At the Assange extradition hearings in Woolwich Crown Court and the Old Bailey, the public gallery was limited to five and sometimes two. The excuse was Covid. But online access was denied to Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and numerous other groups and individuals, including journalists. The mainstream media was anyway complicit in leaving the entire hearing virtually unreported – less than one percent of the coverage given to Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard.
The International Court of Justice met at the Hague to consider Israeli genocide, and the entire proceedings were open to anybody in the world with a decent video connection, through an open link and no password. Like the crucial Assange appeal hearings coming in the High Court on 21 and 21 February, the ICJ is a public court. Yet the judges of the London High Court have passed a series of Kafkaesque regulations to limit who can see the trial, under the pretext of open access.
Here is the Stalinist nonsense in its entirety. I promise your mind is going to boggle:
Remember, as that document says, this is a “public hearing”. You have to apply for permission to watch it and state WHY you want to watch it. Presumably “It is a public hearing. By law it has to be public” is not a sufficient reason. There is no guarantee at all that you will be given permission.
You have to be in England or Wales to watch. Applications from Scotland and Northern Ireland will “not normally be granted”. Despite the fact it is the UK government which is extraditing Julian under a UK–USA extradition treaty, not an England and Wales–USA extradition treaty.
Julian is an Australian citizen. But you are not “normally” permitted to watch in Australia. It is the United States government which is seeking to extradite Julian. But citizens of the United States will not “normally” be permitted to view online.
Scots and Irish will not be permitted to view, presumably because their loyalty to the security state is known to be dubious! I have no idea what is the position for the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
Not only does the Big Brother state want to know your identity and where you are, nobody else is allowed to watch the hearing with you. Why? What harm is it if your mum looks at it? It is a public f***ing hearing.
Who are they scared is going to watch? Why does that scare them? What do they think these naughty people watching are going to do? Are they worried Putin and Xi will be secretly watching and will do some terrible internet magic that collapses the western world? Just what is this crazy restriction about?
Why is nobody outside the state and billionaire media allowed to give live information about what is happening in the Court? Why is it OK if CNN does give live information, but not OK if a concerned citizen does it?
Why does everybody have to be threatened with two years’ imprisonment if they break these crazy rules?
I urge everybody reading this post to contact the court as specified at [email protected], and apply to watch online, following the rules in para 4 of the court order above. If you are outside the UK, please include in your reasons that the United States is making explicitly in this case a claim of universal jurisdiction for its Espionage Act over the whole world, so everybody is affected including you.
Please then put out on social media that you have applied, and encourage others to apply. Please post updates when you hear back from the court including stating regularly if they don’t reply. Post any answer you get. And go back to them and argue.
Officially this is a “public hearing”. Officially these judges are committed to “open justice”. What a farce. What are they hiding?
————————————————
Forgive me for pointing out that my ability to provide this coverage is entirely dependent on your kind voluntary subscriptions which keep this blog going. This post is free for anybody to reproduce or republish, including in translation. You are still very welcome to read without subscribing.
Unlike our adversaries including the Integrity Initiative, the 77th Brigade, Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council and hundreds of other warmongering propaganda operations, this blog has no source of state, corporate or institutional finance whatsoever. It runs entirely on voluntary subscriptions from its readers – many of whom do not necessarily agree with every article, but welcome the alternative voice, insider information and debate.
Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.
Choose subscription amount from dropdown box:
PayPal address for one-off donations: [email protected]
Alternatively by bank transfer or standing order:
Account name
MURRAY CJ
Account number 3 2 1 5 0 9 6 2
Sort code 6 0 – 4 0 – 0 5
IBAN GB98NWBK60400532150962
BIC NWBKGB2L
Bank address Natwest, PO Box 414, 38 Strand, London, WC2H 5JB
Bitcoin: bc1q3sdm60rshynxtvfnkhhqjn83vk3e3nyw78cjx9
Ethereum/ERC-20: 0x764a6054783e86C321Cb8208442477d24834861a
Huge development. Australian vote in Parliament for release of Assange.
