Arthur on Thu, 11 Apr 2019 23:25:03 +0200 (CEST)


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Re: <nettime> Assange Arrested by London Police


I think it's too early to say how or why this happened. There are obviously the claims of maltreatment or Ecuadorian staff, the links to the entity currently attacking Ecuadorian PM. But, look, the model itself induces this exact situation. He's created a system which engenders the transparency of liberal democracies. What he didn't account for was the fact that this projected universalism cam be circumvented *and abused* by non-liberal non-democracies. What he created was, to its fault, a simple web page. Accessible and abuseable by anyone/any government. Its power lay in its universality and usability, but that then immediately inserts it into all the problems with blanket "universalism".

In the best case scenario, he's given up US secrets. In the worst case scenario, he's created a medium where aggressor, anti-liberal states can leak hacked information, for the purposes of PSYOPS, through this "liberal", "peace-conducive" medium under the window-dressing of "liberalism".

Either way it's high-level PSYOPS as either a single, double or triple bluff...


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On Apr 11, 2019, 17:03, < nettime-l-request@mail.kein.org> wrote:

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Today's Topics:

1. Assange Arrested by London Police (John Young)
2. Re: Assange Arrested by London Police (K E N O)
3. Screen Shots of Assange Arrest by London Police (John Young)
4. New TV link of Assange arrest (John Young)
5. Re: Guardian Live on Assange's arrest (Patrice Riemens)
6. Re: Guardian Live on Assange's arrest (Felix Stalder)
7. Assange Indictment (John Young)
8. Re: Guardian Live on Assange's arrest (tbyfield)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 06:39:02 -0400
From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
To: nettime-l@mail.kein.org
Subject: <nettime> Assange Arrested by London Police
Message-ID: <E1hEX5U-0001Xm-3Z@elasmtp-dupuy.atl.sa.earthlink.net">E1hEX5U-0001Xm-3Z@elasmtp-dupuy.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Live TV coverage of arrest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QXSefWYsyE

Limp Assange being manhandled from embassay begins -39:40


------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 12:46:48 +0200
From: K E N O <lucky@kenokeno.bingo>
To: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
Cc: nettime-l@mail.kein.org
Subject: Re: <nettime> Assange Arrested by London Police
Message-ID: <B129DB4D-CB7D-47EC-9166-5430C40ECFE4@kenokeno.bingo>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Ah, one of Ruptly?s favourite topics, isn?t it?

> Am 11.04.2019 um 12:39 schrieb John Young <jya@pipeline.com>:
>
> Live TV coverage of arrest:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QXSefWYsyE
>
> Limp Assange being manhandled from embassay begins -39:40
>
>
> # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
> # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
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------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 07:09:15 -0400
From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
To: nettime-l@mail.kein.org
Subject: <nettime> Screen Shots of Assange Arrest by London Police
Message-ID: <E1hEXYU-000BmP-Si@elasmtp-galgo.atl.sa.earthlink.net">E1hEXYU-000BmP-Si@elasmtp-galgo.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

TV link down at the moment.

Screen shots of Assange arrest, resisting limp and shouting:

https://cryptome.org/assange-arrested.jpg

https://cryptome.org/assange-arrested2.jpg

https://cryptome.org/assange-arrested3.jpg


------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 07:16:15 -0400
From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
To: nettime-l@mail.kein.org
Subject: <nettime> New TV link of Assange arrest
Message-ID: <E1hEXfE-0008nB-Jw@elasmtp-mealy.atl.sa.earthlink.net">E1hEXfE-0008nB-Jw@elasmtp-mealy.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

New TV link of Assange arrest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stTMt1tLT4g


------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:32:15 +0200
From: Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl>
To: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
Cc: nettime-l@mail.kein.org
Subject: Re: <nettime> Guardian Live on Assange's arrest
Message-ID: <7eb14185eb67bc7150e75c1af7673bed@xs4all.nl">7eb14185eb67bc7150e75c1af7673bed@xs4all.nl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

On 2019-04-11 13:16, John Young wrote:
> New TV link of Assange arrest:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stTMt1tLT4g

There are already 3 pages of minute-by-minute reporting on the arrest,
pbly m few more to come:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/live/2019/apr/11/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-arrested-at-the-ecuadorean-embassy-live-updates

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 15:38:48 +0200
From: Felix Stalder <felix@openflows.com>
To: nettime-l@mail.kein.org
Subject: Re: <nettime> Guardian Live on Assange's arrest
Message-ID: <8e6d12c0-0f31-1ced-4d14-316a0ad2c56f@openflows.com">8e6d12c0-0f31-1ced-4d14-316a0ad2c56f@openflows.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Democracy Now is doing interviews on this, which you can access via
their twitter feed.

https://twitter.com/democracynow/status/1116320933977841664/video/1

and there, Glenn Greenwald makes the point that Assange is neither US
citizen, nor is Wikileaks a US-based news organization, thus "the idea
that the U.S. government can just extend its reach to any news outlet
anywhere in the world and criminalize publication of documents ? is
extremely chilling."

