Within the last thirty years, and speeding up exponentially in the last decade, the citizens of the United States have seen the erosion of their legal protections and rights at the benefit of the wealthy, who not only have corrupted the very integrity of the executive office, and the entire US government, but gained extrajudicial rights that only can exist when the equal rule of law is not enforced. What benefits does a wealthy individual gain when they can be directly responsible for the election of a public official? The prank call to Governor Walker of Wisconsin's office (Koch Brother Prank Call) illustrates with certainty one thing; that those with vast sums of money have direct access to the government. I would challenge anyone who can claim that the average citizen would have equal attention as clearly obtuse.
This is the tip of the iceberg illustrating the inequalities between the majority of the US population and the small minority that possesses most of the country's wealth, and the US government, which is more and more becoming one and the same. To better understand the depth of the threat we face, one of the best examples in current events to examine is the United States government's response to Wikileaks.
I believe the best way to mentally approach the challenge we face is via imagery and symbology. Grouping concepts utilizing this approach allows for different organizational strategies, and will enable us to think on a different level from those who are, at their root, the cause of all this world's oppression. In that spirit, I want you to see 1. the ever-increasing US security state apparatus, 2. the main trades which corporations are currently monopolizing; pharmaceuticals, food (and importantly, seeds), health insurance, energy (Big Oil), telecommunications, and the Banking industry, 3. the neverending wars of the United States and the lobbying of the military-industrial complex, first brought to America's attention by President Eisenhower, as branches or arms of a single entity, a cancerous growth not only infesting our country, but every other country on Earth, draining natural resources without replenishing them and increasingly polluting land, sea and air via oil use and spillage, as well as skimming continuous increases in money from the majority of the world's population, forcing them to tighten their belts while its profits continue to skyrocket, and growing ever more prosperous as it continues to invent reasons to engage in war in distant countries and contributes to destabilization of governments around the globe. Imagine this cancer as a creature, a chimaeric monster with its own kind of intelligence which seeks to divide everything and create conflict, for it is only in that pursuit that profit may be infinitely focused in one individual.
Call it the Hydra, for it has many heads; corporate law firms like Hunton & Williams, which commissioned online security firms HB Gary, Palantir Technologies (oh fuck it's sauron), and Berico to find ways to attack and undermine "supporters" of Wikileaks, in an effort to destroy the aforementioned institution. While there are many enemies of Wikileaks, the US government one of the foremost among them, in this case Hunton & Williams was hired on behalf of... Bank of America. Wikileaks is preparing a big info drop on BoA, which they say has the potential to bring more than a few board members down. However, the Hydra's head is still connected to its body; Glenn Greenwald, who was one of the people targeted by Hunton & Williams' associates, reports,
"And perhaps most disturbing of all, Hunton & Williams was recommended to Bank of America's General Counsel by the Justice Department -- meaning the U.S. Government is aiding Bank of America in its defense against/attacks on WikiLeaks."
This is a perfect illustration of the interconnectedness of our opposition; just like the US government bailed out Wall Street for billions upon billions (and won't do the same for us!), the US government will serve as legal obfuscation and servile attack dogs for the Banking industry as well. That is because the Banking industry is the government, and the government is the banks, the pharmaceutical corporations, Monsanto, the oil industry, the electric giants, Comcast, and the rest. Old and decrepit, sluggish dinosaurs that they are, they control our means of communication, our means of transport, heating and cooling, our medicines, food, soon water, they even hold hostage our very housing. We must break ourselves free of these dependences, and provide them ourselves. Until we do, they also control our very lives. And their only goal is endless consumption, for their greed can never be satisfied. Recognizing this threat is the first step.
Wikileaks, as current center of Sauron's attention, should have some background provided. I will do so by listing chronologically the three major releases that have led to the US government to target and attack Wikileaks.
1. A video release of an Apache gunship attack on Reuters employees mistaken as insurgents, and subsequent shooting of a van that pulled up to aid the wounded, in which contained children.
2. The Afghan and Iraq War Logs release, which published some 391,000 military reports on events on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq.
3. The US Embassy Diplomatic Cables drop, which consists of 251,287 cables. Only 5011 of these cables have been published so far.
Wikileaks also published leaks on many of the dictators in the Middle East now in danger of frying alive (hopefully soon). While not the trigger for Tunisia's revolt, Wikileaks did open to the public eye of Tunisia the excesses of dictator Ben Ali for all to see, as well as the US government's knowledge of these excesses, neither of which were news to the people of Tunisia except insofar as it provided concrete evidence of criminal conduct that could be used to reinforce the moral position of the people.
That is what Wikileaks has done in the last two years. What has the US government done in the last year to Wikileaks? To put it simply, it has pulled strings with major corporations to prevent avenues of funding to Wikileaks, as well as initiating a number of attacks on their ability to maintain a web site, manhandled its relations with submissive European countries to initiate international manhunts for Wikileaks spokesman Julian Assange, and most likely pressured Sweden to detain Assange on unusual charges with unusual police handling. They have targeted US citizens who are affiliated with or voice support for Wikileaks.
This behavior has a parallel course in the US government's handling of detainee Corporal Bradley Manning, who is alleged to have leaked the Apache gunship video and the Afghan war logs (Charges against Manning, 7/6/10). Bradley Manning was arrested in late July 2010, and has since then remained in solitary confinement as a Maximum Custody Detainee for now over eight months. The US government has harassed supporters of Bradley Manning, from seizing all their electronic devices and detaining them temporarily at airports to detaining visitors to Manning at Quantico brig and impounding their vehicles. The prison has also attempted to increase the severity of Manning's imprisonment, having elevated Manning from prevention of injury to suicide watch in late January for two days. This was punitive and improper procedure: only medical personnel are allowed to recommend suicide watch, and the psychiatric on duty said it was not warranted. It was carried out regardless by the Quantico Brig commander James Averhart, who was replaced by Denise Barnes a week after his decision to elevate Manning's security status (Former Quantico Officer David MacMichael letter provides additional perspective). Manning is still in solitary confinement, and his visitors continue to be harassed. (Bradley Manning, current situation February)
So: to Wikileaks and their spokesman, Julian Assange, and to whistleblower Bradley Manning, the US government, from legislative branches to judiciary, has:
Wikileaks
1. Prevented Visa, Mastercard, Discovery, AE, Amazon, Paypal, and other major corporations from doing business with Wikileaks.
2. Forced companies to not host Wikileak's website.
3. Arrested Assange and demanding extradition to the United States, even though he has not been charged.
4. Teamed up with major corporations to attack US citizens who support Wikileaks.
Bradley Manning
1. Kept in solitary confinement for almost 9 months without trial.
2. Punitively changed security status in order to put emotional, mental and physical pressure on Manning, against proper procedure.
3. Harassed and attempted to prevent any visitors to Manning.
The issue here is not the severity or illegality of these measures; it is that the US government is clearly attempting to suppress any political organ that exposes actions and decisions made by the US government to the public. Thus, the first objective of the global community should be to expose all of the US government, to all of the public. Each breach, like the one caused by Anonymous's counterattack against HBGary head Aaron Barr, teaches us the depth of the machinations constantly going on behind the scenes, and by exposing its moral corruption and ethical vapidity to the public eye, forces them to dissemble and recoil, creates more cracks. That's how the cookie crumbles.
Ovi kriminalci nedostajati klase,
The Dragon of San Marcos
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