I’m betting that UK and USA will scrap the trial by not contesting it.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/14/australian-mps-pass-motion-urging-us-and-uk-to-allow-julian-assange-to-return-to-australia
That is great and surprising news. Had it been anticipated? I had heard nothing about there being a last-ditch vote in Australia, let alone one that could go possibly this way.
It should indeed put pressure on Washington. Unfortunately the past 100 days have proven definitively that the Biden administration, the US Congress and the mass media have garbage where a heart and soul should be.
The way I see it Biden needs an excuse for scrapping the whole Assange thing. Being election year he can say to the Republicans he is accommodating Australia, an ally. Republicans will be hard pressed arguing against that. Overall right now it will bring him votes.
I agree, Peter. Biden does not want another negative issue skewing his campaigns into a Q&A session with regards to trust in the judicial and/or International Affairs committees.
Phew, I hope that the trial is scrapped and he can be with his little ng suffering family this coming weekend.
What is this based on? Biden doesn’t care what mass murdering women and children looks like, let alone imprisoning Julian Assange. The latter wouldn’t even be regarded as a negative over there, by either party or their supporters.
Can Biden remember who Julian Assange is?
fonso.
US POTUS Genocide Joe Biden, is to be the first modern POTUS not to take a cognitive test, Genocide Joe says he doesn’t need to take the test because he proves himself in the Whitehouse every day in how he operates.
This even though the DoJ says Biden’s memory is failing.
When you think of it, those pulling Biden’s strings would want to keep him in office, what better than a half aware POTUS who you can manipulate for your own ends.
The Biden administration says it won’t punish Israel for a Rafah military operation that doesn’t protect civilians. Three administration officials told Politico that no reprimand plans are in the works, meaning Israeli forces can harm civilians in the city with no American consequences.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2024/02/13/us-wont-punish-israel-for-rafah-op-that-doesnt-protect-civilians-00141013
In my opinion, no faith should ever be placed in Biden (or his handlers) acting correctly. The British aren’t even worthy of reference.
Looking through the eyes of Biden he is now faced with two possibilities. Degrade Australian relations by prosecuting Assange or drop the case. I know what a smart President would do. Problem is Biden is not smart.
No, this is the Australian government’s false alibi.
Killing 30000 in Gaza was not enough, now the lebanese race has to be decimated by the same racist isra-hell-i regime:
Israel launches ‘series of airstrikes’ on Lebanon
Footage from within Lebanon circulating on social media appears to show areas in the south of the country damaged by the strikes, including in Nabatieh Governorate – deeper into Lebanese territory than many previous attacks.
https://swentr.site/news/592425-israel-begins-series-strikes-lebanon/
This is like Hitler is talking:
Israel seeking ‘fundamental change’ on Lebanon border – Netanyahu
PM Benjamin Netanyahu told a US envoy that his country is more ‘determined’ and ‘daring’ than ever before
https://swentr.site/news/590166-israel-lebanon-netanyahu-border/
‘What we are doing in Gaza we can also do in Beirut’ – Israel
https://swentr.site/news/587080-israel-hezbollah-grave-mistake/
If Israel was an arab state, such state would have been bombed to bits by now by the outside world.
If the ‘arc of resistance’ does not win this crucial battle, then Israel/US will go on to “greater” things in the region (who is there to stop them?)
Israeli expansion over the whole of the west bank including East Jerusalem, Gaza, and Lebanon up to and probably beyond the much prized Litani River. The Golan Heights captured in 1967 is still (according to International law) Syrian territory although Trump did recognize it as now part of Israel, and for that Israel named part of Syrian territory ‘Trump Heights’ (Hebrew: רמת טראמפ, romanized: Ramat Trump, [ʁaˈmat ˈtʁamp]) is a planned Israeli settlement in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights named after and in honour of Donald Trump.
