Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude

1/24/2023

j.k.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Hate Season at GAC" went up sunday.

j.k. rowling. that idiot for 'huffington post' who insisted she had examined all of j.k.'s statements and found no transphobia? was she blind. if she hadn't written those lies, i might not be writing now. but huff post did write lies. and j.k.'s still doing her transphobia. it's a shame because she really stood for something once upon a time.

i found her inspirational. a working mom on welfare, carving out time to write down stories she came up with all on her own. what a gorgeous imagination she has and real talent.

but she's not much of a person if she'd enter into this hurtful battle against trans people.

great artist, lousy person.

and the world will always be able to enjoy her art.

i honestly have a creative imagination of my own and, in it, j.k. makes amends with the trans community and works to heal, not harm.

bette midler made some anti-trans tweets but then reeled it back in. people can change. but maybe they have to want to change?

bette read some articles in 'the new york times' and took them as credible from a credible outlet.

i don't know where j.k. gets her info. but i wish she cared about the effects that her words had on others. if i were fortunate enough to write even one book as wonderful as the harry potter books, i'd be so happy and just want to share joy with the world.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Monday, January 23, 2022. THE ARAB WEEKLY can't keep their mouth off Moqtada, the marshes in Iraq are at risk (and if enough Gates money is tossed at it, a really bad photo essay can be produced), Iraqis spent the weekend celebrating the big Gulf Cup win, and much more.

You have to wonder and shake your head when liars work so hard to inflate a minor figure. Liars? THE ARAB WEEKLY. No one wanted to put their name to the article which means the writer is at least capable of shame. Yesterday, we noted:

Meanwhile, the Queen of Mesopotamia himself, fading cult leader Moqtada al-Sadr, took it upon himself to show up and tell the team what to do. Tell them what to do, of course, after they have won. Seeing the joy and excitement the team has brought to Iraq, Moqtada wanted to try to latch onto their popularity to pull himself up. So he hectored them on how they should conduct themselves and all these other things that they did need to hear. No one needs advice from a forgotten man.

I learned Moqtada's statements on Arabic social media where he was being mocked ruthlessly. As he should be. He's a failure who keeps stomping his feet and having tantrums. He stops long enough whenever Iraq sees some success and then tries to attach himself to that.

Again, he's being mocked on Arabic social media.

Leave it to THE ARAB WEEKLY to take these actions (and ignore the response) and try to puff them up into Moqtada's 'comeback.'

The leader of Iraq’s Sadrist movement, Moqtada al-Sadr, has used his country’s recent victory in the Gulf soccer cup to stage an unexpected comeback on the Iraqi political scene.

Pro-Iranian formations, including the Coordination Framework coalition, did not seem to have anticipated Sadr’s new move after his had declared withdrawal from politics.

Widely-circulated pictures on social media showed Sadr posing with members of the Iraqi national soccer team carrying their trophy after winning the Gulf Cup 25.

As many social media users noted, where the boys are, Moqtada will soon follow. They mocked him for his childless (and loveless) marriage. Married for decades and no children. I loved the post about how Moqtada must have been too worried about keeping his trim figure to have children.

It's not a comeback.

I don't know why liars are so invested in this. I'm going to assume TAW is worried about Iran's 'influence.' It has them shaking and they see in the cowardly Moqtada some sort of bulwark against Iranian intervention. He's hefty, he's no bulwark. Whenever things get too hot, Moqtada flees Iraq. I don't know if that's the coward I'd pin my hopes on.

Regardless, THE ARAB WEEKLY looks like a cheap and lying rag today and that's no one's fault but their own.

Just like it was no one else fault when they refused to disclose their relationship with Mustafa al-Kadhimi and just like it's no one else fault that THE ARAB WEEKLY repeatedly lied for Mustafa and claimed he was a success and was doing great things. Flat out lies.

While ARAB WEEKLY was puffing him, he was abusing the Iraqi people -- a story that ARAB WEEKLY somehow missed about their friend Mustafa. Last month, Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim (WASHINGTON POST) reported:

Kadhimi, who left office in October, came to power in 2020 after mass anti-corruption demonstrations felled his predecessor. His government’s high-profile campaign to tackle graft in one of the world’s most corrupt countries drew widespread international encouragement.