For Trump, it poses an odd political problem, because Assange is a real
hero to this base. I scrolled through the comments on Breitbart, and the
were all really positive about him, and saw is arrest as the works of
the "globalist" deep state.

Even if you don't like his dealings with Trump and would like to see him
properly prosecuted for his alleged rape in Sweden, I think Greenwald's
point is still the core one.

Besides the specific content of the leaks that came out of Wikileaks, I
think Assange has been the most innovative person in journalism, and
particularly the print media owe him a lot of thanks for pioneering a
model (research pools, database investigation, data journalism beyond
graphic design etc) that made them more relevant again.

All the best. Felix


On 11.04.19 14:32, Patrice Riemens wrote:
> On 2019-04-11 13:16, John Young wrote:
>> New TV link of Assange arrest:
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stTMt1tLT4g
>
>
> There are already 3 pages of minute-by-minute reporting on the arrest,
> pbly m few more to come:
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/media/live/2019/apr/11/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-arrested-at-the-ecuadorean-embassy-live-updates
>
> #? distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
> #? <nettime>? is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
> #? collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
> #? more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
> #? archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@kein.org
> #? @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
>

--
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Message: 7
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 09:49:07 -0400
From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
To: nettime-l@mail.kein.org
Subject: <nettime> Assange Indictment
Message-ID: <E1hEa37-0002HN-DA@elasmtp-curtail.atl.sa.earthlink.net">E1hEa37-0002HN-DA@elasmtp-curtail.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

https://cryptome.org/2019/04/assange-indictment.pdf


------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 12:03:09 -0400
From: tbyfield <tbyfield@panix.com>
To: Nettime-l <nettime-l@kein.org>
Cc: Felix Stalder <felix@openflows.com>
Subject: Re: <nettime> Guardian Live on Assange's arrest
Message-ID: <3CC0F23D-80F8-43B3-9A72-4739D2ECC9F2@panix.com">3CC0F23D-80F8-43B3-9A72-4739D2ECC9F2@panix.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

So far, coverage has understandably focused on the event of Assange's
arrest. Lots of voices are arguing that it's 'chilling' ? as if
keeping someone jailed other names for six+ years in a forlorn and
ambiguous situation weren't chilling. If anything, the indefinite
uncertainty of his semi-voluntary confinement was even more chilling;
and the fact that it had to end in something like this, but no one knew
when or why, made it even more so.

Most of the comments I've seen so far feel like they were pulled out of
the freezer to thaw it out for dinnertime news programs: he's an
Australian citizen, he had immunity, Wikileaks isn't a US entity, the
embassy is Ecuador's sovereign territory, etc, etc. These conditions
were all true give days ago, five weeks ago, even five years ago, so
they don't add much to understanding what's afoot right now. A better
line of questions might involve what's changed since he first entered
the embassy. Most of what we 'know' amounts to tea-leaf reading ? for
example, Manning being jailed for refusing to testify before a grand
jury, and the Wikileaks tweet several days ago that he'd be arrested
within 'hours, or days,' or something like that. Beyond those scattered
crumbs, I think it depends on where you stand on 'conspiratorial' ideas
? like how this might related to the trajectory of Mueller's report.

But a myriad of other, 'softer' things has changed in a big way. When
Assange and Wikileaks rose to power, if you could call it that, the US
relied heavily on extraordinary rendition to move ill-defined 'enemy
combatants' from secret to secret ? 'torture taxi' private jets and
'black sites.' TIRED. What's WIRED is the US brazenly subjecting vast
numbers of undocumented newcomers to detention and family-separation
policies. And whatever you think of Glenn Greenwald, he was a bit
fresher when this Wikileaks thing was starting up; now Greenwald is
buried in ossified complaints that his views are hopelessly compromised
and ridiculously selective. A few generations of dodgy messaging apps
have been tossed in the dustbin of internet history and, among them,
Signal has become a way of signaling a certain savvy. And, as Felix
points out, Wikileaks's basic proposition ? secure drops of
confidential data for journalists ? has become so normy that some news
outlets have already retired their systems. Basically, security isn't
'sexy' anymore. And neither is Assange.