Why don’t all the Arab states fight back against this obvious violent takeover of the region from the powerful Israel/US axis including the West in general (the elites at least)? The reason, in my opinion its quite simple, when Professor Finkelstein referred to the Nazi occupation of France, most French citizens said don’t resist, the Nazis are ruthless and they will kill us if we do resist. The US/Israel are using the same business model, do as we say or we will break your legs. Many in the Arab world are rightly afraid of the US/Israeli ‘big stick’, usually by way of financial penalties/sanctions or bombing campaigns by their much superior air forces. They have thrown the gauntlet down, will the ‘arc of resistance’ fight back or will they capitulate? Remember only 10% of the French fought the Nazis, but who in France does not remember their bravery? Fighting back means death and destruction on a large scale. If only 10% of Muslims in the region fight back i.e. the arc of resistance, in my opinion that would be enough to prevail. That is not my decision to make but Gandhi said “I do believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence…I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour.”
…And the thing is of course that the arab leaders do not even have to go to war against Israel as such, there are so many different coercive measures/sanctions they can take before that route.
But the corrupt egytians for example value business relations with Israel above the plight of the palestinians.
Egypt took 82% of contracted gas from Israel’s Leviathan in October: NewMed
https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/111723-egypt-took-82-of-contracted-gas-from-israels-leviathan-in-october-newmed
Part of the oil delivered to Israel comes from Egypt.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/where-does-israel-get-its-220-000-barrels-of-oil-every-day-1.1986277
Compare this stance by the arab world with the western world on Russia, it just took what, 1 week?, before the whole of the west decided to send arms to Ukraine! But these leaders in the middle east will not even go beyond mere vocal “condemnations” against Israel.
Netanyahu is counting on the backing of the US Congress of both parties to achieve his nefarious aims, can he do it? Uri Avnery [deceased]thought it highly likely back in 2011…
“There they were, the members of the highest legislative bodies of the world’s only superpower, flying up and down like so many yo-yos, applauding wildly, every few minutes or seconds, the most outrageous lies and distortions of Binyamin Netanyahu”
.What the American Senators and Congressmen feared was a fate worse than death. Anyone remaining seated or not applauding wildly enough could have been caught on camera – and that amounts to political suicide. It was enough for one single congressman to rise and applaud, and all the others had to follow suit. Who would dare not to? https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1105/S00222/uri-avnery-bibi-and-the-yo-yos.htm
The sight of these hundreds of parliamentarians jumping up and clapping their hands, again and again and again and again, with the Leader graciously acknowledging with a movement of his hand, was reminiscent of other regimes. Only this time it was not the local dictator who compelled this adulation, but a foreign one.
Avnery could well have agreed with this quotation re Joe Biden “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron”. H. L. Mencken
Mission accomplished.
Not only is it a case of be careful nobody else watches a supposedly public court hearing over your shoulder if you’re lucky enough to have been given “permission” to watch it, but…this too:
“Keir Starmer is under pressure to suspend councillors who attended a meeting in Hyndburn over claims that they failed to call out antisemitic remarks by Azhar Ali, the former Labour candidate for the Rochdale byelection.”
So if anyone ever says “f***ing Israel”, or says there’s a Jewish lobby with influence in the media, and you are in the same room and you hold public office, or you may stand for public office in the future, and you don’t immediately point at the person and shriek at them as if you were in “Invasion of the Bodysnatchers”, be careful because ethnic supremacists might get to hear, and the mainstream British media may get called into action to denounce you, and your whole life may then fall apart.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/14/starmer-councillors-meeting-israel-comments-azhar-ali-rochdale-labour
I don’t even like George Galloway, but he would definitely get my vote if I had one in Rochdale.
Thank you Derek, I am of the opinion that all 800,000 protestors on that large march in London recently, and can be identified as Labour party members, family and friends, should be sent letters from the General Secretary warning them of possible expulsion from the party, for being insufficiently
Zionist worshippers like our dear leader. Do I need a sarc tag?
It is vital that as many people sign up to Joe Bloggs pg 1 advice, added ng themselves to the listeners of the trial, if there are thousands wanting to see/hear justice to be done, after the US twists and turns during the previous irregular proceedings, then they might think twice of ignoring a vital ally’s wishes.
