I feel compelled to comment on the breaking news about Julian Assange. I remember 1901 days ago when this nightmare began. I used an online print shop to decorate a red t-shirt with “Free Speech” on the back, and “Free Julian” on the front. Looking back on who I was at the time, it is clear that I have grown a lot, spiritually and politically, since those days. And now today, initial reports and videos are showing him out of prison, although I hold reservations about how free he actually is. Certainly there will be a long recovery ahead; no one endures this much isolation, oppression, and manipulation without immense trauma. Because the end of the imprisonment hinges on a guilty plea, his work as a journalist is likely over. Still, he accomplished so much, he deserves to live out his remaining years with family, friends, and as much peace as his heart can find.
Let me also presence here my own experience attending a museum in Mae Sot, Thailand. I focused on political prisoners in Burma (Myanmar, according to the military dictatorship there). This is from their website[1]:
“The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), otherwise known as AAPP, is a human rights organization based in Mae Sot, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma. AAPP advocates for the release of all remaining political prisoners in Burma and for the improvement of their quality of life during and after incarceration. AAPP has developed rehabilitation and assistance programs for those political activists who have been released while continuing to document the ongoing imprisonment of political activists in Burma.
“As long as political prisoners exist inside Burma, Burma will not be free.”
My deepest impression from my visit there (2008) was of the need for rehabilitation. The museum docent went into detail about the torture; physical of course, but also mental and emotional, that these souls endured. The result was their profound hesitation to engage in any activity that might be construed as grounds for re-imprisonment. One can hardly blame someone, who has endured torture and isolation, from being focused on never experiencing such atrocities again. It doesn’t matter if one “wins” freedom through court agreement, or plea bargains their way out of jail, the remaining trauma is intense.
To those who already are denigrating Julian for “quitting”, or for being “a limited hangout”, obviously, since he has been released, I say this: to speak as if you would not have done the same thing, would not have broken long ago, or would have held out for innocent rather than take a plea, that is unearned privileged speaking. You have no true idea how you would have reacted, and to the extent, the likelihood that you would not have been as steadfast and stubborn, you cannot judge the actions of another. We are all in this fight against censorship and war crimes. We must celebrate such victories as we see them; and this in one of our biggest in recent memory. Not perfect, but better than what otherwise could have been. How can we all support Julian in his healing, and how can we pick up the banner of freedom and carry it on to our ultimate victory? These are the questions of this moment.
And speaking of war crimes; in the midst of all this ‘good news’, it is becoming increasingly clear that American Empire is rhyming with the Japanese Empire of last century as it collapsed. It was known among the Japanese military that they could hardly win a fight against America; yet the pursued it anyway. One has to challenge the bully sometimes. And sometimes, maybe more often than not, the bully can’t cash the checks his mouth is writing. I wonder, in all seriousness, what was the thinking of the Americans who approved and supported the use of two nuclear weapons at the end of WWII. These two together are where we find ourselves today; Russia and China put their visions of the future, and their strategies for manifesting those dreams, in relationships and alliances. Empire has chosen what it has used all along: a different path, rooted in separation and division, with a demonstrated tendency to kill any opposition rather than cooperate in any meaningful way. It is easier to envision an American-led nuclear exchange than one started by either of Russia or China. That is sad commentary on the state of play between the US M-I-C and those who oppose being dominated. Yet here we are.
