June 27
GUEST: Joe Emersberger is a Canadain based commentator who writes primarily for FAIR.org, the Canary, and Counterpunch, and previously for Telesur English, talks about Julian Assange, Venezuela and our government's attempts to limit freedom of the press.President Moreno's betrayal of Assange
What a twisted tale the state tells about its war crimes abroad. In fact, U.S. exceptionalism has risen so high as to become our state religion. We invade other countries all in the name of "freedom," and are ever willing to drop bombs on them to "protect" their human rights. We killed over two million Vietnamese just to free them from the scourge of Communism.
For a state religion to work, all the writers, commentators and political leaders have to be on the same page. Those intellectuals who refuse to go along have to pay a heavy price, like Danial Ellsberg, Chelsie Manning and Julian Assange. The truths they reveal are just too damaging to the carefully constructed narrative.
In fact, how else would the U.S. population go along with invading dozens of countries and killing tens of thousands of people in the rest of the world? Now that the American Empire is in full battle mode, using its vast economic as well as military superiority to punish other nations, its distortion of reality becomes even more important. That is why people like Assange and Manning face long prison terms and torture for their crimes against the empire.
Julian Assange comes closest to the ideal of a completely free society. He has spent his career reporting on what the rich and powerful have really done to the rest of us. And he has proof in their emails and secret papers. The kleptocracies of the Western world are built on subterfuge and deceit; Julian Assange is their nemesis and has to be destroyed.
Joe Emersberger uses his writing skills to pierce the narrative of the aggressor states. In a world of conspiracy theories, he carefully documents the lies and treachery of the empire's leaders. As our freedom of the press is eroded, his position becomes more tenuous. Truth tellers will all have a price on their heads.
Defending Julian Assange is defending everyone's right to speak truth to power.