Then there is the small matter of an arms deal involving nuclear subs and more, America’s southern flank, etc.
All this will matter, imho, even if fonso thinks it does not.
What I find hilarious is the French have had meetings with members of the Lebanese government and are terrified of Hezbollah and Israei forces escalation, They are proposing Hezbollah move their forces and equipment 10 miles from the border to partly comply with UN resolution 1701 [2006] This would enable the 100,000 displaced settlers to move back to their homes. Surely they must be joking, quoting International law to Israel is ridiculous, then Biden is reported to have offered money to Lebanon, another joke, as if Hassan Nasralla would take a bribe. Desperation
Can I pass this information on to Keir Starmer, he must not talk to or shake hands with that rabid Antisemite Joe Biden
President Joe Biden privately called Benjamin Netanyahu an “asshole” three times, per NBC News.
https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-calls-israel-prime-minister-netanyahu-an-asshole-report-2024-2?r=US&IR=T
And to no avail so far.
But when the day comes that he calls him an “asshole” SEVEN times, then the walls will fall down.
NBC News couldn’t miss such a scoop.
A US Senator calls out Israeli war crimes and says Israel are war criminals then votes to send 14 billion dollars to Israel, the Host sets out all the statistics on the situation in Gaza and says it is the most horrific thing he has seen in his lifetime and the US will not do anything about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN0xK85fki0
Is there a single Jewish organization in the UK which has spoken out against Israeli tactics in Gaza in the present war? Or even publicly urged Israel to pay heed to the ICJ judgment?
If not – why not?
There is, on the other hand, a lot of noise around about an apparent increase in “anti-semitic acts”. Does someone saying, for example, “fuck Israel” within earshot of a British Jewish person count as an “anti-semitic act”?
If so, what is the reason?
Will it shortly become a criminal offence to say or write “fuck Israel” if a single person hearing or reading that comment were to find it offensive and that it has made him/her feel uncomfortable and “unsafe”?
Levi Strauss (My favourite jeans by the way – back in the day.)
There are many Jewish people across the world who would utterly disagree with the current situation – there is no doubt about that.
But this is not a Jewish question. It is a Worldwide Humanitarian question as to whether this assault on Palestinians should be stopped or continued?
Let’s inverse the situation. Imagine if some Jewish people were being attacked purely because they were Jewish, say in Germany? My sentiments and political position would be exactly the same as they are now with the Palestinians.
Imagine also if all the Catholics in the world were all declaimed as Nazis because Catholic Nazi Germany invaded Europe?
Imagine if all Muslims were viewed a potential terrorists just because they are Muslims?
The very ideas are crazy.
Similarly for some hotheads – the very idea that ALL Jewish people across the world support Netanyahu is patent nonsense.
It is not a matter of Human being ∨ Human being – it is a question of whether you wish to continue to see more suffering of certain human beings or not? No matter what their ethnicity or claims to XZ or Z.
The Sudanese people are caught up in political/economic games as are many other African ex colonies and the truth is that the Colonialists don’t want to let go. These (including Israel and Ukraine) are pawns in The Great Chess game as Brezinski (? – not sure whether I have his name right) said.
The question is for Israel and the US and indeed The so called ‘Free World’ is: How far are you prepared to go to get (or retain) what you already have or want? And what will your populous be prepared to sacrifice in that aim?
To be or not to exist – that is the question for all concerned.
Mark Cutts mentioned……. “Imagine if all Muslims were viewed as potential terrorists just because they are Muslims?”
I thought this was already the case with employees of Mossad, CIA, MI6, and maybe other security services around the globe?
Or maybe I have missed the satire?
Fat Jon
Just like some Jewish people can be the wrong type of Jews then for the West there can be the right type of Muslim.
There are lots of the ‘right type’ of Muslims holed up ready to come out of war hibernation in Idlib – Syria when required. The Manchester Bomber was an anti-Gaddafi Muslim I think. Anti-Assad Muslims and so on and so forth. Imran Kahn – wrong type. Abbas PNA – the right type (multi-millionaire I hear).