Central to the effort was a series of highly publicized night raids in late 2020 on the homes of public figures accused of corruption, conducted under the authority of the Permanent Committee to Investigate Corruption and Significant Crimes, better known as Committee 29. The architect of the raids was Lt. Gen. Ahmed Taha Hashim, or Abu Ragheef, who became known in Iraq as the “night visitor.”

But what happened to the men behind closed doors was far darker: a return to the ugly old tactics of a security establishment whose abuses Kadhimi had vowed to address. In more than two dozen interviews — including five men detained by the committee, nine family members who had relatives imprisoned, and 11 Iraqi and Western officials who tracked the committee’s work — a picture emerges of a process marked by abuse and humiliation, more focused on obtaining signatures for pre-written confessions than on accountability for corrupt acts.

Those interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters or, in the case of detainees and their families, to protect their safety.

“It was every kind of torture,” one former detainee recalled. “Electricity, choking me with plastic bags, hanging me from the ceiling by my hands. They stripped us naked and grabbed at the parts of our body underneath.”

In at least one case, a former senior official, Qassim Hamoud Mansour, died in the hospital after being arrested by the committee. Photographs provided to The Post by his family appear to show that a number of teeth had been knocked out, and there were signs of blunt trauma on his forehead.

Allegations that the process was riddled with abuse became an open secret among diplomats in Baghdad last year. But the international community did little to follow up on the claims and the prime minister’s office downplayed the allegations, according to officials with knowledge of the issue. Although a parliamentary committee first revealed the torture allegations in 2021 and Iraqi media have raised the issue sporadically, this is the fullest attempt yet to investigate the claims and document the scale of the abuse.

Still on embarrassing 'journalism,' using Gates money and assorted other foundations and fronts, THE GUARDIAN offers a 'report' (glorified photo essay) on the decay of the marshlands in Iraq.

Those of us who actually follow that story are well aware that others are reporting -- not writing captions for photos. For example, January 10th, Yale's School of Environment published Wil Crisp's article which opened:

Three years ago, the vast marshlands of southern Iraq’s Dhi Qar province were flourishing. Fishermen glided in punts across swathes of still water between vast reed beds, while buffalo bathed amid green vegetation. But today those wetlands, part of the vast Mesopotamian Marshes, have shriveled to narrow channels of polluted water bordered by cracked and salty earth. Hundreds of desiccated fish dot stream banks, along with the carcasses of water buffalo poisoned by saline water. Drought has parched tens of thousands of hectares of fields and orchards, and villages are emptying as farmers abandon their land.

For their biodiversity and cultural significance, the United Nations in 2016 named the Mesopotamian Marshes — which historically stretched between 15,000 and 20,000 square kilometers in the floodplain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers — a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The marshes comprised one of the world’s largest inland delta systems, a startling oasis in an extremely hot and arid environment, home to 22 species of globally endangered species and 66 at-risk bird species.

But now this ecosystem — which includes alluvial salt marshes, swamps, and freshwater lakes — is collapsing due to a combination of factors meteorological, hydrological, and political. Rivers are rapidly shrinking, and agricultural soil that once grew bounties of barley and wheat, pomegranates, and dates is blowing away. The environmental disaster is harming wildlife and driving tens of thousands of Marsh Arabs, who have occupied this area for 5,000 years, to seek livelihoods elsewhere.

Experts warn that unless radical action is taken to ensure the region receives adequate water — and better manages what remains — southern Iraq’s marshlands will disappear, with sweeping consequences for the entire nation as farmers and pastoralists abandon their land for already crowded urban areas and loss of production leads to rising food prices.

The Mesopotamian marshlands are often referred to as the cradle of civilization, as anthropologists believe that this is where humankind, some 12,000 years ago, started its wide-scale transition from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement. Encompassing four separate marshes, the region has historically been home to a unique range of fish and birdlife, serving as winter habitat for migratory birds and sustaining a productive shrimp and finfish fishery.

But, hey, THE GUARDIAN only had access to money from The Gates Foundation, it's not like they could work as hard as a university on so 'little' money. They should be embarrassed. They should be ashamed. It's a serious topic and they produced the equivalent of click-bait and did so wasting money that could have gone to a real investigation.