See the similarities? Even many who were cheering Assange on to victory can’t stomach a compromise that saves his life at the expense of some imagined perfect outcome. Even those who support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in their struggle against foreign interference can’t stomach a compromise that saves millions of lives at the expense of some ill-conceived, misunderstanding of freedom and cooperation. There is also the matter of production: in the West, production is based on economic gain; in Russia and China, production is based on need and purpose. Good example: SpaceX compared to Boeing. Musk crafted a vision (Mars colonization) and ran the business at a loss (using government funding) and clearly stated the goal as the reason for the effort to develop private spaceflight capabilities. Boeing started around the same time, same type of effort, but with no overarching vision, and no intention to run at a loss despite all funding coming from the government. SpaceX is on their second contract providing access to space for Empire, while Boeing’s first effort sits today, leaking and disabled, an over-engineered and yet under-performing collection of expensive parts. Empire can create hundreds of billions of “dollars” to buy weapons and ammo; but as supply dwindles, which it is at an alarming rate (in the eyes of any warmonger), prices for existing goods skyrocket. IOW there is a limit based on production capabilities to how much money can buy. In the end, a profit driven military supply chain, lacking actual production capacity, will lose any fight it engages in. Ukraine was touted by the West in 2022 as a way to erode Russia’s threat to “democracy”. What has transpired is the opposite. Russia is stronger, militarily and economically, and arguably politically (on the global stage), than the West because of the fight in Ukraine. China is unscathed, and has joined with Russia to cooperate with nations previously aligned with Empire. Russia first destroyed the existing Ukrainian Army; then the second army composed of the dregs of WWII weapons still in storage among NATO nations, then the third army of more recent vintage NATO supplies. Today there is nothing left; the erosion happened to the West, Empire and NATO, instead of the stated target, Russia. Now no country in Europe can mount an effective defense against a motivated aggressor; they lack the soldiers and kit required. America can’t produce enough to replace what has been sent overseas in any time frame that matters. But not to worry, Russia’s goal is not to control Europe, only to keep it a safe distance away. Some of us know this; and as it dawns in the minds of Empire, I fear the reaction will be similar to WWII, whereby the table is overturned, the game is put to the fire, and the bully storms out of the town, never to be seen again. What will we do when that time comes? If any country starts a nuclear exchange, it will very likely be the dying throes of Empire.
The tragedy is that the outcome is not ordained. If the West, Empire, would merely let go of any sense of exceptionalism and seek to cooperate with other countries rather than force compliance with the “rules-based international order” they profess as being superior, there would be no need for war, no insecurity, and much less death and destruction. But this is asking a lot of those who have profited for centuries from making war. May peace and love once again shine in the hearts of humans, for that is our destiny and birthright. Live long, and prosper. Live like we are wild.
https://aappb.org/?page_id=5628
Actually, the guilty plea that's been obtained (for espionage if not mistaken) is a nightmare boomerang for "the west", as it exposes in black and white (for the umpteenth time no less) what many of us have been saying and thinking about the present disconnect between the establishment and the populace. It takes another shot at the idea of press freedom and who gets the final say in the matter. The establishment won and the romanticized ideal of freedom lost.
My impression is that currently everytime the establishment, especially the progressives and entrenched groups or networks, anywhere in the west, seem to make gains, there appear to be unhealthy outcomes around the corner for everyone.
The real tragedy, if we take a step back to look at the big picture, is just how futile and pointless the evolution of human civilization has become in the west, especially considering our technological marvels. By way of analogy, your comparison between Boeing and SpaceX is similar, vision/purpose create a reason to exist.
It's a bit cliche to bring God or Spirituality into the frame, but our current joyless predicament is also the result of living in mazes of human made up rules exchanging human made up objects. The idea that life could be something else other than what we consider normal today, it's either labeled communist for denigration or we pretend it couldn't possibly exist.
Nevermind everyone who wants a spiritually harmonious life or wants an existence (pursuing art for instance) that tries to minimize the impact of ... money.
I still think the real conversation, which hasn't emerged, is about the role of money in ordering our lives. There needs to be a better way to organize human affairs enabling exchange and transactions, relative and more durable value, than our current ideas of money. We've convinced ourselves that thanks to capitalism, humanity has achieved so much, and not the other way around.
Fortunately, thanks to progressivism we also have other Boomerangs like Instagram (and social media in general) and it's continued unintended negative effects, such as propagating perverse incentives favoring short-term individualistic lucrative and promising riches instead of delayed gratification and creating a common good.
Perhaps you're right, we'll reach nukes sooner than we would have thought possible because since we've hollowed out our respective industrial and manufacturing (because short term high profits for a few is better than long term low profits for a few and their cohesive communities) and simply don't have much more junk to throw into the fight. A part of me believes it's possible there's new junk under wraps waiting to come out to play (AI targeting in Gaza and drones in Ukraine are just appetizers), but it only delays the inevitable.
Many years ago in a travel book I read about a Sudanese saying: the strong are judged by how they treat the weak. The rules based order needs the strong to submit to a consensus or a higher power (ex. The rules). Everytime there's been a hegemon, they've always squandered the opportunity to get it right. BRICS will be no different.