The Yanks are not very good at irony.
The fact is there never was a ‘War on Terror’. It was made law in order to implement The Homeland Security Act which has been used by George W Bush – the liberal Obama and following Presidents on US citizens (mainly black) and protesters in general.
Oh – except Trump supporters where the national Guard were nowhere to be seen on the day despite calls being made to them. The right type of Christians on that day?
I’m not sure (better minds than mine on here will tell us?) there may be elements of that Act that are part of the US’s case – but The Espionage Act which is ancient seems to be the main driver – even though Julian is an Australian. He can hardly be a traitor to his country – he wasn’t born there and I don’t think he ever took up residency in the US.
As usual the UK is trying to do a pathetic attempt to copy it. The UK already has a Supreme Court and a Monarchy despite not having a written Constitution as in the US.
The British are not doing irony either it seems.
A pedantic correction, though it’s irrelevant to your actual points: Germany isn’t a Catholic country at all. It’s traditionally mixed Protestant and Catholic, but with more Protestants than Catholics. That’s not an accident: In order to ensure this (and more importantly, Prussian dominance), Bismarck did not include Catholic-dominated Austria when creating modern Germany in 1871. However, nowadays almost half of Germans (44 %) have no religious affiliation, and since Protestants are faster to take this step and immigrants are more likely to be Catholics than Protestants, there are now slightly more Catholics (25 %) than Protestants (23 %).
You may have remembered something about Pope Pius XII collaborating with the Nazis to some extent, but that was actually not as bad as what happened on the Protestant side. While the Nazis were pushing their idea of Germanic religion against Christianity, some Protestants formed a pro-Nazi movement called “German Christians”.
Levis Strauss
Good questions that I have asked myself too, where is the resistance to the Jewish state? Sure not every jew support Israel of course but a considerable majority give their support to Israel.
Poll: Overwhelming majority of American Jews support Israel’s fight against Hamas
https://archive.is/As6rk#selection-722.0-722.1
Jewish voters express strong support for Biden on Israel
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/16/1213406754/jewish-voters-biden-israel-hamas-war
This^^ support should be viewed as as chilling as if majority of muslims in the west would be highly supportive of the Islamic state.
In the end of the day, what is really the difference between IS and Israel? Both are fringe religious racist sects using terror, ethnic cleansing to establish their statehood?
I see three main explanations. In no particular order:
1. Some extreme religious Jews believe that all Gentiles are as inferior to Jews as cattle. Thus killing them is not a moral act of any kind.
2. Some Jews, like most other citizens, may believe what governments and the media tell them.
3. Quite a few Jews, like other citizens, may feel that there is something to the stories of genocide but do not feel responsible – either because they are not Israelis and have not contributed to Israel, or through normal human inertia and moral laziness. (Just as the majority of German citizens failed to notice the attempted genocide against the Jews).
It would be helpful, Jack, if these polls show how many of the 6.3 million Jews living in the US are voters of a Netanyahu-leaning persuasion, how many are not of voting age and how many would not vote because they are ultra-orthodox and do not support this Zionist-led madness.
I suspect this chilling support comes from a highly manipulated minority inside a minority of US voters.
No, Jewish organisations have been subverted by zionists and their CIA-MI-5/6 puppet masters.
“Good questions that I have asked myself too, where is the resistance to the Jewish state? Sure not every jew support Israel of course but a considerable majority ”
Here is an example of a jew who does not support Israel.
https://tonygreenstein.com/
The UK media is more outraged by a couple of candidates’ conspiracy theories about Hamas/Israel than by the fact the UK government and military are perpetrating genocide against the most vulnerable people on earth, supported by virtually the entire political class.
Lowkey and Matt Kennard of Declassified UK discuss Britain’s key role in the Gaza genocide, a reality being completely ignored/ suppressed by the BBC, Guardian etc.