Like the report AGO released today. Here's the executive summary:

Iraq is highly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. The country’s vulnerability is shaped by its physical exposure, a strong natural resource dependency and low adaptive capacity due to violent conflict, poverty, and political instability. The complex crisis in Iraq affects vulnerable groups by adding ever more stressors while also pushing other groups into vulnerability. Though climate change affects all, its impacts specially drought affects certain groups more than the other.

Small-scale farmers who are dependent primarily on rain-fed agriculture are mostly affected. In particular, farmers who are located further away from open water sources, such as rivers, are faced with the need to find and pay for alternatives. The population who lives away from the river are also among the worst affected and most at risk of desertification, with no proper irrigation or access to water networks. The population who relies on agricultural-based livelihood are the most affected of all as they lack access to diversified sources of income, putting them among the most vulnerable and some of them have changed either their location of living or occupation to search of better incomes.

Climate change and mainly drought affect groups unequally and exacerbates the vulnerabilities that already exist among specific groups such as displaced populations or returnees. The survey found that returnees suffer the most among the sample, as they have lost their assets, services, and livelihood opportunities.

Drought also has particular impacts on women, who are already vulnerable and socially constrained. Such vulnerabilities are further deepened in the case of internal migration, especially from rural to urban areas, while putting more stress on the capacities of urban areas to absorb the increasing needs and demands of new arrivals.
The effects of climate change are felt in several critical sectors – agriculture, water, economy, public health, and the environment– directly affecting the lives of Iraqi citizens.

However, responses to climate change have been inadequate and significantly affected by violent conflict, the lack of governmental financial and human resources, and the lack of coordination among ministries.

If left unattended, climate change impacts will exacerbate poverty and insecurity and may lead to social unrest and further instability.

Last week, The Arabian Gulf Cup wrapped up with Iraq's The Lions of Mesopotamia being declared the victors. Amal Abdulmalik (AL MADA) compares the enthusiasm witnessed to a "football wedding" and observes that Iraq last hosted the Gulf Cup almost 42 years ago. Sinan Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) points out, "It is the fourth time Iraq has won the Gulf Cup since it first took place in 1970." SBA ASSYRIAN notes a foreign visitor stating, ""Iraqi shop and restaurant owners refused to charge us any money. This is unbelievable."

Sinan Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) reports:

Iraq’s national football team were given a heroes' welcome upon their return to Baghdad on Friday, a day after winning the Arabian Gulf Cup in the southern city of Basra.

Thousands of Iraqis packed the main streets of the capital, mainly along the motorway linking Baghdad International Airport to the city centre, to greet the Lions of Mesopotamia.

After their plane landed, the team were received on a red carpet as the Iraq National Band for Musical Heritage danced and sang, waving Iraqi flags.

THE NEW ARAB notes:

Following a cruise on Friday afternoon on the Shatt Al-Arab river, where fans from Basra province greeted the players and staff, the Iraqi team headed to Baghdad.

From Baghdad airport to the Grand Festivities Square, the side was welcomed by fans along the side of the road, which extends for around 16 miles (26 kilometres).

Iraq Football Association President Adnan Dirjal and other officials were first to ascend the podium in the square before the players and staff joined them.

In addition, Iraqi foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Al-Sahhaf said Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein ordered diplomatic passports to be given to the members of the national side in recognition of their win, official news agency INA reported.

The 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup ran from 6 to 19 January 2023. The tournament takes place every other year.

Members of the winning team include: Fahad Talib, Jalal Hassan, Ahmed Basil, Manaf Younis, Zaid Tahseen, Mustafa Nadhim, Ali Faez, Alai Ghasem, Dhurgham Ismail, Hussein Ammar, Hussein Ali, Ibrahim Bavesh, Hassan Abdulkareem, Sherko Karim, Rewan Amin, Amjad Attwan, Amir al_Ammari, Mohammed Ali Abboud, Hussein Jabbar, Moammel Abdul-Ridha, Alaa Abbas, Aymen Hussein and Aso Rostam.

Staying on sports, Molly Sprayregen (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

Former NFL coach and current NBC football analyst Tony Dungy recently found himself at the mercy of Twitter after touting a long-debunked far-right conspiracy theory about students dressing up as animals and using litter boxes at school.

In a since-deleted tweet, the former football coach responded to a post from the right-wing publication The Daily Wire about a Minnesota legislator supporting a bill that would require menstrual products to be placed in boys’ bathrooms at schools.