The fact that this arrest was conducted not just in the open but in
broad daylight can't be ignored ? and nor can the way he was
half-hustled, half-carried out. It seems like the intent was to present
him in the most bedraggled, infirm way in order to strip him of as much
dignity as possible. And it also seems like Assange knew that. It's
possible he just happened to be so engrossed in Gore Vidal's _History of
the National Security State_ that he didn't think much of it when a
police truck pulled up and a dozen officers poured through the embassy's
door ? and that the head officer said, 'Fine, sure, waiting can be
boring ? why not bring some light reading?' But police tend to be
cautious about letting arrestees carry loose possessions, so it's more
likely that there was a bit of coordinated choreography there: that
Assange chose a book whose cover would be identifiable in even the
crappiest video footage, and that the police, who surely handcuffed him,
nevertheless allowed him the odd privilege of making some mute comment.
But prisoners of conscience brandishing 'significant' books as they move
through public settings has become a bit of a thing in the past few
years, which suggests that some police forces have developed procedures
for distinguishing free speech from blunt weapons.

As obvious as it may seem, it's also worth noting that the Ecuadorians
didn't just push him out the door and leave him sitting on the steps
with boxes of his possessions. In a way, I'm surprised they didn't.
Where could he have gone that he couldn't be apprehended on the way?
Maybe that would have been to shambolic or, however improbably, too
risky. Whatever the case, Ecuador chose to do it deliberately by
allowing seemingly normal police to enter the premises (though I'd wager
they'll be doing a pretty thorough security sweep to make sure the
visitors didn't leave any presents behind). From now now, Assange will
be moved from one rigorously specified setting to another: holding
cells, secure transport, interrogation rooms, courtrooms. The big
question, which drove these events from the beginning, is *which* ones?
A few in the UK, then almost certainly in Sweden, then almost as
certainly in the US. I don't think anyone seriously believes this
odyssey will be driven by a strictly limited questions about the details
of his relations with a few women and (as the NYT puts it) 'a single
charge [of] conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.' While Mueller's
team 'interviewed' a staggering range of people, there was rampant
speculation about what they were up to; surely Assange will be subjected
to similarly broad questions ? but by whom, and to what end?

This is where things get really iffy. Whatever the back-and-forth
between Trump's campaign and the Russian government was, Assange knows a
lot ? for example, about Roger Stone and Guccifer 2.0. So I doubt the
primary concern is Assange's reputation among Trump's 'base'; more
likely, it's Assange's potential for some of the dozen+ entities
investigating Trump, some of which answer to Barr, some of which don't.
It's a real question what else, aside from Assange, the police were
allowed to remove from the embassy ? for example, whether Ecuador also
let them take Assange's electronics. I expect they were penetrated long
ago by a few intel agencies, but there's always the chance that ? at
some points ? they've held secrets that intel agencies weren't 100%
confident they'd pinned down. Those things will be at least as
interesting as the unreliable and hyperideological Assange himself, and
that the attention on his person will distract people from who 'owns'
those. My guess: Ecuador insisted on keeping them, in part to use them
as leverage with the Trump administration, maybe with May's government
mediating ? and dabbling in ? any exchange.

Cheers,
Ted

On 11 Apr 2019, at 9:38, Felix Stalder wrote:

> Democracy Now is doing interviews on this, which you can access via
> their twitter feed.
>
> https://twitter.com/democracynow/status/1116320933977841664/video/1
>
> and there, Glenn Greenwald makes the point that Assange is neither US
> citizen, nor is Wikileaks a US-based news organization, thus "the idea
> that the U.S. government can just extend its reach to any news outlet
> anywhere in the world and criminalize publication of documents ? is
> extremely chilling."
>
> For Trump, it poses an odd political problem, because Assange is a
> real
> hero to this base. I scrolled through the comments on Breitbart, and
> the
> were all really positive about him, and saw is arrest as the works of
> the "globalist" deep state.
>
> Even if you don't like his dealings with Trump and would like to see
> him
> properly prosecuted for his alleged rape in Sweden, I think
> Greenwald's
> point is still the core one.
>
> Besides the specific content of the leaks that came out of Wikileaks,
> I
> think Assange has been the most innovative person in journalism, and
> particularly the print media owe him a lot of thanks for pioneering a
> model (research pools, database investigation, data journalism beyond
> graphic design etc) that made them more relevant again.
>
> All the best. Felix
<...>

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