<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">From: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Caitlin Johnstone <<a href="mailto:donotreply@wordpress.com" class="">donotreply@wordpress.com</a>><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><b class="">[New post] As Long As Assange Is Silenced, Claims Against Him Are Illegitimate</b><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Date: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">July 31, 2018 at 7:58:44 PM CDT<br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><a href="mailto:cgestabrook@gmail.com" class="">cgestabrook@gmail.com</a><br class=""></span></div><br class=""><div class=""><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DDDDDD" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; width: 412.15625px; background-color: rgb(221, 221, 221);" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" class="subscribe-body" style="width: 392.15625px; padding: 10px;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""><div style="direction: ltr; max-width: 600px; margin: 0px auto; overflow: hidden;" class=""><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="subscribe-wrapper" style="width: 392.15625px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; max-width: 1024px; min-width: 320px; margin: 0px auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" height="8" background="https://s0.wp.com/i/emails/stripes.gif" class="subscribe-header-wrap" style="width: 392.15625px; background-image: url(https://s0.wp.com/i/emails/stripes.gif); background-color: rgb(67, 164, 208); height: 8px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="subscribe-header" style="width: 392.15625px; color: rgb(0, 136, 204); font-size: 1.6em; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""><h2 class="subscribe-title" style="line-height: 1; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(70, 70, 70); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; padding: 0px; font-size: 16px !important; margin: 5px 20px !important;">New post on<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong class="">Caitlin Johnstone</strong></h2></td><td style="text-align: right;" class=""><img border="0" class="head-avatar" src="https://i1.wp.com/caitlinjohnstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/cropped-caitlinpic1.jpg?resize=32%2C32&ssl=1" alt="" width="32" height="32" style="margin: 5px 20px 5px 0px; vertical-align: middle;"></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="20" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="width: 392.15625px;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: 352.15625px;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="top" class="the-post"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: 352.15625px;" class=""><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; width: 60px !important;" class=""><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?author=2" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178); display: block; margin-right: 10px;" class=""><img border="0" alt="" src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/12152988a68a6d4dae7506812444c18f?s=50&d=monsterid&r=G" class="avatar avatar-50" height="50" width="50"></a></td><td class=""><h2 class="post-title" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); margin: 0px; font-size: 20px;"><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2018/08/01/as-long-as-assange-is-silenced-claims-against-him-are-illegitimate/" style="text-decoration: none !important; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">As Long As Assange Is Silenced, Claims Against Him Are Illegitimate</a></h2><span style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" class="">by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?author=2" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(136, 136, 136) !important;" class="">Caitlin Johnstone</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="post-content" style="direction: ltr; margin-top: 1em; max-width: 560px;"><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">As attempts to evict Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1023896508889030656" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">get more and more aggressive</a>, we are seeing a proportionate increase in the establishment smear campaign against him and against WikiLeaks. This is not a coincidence.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">The planned campaign to remove Assange from political asylum and the greatly escalated smear campaign to destroy public support for Assange are both occurring at the same time that Assange has been<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/moreno-assange-can-remain-at-embassy-so-long-as-he-doesnt-practice-journalism-7e38aa11b78d" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">cut off from the world</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>without internet, phone calls or visitors, completely unable to defend himself from the smear campaign. This, also, is not a coincidence.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">The ability to control the narrative about what is going on in the world is of unparalleled importance to the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/twelve-tips-for-making-sense-of-the-world-43348077cf80" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">plutocrats who use governments as tools</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to advance their agendas. The agenda to make an example of a leak publisher with a massive platform who has repeatedly exposed the corruption of the establishment upon which western plutocrats have built their empires will require continuous narrative spin, since the precedent set by prosecuting a journalist for publishing authentic documents would arguably constitute a greater leap in the direction of Orwellian dystopia than the Patriot Act.</p><div class="embed-twitter" style="direction: ltr;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true" style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic; color: rgb(135, 135, 135); border-left-width: 3px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1em; margin: 1em 1em 1em 2em;"><p lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">WikiLeaks is run by an anti-Semitic alt-right troll, leaked DMs from its Twitter account show. How embarrassing for people who celebrated this organization.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://t.co/wx2ltLEvCW" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">https://t.co/wx2ltLEvCW</a></p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1024115792088985601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">July 31, 2018</a></p></blockquote></div><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Among the latest components of this campaign has been a viral dump of Twitter DMs being promoted as a hot news item by outlets like<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/3kyv9n/activist-publishes-11000-wikileaks-twitter-direct-messages-dms" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Motherboard</em></a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/technology/399547-activist-publishes-11000-wikileaks-twitter-direct-messages" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">The Hill</em></a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/07/30/11000-wikileaks-twitter-messages-released-to-the-public/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Forbes</em></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/dump-of-wikileaks-messages-shines-light-on-assanges-conspiracy-theories-324923bf22a3/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Think