“That’s nothing,” Dungy responded. “Some school districts are putting litter boxes in the school bathrooms for the students who identify as cats. Very important to address every student’s needs.”

Last year, conservatives from across the country were saying that schools were allowing students to identify as animals, with many of them calling those students “furries.” The urban legend, when told, often included the details that students were using litterboxes – sometimes in classrooms – and that schools were being forced to accommodate these students.

Bald and stupid. Mel Cooley made it look so much easier on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. (Possibly he made it look fun and entertaining because he was played by a gay man: Richard Deacon.) At USA TODAY, Nancy Armour explains:

In a new poll released Thursday, 45% of transgender and nonbinary youth said they’d been cyberbullied or harassed online because of increased anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies, while 24% said they’d been bullied at school. Nearly 30% said they don’t feel safe going to a doctor if they’re sick or injured.

Now consider that more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, according to The Trevor Project’s 2022 survey on mental health, and that 86% in the new Morning Consult poll said their mental health has been negatively affected by state laws restricting transgender rights.

“It has made me feel increasingly trapped and hopeless,” one person told The Trevor Project.

It’s these kids, these already vulnerable and in-peril kids, who Tony Dungy chose to pile on using his large, national platform. Who Dungy put further in harm’s way with his bigotry and ignorance, under the guise of his “Christian” faith.

In a since-deleted Tweet, the Hall of Fame coach who is now an NBC Sports analyst ridiculed Minnesota’s efforts to treat its most at-risk students with compassion and care by sharing a debunked -- and wholly nonsensical – claim that some schools are providing litter boxes because students are identifying as cats.

Dungy is a smart man, the son of educators and a graduate of the University of Minnesota. He should have known right away there was no truth to that tinfoil hat litter box story. Even if he wasn’t sure, determining it wasn’t true would have taken him all of 30 seconds if he’d just searched a reputable news source.

Like, say, his own employer.

Despite claims that he apologized, he did not. Cyd Zeigler (OUTSPORTS) explains:

While it’s labeled an “apology” and he says he’s “sorry,” there is nothing regretful about this statement other than getting caught.

Dungy does not mention the LGBT community who was most-harmed by his tweet. It was LGBT people he was clearly targeting with the debunked claim of kids “identifying” as cats and needing litter boxes.

If you can’t bring yourself to address the injured party, the “apology” is an empty gesture.

Also note that he does not in any way distance himself from the ideas and beliefs behind the ridiculous litter-box claim. He simply says he shouldn’t have shared it.

What would a real, genuine apology look like? A suggestion:

This week I shared a story that I came to understand is false. The story was designed to harm the LGBT community and demean people who are transgender. I have done a lot of soul-searching on this over the last few days, and I have come to realize how very wrong it was not only to share it, but also how damaging the message behind it was. For a long time I’ve tried to reconcile my faith with homosexuality. It’s something I struggle with to this day. I’m sorry that I shared something damaging and false, and I hope after this weekend I might be able to talk with some people in that community, and that we can share and listen to one another. I may not have all the answers, but I’m willing to work to find a way to repair the damage I’ve done.

Now that would be an apology.

And as Cyd notes in another article, this wasn't just an error, this is part of a longstanding pattern of homophobia on Dungy's part:

Already probably the most publicly anti-LGBT person in NFL history, Dungy’s hiding behind his Christianity and the Bible don’t explain away this claim. There’s nothing in the New Testament about gay or transgender people deceiving children into thinking they’re animals (though I’m sure his anti-gay zealot friend Andrew Wommack can summon something from the Book of Corinthians to prove it).

As I wrote last week, beyond Dungy’s years-long campaign against the LGBT community stands NBC’s silence about it. The Peacock Network is a crossroads on this one. Again, this isn’t about Dungy quoting the Bible or expressing his “religious beliefs.” This is simply absurd, cruel, over-the-top anti-LGBT rhetoric that has been disproven by NBC News itself.

This was not, it seems, simply a “mistake” by Dungy. This is part of a decades-long series of attacks on my community, my friends, my teammates and my loved ones that NBC has for years tolerated.