“Is Britain Helping Israel Bomb Gaza?” (Mint Press News, 9 Feb 2024) – YouTube video, 1h 25m 11s
As the prospect of famine draws closer the I.O.F. stands by and watches as as right-wing Israelis blockade food deliveries to the strip.
I wonder if these people consider the consequences of their action for the State of Israel and also for its supporters world wide.
The people of Gaza can storm the gates and flee as indigent supplicants into a hostile desert or stay in situ defiantly facing whatever comes their way. Meanwhile the watching world will be filled with yet more anger and desire to punish the perpetrators.
These people are so brainwashed with horror stories from the nazis that they perversely have come to utilize the same crimes against another group of people. These ultra-nationalists should understand the basics of being a human: that it is wrong to commit war crimes against another group of people regardless of ethnicity/faith, but these people are so hyper-focused just on their own race.
Israeli activists block aid trucks from entering Gaza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS7SGFnAmRk
…and the worst thing is that they do all these heinous acts with joy.
Israel is a serial violator of International law, its current policy is to murder as many Palestinians as possible and to “transfer” out of Gaza the remainder. Part of the reason is the enormous gas reserves off the coast of Gaza.
This study identifies and assesses existing and potential Palestinian oil and natural gas reserves that could be exploited for the benefit of the Palestinian people, which Israel is either preventing them from exploiting or is exploiting without due regard for international law by the occupying Power, this imposes on the Palestinian people enormous costs that continue to escalate as the occupation remains in effect. This is not only contrary to international law, but also in violation of natural justice and moral law. To date, the real and opportunity costs of the occupation exclusively in the area of oil and natural gas have accumulated to tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars.
The current situation, as documented in numerous reports and studies by UNCTAD and other organizations, show Israel as an occupying Power that continues to exploit Palestinian natural resources, including oil and natural gas. https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2019d1_en.pdf
harry law.
And Netanyahu has wealthy friends.
“Super Bowl ads do not come cheap, and its $7 million for 30-second air time price tag was footed by the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots N.F.L. franchise, Robert Kraft. Kraft (net worth: $11 billion) made his fortune in the paper and packaging business and has deep ties to the state of Israel, including donating hundreds of millions of dollars to pro-Israel groups and funding pro-Israel candidates in U.S. elections. He even enjoys a close relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/02/15/israels-big-game-propaganda/
@ Republicofscotland
Thankyou for that link.
Franc.
You’re very welcome.
Russia is the key player in the gas and oil stakes, and in the paralysis of the response to Israel. The agreement, which was first brokered by Kissinger and Putin, and subsequently renegotiated by Netanyahu over the years, says that if Iran strikes Israel Putin will support Israel, but if Israel (or the US or its proxies) strikes Iran, then Russia will support Iran. Striking Syria or Lebanon, Iraq or Yemen, is not covered by the agreement, and Israel is pushing this to the most extreme extent. Palestine counts as Israel under the definition of borders. The destruction of Nordstream, and the pipeline to take Gaza gas to Europe are the American way of doing business. Europe is a market and not a competitor.
NATO supports US interests.
This is a poker game for high stakes, and neither side dares blink, while the holocaust of the Palestinian people is paid for by our government’s offer of ‘aid’ to Israel, in the form of generous donations to Israeli and American and British arms companies. Likewise ‘aid’ to Ukraine is just free money for arms companies to keep Putin busy nearer to home.
German MP and foreign policy expert Sevim Dagdelen gave a press conference on Assange.
Thankfully BERLINER ZEITUNG reported:
“Last call for Assange – Sevim Dagdelen: “It’s a death in installments”
A two-day hearing in the Julian Assange case will take place in London at the end of February. The possible scenarios were analyzed in a press conference in the Bundestag.”
https://archive.is/4w5wi
““It is a death in installments that is taking place,” says Dagdelen, referring to the politically motivated trial. She will be on site as a trial observer next week. According to the politician, the entire process is already a punishment for Assange’s revelations. Dagdelen has been dealing with the case for a long time. “At first we were still a small group in the Bundestag,” she says.
But there is now a heightened awareness of the Julian Assange case in politics. On July 7, 2022, the Bundestag passed a resolution condemning the “political persecution” of the journalist as an attack on press freedom and called on the federal government to work for his release and non-extradition to the USA. But the government is not complying with the Bundestag resolution. “This is an unacceptable disregard for Parliament,” said Dagdelen.”
Art work is set to be destroyed if Assange dies, according to this:
https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/592479-assange-prison-kill-switch/
I wonder what sort of crime that would be considered, by the Establishment, who consider such treasures far more important than any individual, people, or even species for that matter.
Here’s the tweet, in case people basking in freedom back in the UK are ‘protected’ from RT (I’m currently living in Portugal, where access is not blocked):
https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1757530109236461777
Funny thing about that tweet – a huge number of responses are negative. Strange, because I wouldn’t have thought that Assange was so unpopular. But when you look at the negative commentators, their timelines and writing looks far more like some poorly generated AI offerings than tweets by any regular user.
All the negative, pro-Establishment, anti-Assange posters seem to be following up to 1000 posters with a few hundred followers each. Very few of them come across as genuine, very few seem to have any real ideological positions. Yet these come out in droves to respond negatively to a story like this. 🤔
If they follow Ian Bremmer they are likely to be genuine.
RT is indeed blocked on both our home broadband and on the Three mobile network. Likely on pretty much everything else in the UK. The block is implemented with the half-hearted but easy technique of having the network’s default DNS return an invalid numeric address. A fairly easy workaround is to change your DNS server setting to Google’s 8.8.8.8 which does return the correct result. However that tells Google everywhere you connect to online. Alternatively add entries for rt.com and www.rt.com to your PC hosts file with the address 91.215.41.4. Google should tell you how to do that. Unfortunately you can’t do it on an unrooted Android device – don’t know about Apple ones.
Or simply use RT’s mirror site: swentr.site and sputnikglobe.com to reach Sputniknews.
I use the vpn on oracle, no problems. Occasionally I have to change the vpn location to overcome some restrictions, mainly on western sites.
So does the widow of Navalny. Let’s hope she stays well, and possibly gives an interview to a former Fox News anchor.
Melrose
So does the family of Gonzalo Lira. Let’s hope they stay well and possibly gives an interview to CNN.
@SteveHayes – I watch RT in the UK on Rumble via my Apple TV box or iPhone. The native RT app no longer works.
I applied for the link to watch this trial online but despite receiving the autogenerated response on Feb 8 saying they would reply in 5 days I have heard nothing. Anyone else in similar situation? If courts don’t honour claim to make this trial public, would a mistrial be declared?
I sent in my application on Wednesday evening and just got the following reply:
“Request for access from outside England and Wales refused. No sufficient reason given as to why it would be in the interests of justice to grant remote access from outside England and Wales.”
My reason had been the following:
“1) Right to Attend as a UK Resident:
As a resident of the United Kingdom, I believe in the principles of open justice and recognise my right to attend public hearings. Given that this is a public hearing, I seek access to witness the proceedings, which is crucial for fostering transparency and accountability in our legal system.
2) Support for Press Freedom:
I am particularly interested in the case of Mr Assange as it involves the Government of the United States of America and the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The international organisation PEN International has expressed concerns about the potential extradition of Julian Assange, stating that it could set a dangerous precedent for press freedom worldwide. As a supporter of free journalism, I am deeply invested in issues concerning press freedom and its implications for democracy. Attending this hearing would allow me to gain firsthand insights into this important event and its potential impact on the principles of free press.
3) Global Implications and Universal Jurisdiction:
The United States is explicitly asserting universal jurisdiction through its Espionage Act in this case, claiming authority over individuals worldwide. This assertion extends the reach of the legal proceedings to affect individuals globally, including myself. Given the global implications of this case and the unprecedented use of universal jurisdiction, I believe it is essential to witness the proceedings to better understand the legal arguments and potential consequences for individuals around the world.