Progress</em></a> and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1024115792088985601" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">across #Resistance Twitter</a>. The fact that the juicy bits from those DMs had already been<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/02/14/julian-assange-wikileaks-election-clinton-trump/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">published months ago</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em class="">The Intercept</em>, and the fact that the smears and spin we're seeing reruns of today were long ago ripped to shreds in journalist Suzie Dawson's epic essay "<a href="https://contraspin.co.nz/beingjulianassange/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">Being Julian Assange</a>" after the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em class="">Intercept</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>publication, has not dampened the orgiastic frenzy with which this non-story is being bandied about by establishment loyalists and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/be-suspicious-of-everyone-who-habitually-defends-the-powerful-from-the-weak-904aa0d21a49" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">defenders of power</a> as evidence of Assange's nefariousness.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">This is entirely illegitimate. It is not legitimate to make claims about someone who has been deliberately deprived of the ability to defend himself. It is not legitimate to spin a narrative about someone whose ability to participate in that narrative has been deliberately cut off. You don't get to silence a man and then legitimately take over the public narrative about him. That is not a valid thing to do.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">But that of course is the idea. By cutting Assange off from internet access, phone calls and visitors, he has been deprived of the ability to give his side of the story in another interview with Fox News, for example, or in tweets to his millions of followers, thus making his side of the story mainstream knowledge. Every voice has been shoved off the stage but that of the political and media establishment which just so happens to be owned and operated by the same powerful oligarchs who want Assange silenced and prosecuted for challenging their rule. This is not a coincidence.</p><div class="embed-twitter" style="direction: ltr;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true" style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic; color: rgb(135, 135, 135); border-left-width: 3px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1em; margin: 1em 1em 1em 2em;"><p lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Since the start of 2018, a US -linked fake news campaign has started in Ecuador, with the admitted goal of having<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/JulianAssange?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">@JulianAssange</a>arrested.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Good example here, with many easily proven fabrications. e.g In fact WikiLeaks published more than 1000 Ecuadorian intelligence docs.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://t.co/qniH7GMMRe" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">https://t.co/qniH7GMMRe</a></p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1024142205018157056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">July 31, 2018</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="embed-twitter" style="direction: ltr;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true" style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic; color: rgb(135, 135, 135); border-left-width: 3px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1em; margin: 1em 1em 1em 2em;"><p lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">UK state TV's John Sweeney put in charge of tomorrow's Julian Assange special despite (because of?) dozens of tweets in clear breach of BBC code:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Newsnight?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">#Newsnight</a><a href="https://t.co/eAhAwTr8rC" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">https://t.co/eAhAwTr8rC</a></p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1024442987508580352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">July 31, 2018</a></p></blockquote></div><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">I have<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/whoever-controls-the-narrative-controls-the-world-c22e1134e857" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">said it before</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and I will say it again: whoever controls the narrative controls the world. If you can control the stories that the public are telling themselves about what's going on in the world, you control the public itself. So many of the plutocratic establishment's most aggressive spin campaigns recently have been about securing narrative control in a new media environment with unprecedented public internet access, from constant warnings about "fake news" and "conspiracy theories", to fearmongering about "Russian bots" and "Russian propaganda", to promoting and legitimizing the persecution of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The empire hates Assange because he punches holes in their ability to control the narrative, and thus control the public, and they have silenced him to deprive him of the ability to control his own narrative about himself.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Every claim made about Assange since his silencing in late March of this year can therefore be safely dismissed by the public on general principles. As long as they are rigging the debate in their favor, the debate is invalid. Literally any attack on or criticism of Assange being promoted in public discourse can legitimately be dismissed with "Assange has been deprived of his ability to defend himself from that accusation. As long as he is cut off from the world, that's an invalid accusation to make."</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Feel free to say this to every blue-checkmarked establishment crony on social media who is bravely kicking Assange while his hands and feet are tied behind his back. Their smear campaign is intrinsically invalid, and they should be told so at every opportunity.</p><div class="embed-twitter" style="direction: ltr;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true" style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic; color: rgb(135, 135, 135); border-left-width: 3px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1em; margin: 1em 1em 1em 2em;"><p lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Those steeped in corruption do not fight fairly or with honour.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">Their weapon of choice is smear. They use this to undermine support for honest courageous citizens standing up for freedom & democracy.</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">What they fear more than anything else is an informed public!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreeAssange?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">#FreeAssange</a></p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">— Mrs. Christine Assange (@AssangeMrs)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/AssangeMrs/status/1022375012194369536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">July 26, 2018</a></p></blockquote></div><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class="">___________________</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class=""><em class="">The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to get on the mailing list for my</em> <a title="This link will take you away from steemit.com" href="http://caitlinjohnstone.com/" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">website</em></a><em class="">, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My articles are entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on</em> <a title="This link will take you away from steemit.com" href="https://www.facebook.com/CaitlinAJohnstone/" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Facebook</em></a><em class="">, following my antics on</em> <a title="This link will take you away from steemit.com" href="https://twitter.com/caitoz" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Twitter</em></a><em class="">, checking out my</em> <a title="This link will take you away from steemit.com" href="https://soundcloud.com/going_rogue" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">podcast</em></a><em class="">, throwing some money into my hat on</em><a title="This link will take you away from steemit.com" href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4445783" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Patreon</em></a><em class="">or</em> <a title="This link will take you away from steemit.com" href="http://paypal.me/caitlinjohnstone" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Paypal</em></a>, <em class="">or buying my book</em> <a title="This link will take you away from steemit.com" href="https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Field-Guide-Utopia-Preppers/dp/064823455X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class=""><em class="">Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers</em></a><em class="">.</em></p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class=""><img border="0" src="https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*VDvfq6m943JQbqLO.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin-bottom: 12px;" class=""></p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 1em;" class=""><em class="">Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2</em></p><div style="direction: ltr; clear: both;" class=""></div></div><div class="meta" style="direction: ltr; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 4px; line-height: 17.280000686645508px; padding: 15px 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); overflow: hidden;"><strong class=""><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?author=2" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">Caitlin Johnstone</a></strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>| August 1, 2018 at 12:58 am | Tags:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=caitlin-johnstone" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">caitlin johnstone</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=ecuador" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">ecuador</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=julian-assange" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">julian assange</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=msm" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">MSM</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=oligarchy" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">Oligarchy</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?taxonomy=post_tag&term=wikileaks" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">wikileaks</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>| Categories:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/?taxonomy=category&term=article" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">Article</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>| URL:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://wp.me/p9tj6M-1iW" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">https://wp.me/p9tj6M-1iW</a></div><p class="subscribe-action-links" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 1em 0px 0em; width: auto;"></p><table class="auto-width" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="width: 10px;" class=""><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2018/08/01/as-long-as-assange-is-silenced-claims-against-him-are-illegitimate/#respond" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-left-radius: 10em; border-top-right-radius: 10em; border-bottom-right-radius: 10em; border-bottom-left-radius: 10em; border: 1px solid rgb(17, 114, 158); text-shadow: rgb(17, 114, 158) 0px 1px 0px; background-color: rgb(37, 133, 178); padding: 5px 15px; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 0px; white-space: nowrap;" class="">Comment</a></td><td class=""> <a class="subscribe-action-link" href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2018/08/01/as-long-as-assange-is-silenced-claims-against-him-are-illegitimate/#comments" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);">See all comments</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="20" bgcolor="#efefef" class="subscribe-wrapper-sub" style="width: 392.15625px; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239); text-align: left; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221);"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class="subscribe-content" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(243, 243, 243); color: rgb(136, 136, 136); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><p style="direction: ltr; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class=""><a href="https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=59fea216c501b1df39ffceaabffa5e93&email=cgestabrook%40gmail.com&b=C2V4ng%2CKS%5DUX%260LT4%2BRBfP9F.j8d4%3FmM%2B.vS9dh7DQPlP%2F%2Bfe2%2C" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">Unsubscribe</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to no longer receive posts from Caitlin Johnstone.<br class="">Change your email settings at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=59fea216c501b1df39ffceaabffa5e93&email=cgestabrook%40gmail.com" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">Manage Subscriptions</a>. </p><div style="direction: ltr; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px;" class=""><strong class="">Trouble clicking?</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Copy and paste this URL into your browser:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br class=""><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2018/08/01/as-long-as-assange-is-silenced-claims-against-him-are-illegitimate/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(37, 133, 178);" class="">https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2018/08/01/as-long-as-assange-is-silenced-claims-against-him-are-illegitimate/</a></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" height="3" background="https://s0.wp.com/i/emails/stripes.gif" class="subscribe-footer-wrap" style="width: 392.15625px; background-image: url(https://s0.wp.com/i/emails/stripes.gif); background-color: rgb(67, 164, 208); height: 3px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br class=""></td></tr></tbody></table><img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?blog=139971992&post=5018&subd=caitlinjohnstone.com&ref=&email=1&email_o=jetpack&host=jetpack.wordpress.com" width="1" height="1" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" class=""></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></body></html>