Julie DiCaro (DEADSPIN) notes the whole NFL team needs both a make over and a do over:

Ever since NBC NFL analyst Tony Dungy tweeted out a common right-wing, anti-trans, completely-debunked talking point, much of sports media has been focused on Dungy’s history of aligning himself with anti-LGBT+ individuals and organizations. And rightly so. I myself was so outraged by Dungy’s transphobic remarks that I immediately grabbed my phone to call him out on Twitter. (Dungy has since tweeted out an apology.) But Dungy isn’t the only problematic member of NBC’s premier football crew. Both announcer Mike Tirico and analyst Matthew Berry have, in the past, been accused of sexual harassment by their female colleagues.

Mike Tirico’s history

According to Mike Freeman’s book, ESPN: The Uncensored History, Tirico was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women during his tenure at ESPN, including this truly disturbing allegation:

Use the link to read the allegations against Tirico and Matthew Berry.

We'll note it again this week but, below, DEMOCRACY NOW! broadcast The Belmarsh Tribunal from DC about the continued persecution of Julian Assange and the attack on First Amendment rights.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Hate Season at GAC" and "Take That Moment To Enjoy The PEW" went up Sunday. The following sites updated:

1/22/2023

did kate smith even know who cher and tina turner were?

cher posted the video below to her 'youtube' channel yesterday.

it's a great medley of beatles songs. but doesn't kate smith look awkward throughout?

she sings surprisingly well.

but she's looking at cher and tina being side by side or belting together and she really doesn't move towards them. at times, it even appears, she's aware that she can block them by moving in front of them.

it's a very strange moment.

but every 1 - even kate smith - does a great job singing.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Friday, January 20, 2023. Celebrations in Iraq and around the world as The Arabian Gulf Cup concludes with the Lions of Mesopotamia claiming victory.

Yesterday, the Arabian Gulf Cup wrapped up after Iraq went up against Oman.

IRAQI NEWS reports:

The 25th Gulf Cup tournament’s best player title went to rising Iraqi football star Ibrahim Bayesh Al-Kaabi. In the championship game, Bayesh scored an important goal for Iraq in the 24th minute, giving them the lead going into halftime.

Bayesh, who was just 16 years old when he signed with the Zakho club, was born on May 1st, 2000 in Baghdad, Iraq. In his one season of play at Zakho club, he scored two goals. He relocated to Naft Al-Wasat during the 2017 season, then in 2018 he left to join the Air Force from Al-Zawra.

With a total of three goals scored, Iraqi forward Aymen Hussein was named the tournament’s top scorer. Against Yemen, the football star scored twice, and against Qatar, he scored once. Currently, Hussein is a striker with Al-Markhiya in the Qatar Stars League.

Iraqi midfielder Amjad Atwan was awarded Player of the Match for the Gulf Cup final. The Iraqi footballer was crucial throughout the game and scored Iraq’s second goal during the match’s overtime in the 116th minute. Atwan may be used as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder, presently plays at Al-Shamal in the Qatar Stars League.

THE KALEEJ TIMES notes, "His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, congratulated Iraq on winning the Gulf Cup. The leader said in a tweet: "The joy of Iraq today, after long patience and waiting, and the peoples and hearts rejoiced with it.. Today we are all Iraqis in joy.. We are all Iraqis today in victory." And fans from outside Iraq were ecstatic as well. THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS reports:

There was traffic chaos in south Manchester on Thursday night (January 19) as crowds stormed Wilmslow Road. Supporters waved the flag of Iraq in the air in a seeming celebration to the country's national football team being crowned Gulf Cup champions after defeating Oman.

Buses and cars became gridlocked along the packed-out curry mile, in Rusholme, from around 7pm. Video footage showed large numbers of people gathering and filming on their mobile phones.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police were also on the scene to help manage the crowds, as cars honked their horns and crowds cheered in what appeared to be elation at the victory.

And in Michigan . . .

Jeffrety St. Clair (COUNTERPUNCH) reports:

+ More than 70 inmates in Texas are on a hunger strike, protesting solitary confinement in the state’s prison system, which has locked more than 500 people in isolation cells for longer than a decade.

+ New York City taxpayers are on pace to pay $820 million in just overtime for NYPD this year, which is enough to house all 14,000 homeless families in NYC and pay several years of rent for 7,000 families out of work and facing eviction.

+ Our friend Arun Gupta has written a detailed piece exposing the cozy relationship between the Proud Boys and the Portland (Oregon) Police: “Since 2017, police have allowed the Pacific Northwest city to serve as a proving ground for fascists like the Proud Boys. They received legal impunity and even police support with few attempts to stop it. The far-right used political violence to network with white nationalists, militias, and other extremists, raise their image nationally, gain recruits, and build capacity.”