4) Travel Abroad and Temporary Residence in the EU:
Currently, I find myself travelling within the European Union for work reasons and to visit friends and family. During the specified dates of the hearing, I will be staying at my parents’ address, which serves as my temporary residence.”
I’m a UK citizen in UK, didn’t even get a refusal!
As a resident in Germany, I have been refused public access as well. Refusal based on “no sufficient reason given as to why it would be in the interests of justice…”. Whatever that may mean.
Well as expected, Egypt apparently builds a wall against israeli border.
Egypt Is Building a Wall Near Gaza Border but Won’t Say Why
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/16/satellite-photos-show-egypt-building-gaza-buffer-zone-as-rafah-push-looms
Perhaps we could quit this game now that Egypt somehow care for the palestinians or somehow fight against Israel.
08/02/2024 :
“The Administrative Court List Office are currently experiencing a high volume of emails, however will endeavour to respond to your email within 5 working days.”
16/02/2024 :
“The Administrative Court List Office are currently experiencing a high volume of emails, however will endeavour to respond to your email within 5 working days.”
I just got this reply from my application for online access:
“Request for access from outside England and Wales refused. No sufficient reason given as to why it would be in the interests of justice to grant remote access from outside England and Wales.”
Wow! Was that the exact verbatim reply?? Who write these absurd replies? Kafkaesque as Craig pointed out earlier!
This the reply I got as a Scottish resident :
Request granted for remote access from within England and Wales because in interests of justice having regard to open justice principle (And attach Johnson J’s order attached above).
Yes William, I got my “request granted” email at 09:51 today.
No internet link to the court is provided yet. What do we do to get it?
This now presents another dilemma: whether to watch or attend the demo outside the court. I am only an hour away from the Court by public transport.
Conditions for remote access are very strict as Craig has already pointed to. I believe I am allowed to take notes but not directly record. If anyone thinks I have been very lucky and wishes me to take notes just to help make sure as many views as possible are registered, I will gladly do do, but if the consensus is that as many as are needed have also remote access then maybe not.
The order attached to the email refers to a “Schedule to the order”. Can anyone tell me what this is?
I had a link sent just now this afternoon – separate to the earlier mail – hopefully you will get one too
got it thanks
Phoning the court listing office now to ask why I don’t have the link yet. I am phoning 0207 947 6000 1st press opt 2 for admin court, then opt 3 for listing office. Ringing but no reply.
I also emailed a query by replying to the address that sent me the order, and got a prompt response, see below, which hopefully explains what happens:
Dear Ben,
Thank you for your email.
Link will be sent by court associate latest Tuesday morning.
Kind Regards
Ruth Ogunsiji
Still not received the video link, has the trial actually started yet (10:07 on 20th Feb 2024) does anyone know ?
Listed to start at 10.30 am, but I can’t link to it with the link I was sent.
I have the exact same problem
I have managed to log in now – but there is no sound – just video
Well, I finally got in but I had to email the court (by replying to the original message from “[email protected]”) then, by guesswork and trial and error, working out what inputs the various forms put up by the website required in order to permit access:
• From the first page where it says “Your name”, input the name you sent in your application.
• From that same page select the green checkmark “Video + audio”
• Then press the “CONNECT” button
• You need to ***PERMIT*** the website to use your devices camera and video. DESPITE the fact that you are NOT permitted to record the proceedings. Strange but true. This seems to be an attempt by the court’s software to nab the device’s camera and microphone so as to prevent outside apps recording the trial. Or something.
• Then select “Do not preview audio and video settings before connecting” and press “CONNECT” again.
• In the next page, select the green checkbox “Guest” and press “CONNECT” again.
If you have ever chosen not to permit the device to access your our devices camera and video then you will need to delete the browser’s data for websites containing “justice.gov.uk”. How to do this varies between browsers but it is in “Tools/Options/Privacy & Security/…” in Firefox on Windows PCs. On my Android Tablet device I had to go into “Settings/Apps” and delete all the data for my browser.
What a remarkable faff! Anyone would think they had something to hide…
Is that Asa Winstanley sitting in front left of the Assange barrister ?