lockdown List contains free films and talks you can watch to learn more about WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, whistleblowing, activism and seeking justice. Share this list and support our campaign to free Julian Assange. Please take care of yourself and those around you during this time.

Editor’s Note: The playlist is huge

Downloads available at Don’t Extradite Assange – Playlist

Editors Note: Often the toughest of battles inspires the best of art

On Valid Values you can find portraits of people who are linked to WikiLeaks in various ways. Amongst them are human rights lawyers- and activists, artists, journalists and ambassadors. Learn about their values by looking at their portraits and by reading their personal statements. 

Sample portraits

See all portraits on web site validvalues.org

Craig Murray, Humanist, Former Ambassador and Human Right Activist writes in his blog

Lying in bed getting better, I decided to while away the time by writing some Yes Minister fan fiction in tribute.

As with the original series, although based on a realistic civil service scenario dealing with similar events to those the civil service actually deals with, this conversation between a Minister and Permanent Secretary is purely fictional. No real situation is alluded to and any resemblance between the people and situations portrayed here and anything that is happening in real life is entirely accidental. Please do not attempt in the comments section to relate this entirely fictional hommage to Yes Minister to any actual events involving any actual court cases. Because you might wander into contempt of court. 

This is of course my first Yes Minister effort.

FIRST YES MINISTER 

Perm Sec. You see Minister, all you have to do is destroy your predecessor’s reputation. In the modern “Me Too” atmosphere, you accuse someone of sexual offences and politically they are finished. In fact you can do what you like to him.
Minister Like Julian Assange?
Perm Sec Exactly, Minister. Like Julian Assange. We yelled “rape” at him and then had to do nothing else. The left themselves destroyed him, led by the feminists of course. You see Minister, we feminists can be useful sometimes. (Canned Laughter)
Minister Yes, by the time they had finished with him, the government could torture him to death in plain sight and nobody cared.
Perm Sec Precisely Minister, and the hilarious thing was that there never was any rape and we never had to produce any evidence in court.
Minister Yes, brilliant. But it’s not an exact parallel with Orpheus though, is it Permanent Secretary? We don’t have any extradition request for Orpheus once any sexual charges fall.
Perm Sec The charges won’t fall, Minister, they won’t fall. We will get him found guilty.
Minister But he isn’t actually a rapist, you know. Not one of these incidents looks anything like rape. In fact they are all very flimsy. There isn’t one single independent witness and I don’t think any of them could be proven in court.
Perm Sec Please don’t worry yourself. It doesn’t matter, Minister. All we need is the word “rape” in the newspaper headlines. “Attempted rape” will do. You just tell the prosecutor to get the word out there, spread it in the media and Orpheus is finished.
Minister Even if he is not guilty?
Perm Sec He will be guilty. Whether he is guilty is irrelevant, he will be found guilty. This is where we use “more of”.
Minister “More of”?
Perm Sec Yes, “More of”. It’s not an official legal term, but all the lawyers know it as the oldest trick in the prosecutor’s book.
Minister What do you mean, Permanent Secretary?
Perm Sec Well look, we have the canoodling episode, the kiss in the office and a couple of suggestive remarks about sexy clothes.
Minister The sexy remarks are hardly illegal, are they?
Perm Sec Good God, Minister, what century are you in? (Canned Laughter). Sexual harassment, Minister. Kiss someone at the office party and tell someone else their figure looks good in that blouse, and you have established a pattern of behaviour. “More of” you see, Minister. The “more of” this stuff you throw, the better chance some of it will stick.
Minister But we don’t have that many instances. We went through absolutely everything. We had a team of 24 policemen working on it for 10 months and this was all we can find.
Perm Sec It is time to get creative then, Minister. We need more women to make allegations. In these circumstances it is always best to keep things close. Activate the women you know, Minister, activate the women you know.
Minister I don’t have that many friends, Permanent Secretary. I spend all my time reading books. (Canned Laughter).
Perm Sec Oh really, Minister, think. You must have some women very close to you.
Minister Well, there is Miss Barclay, my own Private Secretary.
Perm Sec Perfect, Minister perfect! Miss Barclay should be good for at least four allegations! Get her to say he tried to kiss her. Often.
Minister But surely nobody will believe my own Private Secretary – and she was involved in putting the dossier together and in discussions on handling the case. Nobody is going to believe her. And (gasps in horror) it really leads straight back to me being behind it, doesn’t it?
Perm Sec It can’t be traced back to you, Minister.
Minister Phew, that’s a relief. It can’t be traced back to me you say. How does that work?
Perm Sec Accuser anonymity, Minister.
Minister Accuser anon… oh yes! Oh yes! I am beginning to see!! They are sexual allegations so…
Perm Sec The identities of the accusers can be kept hidden by the court under penalty of severe jail sentences for anybody who reveals them so…
Minister …the accusers can just be my closest political cronies and the public will never be aware of that! That’s brilliant, Perm Sec!
Perm Sec Thank you, Minister (Canned Laughter)
Minister And thank God for that, because if the party faithful thought that I was trying to stitch up my predecessor they would have my guts for garters (Canned Laughter).
Perm Sec Heaven forfend, Minister!
Minister What? Oh too right. I was just thinking, Permanent Secretary, you know I am starting to get the hang of this. What about old Marmalade? He is very keen to get back into parliament and sees himself as a potential successor.
Perm Sec Marmalade? Well I suppose if we start adding in gay allegations, it does give a slightly more exotic tinge for the tabloids.
Minister I was thinking more of his wife, Permanent Secretary. If the old Marmalade family want a nice safe seat in the capital, let them do something to earn it.
Perm Sec Indeed, Minister. And is the wife not a former Special Adviser?
Minister Yes, is that a problem?
Perm Sec On the contrary, Minister. You see it is very useful. A SPAD is of course only a particularly spotty political hack whom politicians have conned the taxpayer into paying, but technically a SPAD is still a form of civil servant.
Minister Yes, and what of it?
Perm Sec Well, the words “civil servant” convey integrity, honesty and trustworthiness. (Canned laughter). We can leak to the tabloids that one of the accusers is a civil servant, and people will believe it must be genuine and independent. Very cunning idea if I may say so, Minister.
Minister Was it? Oh yes, I am cunning, aren’t I. (Canned laughter). But I still worry that none of the accusations is going to be individually convincing.
Perm Sec Doesn’t matter, Minister, doesn’t matter. Remember “More of”. Quantity not quality, Minister, quantity not quality. They don’t have to be individually convincing, just to give the impression of no smoke without fire.
Minister Oh well, I understand that now. In that case I can think of three or four more women very close to us indeed who can make allegations, if independence or credibility are not important and nobody will ever know who they were.
Perm Sec Volume is important, Minister, volume. It does not have to be heavy stuff. Just get them to allege an attempted kiss here, a brush of the hand on the bum as they were going out the door there.
Minister To build a pattern of behaviour.
Perm Sec Precisely, Minister, precisely. To build a pattern of behaviour. I see you have got it.
Minister But isn’t there a problem here, Permanent Secretary? If this man was a sexual predator on a large scale, there would be whispers for years and people in political circles would surely know. But he doesn’t have that reputation at all.
Perm Sec Don’t worry, Minister, he soon will have that reputation. (Canned Laughter). The media will believe it because we will tell them to believe it. And once the media believe something, the population will believe it too. Every politician has enemies, Minister, Orpheus more than most.
Minister But isn’t there a potential danger here, Permanent Secretary? I mean all of this is nonsense, so won’t he be acquitted and emerge possibly stronger than before?
Perm Sec Don’t worry, Minister, he won’t be acquitted. We have a legally invincible alliance on our side. “More of” is powerful, but “more of” combined with “home” becomes an irresistible force.
Minister (puzzled) “More of” and “home”.
Perm Sec Yes Minister. Answer me this. What does a jury want more than anything?
Minister To do justice?
Perm Sec Wrong, Minister, wrong. Home. A jury wants to go home. (Canned Laughter) Jurors are ripped away from their homes, jobs and families for weeks. At the end of it they are locked in a stuffy room with other jurors they don’t like, and not allowed to go home until they have all reached a verdict. So what do they do to reach agreement?
Minister Aaah, I see now. They compromise.
Perm Sec Exactly, Minister. They will compromise. It’s a natural human instinct to avoid conflict. There will be some people who think him totally innocent as nothing was individually proven, but there will be others who will think he must have done something wrong or there could not possibly be so many accusations. The power of “more of”. Of course they will chuck out the “attempted rape” very quickly as obvious nonsense. In the end they will find him not guilty on nearly all counts, but as a compromise will convict him of stroking someone’s hair, patting their bum or saying they look sexy.
Minister But surely he will hardly be jailed for that?
Perm Sec Doesn’t matter, Minister. “Rapist” will already be firmly printed on the public mind, and so long as we have the magic word “guilty” it does not matter what he is guilty of. And it can’t fail. With so many charges, the jury is simply bound to find him guilty of something so they can compromise and all go home.
Minister Brilliant, Permanent Secretary, brilliant.
Perm Sec Thank you.
Minister So that’s finally going to put a stake through his heart. No more Frank Sinatra comebacks and no more Quixotic campaigns chasing unicorns.
Perm Sec Yes, Minister.

I’ve called this film, Lest we Regret, because I’m convinced that if Julian Assange dies in prison or is extradited to the US, Australia will feel massive regret and guilt that his own country did so little to save him.  I address the film to MPs of all parties and to all Australians.

Our image of ourselves as a fair and caring country, is already damaged  and that many already regret.  But Assange is in a different category because abandoning him,  is tantamount to abandoning our commitment to the free flow of information which WikiLeaks has so effectively enabled. Millions of documents have been released and not one has proved to be fake news. It’s an amazing achievement as is the fact that no one has been hurt by these releases, only the powerful massively embarrassed.  
I’ve tried to make the film mainstream. I come in through the curious connection to a time in 1966 when Queen Elizabeth felt great remorse for her failure to respond to a tragedy in Wales. I’m figuring that many of the MPs who we need to see join the excellent initiative of Andrew Wilkie, are Coalition members  who,  hopefully,  will be intrigued by my approach.
 I then go on to counter the conventional idea that Assange is somehow disreputable. I take my audience to his most famous release,  the collateral murder video from 2010,  and show that the way he handled that horrific material was so sincere,  so admirable,  so unlike the information anarchist he’s been painted to be, that hopefully a new appraisal of him emerges in the minds of the viewer.  Our National regret will be even more painful when the Australian public realises what a hero they have abandoned. Regret is a very serious business. We hear of people in war  who have done terrible things,  such as we see in the collateral murder video, and are haunted for the rest of their lives. Australia will be haunted to its core if it abandons Julian Assange to an unjust fate.