+ Cops in Louisiana coerced a woman into working as an informant after her drug arrest. Then failed to protect her, as she was raped twice while undercover. “She was an addict and we just used her as an informant like we’ve done a million times before,” said retired Lt. Mark Parker, who oversaw the operation. “We’ve always done it this way. Looking back, it’s easy to say, ‘What if?’”

+ As California moves to dismantle its death row, Louisiana is using to the former death row block at the infamous Angola prison to incarcerate juveniles. One of the imprisoned kids said: “It is very depressing to be here knowing this is the former death row. When the lights go out at night, I think I see shadows going past.”

+ The city of Pittsburgh passed an ordinance banning officers from stopping drivers for certain minor offenses. The Pittsburgh Police chief has decided to ignore the ordinance, claiming that the rules deflated “officer morale.”

+ After learning that she’d repeatedly been denied jobs because background checks showed she had a criminal record (she didn’t), Julie Hudson, a black 31-year-old Ph. D. student, visited a Philadelphia police station to try and clear things up. She was promptly arrested and taken into custody after being mistaken for a suspect with the same name.

Wrongful imprisonment goes on around the world -- and despite huge outcries. There is a global movement to free Julian Assange from wrongful imprisonment.

Julian remains imprisoned and remains persecuted by US President Joe Biden who, as vice president, once called him "a high tech terrorist." Julian's 'crime' was revealing the realities of Iraq -- Chelsea Manning was a whistle-blower who leaked the information to Julian. WIKILEAKS then published the Iraq War Logs. And many outlets used the publication to publish reports of their own. For example, THE GUARDIAN published many articles based on The Iraq War Logs. Jonathan Steele, David Leigh and Nick Davies offered, on October 22, 2012:

A grim picture of the US and Britain's legacy in Iraq has been revealed in a massive leak of American military documents that detail torture, summary executions and war crimes.
Almost 400,000 secret US army field reports have been passed to the Guardian and a number of other international media organisations via the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

The electronic archive is believed to emanate from the same dissident US army intelligence analyst who earlier this year is alleged to have leaked a smaller tranche of 90,000 logs chronicling bloody encounters and civilian killings in the Afghan war.
The new logs detail how:
• US authorities failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape and even murder by Iraqi police and soldiers whose conduct appears to be systematic and normally unpunished.

• A US helicopter gunship involved in a notorious Baghdad incident had previously killed Iraqi insurgents after they tried to surrender.
• More than 15,000 civilians died in previously unknown incidents. US and UK officials have insisted that no official record of civilian casualties exists but the logs record 66,081 non-combatant deaths out of a total of 109,000 fatalities.

The numerous reports of detainee abuse, often supported by medical evidence, describe prisoners shackled, blindfolded and hung by wrists or ankles, and subjected to whipping, punching, kicking or electric shocks. Six reports end with a detainee's apparent deat

Eric Lichtblau (GUARDIAN) observes:

The Biden administration has been saying all the right things lately about respecting a free and vigorous press, after four years of relentless media-bashing and legal assaults under Donald Trump.

The attorney general, Merrick Garland, has even put in place expanded protections for journalists this fall, saying that “a free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy”.

But the biggest test of Biden’s commitment remains imprisoned in a jail cell in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been held since 2019 while facing prosecution in the United States under the Espionage Act, a century-old statute that has never been used before for publishing classified information.

Whether the US justice department continues to pursue the Trump-era charges against the notorious leaker, whose group put out secret information on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, American diplomacy and internal Democratic politics before the 2016 election, will go a long way toward determining whether the current administration intends to make good on its pledges to protect the press.

Now Biden is facing a re-energized push, both inside the United States and overseas, to drop Assange’s protracted prosecution.

Today, DEMOCRACY NOW! has a special broadcast:

On Jan. 20, Democracy Now! will live-stream the Belmarsh Tribunal from Washington, D.C. The event will feature expert testimony from journalists, whistleblowers, lawyers, publishers and parliamentarians on assaults to press freedom and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Watch here live at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 20.

Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman and Srecko Horvat, the co-founder of DiEM25, will chair the tribunal, which is being organized by Progressive International and the Wau Holland Foundation.

Members of the tribunal include: